Training all-round snowsports teachers
The theme of Interski 2019 is ‘future snowsports’. Throughout the BASI system we prepare our instructors to be lifelong learners who will continue to develop their instructing skills to make them adaptable and prepare them for the future. In the on-snow session we outlined what reviewing skills are and we demonstrated and explained how we develop these skills through experiential learning in our instructor teaching courses.
In this off-snow lecture we bring attention to the why do we teach our instructor to review their teaching sessions. It is worth noting that since our teaching courses are the same across disciplines, the on-snow workshop and this accompanying lecture have been designed and delivered by a team of ski and snowboard instructors.
BASI aims to create employable, credible and autonomous snowsports instructors. We develop candidates’ reviewing skills in all our courses so that they review their lessons and make their next lesson better. BASI trained instructors can therefore adapt to a variety of workplaces, clients and conditions in the UK and across the world. As lessons are not from a template, each lesson is specific to clients’ needs and expectations.
Context – research quotes that support the power of reviewing skills
There is some academic research which helps put some context behind the idea that reviewing skills may help develop good teachers/instructors. Teachers and coaches report that their most powerful learning experiences come from two sources:
- learning from colleagues and peers
- learning from experience
These are some quotes which support this idea:
Learning from colleagues and peers:
“Good teaching is a collective accomplishment and responsibility” (Hargreaves and Fullan, 2012)
“teachers can only really learn once they get outside their own classrooms and connect with other teachers” (Hargreaves, 2009)
Learning from experience:
“learning takes place in everyday experience and occurs without intention, from “doing” and from both successes and mistakes” (Smylie, 1995)
“Teachers indicate that they learn through the activity of teaching itself” (Hoesktra, et.al, 2007)
“we do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on experience” (Dewey, 1938)
What qualities does a good snowsports instructor have?
Good snowsports teachers have a huge variety of qualities which can be placed into three categories: professional knowledge, interpersonal skills and intrapersonal skills. The professional knowledge is everything that would be in a snowsports teacher’s manual including snowsport-specific knowledge and the theory of how to teach snowsports. Interpersonal skills include social skills and communication with others. Intrapersonal skills include understanding of self and passion. BASI value all three categories which contribute to an all-round skilful snowsports teacher.
An instructor with effective reviewing skills will be able to develop all three categories that combine to make a good Snowsports instructor.
Reviewing in the BASI System
We teach reviewing skills in all our courses. BASI snowsports instructors develop their understanding, experience and ability with review skills from Level 1 courses through to Level 4. We encourage instructors to continue using reviewing skills so that they can develop themselves in the workplace, therefore becoming adaptable, autonomous instructors. In the future BASI hopes to continue to develop our training and assessment of reviewing skills within our system.
Reviewing in practice
With the skills they have developed on their courses, a BASI instructor will continue to use review skills in the workplace. The following videos show examples of reviewing in practice. There are three sets of videos, the first in each set shows ineffective reviewing skills with no depth or reflection, while the second video in the set shows the instructor using more effective reviewing which will help them to develop their teaching.
The first set of videos shows the instructor at the end of a lesson reviewing the lesson with the client. The second set of videos show the instructor’s self-reflection about a lesson. While the third set of videos show the Instructor reviewing a lesson with his peers.
A teacher with effective reviewing skills will be a lifelong learner who will continue to develop all three categories of teaching skills autonomously in order to adapt to the environment in which they are working. Looking at the future, in line with research highlighting the value of learning from experience and from peers, BASI are looking to further develop the training and assessment of reviewing skills within our system.
“the most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning” (Dewey, 1933)
The lecture was designed, developed and presented at Interski 2019 by BASI National Education Team members:
Lesley Page, Paul Garner, Giles Lewis, Ben Arkley, Kevin Edwards, Dave Morris and Amanda Pirie