Reviewing Your School’s Curriculum: Why and How Presented by: Kevin Pierce LMT, NCBTMB, MBA

1. Reviewing Your School’s Curriculum: Why and How Presented by: Kevin Pierce LMT, NCBTMB, MBA

2. About Me • Florida licensed and Nationally Certified Massage Therapist with over 17 years experience in the profession. • Experience in various arenas of clinical and hands on practice as well as in areas of training and education of massage therapists and massage therapy students. • Currently the National Director of Massage Therapy for Anthem • Education Group which has numerous campuses across the • country with Massage Therapy Certificate and diploma programs. • Work in the areas of curriculum and course design, operations, • faculty training and education management. • MTBOK Task Force Member

3. Curriculum & Education Theory • Education is the process by which individuals gain knowledge, skills, values, habits, and attitudes. Societal mores, cultural norms, and practical needs compel the incorporation of various components of learning and information. Hence, the educational curriculum is vitally important to a society’s success.” Borrowman (l989)

4. Need for Curriculum Revision Today’s Questions: • What is this “Curriculum” you speak of? • Why Revise? • What is curriculum revision? • Who is involved? • How often should I revise? • Is there a methodology? • Where do I start? • What resources are there?

5. Contemplate on this a bit….don’t answer yet! • What determined the “success” of curriculum revision processes? • Were there specific factors that had a significant impact on whether or not the revision project was successful? • Do teachers have strong views on the process of curriculum revision processes? • Do teacher attitudes and/or backgrounds have an impact on the success or failure of curriculum revision procedures? • Does the revision procedure have an influence?

6. What’s with the “Check”? • = Class discussion • = Your thoughts & feedback • = Open forum • = Contribution

7. Determine a foundation • What is This Curriculum Thing? A curriculum is an educational plan that spells out which goals and objectives should be achieved, which topics should be covered, and which methods are to be used for learning, teaching, and evaluation. It defines and describes program of learning and includes philosophy, content, approach, and assessment. • What is your definition?

8. What is written is not always learned… The reality of curriculum: • Recommended curriculum. • Written curriculum. • Taught curriculum. • Supported curriculum. • Tested / Assessed curriculum. • Learned curriculum.

9. Curriculum & Education Theory • An effective curriculum plan must reflect the career outcomes, be relevant, teach to the future as well as the present, and be presented in an integrated format by which all staff and instructors understand and support all components. (Mosby 2010)

10. What Should Curriculum Include? • Syllabi - (Think about yours) • A description of how each course is organized. • A description of content in each course. • General goals (outcomes) in each course. • Specific, measurable objectives for each course. • A description of how instruction and student learning is to be evaluated. • Exit and enabling competencies • Lesson Plan - (Who does these at your campus) • Weekly & Daily plan for lecture, assessments, activities, and practicum. • Time management guide. • Due dates and reminders.

11. What Should Curriculum Include? • Graded assessments. (Most often revised) • Exams, projects and practicum that contribute to course point values & grade determination. • Measurements of understanding and performance. • Designed to reach desired outcomes. (Learning Objectives) • Feedback loop. • (Not always considered in the process) • Progress reports. • Student surveys. • Instructor Evaluations.

12. Refocus & Notes Check • Up to this point… • What is curriculum? • The reality of curriculum. • Thinking about what’s included - basic format. • Started to see what may be missing, improved on, or changed. • Are you starting to think about your curriculum

13. Why Revise? • Reasons for Revision: • Update statistical data. • Introduce new modalities. • Add new classroom tools (new texts, multimedia, etc.) • Upgrade the current instructional program. • Comply with accreditation standards. • What needs do you see? • Why do you think you should revise?

14. The Process: • Approaches to Revision: • Editing • Revision that is based on structure, accuracy and grammar / spelling. • Non-Substantive changes • Changes to internal format, delivery, text editions, rewriting assessments and refining current content that does not change the overall course description. • Substantive changes • Changes to large scale format, content, and structure of course and / or program that significantly changes the course and requires a change in the course description. Change in course syllabi.

15. Change, Growth, & Buy-in Change is not always easy but it is necessary. In curriculum development and revision, change often means that what has been done for a long time / entrenched methods and theories may be challenged and/or changed. • Buy-in for the revision(s) is necessary by all parties involved.

16. Who is involved? • Program Managers / Chairs • Instructors • Advisory boards • Subject Matter Experts • Students • Who is involved with you ??

17. Where to start? • Big Picture • Self Evaluation/ Needs Assessment • to determine structural design, content, assessments, instructional methods, learning styles, materials & resources at the disposal of the instructors and the students.

18. What’s the plan Stan?? • Set out a plan. • Determine the goals of the revision. • New courses, new assessments (exams), new format, new activities. • What do you want to see as the result of the revision? • Employ a focus team for the revision. • Recommended that you have a central writer / editor and contributors.

19. Where do I start… close up. • Evaluate current curriculum • No need to reinvent the wheel. • Use a “Program, Course, Unit” approach. • Find what works and what doesn’t. • Use development tools to evaluate needs • Instructional Design • DACUM Process • Establish a time line

20. Instructional Design • Instructional Design (ID): is a process using a systematic approach to plan a course of instruction. • Instructional design lays the groundwork before training occurs. • This helps the instructor or trainer to use a preplanned course or • material as a basis for training. The instructor is then free to • facilitate the learning process. An additional advantage to the ID • process is that a course can be reproduced to be taught by • multiple, qualified instructors. • Analyze instructional needs • Design plan • Develop material or service • Implement material or service • Evaluate project • Advanced Technology Environmental and Energy Center (ATEEC)

21. DACUM • DACUM • A DACUM is a method of occupational (or task) analysis. Led by a trained facilitator, expert practitioners in an occupation come together to provide input on the specific knowledge, skills and abilities required to perform their job. Curriculum and revisions are developed. • Identify instructional needs. • Plan an instructional program. • Design and develop curriculum. • Design and develop instructional materials. • Create and revise job descriptions and performance standards.

22. Plan for Improvement not just replacement. Areas of potential improvement • Instructor training • Critical Thinking • Substantive Learning • Blooms Taxonomy (Higher Level Competencies) • Outcomes Assessments • New resources

23. Instructor Training - The issues • The leadership roles of teachers are becoming more prevalent, more dominant, and more demanding. • The ability of an instructor to lead, inspire, control, and guide require many skills that are not taught in the MT Field as well as manage the large amount of information. • MT Education must come from a mature approach to learning and focus on the needs of the adult learner in the context of the classroom. • Instructors need to use a broad spectrum of techniques and be able to employ not just on the “in-session” skills.

24. Notes on Instructor Training Needs

25. Instructor Training / Evaluation • To what extent does the instructor teach so that you must THINK to understand the content, or are you able to get a good grade by simply memorizing without really understanding the content? • To what extent does your instructor teach so as to make clear the precise question, problem, or issue on the floor at any given time in instruction? • To what extent does your instructor teach so as to help you learn how to find information relevant to answering questions in the subject? • To what extent does your instructor teach so as to enable you to think more clearly? More Accurately? More Logically?

26. Critical Thinking • Studies demonstrate that most college faculty lack a substantive concept of critical thinking. Consequently they do not (and cannot) use it as a central organizer in the design of instruction. • They do not link it to the essential thinking that defines the content they teach. They, therefore, usually teach content separate from the thinking students need to engage in if they are to take ownership of that content.

27. Critical Thinking • Knowledge exists, properly speaking, only in minds that have comprehended it and constructed it through thought. And when we say thought we mean critical thought. • All too often we focus on a narrow collection of well-defined tasks and train students to execute those tasks in a routine fashion. Then we test the students on tasks that are very close to the ones they have been taught. If they succeed on those problems, we and they congratulate each other on the fact that they have learned some powerful techniques…

28. Critical Thinking A critical thinker does not say: • “My thinking is just fine. If everyone thought like me, this • would be a pretty good world.” A critical thinker says: • “My thinking, as that of everyone else, can always be • improved. Self-deception and folly exist at every level of • human life. It is foolish ever to take thinking for granted. To • think well, we must regularly analyze, assess, and • reconstruct thinking — ever mindful as to how we can • improve it.” • Source: Foundation for Critical Thinking (2010)

29. Substantive Learning • If we understand critical thinking substantively, we not only explain the idea explicitly to our students, but we use it to give order and meaning to virtually everything we do as teachers and learners.

30. Substantive Learning • Determines how we conceptualize our role as instructors. It enables us to understand and explain the thinking that defines the content we teach. • We need to model the thinking that students need to formulate if they are to take ownership of the content.

31. Refocus & Notes Check • Up to this point… • Curriculum Evaluation. • Why Revise? • Where to start? • Who is involved? • The Plan. • Areas of Improvement. • Instructor Training • Critical Thinking • Substantive Learning • What notes have you taken?

