How would you teach someone to ski?

We just went skiing, and I, being a complete beginner, watched others for teaching tips. I stood on the bunny hill watching advanced skiers teach beginners. For ever “lesson” I observed, I saw a different teaching style. I expected there were as many learning styles, too.

We can, and should, teach using methods we are comfortable with (while experimenting with others). But, if we want to achieve our learning outcomes we should never forget to take the time to listen to the needs of learners before picking up skies (or pens).

Of course why not take advantage of the alpine location and really get the hands on, practical experience? I can’t argue with that. But, what about the learners’ preferences? Let’s not let the perfect learning environment shroud best teaching practices.

This Canva shows just a limited few of the teaching approaches I saw:

It was interesting that everyone I saw approached the same learning outcome, skiing, with different teaching methodologies. I’m not one to say which method is more effective, I can’t even assess that the paid lessons were more effective than informal ones taught on the slope.

The paid instructors, of course, had a solid methodology that seemed to lead to learners at least getting comfortable in their skies, if not ski.

I do know that understanding the learner’s abilities, temperament, and motivation greatly increases the learning experience and leads to better outcomes.

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