Best Practices in the Massage Classroom

BEST PRACTICES IN THE MASSAGE CLASSROOM

FIRST DAY OF CLASS – Make it First Class!

After the basics of attendance and going over the syllabus, required text, expectations, then incorporate the following:

Information/contact card. Have them include their expectations of the course.

Student Purpose Statement: “My purpose for being in massage therapy is… When I complete my education, I want to be able to….”

Conduct a demonstration.

Build a sense of community. Share information about yourself. Get to know your students and allow them to get to know each other. I use different colored index cards and have them meet according to color and introduce themselves. I include items such as interesting fact about themselves, favorite travel destiny, job, their reason for being in the program, etc.

Have the class write a mission statement. Make copies and have them sign it. Take a picture of the class and make copies for everyone.

Have a class motto. “Let’s Set the PACE for 2013 (P-Positive, A-Attitudes, C-Change, E-Everything) or MASSAGE – Massage Affirms Students Seeking A Great Education!

Administer a learning/personality preference inventory.

Getting To Know You Ice Breakers:

M & M’s:

Yellow – Share the most exciting time you’ve ever experienced.

Green – Share the most frightening moment to your life.

Blue – Share the most rewarding learning experience to date.

Orange – Share the most embarrassing moment you’ve ever had.

Red – Share the kindest act you’ve seen (or done).

Word for the Day – Introduce yourself using a word you chose in a sentence. (Passionate, amazing, slightly irregular, excellent, blessed, powerful, outstanding, a long story)

Getting-to-Know-You Venn Diagram
Gather groups of three students. Supply a prepared three-circle Venn diagram for each group. Students talk in their groups about themselves and the things they like to do. After a brief discussion, students must…

· decide on at least three ways in which they are all alike; they write those things in the area of the diagram that intersects all three circles.

· find ways in which they are like one other student in the group and record those ways in the appropriate areas of the diagram.

· determine a few facts that make each of them unique and write those facts in the appropriate sections of the diagram.
This activity helps students recognize and appreciate likenesses and differences in people. It also introduces them to Venn diagrams on the first day of school. This type of graphic organizer might be used many times throughout the year.
Rene Masden, Teacher, Covington, Kentucky

CLASSROOM ARRANGEMENT

This is a simple strategy, but helps to motivate learning. The U-shape or Circle helps to engage conversation. Putting tables in groups allows for group engagement and activities.

TEXTBOOK READING

BIG QUESTION – With assigned reading, suggest students come up with a question prior to reading. (Critical reading usually has a “how” or “why” starter.)

HEADINGS – TURN INTO QUESTIONS

THIEVES – A Way to Survey the Text - See attached Sheet

DAILY FOCUS QUESTIONS by Kelly Gallagher Deeper Reading –attached

READING MINUTE – (Gallagher) Read an article (MTJ) or other massage stories for ONE minute. Students write a one-sentence summary about the article. I do this

PRESENTATION OF CONTENT

LECTURE – Start on a positive note. Begin with humor or quote.

“Chunk” the Information. After 10-15 minutes, stop. Clarify.

Present “Need to Know”, supplement “Nice To Know” (Bowman)

Insert activity: (See Reinforcement of Concepts)

Add media

EMPTY OUTLINE – Provide an outline for students to fill in from the lecture/ppt.

POWER POINT – Use more than a visual repetition of lecture notes. More graphics and visuals. The brain remembers pictures more than words.

REINFORCEMENT OF CONCEPTS

APPOINTMENT TIME (Use for group forming/concept review) sample attached

9 Qs WITH 9 OTHERS in 9 MINUTES sample attached

TWO CENTS (TALKING CHIPS) Group discussion. Each participant surrenders a token each time they speak.

MIND MAPPING – sample attached

POST IT ON BIG BOARD – Problem listed on big sheet. Students write possible solutions and post onto problem.

GAMES – PUZZLES, JEOPARDY – website listed

STAND, STRETCH and SPEAK (Sharon Bowman) Topic related Energizers

ASSESSMENT

RUBRICS An assessment tool used to measure predetermined criteria.

STUDENTS AS QUIZMASTERS Have students create their own questions for quizzes/exams. Good for review. Can be done in groups and then other groups answer them. Can be used as part of the exam.

PREDICTED SCORE: Before students submit test papers, ask them to predict how many correct responses they will get on the test. If the prediction is correct, give credit= 1test question. NO penalty for incorrect predictions.

