Part one of APTA Magazine's special issue on physical therapist education: Educators and students had to quickly adjust to new ways of learning and teaching. What was revealed in the process? Four educators offer their insight in an exclusive interview with APTA and the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy. (Read Part two.) (Meet the participants.) 

Does the learning environment that has had to be put in place favor a certain type of learner?

Mary Blackinton, PT, MS, EdD: For many years we’ve focused on learning styles and learning preferences. In the past, when students would come into our program we’d give them an assessment to better understand their personality when it came to learning. We were very focused on that. But in the past 15 years, that focus on style or learning preferences has been deemphasized. I think we’re moving toward an awareness of getting our students to think about thinking — metacognition — and, more recently, the idea of the master adaptive learner.