Massage Educator Newsletter 2024 Issue 1

Prepping Your Massage Learners for the Test

Teaching Terms Properly Can Make a Difference
Do you remember when you first saw the terms retinacula or peritoneum in your massage or bodywork training? It's fair to assume these were not words you were familiar with.

For your learners, absorbing industry-specific terminology is like learning a foreign language. The way people learn any language is by learning vocabulary first, then using those basic terms to form and define more complex terms and bigger concepts, then eventually using them in a conversation. Outlined here are precise and clear ways to teach terminology productively for the success of your learners on the test and in your classroom.

Teach Terminology Explicitly and Systematically

Researchers say learners can grasp up to 22 terms during a three-hour lesson so long as terminology is taught explicitly and systematically. If terminology is not taught this way, learners can pick up only eight words during a three-hour lesson if they are listening closely and trying hard to learn. Therefore, when you make a goal of teaching terminology explicitly and systematically, your learners absorb concepts more effectively.

Here are some methods to accomplish this goal:

• At the start of your lesson, identify, define, pronounce, and discuss the key terms you intend to cover.
• Provide learners with a vocabulary form of the terms and definitions. If your school uses ABMP Exam Coach, previewing key terms is easy. Review the recommendations in the Teacher’s Guide that accompanies ABMP Exam Coach. If your school doesn’t use ABMP Exam Coach, you can still teach terminology explicitly and systematically; it will simply take a little more prep work.
• Practice the pronunciation of terms with students as you encounter them in the lesson. Require learners to speak them aloud.
• Verbalize term definitions as you encounter them in the lesson, then provide learners with a fact or example to bring the term to life.
• Incorporate brief pauses where learners pair up and speak the definitions to each other.
• Match images with terms on PowerPoint slides or other visual means.
• Break down terms into their component parts and root meanings so that when learners encounter the same prefixes, suffixes, and roots in other terms, they can critically think their way to viable definitions.
• Consistently use (and require learners to use) terms from the point of introduction forward throughout the entirety of the course and program.

Consciously Build Conceptual Understanding

Terms are just individual words until you build them into concepts. When learners develop conceptual understanding, they can recognize how terms are related to one another to create a bigger picture within the context of the topic you are teaching.

Methods for building conceptual understanding include:
Navigation—Begin with an overview of all subtopics they will be learning in the lesson. Then, at the start of each new subtopic, return to the overview so learners know where they are in the lesson.
Concept creation—Build concepts using words, images, characteristics, beliefs, attitudes, sensations, emotions, and past experiences.
Concept application—Have students brainstorm situations where the concept is relevant, compare and contrast concepts to understand differences and commonalities, mind-map concepts, and consider how a concept relates to their own life.

Anchor the Learning

Anchoring is a method used at the end of a learning segment to reinforce key information.

Methods to assist in anchoring the learning include:
Quick quizzes—In pairs, groups, or as a class, work through short, 10-question quizzes. Learners appreciate multiple-choice quick quizzes because it demonstrates how they might see the information on an exam. 
Concept-checking questions—Supply questions that compare a correct statement with an incorrect statement to check learner comprehension and fill in knowledge gaps. 
Terminology-specific activities—Design activities that require learners to review key terms, such as explaining terms in their own words, matching terms to written descriptions, labeling a diagram of a structure, naming a structure from an image, recalling a fact, or listing items that live together.

While it can feel tedious and time-consuming to ensure learners attain and comprehend the huge number of key terms they need to know, the importance of taking the time to do it properly cannot be overemphasized. Not only is it the golden ticket to preparing them to be proficient professionals, but it also provides the foundation they need for passing their licensing exam.

US Department of Education 150% Rule Update

The Impact on Your School  
A Texas federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction that halts the enforcement of the US Department of Education’s (ED) new Bare Minimum Rule, also known as the “100% rule,” until the court takes further action. The judge’s decision hails from the suit filed by Career Education Colleges and Universities and other plaintiffs.

Numerous lawsuits have been filed to prevent the implementation of the Bare Minimum Rule, which would bring an end to the era of allowing schools to offer programs up to 150% of a state’s minimum hour education requirement while still receiving certain federal funds on July 1 of this year.

This is only the first step in what could be a lengthy battle to ultimately delay enforcement of the rule, providing schools more time to adjust their programmatic standards, or overturn the rule altogether. ED is expected to appeal this ruling. Another suit for temporary relief, also filed in Texas, was denied. 

The fact that two separate lawsuits filed in Texas have produced conflicting initial federal court responses illustrates the uncertainty around how courts will ultimately rule on both the “bare minimum” versus “150%” program length issue and other aspects of the gainful employment proposed rules revisions. That is why ABMP is concentrating its government relations efforts on assisting states as they reconsider their minimum required program education hours and ensuring they are prepared for any outcome. 

Of 23 states that began 2024 with a 500-hour minimum, it appears that at least a half-dozen will increase their minimums to somewhere in the 600–650-hour range this year and others are already focused on doing so in 2025.

It is important to note that among the states increasing minimum hour requirements, so far none have mandated additional education for currently licensed therapists. ABMP makes retaining that status a core priority wherever hours for new massage students are increased. 

So, what does this mean for you? Schools that are in the process of increasing their programs to new clock hour standards set by their state should continue their efforts. This temporary legal reprieve does not guarantee the rule will be overturned or even substantially delayed. Given the climate of legal uncertainty, if you are in a state that is raising its minimum education hours to somewhere between 600 and 650 hours, it seems prudent for your school to forge ahead on revising its curriculum. This is the best way to protect your school in the event the challenges to the ruling are overturned and the new rule does go into effect.

In states that have not modified their 500-hour minimum education requirement, some complexities emerge regarding eligibility for federal aid. Students enrolled in programs that begin prior to the July 1, 2024, deadline will be able to continue with their originally slated curriculum with no interruption to any federal aid for which they have been approved. Students enrolled in programs that start on or after July 1, 2024, should assume they will need to meet a combination of the ED proposed revised regulations and their state minimum education requirements. Make sure you are still eligible for any federal aid for which you applied. Licensed massage therapists do not need to return to school to meet new, higher hour requirements; as we have said, no state has made the new education requirements retroactive.

The next step for all of us is to continue making programmatic changes to schools as scheduled and wait and watch as the courts decide how they will move forward with the lawsuits. ABMP will be monitoring the situation closely and will keep you updated as it progresses. Reach out to ABMP’s Government Relations team with any questions: gr@abmp.com.

Using Terminology to Analyze Quiz Questions

To further student comprehension, use this end-of-class anchoring activity to reinforce what students just learned.
Approximate time: 35 minutes

Directions

1. Break students into pairs. 
2. Provide students with two five-question quizzes and separate answer keys (one quiz and key per student) and the following instructions. 
3. One student (facilitator) reads the first question and answer options to the other student (test-taker). 
4. The test-taker reviews the question, then identifies the key terms within the question and optional responses.
5. The test-taker defines each key term in their own words. 
6. Using this knowledge, the test-taker chooses a response.
7. If the response is correct, move on to the next question.
8. If the response is incorrect, the facilitator and test-taker work together to fill in gaps and arrive at the correct response.
9. After the first test-taker completes their quiz, students switch roles and move to the second quiz.
10. At the end of the activity, discuss students’ experiences with the activity and what they found beneficial.

Save the Date: ABMP School Forum—April 4–5, 2025

Join massage and bodywork educators from across the country to discuss issues impacting your schools and your profession. Don't miss this opportunity to connect with us in beautiful Denver, Colorado. Registration opens soon. abmp.com/school-forum.