The Slovenia team based their work shop around a survey.
The team asked close to 100 snowboard instructors why they teach snowboarding. The most common answers were;
Fun
Outside
Exercise
Money
Responsibility
Lifestyle
Next they asked 100 snowboard students the same questions. What do you like most about snowboarding? Top answers were;
Fun
Family
Friends
Nature
Exercise
They then asked snowboard instructors what they did not like about teaching. Common answers were;
Students don’t listen
Students don’t want to learn
The student was spoiled
The student was disrespectful
The Slovenians concluded that;
The common idea of snowboarding is to be outside having fun getting exercise.
Why then were instructors having a hard time teaching? If the instructor is not having fun then the student may not be having fun.
The Slovenia decided that their must be a problem in the way the material is being delivered to the student.
After observing their instructors they realized their was a problem in delivery.
Instructors were teaching lessons which had a strong focus on developing skills. For instance, young children were being taught how to control their speed on a slope. The instructors were choosing outcomes that they themselves thought were appropriate without consulting the student. The students were getting frustrated and would disengage in the lesson.
Often a young student is not interested in controlling their speed, they are interested in going fast.
Instructors need to understand how to cater their lesson to the student. They need a wide range of ideas and progressions to put together a great lesson for any student.
If a young student does not want to side slip, do not make them. Figure out what the student would like to do and move forward on that outcome.
Many children like to make small jumps and practice jumping. If this is the case the instructor must figure out a way to make this happen in a safe and suitable area.
If the student is happy then the instructor will be happy.
This is an idea that seems to be well none. I think it is a very important message however. Too often we get stuck in our basic progressions. Sometimes we need to step outside our go-tool box and get creative to keep children engaged.