the national exam is just a written test that consists of 200 questions. the students must achieve a 70 % score to pass. The hands on is during the teaching.... all student are assumed to have learned the hands on part of the massage. the written test is accually a hard test that really tests thatthe students understands the muscles and their actions so that the student will be a good therapist and not just a lotion spreader....
I agree with you...... using real life experiences will help the student. If student here the struggles that were challenging for you this will give them the hope of completeing and retention can be eliminated.
My experience is much the same. Reading from the book can put the students to sleep.I try to relate the leason plan to real life experiences.
I have found that it is important to add real life experience along with the material being covered from the the book when teaching new material. Often the student can identify with the experience if they cannot remember the detail in the book.
Is success in passing the national board exam part of the evaluation of a student? Does the national exam include both written and hands-on components?
As a professional massage therapist it is so important to let the students know that it is not only about passing the class. there is a national board that the students must pass and i emphasize the importantance of preparing to pass the boards. this keeps the students focused on the importance of learning instead of remembering for the tests. if they learn and are able to comprehend the importance of muscles, they can relate to the body and give a better massage.
It is always best and helps understanding to know
why you are doing something. The desire to follow through comes naturally when in agreement with why something is done a specific way.
Michael, what are the thoughts of the students? Their reaction to how the material is presented will tell you whether this is a practice to continue or abandon.
I believe that is a good approach. I also feel the more we can correlate our subject matter to real life experiences in their field of endeavor, the greater the learning experience, thereby increasing retention. (A win, win situation)
Anyone can sit and read a textbook but it becomes more real and three-dimensional when explained by instructor and applied to real-life situations or experiences. Reading is one thing, understanding is so much more. So those real-life examples are crucial additions in teaching "what they really need to know."
You have to add to what the book offers to keep their attention. Giving real life experiences or relate material to how we use it in the business world usually helps me gain attention and interest in subjects that can be a little tedious to teach.
as a new teacher i fell that i need to know whats revelant for sutdents they are so uncomfortable they need to know what is expected
I have found that as I begin each quarter with "new" students, I have to teach them to become a student once again. Sometimes I have found that the new student was not so good while in high school. or the new student wasn't able to acquire learning skills on a GED program as one would do in a diploma earning setting. Often as not, the new student does not SEEM to want to do all of the work that is necessary for course completion requiremments. However, with weekly encouragement, the new student learns that the learning material is for his/her interests in the career field of his/her choice. Each student understands this connective relationship and seems to get moativated and become genuinely engaged.
11/3/11 Dr. David Jeffries
I agree 100%. They need to know it's all relevent. I try to keep their hopes alive by finding things that they may not have considered that will be available to them in the workplace after graduation. I had a practical nursing student once that said he wanted to be involved in disaster nursing, but said that everything he had read said it was required to be an RN. I just happened to find on a front cover of a nursing magazine a picture of a male LPN who was working in the Katrina disaster. I showed it to him and it really gave him hope. I was as excited as he was to find that!
