By Dave Schuiling, PSIA-AASI Director of Education & Credentialing

Our job as snowsports instructors is never static—we’re always evolving, refining, and adapting. The primary focus is always to ensure that learning is the lasting outcome of every experience we create for our guests and students.

The same kind of evolution holds true for the PSIA-AASI National Standards, which define the skill sets of a snowsports education professional. This season, we’re excited to share an important evolution in how we train and assess teaching skills across most disciplines: alpine, cross country, snowboard, and telemark.

PSIA-AASI has refined how it measures teaching skills in those four disciplines—simplifying the assessment criteria from three to two per learning outcome—to make expectations clearer and more consistent across all certification levels. The goal is to help every instructor, not just those in exams, better understand and apply the core behaviors that define great student-centered teaching.

It is important to note that the meaning and spirit of the National Standards have not changed. The learning outcomes—what defines successful teaching at Levels I, II, and III—remain the same.

What has evolved is how we measure those outcomes in the assessment criteria: A refinement designed to create more clarity, focus, and connection between what we teach, how we teach, and how we grow as professionals.

The “Why” Behind the Change

Over the past three years, the Education Leadership Council (ELC) has been gathering consistent feedback from national taskforces, examiners, trainers, and members about the teaching skills assessment criteria.

It became clear there was overlap between teaching and people skills, and it made sense to consolidate the teaching assessment criteria from three to two for each of the learning outcomes across all certification levels. This allows for simplification without any loss of meaning.

This Matters to You—Even If You’re Not “Testing”

The National Standards define what great student-centered instruction looks like for every instructor, not just exam candidates. The updated teaching criteria make that model clearer and more accessible, creating a more transparent path for professional growth, more consistent feedback from examiners, and a stronger connection between daily teaching and the core outcomes that define teaching excellence.

Sample Teaching Assessment

Each of the three teaching learning outcomes, as displayed in this Level II example, have two clear, measurable criteria that focus on the behaviors demonstrated to create a positive learning environment.

A Level II certified instructor does the following:

Learning Outcome: Assess and Plan

Plans learning outcomes and progressive learning experiences and adapts to the changing needs of intermediate students.

• Assess: Periodically reassess student motivations, performance, and understanding.
• Plan: Develop and manage clear learning experiences based on group needs.

Learning Outcome: Implement

Facilitates learning experiences and adapts them as necessary to guide students toward agreed-upon outcomes and engage them in the process.

• Adapt: Adapt the learning environment to group needs while managing physical and emotional risk to promote student engagement.
• Descriptions, Demonstrations, Feedback: Provide clear, accurate, and relevant descriptions, demonstrations, and feedback that encourage learning.

Learning Outcome: Reflect and Review

Helps students recognize, reflect upon, and assess experiences to apply understanding and performance changes to desired outcomes.

• Explore, Experiment, Play: Use movement, practice, and terrain productively.
• Describe & Relate Change: Help students reflect on their performance and how it relates to their skiing/riding goals.

This structure scales naturally from Level I through III, showing growth from managing groups to tailoring experiences for individuals—just like we do every day on snow.

A Clearer Path Forward

These updates aren’t about changing expectations; they’re about focusing on our shared understanding of what great teaching, and therefore learning, looks like. This consolidated view of how we measure teaching creates space for deeper reflection, richer feedback, and more growth for everyone.

This effort isn’t about making skill development or certification easier. While achieving certification will always require hard work, it should never feel “tricky.” The behaviors and skills are now clearer, more measurable, and therefore more attainable through deliberate practice and mindfulness every day we teach.

As you step into the 2025–26 season, take a moment to explore the updated standards by accessing the Certification Documents page, where you will find updated assessment forms and the revised Teaching Skills Performance Guide. Think about how your teaching connects to the three learning outcomes—and how refining your approach to the criteria helps you reflect on your day, how you connected, and how you adapted to the people in your care to facilitate learning and fun.

At the end of the day, the National Standards aren’t about passing a test. They’re about doing the job we all take pride in: helping people learn, grow, and fall in love with sliding on snow.