Body of Knowledge

In 2004, ATI Members adopted a proposal to divide the ATI Certification Procedure into two parts. Part One is the Demonstration of Knowledge and Part Two is the Demonstration of Teaching Skills.

The Demonstration of Knowledge has three parts: Ethics (II-D, from the ATI Criteria), Alexander’s writings (II-B, ATI Criteria) and Anatomy (II-C, ATI Criteria).

Ethics

For the ethics portion of the Demonstration of Knowledge, the content is the ATI Code of Ethics (adopted in 2012). Candidates are asked to choose two principles from each category of the Code of Ethics: Teacher-Teacher Relationship, Teacher-Student Relationship, and the Teacher-Professional Responsibility Relationship. The candidate then needs to find at least two examples from the Ethics Scenarios that they believe “violate” the six principles chosen.

Alexander’s writings

For the content of the Alexander’s writings portion of the ATI Demonstration of Knowledge, a Teaching Candidate must

  • demonstrate knowledge of the key elements of F.M. Alexander’s biography as they relate to his development of the technique (birth/death dates, books published, early articles on breathing, A.R. Alexander’s contribution).
  • demonstrate knowledge of key concepts/principles and how Alexander discusses them in the chapter, “Evolution of a Technique.” (Use of the Self)
  • discuss what the concepts/principles mean to the candidate, and how each influenced their development as a person and a teacher.

Anatomy

For the content of the Anatomy Demonstration of Knowledge, candidates are asked to
  • share their knowledge about the relationship between the skull and the spine (the atlanto-occipital joint) as it relates to the use of the self as a whole. Candidates must be prepared to discuss any information about the location and structure of the atlanto-occipital joint that could be useful to a student’s understanding.
  • discuss how a pupil’s concept of their anatomy may impact their use, movement and/or behavior. Give examples of some typical misconceptions as well as accurate conceptions and their results.
  • describe the inherent, natural process of breathing and how a person could interfere with this process, and the effects of that interference.

For additional information, see this report from the Professional Development Committee, distinct theory and body of knowledge that constitutes the F. Matthias Alexander Technique and distinguish it from other means of improving human use and functioning. (adopted in 1998)