Lesson Considerations

Terrain Selection

Appropriate terrain choice is essential for students to progress, both psychologically and physically. Students will not learn effectively if they are too physically challenged or feel unsafe.

The following areas need to be considered:

• Make sure your students are safe doing the activity on the terrain you choose
• The degree of challenge that the terrain presents for your students
• Slope angle of the hill
• Snow conditions and terrain variations
• Traffic patterns and crowds
• Weather conditions which may change the level of challenge

Class Management

Keep students safe by using effective class management. This can be achieved by the instructor utilising the Snow Code and by being mindful of the following:

Ensuring that you and your students stop in safe places which are:

• Where you all can be seen by others approaching
• Where you are all out of the main traffic flow
• Teaching safe stopping practices e.g. slow down before coming to a stop and stop below others or objects

Ensuring you and your students give others space including:

• Looking uphill before moving
• Looking ahead to where you are planning to go
• Letting them know when to move e.g. two turns apart or when the instructor waves etc.

There are various ways for an instructor to manage a class as they move around the mountain. Each way will achieve differing results, e.g. following the instructor will benefit the turn shape of the students who are directly following; or skiing one at a time will allow students to work individually on a particular focus and give the instructor an opportunity to observe each student individually.

Class management can have a big impact on how a lesson flows and the level of enjoyment of the students. If an instructor continually chooses to have their group ski down one at a time, the positive effect would be that the students would be observed by the instructor individually. However, the students would also spend a large part of the lesson standing and waiting for their turn. It is important to be mindful that the way a class is managed will be a big factor in the enjoyment and sense of achievement gained by the students.

As a general rule, aim to have students active, practising and skiing as much as possible, or as much as their fitness levels and the conditions allow.

Pacing Information

For students to learn effectively, information must be paced according to their ability to absorb it. The following concepts should be considered:

• It is easier to process small amounts of information. Smaller amounts of information make it easier to understand information within a bigger concept or common theme.
• It is more challenging to understand blending of multiple concepts.
• Information about skiing needs to be experienced to be understood.
• Planned activities need to create different types of experiences using similar information.

Time Management

To achieve the negotiated goals the plan needs to fit within the time frame allowed. The following concepts should be considered:

• Length of the lesson
• Time needed to present material and practise
• Lift rides and lift lines