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Reprints From The Professional Skier |
Fall 1998 - "PSIA Education Reaches A Turning Point" by Joan Rostad
This article is reprinted from The Professional Skier. All copyrights apply. Please see our copyright and disclaimer notice page.
PSIA was founded in 1961 by a handful of ski instructors, each of whom represented a regional group of instructors and shared a vision of creating a national organization to promote professional ski instruction. These men knew that a national entity could do what no individual region could do: establish consensus toward an "Official American Ski Technique" and unify the country's instructors under one American Teaching System (ATS).
The founders' vision served PSIA well for 35 years, but what was inspirational in 1961 started to become status quo by the mid-1990s. Although most would agree that PSIA has experienced remarkable growth and proven its adaptability as the American ski industry has changed over the years, many, including the PSIA Board of Directors, felt that the association needed to take an even more proactive posture, particularly in the way we educate and certify ski professionals.
The turning point for PSIA came in June 1996, when another group of national leaders gathered to pursue a shared goal. Key committee chairs, national staff members, and the board of directors-again, each representing a regional group of ski instructors-pooled their efforts and talents to rewrite the organizations' vision and mission statements. The two-day process was at first exhilarating, then excruciating, and ultimately, humbling. When the statement was finally down on paper, we looked at it and were very quiet for some time. It was what we wanted, but it outlined changes that would make our accustomed ways of doing business obsolete. There was no looking back; our revised mission statement was taking us into uncharted waters.
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PSIA Mission Statement To enable our members and partners to increase their versatility, effectiveness, value, and professional advancement through
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Certification First
The board of directors formally adopted the mission statement at the 1996 fall board meeting. Next, the board named a task force to identify ways to improve the certification process. Certification was the first target for improvements because of its high profile and the many perceived problems associated with it. Members of the task force included the Education, Certification, and Education Steering Committee chairs, board members, and one expert from the PSIA Science Advisory Board.
The problems with certification have been the topic of fierce debate among industry insiders for years. According to some of our critics, PSIA certification is irrelevant, unfair, intimidating, and driven by examiners' egos. When PSIA President Mark Anderson appointed me chairperson of the Certification Task Force, I soon found that anyone who has been a PSIA member for more than a year usually has a strong opinion about certification. To begin the process of improving certification, we identified one simple but imperative objective: to improve the pass rate at PSIA exams. As a former division executive, I had received my share of phone calls from angry, hurt members and letters that fairly crackled with ill will after every exam season. I didn't think all this emotion directed against PSIA was good for the association or its members. As an examiner, I felt that one of the main reasons people fail exams is that they are unprepared; therefore, to improve the pass rate, our association needed to do more to help candidates prepare.
The task force spent a year testing this hypothesis by sending out surveys and conducting face-to-face meetings. To ensure that the information we gathered adhered to the strictest statistical standards, we worked closely with PSIA Marketing Director Mark Dorsey and fellow task force member Jon Sunderland, Ph.D., an associate dean of the School of Education at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.
More than 3,000 PSIA members contributed their input to the project. The "Class of '97" survey indicated that in general, PSIA members were highly satisfied with the association's products and division education and certification programs. Participant responses to the two open-ended survey questions that follow made it clear that the individual ski schools were the most logical catalysts for change within the education system.
1. We asked people to tell us what sources, other than ATS and PSIA publications, were of value to them in preparing for an exam. We received a long fist of book titles and an answer we hadn't anticipated-the most valuable exam training is that offered by the more experienced instructors in the ski school.
2. We asked respondents to describe the most significant thing PSIA could do to improve certification. Three responses led the field:
A Proposal Wins Support
Once the survey responses had been returned and the initial data reviewed, the task force was able to agree on some goals. We wanted to help PSIA and its divisions
We carefully considered the PSIA Mission Statement, the survey data, and the goals of the task force as we developed our formal recommendation, which we called the PSIA Education Proposal. The PSIA Education Steering Committee fine-tuned the proposal, and it was accepted by the PSIA Board of Directors and then adopted, in principle, by the national committee members at the June 1998 Summer Work Session at Copper Mountain, Colorado. At the conclusion of the June meeting, Certification Committee Chairman Scott Mathers addressed the Education Steering Committee and reported that "Every division is positive about the direction [recommended in the proposal], and every division is headed in that direction."
In simplest terms, the PSIA Education Proposal recommends that PSIA and the divisions enable qualified member ski schools to conduct PSIA Level I through Level III training in-house. At least two divisions, Northern Rocky Mountain and West, will conduct pilot programs of the new system this year. These trials will help us identify problems; measure the satisfaction of members, trainers, and ski school directors; and target the areas where improvements are needed. We anticipate that the other divisions will phase in similar programs during the next few years. It's important to note that each division will continue to "do its own thing"--within certain parameters--in implementing the new program, just as they have always done.
The following six points, which explain how we plan to implement the new program, will be tested in the pilot ski schools and divisions this season.
