@pushgears This seems like an appropriate topic as we enter the time of year when we start hiring/rehiring and of course doing clinics. As a supervisor for an Adult Ski School, I'm always interested in "how can we do things better." Maybe that would be a better thread name as it works toward the positive rather than assumes a negative starting point.
Many instructors go wrong by failing to facilitate their students from experiencing the fundamentally essential feelings and sensations associated with proper skiing.
I'm not sure what to make of this. If you are saying that we should "ski more & talk less," then I would agree in principle.
In other words, PSIA and many instructors tend to overly emphasize skiing theory by trying to verbalize what must be experienced in order to understand. It is similar to trying to describe the taste of water.
I understand the need to codify what we’re all out there in search of, but to really learn we need to follow Bruce Lee when he said, “Don’t think, feel!”
PSIA has long embraced (as has other industry-standard bearers as mentioned above by
@Jilly) Guest Centered Teaching or Learning. In fact its something that has been considerably expanded on in recent years. In any form of sports instruction, you have what is known as the VAK learning styles.
- Visual--some learn best by watching
- Auditory--some learn best by an explanation
- Kinaesthetic--some learn best by feeling, or trying it.
The above is a very basic outline, and in fact has been expanded upon in the latest manuals. But rather than going into the weeds here, suffice it to say that while people learn differently in reality they are not strictly one or the other, but a mix of learning styles.
One on one, in a private lesson for example, an above preference might be easier to discern and adapt to. In a group setting that is not going to be the case, so an Instructor may have to use a broader approach say:
- Tell me
- Show me
- Let me try
I get where the "tell me," part often ends up with a class standing around talking, or appearing to. Balancing those things always remains a challenge, but you simply can't apply "don't think, just feel." If it was that easy they wouldn't need us
. For many years I coached and Instructed Tae Kwon Do and previously made a living training Law Enforcement and military units in tactical weaponry. I don't think I've ever told someone to "not think just feel." Although it might have its place in some skiing applications, just not to everyone, all the time
.
One long-time friend and instructor told me how they used to take their first run with boots unbuckled and hats pulled over the eyes.
Not sure about the hat pulled down over the eyes part...But the unbuckled boots are a great drill, helps you get/stay centered. Eventually take this into the moguls and no poles. But even here, you may still need/want to explain what the drill is about, then demonstrate it, remember VAK.
With that said, there IS a need for technical discussion and instruction at the highest levels, but for MOST skiers, being able experience the “Freedom of the Mountain” at their level will keep them coming back for more.
All true, but the approach with each skier may be different.
When we talk about instructing skiing, or more precisely the people doing it, we often paint with a broad brush. I like to think, at least at the Adult Snowsports School where I work we get it right the overwhelmingly amount of times. I think that is also the case with most of the Instructors and schools out there, especially as we all work toward adhering to Industry Standards which not only keeps us as improving "Pro's," but in particular benefits the guests.
The entry bar to becoming an instructor is not a high one, nor should it be. But it is an apprenticeship of sorts with a learning curve that keeps getting steeper, and with good reason. Entry-level, non-cert staff make up a visible percentage of instructors on most mountains in any given season. As with the more senior staff, some will embrace teaching the way the student learns, others will struggle with it.
