Physical Therapy Education Through the Lens of the Master Adaptive Learner 24^th Pauline Cerasoli Lecture

Background: and Purpose. The Dr. Pauline Cerasoli Lecture is both an honor and an opportunity to learn from the past and look to the future of physical therapy education. This 24th Cerasoli lecture does just that in taking a reflective look at the question - What would excellence and innovation look like in physical therapy education if we were looking outward to what society needs from us? Position and Rationale. While the concepts associated with the master adaptive learner (MAL) have been applied primarily at the level of individual learners, the model provides a useful framework for this reflective look at physical therapy education. Grounded in the robust concepts of learning sciences and adaptive expertise, application of this model to physical therapy education is a lens for identifying our greatest challenges and envisioning drivers for transformative change. Discussion and Conclusion. The question of what could or should we be doing in physical therapy education to meet societal needs is used in the reflective analysis of three major areas: 1) Reimagining the role of curriculum, 2) Learning for a lifetime of learning, and 3) Education research: needed and wanted.