32. Guiding Principles • State guidelines • Minimum contact / clock hours – transcripts. • State and or national exam / licensure. • Accreditation guidelines • Minimum contact / clock hours. • Syllabi and competencies. • Professional standards • Relevant theory & applications • Standardized education practices (assessments, etc.)

33. Available Resources • States Criteria for License / Certification / Registration. The Law! • Accreditation Standards • NCBTMB – Exam Content • MBLEx – Exam Content • MTBOK – Schools Checklist • Bloom’s Taxonomy • MT School Program Guide

34. States with Regulation

35. Hourly Breakout – State Regs.

36. NCBTMB Exam Content • General Knowledge of Body Systems (16%) • Knowledge of Anatomy, Physiology and Kinesiology (19%) • Pathology (13%) • Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork Assessment (18%) • Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork Application (22%) • Professional Standards, Ethics, Business and Legal • Practices (12%)

37. NCBTMB Exam Content © 2007 National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork All rights reserved.

38. Hourly Breakout - NCBTMB

39. MBLEx Exam Content • Anatomy & Physiology (14%) • Kinesiology (11%) • Pathology, Contraindications, Areas of Caution, Special Populations (13%) • Benefits and Physiological Effects of Techniques That Manipulate Soft Tissue (17%) • Client Assessment Reassessment and Treatment Planning (17%) • Overview of Massage & Bodywork History, Culture, Modalities (5%) • Ethics, Boundaries, Laws and Regulations (13%)

40. MBLEX Exam Content

41. Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge – MTBOK • A living compendium of what a professional massage therapist should know and be able to do, and descriptions of the massage therapy field and scope of practice. • Comprehensive Body of Knowledge developed for the specific purpose of guiding the Massage Therapy profession through establishing agreed upon knowledge, skills and abilities.

42. Overview of Massage Therapy and Bodywork History / Culture • Anatomy and Physiology • Kinesiology • Pathology • Assessment, Treatment Planning and Documentation • Research and Information Literacy • Business Practices, Laws and Regulations • Boundaries, Ethics and the Therapeutic Relationship • Body Mechanics and Self Care • Massage Techniques and Physiological and Psychological Effects • Therapeutic Modalities • *MTBOK Content Checklist available at www.mtbok.org.

43. MTBOK & School Checklist: • To the Checklist!!! • Curriculum Development • Lesson Plan Design • Revision Evaluation • What is the most effective way for YOU to use MTBOK?

44. MTBOK-based Program Content

45. Quality Assurance • Course Level • Is there a complete lesson plan for new material? • Are the course objectives covered? • Are the competencies achievable? • Does it flow well? • Are the competencies and lecture materials proportional? • Is there room for creativity from instructors? • Are there support materials (Power Points, multimedia, hand-outs, etc.) • Does the revision address different levels of cognitive skill? • Are the grade points reasonable?

46. Time Line • Writing and Implementing the Revision • Collect the data: • Determined need(s)/ Needs assessment • Comply with the guidelines / standards. • Follow your plan. • Draft the revision. • Evaluate the revision. (Quality Assurance) • Determine the best way to implement: • How do you roll out new without interrupting the old? • Communicate clearly to all stakeholders • Roll it out.

47. When? How Often?

48. Follow Up • Discussion on what we “Learned” today.

49. Reference • Reference: • Bent, Rudyard K.; Unruh, Adolph. (1969) The Evolving Curriculum: Theories and Approaches. Ch.1 Secondary School Curriculum. D.C. Heath and Company Boston, Mass. • Borrowman, M.L.(l989). Curriculum. The world book encyclopedia, 6, 85-l06. Chicago, IL: World Book, Inc. • Glatthorn, Allan A. 1987. Curriculum Renewal. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. • Judy A. Johnson, Ed.D. Assistant Professor/ Educational Leadership and Counseling/Sam Houston State University. PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE CHANGE: Curriculum Revision That Works. Journal of Research for Educational Leaders. Vol. 1 Fall 2001 • Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (October 12, 2001) DEVELOPING CURRICULUM GUIDES. Missouri. • Mosby (2010) TEACH Evolve Program Guide for Massage Therapy. Mosby / Elsevier • MTBOK (2010) Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge. www.mtbok.org • Purpel, D. (l972). Curriculum and the cultural revolution: A book of essays and readings. Berkley, CA: McCutcheon Publishing Corporation.

50. Thank you for attending!