This is the third piece in a series about how to achieve your professional goals as a ski and snowboard instructor, particularly in terms of realizing your next level of certification. Here, Education Development Manager Angelo Ross breaks down his top recommendations for “Leveling Up”:

Understand What Your Goals Mean

A PSIA-AASI pin validates a skill set. Beyond demonstrating particular assessment criteria (ACs) for people, teaching, and technical skills, a PSIA-AASI pin means something within the industry and within the community of snowsports instructors both nationally and globally.

PSIA-AASI’s American Teaching System is a curriculum, able to be understood, demonstrated, and taught. It’s unique to the United States and was born out of the American values of high expectations, practical application, versatility, and self expression. Originally an amalgam of values and styles from various countries, the American Teaching System has been evolving since 1961 to include skills (what skis/boards can do – turn, tilt, bend, twist), technical skills fundamentals (understanding and demonstrating how the body can manipulate the skis/boards), people skills fundamentals (best practices in building trust), teaching skills fundamentals (managing productive learning environments).  

Certification validates the instructor’s ability to understand, observe, evaluate, demonstrate, and teach a snowsports discipline to students at that level of performance (beginner/novice, intermediate, or advanced), all while earning their trust and keeping their goals central to the process. Because we have national standards, which are vetted internationally by our sister credentialing organizations, our industry partners, and stakeholders, our global sister associations have specific expectations of certified Level I members who teach locally on weekends to certified Level III members (including Regional examiners and National Team members) with ISIA credentials who teach year-round in both hemispheres and everyone in between.

Gather Your Resources

PSIA-AASI curriculum materials are readily available and the certification process and expectations are fully transparent. Any exam candidate should own or have access to*, at a minimum:

  1. A copy of the appropriate National Standards for their discipline, which provide the assessment criteria for professionalism and self-management, and the people skills, teaching skills, and technical skiing skills necessary for an instructor to successfully complete a specific certification.
  2. The relevant discipline-specific technical manual, which explores content related to performing and evaluating the technical skills of that discipline.
  3. The Teaching Snowsports Manual, which explores content related to people skills and teaching skills.
  4. The Core Concepts Manual, which explores the foundation of the learning experience: the connections between the learner and the teacher.
  5. Any field guides, pocket guides, webinar and e-learning content, handbooks, etc. that, after thorough and honest reflection and evaluation, appear to have value in the development of personal areas of deficit.
  6. The relevant Performance Guides, which serve to connect National Standards and certification training and assessment with the boots-on-the-ground job of being a snowsports instructor.
  7. The relevant Universal Assessment Forms, which outline expectations of people, teaching, and technical skills by describing objective, observable skills to provide clarity for assessment candidates, trainers, and examiners.
  8. Level III and Regional education staff hopefuls should have a reading list that extends beyond PSIA-AASI materials.
  9. Qualified trainers with a current level of understanding and skill can and will provide objective and honest feedback based on PSIA-AASI National Standards.

* It’s important to clarify “own” in this context, which means both “to have in one’s possession” and “embody the expectations of.”

Finding certification resources: A tip for using our new website

Performance guides, assessment forms, certification standards, fundamentals, and a comprehensive list of manuals are organized by discipline. Pick your discipline from the “Get Certified” menu link at the top of the home page and scroll down to the “Certification Resources” section to find what you need in one spot (click each heading to display the forms and documents).

Work Hard and Smart

Once you decide and are fully on board with your own goal, the next step is to commit – even when it gets hard. Leveling up usually requires changing habits, which is easier said than done. A few things that may help:

  1. Identify and use your support system (friends, spouse, loved ones, family) to lean on when you’re frustrated or need encouragement.
  2. Form a cohort of reliable, dedicated colleagues to work with throughout the process to increase motivation and accountability.
  3. Field test concepts and activities from your study materials with your students to figure out if, when, and how they could work.
  4. Train willing peers and colleagues from your home area if lessons aren’t providing you with enough challenge at the appropriate level of your upcoming assessment. 
  5. Utilize best study practices including critical reading, taking notes, and rewriting and organizing notes to frame your understanding in a systematic and complete way. Work with teachers you know if you aren’t an expert in effective study practices – teachers LOVE helping with this kind of endeavor. Read Mortimer Adler’s How to Mark a Book essay if you haven’t and utilize his methods. You can find it online for free.
  6. Use the calendar, reminders, notes, camera, and other features of your cellular device to structure your plan, hold yourself accountable, and document anything you think may get you closer to your goal. Evaluate your progress at regular intervals (set reminders in your calendar every two weeks) and adjust your plan accordingly (and your goals as necessary).
  7. Train a step ahead of your current goal. That is, if you’re aiming for Level II, train for Level III. If you’re aiming for Level III, train for your Region’s education staff tryout. Respect any safety, fitness, and experience requirements this approach to training brings to light.
  8. Use visualization techniques to enhance:
    • Your technical understanding: Find IDEAL video images of great performance and engrain them in your understanding so you may run a mental reel of any REAL performance you see through movement analysis and determine possible effective prescriptions for improvement.
    • Your technical performance: Visualize yourself better than you are now,
    • Your exam experience: Ski/ride the terrain where your exam will be to make a plan and avoid surprises. Visualize yourself practicing the day before your exam, driving to the exam day-of, meeting your group and examiners, being involved with forming a cohesive, positive group, and performing during the assessment at your level of intention.
  9. Plan to Persevere. It’s almost certain you will encounter hurdles as you prepare to level up. Some will be small (delaying apres to go practice after teaching all day; practicing despite less than favorable weather/conditions) and some may be big (injury, illness, obligations, etc.). Anticipating struggle often makes it more surmountable when it arrives.
  10. Make resting part of your plan. The body, brain, and spirit need a break after being pushed. Understanding and performance often increase after we sleep on it.

Aim to Inspire

  1. Others: Your students deserve it; your peers and colleagues will likely recognize it and improve too (a rising tide lifts all boats); your trainers thrive on it.
  2. Yourself: Having a growth mindset (look it up if you’re not familiar) and the power of positive thinking will pave the way for real improvement, and many of the skills gained are transferable to other aspects of your life.

Read the other posts in the series:

How to Slam Dunk Your Assessment

Leveling Up with Steamboat Snowboard Instructor Leah Jones