Last Updated31 May 2022

How People Learn explores how we can receive and give information, plus some of the things that may inhibit the ability to acquire new skills. There is endless literature out there on learning. The following will help to provide insight into several areas of learning that we need to be aware of and utilise when teaching snowboarding.

Becoming a skilled teacher takes time, experience and practice. Reflecting on your lessons should be done on a regular basis to help you understand and learn how to improve and evolve as a teacher.

Stages of Skill Acquisition

Acquiring new motor skills, regardless of their complexity, is a sequential process.

Scientists Fitts and Posner developed a theory (Human Performance, 1967) that is widely accepted today, which breaks down this process into three stages…

The Cognitive Stage

What to do and how to do it!
This stage is defined by students learning to identify the outcome of a new skill, and the difference between their current performance and what is required to achieve the outcome. Nothing is intuitive here. It is often the hardest of the three stages as the student doesn’t really know what they are doing yet. That being said, progressing through this stage is often the most exciting part of learning a new skill, though frustrating at times.

This stage is usually filled with numerous errors, large gains, and lots of inconsistency. It is important that the instructor gives clear, concise boundaries and direction, whilst striking a balance of feedback and time for self-practice. For students to build cognitive awareness of how to perform this new skill, repetitive practice over a period of time is key.

Example

Your student is learning to Nollie. They have a competent Ollie already but the sequence of movements to achieve pop from the tail of the board is heavily ingrained already. Changing this sequence will require time spent in the cognitive stage. It will feel awkward for them. The timing will be inconsistent. It may be that they only get one good Nollie for every ten attempts. But that’s ok! Every single one of those attempts, regardless of their success, helps to build cognitive understanding of the new skill and body awareness for how to achieve it. However, as the instructor, be sure to recognise (and celebrate) the one-in-ten attempt, when that Nollie is achieved.

The Associative Stage

Associating cues to adjust performance!
After an unspecified amount of practice time, performance will begin to improve. In this stage students are associating specific cues for how to adjust their performance and make it more efficient for their own body type and current environment. Students will also begin noticing the outcomes or gains from these small adjustments.

Small inefficiencies will still be apparent here, yet more consistency will also be visible because the understanding of how to move has been established and those movements are now being refined. Both intrinsic and extrinsic feedback is valuable here, helping to fine-tune movements using timing, power and range. It is the instructor’s job to guide this fine-tuning, utilising a range of feedback techniques and question-based learning.

Example

The same student now understands how to Nollie and has a sequence that is efficient in 8 out of 10 attempts. Their Nollie lacks power and is still fairly small. They also struggle timing it with a terrain feature, such as Nollie-ing over a snowball. As the instructor, you should help them prioritise which aspect to work on first - power and range for the height or timing for the snowball - and adjust the tasks accordingly. In this scenario, your student should easily be able to associate cues with a successful Nollie. When the refining of movement clicks for them, you will see it in their confidence (and a big smile). For skills with less obvious outcomes, such as freeriding, cues associated with successful performance may go unnoticed by your students. Take the time to point out these cues when this happens.

The Autonomous Stage

The skill becomes automatic!
There is little to no conscious thought in this stage of skill acquisition. Students can perform the skills effectively without thinking about it and can often do another task at the same time. An example of this would be changing turn types or shapes to match changes in terrain. Note that some students may never reach this stage completely.

To get to this point where a new skill is completely automatic, mileage in different environments is key. Self-learning becomes more relevant here because skilled performers can detect their own errors and make the necessary adjustments. Encourage students to try their new skills in different terrain and snow conditions, both forwards and switch where possible.

Example

Your student can pull out a decent Nollie every time, on an easy groomer. Now it’s time to challenge them with different terrain, such as Nollie-ing off cat tracks and knuckles of jumps. Try it switch, take it to small drops or try to Nollie into a nose press. This process will help your student take complete ownership of this new trick and they may eventually be able to perform it anytime, anywhere.

Pūkenga

In Te Reo Māori, the word Pūkenga describes the journey a learner takes when receiving knowledge and gaining skill.

Teaching Strategies for Each Stage of Skill Acquisition

Cognitive Stage

Allow lots of time for trial and error.

Provide plenty of demonstrations.

Keep feedback simple and don’t over correct.

Relate feedback to the intended outcome (what), more than how to perform the skill (how).

Praise effort over performance.

Associative Stage

Provide opportunity for experimentation and play.

Adjust your demonstrations to suit your students’ needs drawing their attention to a specific movement.

Use tasks to help with refinement.

Ask questions and provide non-judgemental feedback focused on how to perform the skill.

Recognise and praise both effort and performance.

Autonomous Stage

Use terrain to creatively challenge skills.

Create challenges that cause students to adapt and vary their skills in a reactive manner.

Use tasks that force adaptability and athleticism.

Spend chairlift time theorising ways to do existing skills differently.

Ask questions and provide non-judgemental feedback focused on how to adjust performance.

Recognise and praise both effort and performance.

Tags: