PROJECT BRIEF

OBJECTIVES

  • Restructure synchronous in-person curriculum to an asynchronous instructional model with the learner at the center
  • Migrate portion of synchronous in-person manual therapy (bodywork) course to delivery in a learning management system (LMS)

SOLUTIONS

  • Utilize LMS environment and presentation tools and to deliver asyncronous content in multiple formats
  • Create demonstration videos of manual therapy techniques
  • Introduce live synthesis sessions to summarize asynchronous content before synchronous in-person workshop

COMPANY

Moving Mountain Institute

TEAM

Instructional Design Consultant
Educator & Curriculum Consultant
Operations Manager
Instructor & Owner
Videographer

ROLES

Project Manager
Copywriter
Content Strategist
Graphic Designer

SKILLS

Project Management
Copywriting
UX/UI Design
Digital Production (video, audio)

PROCESS

As project manager, my role was to drive the conversion of an in-person manual therapy (bodywork) trainings to a hybrid synchronous-asynchronous instructional model using an LMS for delivery.

The primary problem the team explored was, “How do we teach refined manual therapy skills (craniosacral and myofascial bodywork) online to healthcare professionals?” We examined other competitors in the market, all of whom only presented recorded lectures and materials without hands-on practical labs; or competitors who only presented synchronous in-person courses with combined lecture and lab. The type of skills offered in these workshops are subtle, require constant practice over time, and require learners to be present in either lecture or lab, not both together.

To solve this problem, we created 3 classrooms for content delivery:

  • asynchronous online (LMS)
  • synchronous online Touch Point sessions (synthesis)
  • synchronous in-person Clinical Workshop (practicum)

Lecture material such as historical background, anatomy and physiology, and conceptual ideas can be presented asynchronously and dynamically in an LMS environment. An LMS also provides tools for instructor and cohort engagement for the course duration. Ongoing online discussion forums, knowledge check quizzes, feedback forms, and ancillary materials allow learners deepen their understanding of the content, and more importantly to leverage circular learning for skills that require review. Ongoing access to lectures and technique demonstrations also provides more time for hands-on learning in a Clinical Workshop. As a pedagogical bridge, we implemented “Touch Point” sessions to synthesize the course content before each Clinical Workshop.

The discovery process began by reviewing four LMS platforms for curricular impact, cost, and onboarding effort, eventually determining that Thinkific was the best solution for the institute, the course, and most importantly the learner. Redesigning the course with the learner at the center was always the primary initiative of the team.

With the support of an instructional designer we reorganized five individual workshops into one 9-month cohort series. I introduced the notion of demonstration videos as a teaching tool and to serve as an added value, and moving forward, a stand-alone on-demand asynchronous sales product. I collaborated with the team to produce slide presentations with illustrations, edited audio and video lectures, directed video shoots of technique demonstrations, then rendered and migrated the content into Thinkific. With feedback from the team, I designed graphics, wrote technical copy, and customized the user experience and user interface of the platform.

I designed an orientation module that instructed participants in technical housekeeping and the conceptual framework of a digital classroom and the course. The team also agreed to my suggestion to implement a course resource library – a central repository containing videos, downloadable materials, and the course instructional manual. As the course kickoff approached, the team created an onboarding campaign for participants and I offered in-person instruction for how to use the LMS.

Based on feedback from course participants after the first and second 9-month cohort series, this project has been wildly successful. The team refined the onboarding process and content delivery, and to date seven cohorts have successfully completed the trainings.

PROJECT OUTCOMES

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