QUICK VISUAL FEEDBACK Have four different color post its distributed. Have students keep them handy inside a folder. Use as a quick review over subject matter.

JUST FOR FUN

SUPERBRAIN YOGA – Massage Students will do this!

SLAP HAPPY – Meridians

BEACH BALL - Toss among students. Correlate questions with colors. Use to demonstrate muscle movement and reflexes.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Increase students/educators professional knowledge, learning resources:

Moodle – A source for communication, lessons grades, etc.

ROLE PLAYING

BLIND INTERVIEW – (Two students listen to same client with backs turned- write down intake – compare notes.)

FEEDBACK

TWO MINUTE PAPER (See attached sheet.)

CLOSING CIRCLE: At the end of the day, ask, “What’s one thing you learned today?” Do a few deep breathing exercises before ending the day.

COMMENT/QUESTION CARDS – Students can fill out at end of day.

“THIEVES”

A PREVIEW STRATEGY FOR TEXTBOOKS

1.  T – Title – Read the Title. It states the topic and sets up the context.

2.  H – Headings – Read the Headings. The headings organize the chapter or section. Use these to create a graphic organizer. By putting headings together, students can create a summary of the chapter.

3.  I – Introduction - Read the first and second paragraphs. Often goals and objectives are stated.

4.  E - Every first sentence – Read every first sentence of every paragraph. These are usually the topic sentences and provide the most information.

5.  V – Visuals and Vocabulary – Look at captions, illustrations, charts, maps, words in bold text. Think about how the pictures or graphs relate to the title and headings.

6.  E – End of Chapter (Section) Questions – Read these questions BEFORE reading chapter. By reading the questions, students will know what points of the chapter are important. These questions also set a purpose for reading.

7.  S – Summary – Read the last 1-2 paragraphs of chapter. These summary statements give an overview of the entire chapter.

Daily Focus Questions

In Kelly’s classroom, there is a daily focus question on the board. The purpose of this question is to get students thinking back to the day before, where they left off. There are two types of focus questions:

1.  Text-dependent questions: may ask students to revisit yesterday’s reading. They require the students to have read the text before they can answer the question; in other words, their ability to answer is dependent on their reading and comprehending the text.

2.  Text-independent questions: may ask students to consider a big idea that will help them “set the table” for what will be found in the reading they’ll do in class that day. These questions are not specifically from the previous day’s reading; instead, they serve to prepare students for some of the big ideas and themes they are soon to encounter. They serve to “prime the pump” before reading commences.

Mind Maps:

1.  Start with a topic and put it in the center of your paper.

2.  Add braches to hold key sub-topics.

3.  Add details to tie branches.

4.  Personalize it for the “right brain” with symbols, pictures, colors and shapes.

9 Q’s with 9 Others in 9 Minutes

What do you do already to facilitate student engagement? / How do your students acquire most of the key content learned in your classroom? / How do you build a positive community of learners in your classroom now?
What “First Day” activities do you include for students to get to know each other? / What is the breakdown of the age groups in your class? How do you teach to cross generation groups? / How do you use power point in your presentation?
Do you have a time filler that works well? / What is your approach to cover the textbook? / What is one of your biggest challenges when presenting material?

Find 8 others (you can fill in one square) to answer the questions and include their initials.

How could you incorporate this exercise into your class?

TWO MINUTE PAPER Name ______

Comment on the following questions. You have two minutes….

1.  What is the most important thing you’ve learned so far today?

2.  What was the muddiest point in today’s session?

3.  What would you like to know more about? What question do you still have?

RESOURCES

Websites;

www.bowperson.com - Sharon Bowman, author of Death by Lecture Outstanding tips for teaching others.

www.puzzlemaker.com - You can make word search, crossword puzzles and a variety of word games by using your own list. Free or you can join for more software.

www.buildyourmemory.com Memory, mnemonics

www.merlot.org -Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching Check out Health Science and massage. Excellent for teachers.

There is an app for trigger points.

https://jeopardylabs.com - Build your own jeopardy game.

http://teach.fcps.net/trt10 Jeopardy and other templates

https://bubbl.us - Make mind maps right on the screen.

www.quizlet.com - Make your own set of flash cards.

www.worldofteaching.com Power points – free to download – science and biology

http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/ Top 100 Tools for Learning

www.wordle.net - fun site to form words and phrases

Sources supporting the Use of Ice Breakers: Fierce Teaching by Eric Jensen and Green Light Classroom by Rich Allen

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AMTA SCHOOLS SUMMIT 2013