Six Key Points
1. Create A Closer Relationship With Member Schools
The fundamental change suggested by the education proposal pertains to the delivery of PSIA training. To, augment the traditional training tracks in the divisions, we would like to allow ski schools with qualified personnel on staff, i.e., those who already work for the PSIA division as clinicians and examiners, to provide PSIA training as part of their overall training program.
In effect, PSIA will work through its divisions to accredit qualified ski school training programs within the division boundaries. Accreditation, if indeed this is what we want to call it, will extend to carrying out the training program and the teaching assessments, and administering the written tests. Candidates for certification will still take exams, which will continue to be the sole responsibility of the divisions. The only difference is that can didates coming from a ski school training program will 'have already passed their written test and teaching assessment they will 'only need to show up for the other parts of the exam.
PSIA and the participating divisions will combine forces to help train qualified ski school personnel to deliver Level I through Level III training courses. PSIA has developed and extensively reviewed a comprehensive curriculum and its support materials for participating ski schools to begin using this year. The training process, curriculum, and materials will be carefully monitored in the pilot study this season. In addition, starting this year PSIA will give member schools of participating divisions the same discount on educational materials that has traditionally been extended only to the divisions themselves.
Ski schools can nominate any of their Certified Level III instructors to serve as trainers, and many of these individuals will likely be division educators and examiners. (For the first year at least, we recommend that only division clinicians and examiners be the trainers, giving the Certified Level III instructors a season to learn the job.) All trainers will be required to participate in a PSIA training course each year. Divisions will then qualify these individuals for the level of PSIA training they may conduct at the ski school.
Of course, not all ski schools will want the added responsibility of providing this depth of training to their employees. This program is only for ski schools that elect to participate--with one stipulation. To be eligible, a ski school must be located in the boundaries of a division that is adopting the program, thus making it possible for the division to oversee ski school accreditation.
Please note that divisions will continue to conduct training courses as they always have. Not all ski schools will want or be able to participate in the program, and their instructors will continue to look to the divisions for Level I through III education. Divisions will continue to employ division clinic leaders to train instructors from nonaccredited ski schools. Instructors who qualify to be PSIA trainers but are not selected by their ski school to serve in this capacity will still have this avenue of advancement within the division's education staff.
2. Portfolio Links PSIA Training To The Job
Another aspect of the revised education process is the Professional Development Portfolio, which PSIA training participants will use to track their own progress throughout the course. The portfolio is intended to document professional development throughout an individual's career, with the Level I through Level III sections serving as the foundation of the document--just as they serve as the foundation of a career.
PSIA has developed portfolios for Levels I through III in a three-ring binder format. The portfolios consist of a checklist of the required elements at each certification level, log sheets to track and verify clinic attendance and teaching hours, teaching assessment summary sheets, a detailed explanation of the written test, an answer sheet, and a survey form for the trainee to evaluate the training course and trainers.
The portfolio checklist is an itemization of the national standards at each level, organized as objectives to be accomplished through on-hill clinics, indoor clinics, required reading, or on-the-job training. For this season, there are no frills. We are asking the participants to provide their own binders to house their portfolios and to add their own sheet protectors for certificates, scorecards, and any other items they wish to include.
The trainer checks off initials, and dates each item of an individual's checklist as he or she meets the requirements. At the conclusion of the training course, the trainer will sip and date the checklist to verify the participant's successful completion of the course. The individual then forwards a copy of his or her checklist to the division office before taking an exam.
The portfolio material will be a useful tool during the hiring process--for both the applicant and whomever is evaluating the applicant's credentials--because it will outline the training a PSIA-certified instructor brings to the job. By the same token, both parties may consult the portfolio when negotiating promotions, raises, and special assignments.
The required elements of the portfolio checklist define the basic curriculum for PSIA-accredited ski schools. Ski school managers may also find value in sharing the checklist information with their direct supervisor and/or area manager, who would likely appreciate having access to this formal record of employee training and certification.
3. Divisions Dispense Higher Learning
The divisions will continue to provide Level I through Level III training to those instructors working for ski schools that do not satisfy the basic accreditation requirement. (That is, the ski school has no certified Level III instructors who are division-qualified to conduct training in the ski school--either because no instructors have met the division's benchmark for conducting training or the school has elected not to have its instructors participate in the program.) As long as the minimum requirements are met, divisions have latitude in determining how to conduct Level I through Level III training courses. Then again, divisions may also choose to keep traditional training tracks in place.
Divisions will continue to provide certification exams for all candidates in all disciplines and at all levels. The size of the division education and examining staff will probably not be affected, because the same people will be doing the training whether it takes place in the ski school or the divisional clinic. In some respect, the exams should be evaluating the quality of each trainer's work as well as evaluating the candidates themselves, and that feedback loop will need to be maintained by the division. As the divisions turn more of the delivery of basic educational services over to accredited PSIA member schools, they will begin to redirect their efforts in other ways as well. Greater emphasis will be placed on train-the-trainer education, defining and implementing ski school accreditation criteria, and providing members with continuing and specialty education.
