Massage instruction
Ideas when teaching hands-on classes is vital to massage programs
I would imagine that hands on is the basis of massage programs, and kinesthetic people are probably drawn to your profession. Remember that when teaching the didactic portions of class, and make an effort to combine hands on methods to teach that content, also, Meredith.
In my kinesiology class I use many hands on approaches, after lecturing about the muscles we palpate on the body (reinforcing origin/insertion and muscle layers) then I have the students break into groups...one member from each group comes up to the front and demonstrates the location of a specific muscle using elastic bands, the other group members can assist by guiding them to the bony landmarks of insertion. Finally, I have them build the muscles out of clay and affix them to a mini-skeleton...on the next class meeting each group will describe the muscles they built to the entire class.
Ellie, this is a perfect approach to teaching muscles, which some find hard and dry content to learn. Your multiple hands on approach will serve your learners well. Thanks for sharing your wonderful teaching strategies!
I remember being a massage student and thinking that kinesiology was so dry and boring that at times I could barely pay attention. I had wished our school offered palpation labs. I made my own "mini-labs" and conducted them on my kids. Once I became an instructor, I promised myself that I would try any techniques I could to liven up even the most taxing of material. I now offer the mini-labs to my students, not only in Kinesiology, but all of my classes. Its the interaction with the other students that helps them remember the material.
Thanks for sharing the mini lab idea. You were smart to incorporate this into the parts of the program you yourself found hard to learn as a student.
When teaching palpation, I gather approx 20 household objects with varying properties, to simulate things the students might feel in their clients' bodies. Anything from a nail or a screw or a marble (bony landmark) to a rubber band (ligamentous structure) to a toothpick (easily broken-endangerment site). I make up a massage table with a sheet and a blanket, and place all of the objects under the linens. The students then have 5 minutes to palpate the objects through the linens and try to figure out what they are without breaking or damaging any of the objects. This has been a fun and "eye-opening" exercize in palpation.
Tracy, what a wonderful idea! Thanks for sharing your successful and creative teaching idea.
I loved this idea. It is one of the most original I have heard in a while. Thanks for sharing.. I also like the idea of a strand of hair - put in under the thin telephone book pages and let the students palpate the page to find the strand of hair...they are amazed how many pages they can palpate through.
Wow, this is s great idea! Thanks for sharing it.
