The Skills Concept

From Alpine Technical Manual
PSIA, ©2002

Skiing has a simple formula (9)
Stay in balance while moving
Tip certain body parts to edge the skis
Rotate the back, hips, legs, and/or feet to help turn the skis
Control pressure along the skis to shape the turn and handle changes in terrain and snow conditions
*Simple, my ass

Blending skills enables the skier to link technique with tactical choices
Here it is in a baseball metaphor
Movements - Learning to swing the ball
Ski performance - Hitting the ball
Demands of Terrain or Task - Playing the game

Skiing Skills
Balancing Movements - Maintaining balance while in motion
Edging Movements - Aiding in adjusting the edge angel of the skis in relation to the snow
Rotary Movements - Turning and guiding the skis
Pressure Control Movements - Managing and manipulating pressure variations between the skis and snow

Comments

Learning Styles – Doers, Feelers, Thinkers, Watchers

A learning style is the way a person’s sensory, perceptual, memorial, decision-making, and feedback mechanisms operate. Or more simply, the preferred technique to approach learning. Some students have a dominant style and others are comfortable in more than one. PSIA references different theories on learning styles, this is a classic one. Doers Values active experimentation Pragmatic, practical, functional Good problem solvers, work well with others Constantly active, doesn’t like being idle and gets frustrated with too much talking Learn by experimenting, trial and error Instructor should provide experiences that will guide the child Experiential learning is an effective method for all students

Sarah’s Big Binder of Ski Teaching Geekery (and more!) (Updated/edited as of October, 2015)

UPDATE: October, 2015: This has been updated with new links, programs, and information. Please let us know if you have other references, we promise to update again before 2020! - Kerry (Diva2) Last year when I was preparing for my L3 Part 1 Skiing exam, the Dev Team Diva turned me on to these great task descriptions developed by Bob Barnes for the PSIA Rocky Mountain Division (the Pocket Summaries listed under "Skiing" below). (Kerry's edit: Those pocket summaries are not on the PSIA-RM site anymore. But I think what you're looking for is in the Skiing IDP linked below.) In my search for them online, I discovered lots of other valuable ski teaching resources tucked away on various PSIA divisional Web sites. So I printed them out, organized them into categories, and stuck them in a binder. The binder became an invaluable resource in discussions with my good friend and ski coach as I helped him to prepare for his Dev Team tryout and he coached me to success in my ski...

Teaching Test Score Cards

My apologies to the non-eastern instructors out there. I dug these sample score cards up on the PSIA-E Web site. The score cards give you a little checklist to use in your exam prep. There are four points available in each module. Currently, you need 10 points out of 16 to pass. It all seems really fair and straight forward to me. Creative Teaching Power of Transfer - Teaching Styles and Learning Modes Technical Validity of the Teaching Concept Group Handling Skills (Able to make age specific modifications) Communication Skills - Group Involvement, Personal Attention/Skiing Skills - Demos Movement Assessment Observations and Descriptions Potential Solutions/ Prescriptions Cause & Effect Relationship Effective Feedback Teaching Movement and Skills ATS Understanding Communication Skills/Terminology/Skiing Skills-Demos Use of Teaching Styles and Learning Modes Does the leader and the group see it, do it and understand it? Teachin...

Diva Ski Tips

Search This Blog