PTA programs come with unique challenges and incredible opportunities for impactful teaching in a tight timeline. In this 45-minute faculty spotlight, Ashley Reedy, PT, DPT, BSPTS will share her experience helping to create simulations and e-learning activities for the PTA classroom, using PhysioU to support motor learning, and clinical reasoning development, and driving student engagement. If you’d like to hear practical strategies for implementing video-based learning, organizing lab content, and guiding novice learners through foundational PTA skills join us for this practical session with immediate takeaways for your classroom.
Featured Speaker: Tracy Moore, PT, DPT, ONC
Dr. Moore is a physical therapist, faculty member, product manager and educational leader. He completed his Doctorate in Physical Therapy at Azusa Pacific University and later received the Oncology Clinical Specialist certification from the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. Following a residency at City of Hope National Medical Center, Dr. Moore began his academic career teaching subjects such as oncology, clinical skills, differential diagnosis, and acute care. He is an active speaker at national and international conferences, specializing in oncology rehabilitation, chronic pain, and learning science. Dr. Moore continues to conduct and publish research, present at industry conferences, and contribute to PhysioU app design and development. His approach uniquely bridges the gap between the student experience, clinical expertise, and learning science in order to help faculty and students revolutionize healthcare education in their own classrooms around the world.
00:00 Introduction
03:20 Enhancing PTA Education with PhysioU
12:36 Enhancing Pre-Lab Learning Experiences
25:10 Case Studies in Classroom Management
30:51 Enhancing Learning with Pre-Labs
35:14 PhysioU Integration Across the Curriculum
Helpful Links: Complimentary Educator access | Educator resources | Set up a Demo
How One PTA Educator Transformed Her Curriculum with PhysioU: From Pre-Labs to Clinical Reasoning
At PhysioU, we’re constantly inspired by the creative ways educators integrate our platform into their classrooms. But when Ashley Reedy, Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education at Lackawanna College, walked us through her approach during a recent webinar, even we were impressed by the scope and thoughtfulness of her implementation.
Ashley doesn’t just use PhysioU as a supplement—she’s woven it into the fabric of her entire PTA curriculum, from orthopedics and therapeutic exercise to kinesiology and professional development. What makes her approach particularly compelling isn’t just that she’s a heavy user of the platform (though she is—we affectionately call her a “power user,” even if she shies away from the title). It’s that she’s created a systematic, graded approach to student learning that maximizes active learning time while building clinical reasoning skills that translate directly to practice.
We wanted to share some of her most effective strategies, because they represent a blueprint that other PTA programs can adapt and scale according to their own needs and resources.
Making Pre-Labs the Gateway to Hands-On Learning
Ashley’s most transformative change was eliminating what she calls “typing time” from lab sessions. Like many educators, she noticed students spending valuable hands-on time frantically taking notes instead of practicing skills. Her solution was elegant: require students to complete structured pre-lab assignments using PhysioU content before they’re even allowed into lab.
“They can’t even be let into lab until this is done,” Ashley explained. And she means it—literally standing at the lab door, checking each student’s completed worksheet before granting entry. It might sound strict, but the results speak for themselves. Students arrive prepared, understand what they’re about to practice, and can immediately engage in meaningful skill development rather than passive observation.
Her pre-lab templates are comprehensive but focused. For a manual muscle testing lab on the shoulder, for instance, students watch specific PhysioU videos and document patient positioning, stabilization points, resistance direction, and expected muscle grades—all before stepping into lab. They’re also required to complete and pass a mini-simulation, taking a screenshot of their passing score as their “ticket” into the physical lab space.
Megan Murray, who teaches alongside Ashley, noted in the webinar chat that “pre-labs have saved a ton of time.” The peer accountability factor also can’t be understated—when one student shows up unprepared, they’re not just missing out themselves; they’re leaving their lab partner without a crucial practice opportunity. That social pressure creates a powerful incentive to come prepared.
Establishing PhysioU as the Curriculum Standard
One of Ashley’s most valuable insights is deceptively simple: use PhysioU videos as the standard, not just a supplement. This seemingly small shift has profound implications for learning consistency and student confidence.
Instead of demonstrating gait abnormalities herself (which she freely admits isn’t her strong suit), Ashley embeds direct links to PhysioU’s gait videos in her lecture slides. Students see Trendelenburg gait or hip circumduction presented clearly, with helpful visual markers like red dots tracking pelvic movement. The videos are professionally produced, include references, and can be easily copied with a single click using the “copy page title with link” feature.
But the real genius is in establishing this as the gold standard across multiple courses and instructors. When students know that PhysioU’s demonstration of shoulder flexion MMT is the expected technique—the one they’ll be graded on during check-offs—it eliminates the confusion that often arises from multiple reference sources or slight variations between instructors.
