While many know Becky for her national expertise in concussion management and neurologic rehabilitation, her work at the APTA Educational Leadership Conference (ELC 2025) showcases another passion—advancing excellence in health professions education. A few of her presentations are outlined below, Becky collaborated with colleagues to inspire innovation, faculty development, and learner-centered approaches that empower both educators and clinicians spanning entry-level and residency education.
💡 Incorporating Instructional Design Strategies for Parallel Pathways
with Dr. Alex Koszalinski, Dr. Mike Jones, and Sara Meyers
As hybrid and residential DPT programs expand, this presentation unpacked how intentional backward design, assessment alignment, and self-regulated learning principles create quality and consistency across delivery models. The team emphasized how faculty can maintain excellence and connection—even across distance—by leveraging clear objectives, formative feedback, and instructional analytics.
🎓 Building Faculty Capacity for Excellence and Innovation
with Dr. Patty Kluding – University of Kansas Medical Center
This session highlighted how programs can strengthen faculty capacity through distributed leadership, needs-based development, and the Knowledge-to-Action framework. Rooted in ACAPT’s Blueprint for Excellence, Dr. Bliss shared how iterative coaching and targeted workshops cultivate a culture of growth, curiosity, and collaboration among faculty.
🧩 Playback with Purpose: Elevating Performance Through Game Film
with Dr. Crystal Funke
Borrowing from sports, this innovative session showed how video self-reflection (“game film”) builds metacognition, self-efficacy, and adaptive learning. Dr. Bliss demonstrated how DPT students analyze their recorded performances to strengthen professional behaviors, communication, and self-assessment skills—linking athletic coaching principles directly to healthcare education
🌱 Rising to the Residency Call to Action: Professional Identity & Leadership
with Dr. Lindsay Holland
This session called on residency programs to intentionally foster professional identity formation and leadership development. Dr. Bliss shared the integration of the Master Adaptive Learner (MAL) framework, reflective coaching, and mission-driven mentorship to cultivate resilient, self-aware clinicians prepared to lead in complex healthcare environments.
💬 Responding to the Challenge: Curbing Clinical Remediation Trends
with Dr. Yvonne Colgrove and Dr. Marcie Swift
Addressing one of the most pressing issues in PT education, this presentation explored strategies to reduce remediation through affective domain assessment, coaching, and early formative feedback. By using tools such as OSCEs and confidence mapping, Dr. Bliss and colleagues demonstrated proactive approaches that support student growth and well-being.
💭 Takeaway
From concussion management to curriculum design, from mentorship to mastery—Dr. Bliss continues to champion innovation across the educational spectrum. Her work embodies the belief that empowering faculty and learners alike creates the ripple effect needed to transform healthcare education.
Stay tuned for new content specific to using the Master Adaptive Learner framework into clinical teaching practices!
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