By Angelo Ross, PSIA-AASI Education Development Manager
Our ability to adapt to our students’ needs—to read the moment and respond with empathy and accuracy—is what transforms a good lesson into a great one. Within the PSIA-AASI Learning Connection modelSM (LCM), adapting is not a single adjustment, rather it is a continual process that weaves through and connects People, Teaching, and Technical Skills. It is the driver behind every decision and behavior that shapes the learning environment.
Mindfulness: The Root of Adaptation
Adaptability begins with awareness—of the environment, our students, and ourselves. Being mindful keeps us in tune with the real-time rhythm of the lesson: the energy of the group, the changing conditions, and the emotional tone that shifts from run to run.
Through the lens of Instructor Decisions & Behaviors (ID&B), mindfulness means noticing before reacting. It is recognizing subtle cues—hesitation, enthusiasm, fatigue—and making purposeful choices about what to say or do next.
To meet students where they are is to stay grounded in the present moment. “Are” constantly evolves because confidence, comprehension, and conditions constantly change. When we stay mindful and curious, we—and the learning environment—evolve with that change.
People Skills: Reading and Responding
Adaptation starts with people. Every student arrives with unique motivations, emotions, and learning preferences. Our People Skills Fundamentals remind us that communication—our tone, timing, and body language—can open or close the door to learning. They also remind us that the way we communicate and engage with others is firmly rooted in our knowledge of ourselves, our awareness of our biases and triggers, and our ability to manage our responses to a situation.
Below are some example scenarios from each aspect of the Learning Connection demonstrating how adapting may play out in lessons..
Adjusting for Emotional Readiness – A People Skills Adaptation
Scenario: A nervous beginner snowboarder hesitates at the top of a gentle slope.
Instructor Decision & Behavior: The instructor notices the student’s tight shoulders and shallow breathing, softens their tone, and says, “Let’s take a breath together. You’ve got great balance and the skill to navigate this—let’s just glide a few feet and stop when you say so.”
Observable Adaptation: The instructor lowers their voice, simplifies language, reduces cognitive load, and times feedback to build confidence before adding new information.
Managing Distractions and Group Dynamics – A People Skills Adaptation
Scenario: In a family ski lesson, two siblings start playfully arguing during guided practice.
Instructor Decision & Behavior: The instructor moves closer and reframes the distraction: “You two seem ready for a challenge—can you work together to synchronize the same turn shape from the top of this run to the bottom?”
Observable Adaptation: The instructor uses proximity, positive reframing, and a quick task change to transform distraction into an engaging challenge (a hallmark of learning based in play), while maintaining group cohesion and learning momentum.
Teaching Skills: Flexibility in Action
Teaching adaptability shows up in real-time decisions about pacing, challenge, and safety. Our Teaching Skills Fundamentals highlight managing the learning environment, promoting autonomy, and making informed choices about content and method of delivery—all of which require presence and awareness.
Increasing Challenge to Maintain Engagement – A Teaching Skills Adaptation
Scenario: In a mixed-ability adult group, one skier consistently demonstrates higher edge control on blue terrain.
Instructor Decision & Behavior: “You’re using your skis really well and controlling your speed with turn shape. On the next run, let’s try linking those same turns on slightly steeper terrain to see how you have to adjust to manage pressures that build up.”
Observable Adaptation: The instructor differentiates the task, clarifies intent, and connects the challenge to lesson objectives—keeping every learner appropriately engaged.
Managing Risk Through Real-Time Awareness – A Teaching Skills Adaptation
Scenario: During an intermediate lesson, the instructor realizes she took the group to terrain slightly above their comfort level.
Instructor Decision & Behavior: “This section’s tougher than I expected—let’s side-slip together to that wider spot where we can regroup and access different terrain.” Once there, the instructor reframes: “If you’d like, we can practice a bit more where it’s comfortable and, when you feel ready, we can return to that tough spot and work through some tactics for navigating it.”
Observable Adaptation: The instructor calmly manages risk, redirects the group to safety, and turns an unexpected challenge into a constructive learning opportunity.
Technical Skills: Tactics That Fit the Conditions
Adaptation in the technical realm means reading the snow, feeling the feedback under the skis or board, and understanding and explaining how tactical choices connect to performance. Awareness here means understanding the relationship between body and gear performance, how they may change in a variety of conditions, and helping students feel it for themselves.
Adjusting for Hardening Snow – A Technical Skills Adaptation
Scenario: Afternoon temperatures drop and soft snow refreezes into firm, chattery surfaces.
Instructor Decision & Behavior: “Notice how the snow feels firmer now than it did earlier. Let’s focus on more subtle movements to smooth out edge engagement and release. We can try aligning steady inhaling and exhaling with our turn shape.”
Observable Adaptation: The instructor identifies environmental change, models tactical adjustment, and links body performance to gear performance.
Relating Performance to Physical Differences – A Technical Skills Adaptation
Scenario: A family lesson includes skiers of varying heights, ages, and strengths.
Instructor Decision & Behavior: “You might notice your tracks look different even when you’re doing the same task. Dad’s greater weight makes it easier to power through that heavy snow and use the edges of his skis, while Ava’s lighter weight means she needs to keep her skis a bit flatter, stay on top of the snow, and make more closed turns. You’ve both found tactics that work for you!”
Observable Adaptation: The instructor normalizes variation, connecting visible performance differences to physical attributes and equipment,helping participants understand why their riding looks different.
Preparing to Plan – and to Change the Plan: Preparation as the Foundation of Adaptation
We do love a plan. And why not, plans increase the likelihood that we maintain control, do well by our students, limit surprises, and have a smooth day. However, overcommitment to a plan—in the face of changing snow conditions, waning enthusiasm, or information overload—can have undesirable impacts on our students’ experiences. This is where preparation comes in.
Our ability to plan—and to abandon that plan and replace it with a more appropriate one in the moment—stands on the foundation of our preparation. The more we expose ourselves as students of our snowsport(s)—open-minded, lifelong learners—the deeper and broader our mental Rolodex becomes. As we scroll through this Rolodex, we can observe what is happening in front of us, orient ourselves to changes as they develop, decide the best course of action for each moment, and act with confidence.
By open-minded, lifelong learners I mean we endeavor to learn often and from diverse sources. That means attending clinics as often as we can. It means seeking out new people to train with and learn from. It means trying other disciplines and visiting new places to deepen our personal well of experience. It means shifting gears from being put off when we hear things we might disagree with to the mindset of, “How might I modify this and incorporate it into what I do?” or to file it in the category of things you won’t do as you respectfully and objectively continue to take in the information. It means forming cohorts to study and understand manuals and video resources, to practice movement analysis and to sample a variety of methods, to motivate each other on days when enthusiasm wanes or the weather tanks. It means learning as much from your lessons and your students as they learn from you.
With preparation as the foundation of planning, it is presence that keeps the plan alive. A well-prepared instructor who is mindful and attentive has options ready and remains open to where students are at that given moment in time, as that changes from run to run and day to day.
From the perspective of assessment preparation, adaptability reflects a candidate’s ability to make conscious decisions and take observable actions across all three areas of the Learning Connection. Those choices—grounded in mindfulness and preparation—create learning environments that are safe, positive, and effective for every student.
Adaptation isn’t what we do when something goes wrong—it’s what we do when we’re fully aware of what’s happening.
Through mindful decisions and intentional behaviors, instructors translate awareness into action and plans into connection. That’s the how of great teaching—and it’s how we help every student grow where they are, as they are, right now.