Sam Coppoletti, our PTA Education Lead who joined the webinar, emphasized this point: “Students are notorious for going out to YouTube and finding some version that’s completely wrong. This eliminates that.” Once PhysioU is established as the curriculum standard, faculty can reference it across courses, creating continuity as students progress through the program.
Building Clinical Reasoning Through Graded Exposure
Perhaps Ashley’s most sophisticated application of PhysioU involves what we call “graded exposure” for skill development—a progressive approach where students preview content, practice skills, and then engage in metacognitive reflection.
In her therapeutic exercise course, Ashley doesn’t just hand students a case study—she uses actual patient scenarios from PhysioU’s simulation library, complete with objective findings, range of motion measurements, and special test results. She screenshots these directly from the educator key and integrates them into her lab materials. Students must analyze this data and justify their exercise choices before they ever enter the lab.
“I want them to think critically before I let them into lab,” Ashley explained. And that critical thinking continues to build through layered assignments. In one example, she requires students to first complete a mini-simulation on a specific impairment, taking notes throughout. They must achieve a passing score before moving on to a more complex macro-simulation on the same condition. After completing both, students submit a self-reflection identifying which evidence-based resources helped them arrive at correct answers and what they would do differently next time.
This structure—moving from preview to practice to reflection—creates deep learning that extends far beyond rote memorization. Students aren’t just learning how to perform a manual muscle test; they’re learning how to think like clinicians who must constantly evaluate data, make decisions, and adjust their approach based on patient response.
Extending Beyond Technical Skills to Professional Development
One aspect of Ashley’s work we’re particularly excited about is her upcoming professional issues course, which will replace a traditional research methods class. While still incorporating evidence-based practice, the new course will address emotional intelligence, mental health awareness, and navigating difficult conversations with colleagues and patients.
And yes, she’s planning to use PhysioU for this too—specifically our mental health module, which features scenarios like Tom, a 71-year-old patient anxious about his wrist injury and recovery. Students watch the clinician-patient interaction, then answer reflective questions about what factors might be contributing to Tom’s anxiety and how active listening techniques could improve the therapeutic relationship.
There’s even a module on emotional intelligence and conflict resolution, where students observe a challenging interaction between a student PT and their clinical instructor, then identify what went wrong and what they would have done differently. As Ashley noted, “The work is done for me on emotional intelligence at this point. I just have to figure out what to do next.”
This extension into professional development content reflects something we deeply believe at PhysioU: clinical competence isn’t just about technical skills. It’s about preparing students for the full complexity of patient care, including the interpersonal challenges they’ll inevitably face.
Starting Small: Practical Tips for Integration
If Ashley’s comprehensive implementation feels overwhelming, she offers reassuring advice: start small. Her suggestions for getting started include:
Pick one module in one class for one week. Maybe you’re lecturing on shoulder range of motion—just integrate the PhysioU shoulder ROM videos into that single lab and lecture. Build from there.
Replace one textbook reading assignment with visual learning. Instead of assigning a chapter, assign specific PhysioU videos and perhaps a mini-simulation. See how students respond.
Use videos for consistency in practical exams. Establish PhysioU demonstrations as the standard for check-offs, eliminating confusion about “correct” technique variations.
Incorporate mini-sims into weekly routines. Add a short clinical scenario at the end of each class to reinforce learning and boost clinical reasoning in manageable doses.
The key insight is that Ashley built her comprehensive system over nearly six years. She didn’t overhaul everything at once—she experimented, iterated, and gradually expanded what worked.
The Power of Systematic Integration
What makes Ashley’s approach so effective isn’t any single strategy—it’s the systematic way she’s integrated PhysioU across her curriculum to support a clear pedagogical philosophy. Students preview content before class, maximizing hands-on learning time. They practice with consistent, high-quality demonstrations that establish clear expectations. They engage in progressively complex clinical reasoning activities that build from simple recall to sophisticated decision-making and self-reflection.
And perhaps most importantly, they arrive at their clinical rotations genuinely prepared—not just with technical skills, but with the clinical reasoning abilities and professional awareness that busy clinical instructors depend on.
As Sam noted during the webinar, this is ultimately about professional training. Physical therapist assistants need to be accountable, responsible, and ready to jump into patient care with minimal supervision. Ashley’s integration of PhysioU creates clear pathways for developing those capabilities systematically throughout the curriculum.
We’re grateful to Ashley for sharing her expertise with our community, and we’re excited to see how other PTA programs might adapt these strategies for their own students. If you’re interested in learning more about how PhysioU can support your curriculum—whether you’re just getting started or ready for more advanced integration—we’d love to talk. Because as Ashley’s example shows, when technology and thoughtful pedagogy come together, the results can transform student learning in profound ways.