4. Offer PSIA Education To A Broader Base Of People
Under the new program, a person who is not employed as a ski instructor can participate in PSIA Level I and II training courses. Many of the people enrolled in PSIA training courses will be ski school employees, but some could be students in an instructor training course offered for profit by the ski school or through a partnership between a ski school and a local school district, junior college, college, or university. Some could be part-time employees in other jobs at the ski area who are seeking cross-training or other employment opportunities.
The intent is to offer PSIA training to potential ski school employees and enable ski schools to train people before they hire them. Once these individuals are hired by the ski school, they can acquire the teaching hours and complete the teaching assessment necessary to pursue certification. They can then take the certification exam. This would allow ski schools to get their new-hires to a higher level of professionalism very quickly and efficiently.
5. Keep Certification, But Make It Optional
Certification is a valuable process. It motivates ski instructors to seek training to improve their knowledge, skills, and abilities, and serves to substantiate their achievements. It helps validate the quality of the educational program. In addition, certification gives the ski instructor, ski school, and ski area credibility in a legal claim.
However, not all ski instructors who want PSIA training want to be certified. Therefore, the proposal recommends that the divisions let certification be an option exercised by the individual ski instructor. If an instructor completes a level of PSIA training and chooses not to take the certification exam at the end of that level of training, that's okay. As long as the PSIA trainer verifies that the person has mastered the content at that level, he or she may participate in successive levels of training. Of course, the person who chooses to bypass certification might sacrifice some of the benefits that the ski school awards its certified instructors. In any case, an instructor should be able to decide whether he or she wants to be certified, and the ski school should be able to organize its incentives accordingly. No doubt PSIA and the divisions will need to debate the nomenclature for noncertified Level I through Level III trainees to rightfully preserve the status of certified members.
The upshot is this: an individual may take all three levels of training and then take his or her Level III certification exam, just as another individual may choose to take exams at the conclusion of each course. If PSIA were to certify more instructors at the highest level, it would almost certainly raise the level of professionalism in our organization.
A Vision For The Next Millennium
When I consider the promise and possibilities of the new approach to training/ certification, this is what I envision:
Ski schools are lively places of learning--for staff members as well as guests. The ski school nurtures a culture of learning and professional curiosity by supporting ongoing staff training, which more than pays for itself in increased sales and profits. Instructors are continuously training, whether they're with students, with peers in a clinic, or out free skiing on their own. They each pursue a learning program that fits their circumstances and the ski school's capability to support it. Experienced instructors take new-hires under their wing. Trainers know the people they train-what they already know and what they need to learn, bow they like to be treated, the kinds of cues that work for them, and who they are as people. The locker room has a corner reserved for instructors to sit and reflect on the day ahead or behind them, where they can gather to discuss "cases" with their peers the way doctors do in a surgeon's lounge.
The best ski schools today are pursuing this vision for the next millennium by embracing the following ideas:
Customers will benefit from the ski area's investment in employee morale and motivation. Outstanding customer service is a direct reflection of an employee's commitment, energy, and imagination. Continued training and development are fundamental ways for the corporation to retain employees and develop an experienced staff that can offer real value to the customers who, after all, are paying for the skiing image, professional knowledge and experience, and the communication skills that the instructor brings to the lesson. It makes sense for the ski school to take charge of quality control in this area.
CEOs and investors will benefit from the delivery of value to the customers, which is the only sustainable way to ensure revenue growth and profits. The key word is sustainable. Upper management will soon realize the value of increasing the investment in training because it is the best way to prepare employees to meet their responsibilities ably and with a positive attitude.
PSIA and the divisions will benefit because they will share the distinction of being the premier source for ski instructor training support and materials. Ski schools are not in the publishing or video production business, but PSIA is. The association can also provide the high-level training needed by ski school managers, supervisors, and staff trainers. In addition, PSIA can accredit the ski school's instructor training program, which would serve as quality assurance to employees, customers, management, and investors.
Conclusion
The new system hinges on shared responsibility for training by the individual ski instructor, the ski school, the division, and the national level. Instructors who work in ski schools with accredited training programs will at least save travel expenses and lost wages, even if their ski school can't afford to pay training wages, and even if their ski school charges a fee for the training and/or materials. This is a significant benefit for instructors who are at the beginning of their career and at the low end of the pay scale.
PSIA, in partnership with the divisions, will support the new program through increased investment in training the trainers and increased output of educational support products. The portfolio, the new professional development courses at Levels I through III, and written tests made up of questions derived from the required reading are three major products that will be ready for participating ski schools and divisions this season.
The training partnership will require the investment of considerable energy, imagination, and commitment from everyone involved. It won't be easy and it won't be cheap, but the increased effort will yield significant long-term rewards by delivering true value to instructors and their ski school customers.
Joan Rostad is the chairperson of the PSIA Certification Task Force and has served on the PSIA Board of Directors since 1989. She is an instructor at Bridger Bowl Ski Area in Bozeman, Montana, and a clinic leader and examiner in PSIA-NRM.