Development and evaluation of an online professional development course to support delivery of tiered school-based rehabilitation services

The <i>Facilitating Integration of Rehabilitation Services Through Training (FIRST) Course</i> provides online professional development on tiered service delivery models for rehabilitation professionals working in education settings. Created by content and e-learning experts, this study describes our use of the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation (ADDIE) instructional design model and the Successive Approximation Model (SAM) to develop, implement, and evaluate the <i>FIRST Course</i>, and reports the findings of an initial program evaluation. Rehabilitation professionals who completed the <i>FIRST Course</i> were invited to complete a cross-sectional survey to evaluate its utility. Between May 1, 2020, and August 11, 2023, 314 occupational therapists, 54 physiotherapists, and 170 speech-language pathologists completed the online course and survey. Respondents perceived the <i>FIRST Course</i> content to be relevant to their practice and to meet their learning needs regarding tiered services in education settings. Most respondents viewed the course positively and would recommend it to colleagues. More experienced respondents suggested a need for training on tiered service delivery models beyond an introductory level. The ADDIE and SAM instructional design models were successfully applied to develop, implement, and evaluate online professional development for school-based rehabilitation professionals who wish to learn about tiered service delivery models. Developers wishing to offer online professional development in the field of rehabilitation are encouraged to engage both content experts and e-learning experts when applying instructional design models such as ADDIE and SAM. Incorporating input from the intended rehabilitation professionals will ensure success.Our program evaluation shows that the <i>FIRST Course</i> reaches the target audience of occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and speech-language pathologists, and meets their learning needs for tiered service delivery models in education settings. Developers wishing to offer online professional development in the field of rehabilitation are encouraged to engage both content experts and e-learning experts when applying instructional design models such as ADDIE and SAM. Incorporating input from the intended rehabilitation professionals will ensure success. Our program evaluation shows that the <i>FIRST Course</i> reaches the target audience of occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and speech-language pathologists, and meets their learning needs for tiered service delivery models in education settings.