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                                               Your Quality Rating

 

We want every instructor to work on the quality of your teaching. After reading the "What" and "How" to teach pages, you can use this assessment to evaluate your own teaching or partner with a friend to evaluate each other when teaching a lesson. 

 

Outcomes depend on the student. Great outcomes can range from not making it on the carpet to skiing on a chair. The quality of teaching is what this is being evaluated.

 

This assessment is for private beginner lessons over the age of seven, not programs involving team teaching like student lessons, Superstars, or private lessons with young children.   

 

To be evaluated using these guidelines, sign up here. We will assign two instructors to evaluate you teaching an actual lesson. You will see their assessments but will not know who did which one. There is no cost to be rated. 

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You will be evaluated on each item below on a scale of one to three.  Level 1 is below the standard, level 2 is at standard, and level 3 is above standard. Here are the requirements-

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Taught for at least four weeks and at least 24 hours of teaching.

Have five customers who have requested you for a second lesson

Have 5 five-star customer reviews

Have a majority of ratings at level 2 and no more than five ratings at level 1

100 percent on the "What to Teach" online review, it can be repeated  review

 

 

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Taught for at least one season

Have 10 customers who have requested you for a second lesson

Have 10 five-star customer reviews

Have a majority of ratings at level 2 and no more than five ratings at level 1

100 percent on the "What to Teach" review

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Have taught for at least one season

Have 15 customers who have requested you for a second lesson

Have 15 five-star customer reviews

Have a majority of ratings at level 3 and no more than three at level 1

100 percent on the "What to teach" review

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If the student is not capable of making wedge turns, through item number 32, another lesson must be assessed. But all ratings from the first can be used if the instructor being assessed wants to keep them. So they would only need to be assessed on wedge turns if that was all the first student could not do.

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Your rating will be noted on your profile, and you will be listed ahead of instructors without a rating or a lower rating.

 

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Private beginner lesson assessment 

for adults or children over 7

without special mental or physical needs

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Guest Interactions

 

1- Appearance- clean school jacket, name tag, and helmet

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2- Speaks loud, makes eye contact, smiles, is pleasant, confident, and fun 

 

3- Checks clothes and equipment, asks if cold or if feet hurt, starts with poles for 7 and over

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4- Asks questions of parents and/or students about goals, athletic background, related sports like skating, encourages them to ask questions and to let them know what want. Expectations are discussed if they expect to use a chair, rather than turning and stopping first.

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5- Pays attention to students and sets the pace based on their performance, not too fast or slow, asks if unsure, not teaching a set plan, different tasks for each student if needed in semi private

 

6- Provides a clear explanation and good demonstration, then specific feedback during or after performance, especially for athletic stance, physically assisting when necessary.

 

7- Tells them to start in an athletic stance before every run and corrects any problems

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8- Ends lessons by telling them to ski in control and not hit anyone, reviews what to practice, where to ski and to gradually go higher when they can link turns and turn to a stop. Makes sure they know how to reset heel and put skis on.

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9- Thanks them and tells them what is next, invites them back, and schedules their next lesson if they would like to do it right away. Tells them where the restrooms and cafeteria are located. 

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Before using the carpet

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10- Uses the area to the left of chair one if busy by the carpets for walking, stepping in a circle, lifting a ski and turning it, shuffling feet back and forth, stepping and sliding into a wedge, doing half at a time if needed. If they are struggling, take off the skis and try with just boots. Goes at the right pace for the student. 

 

Teaches athletic stance by having them

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11- Stand tall, put hands forward like holding a lunch tray with pole tips pointing back

12- Bounce on the balls of the feet and with chest over toes, then stop before the top

13- Feel their weight on the balls of their feet with chest over their toes 

14- Steps from foot to foot, go quicker to test their stance 

15- Can see and correct if the weight is on their heels because they are not flexing ankles, over-flexed at the knees, leaning back at the waist, or bent over at the waist with hips behind heels  

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Teaches ankle flex by

 

16- Bending just the ankles to lean forward and then back to the start position. Not on heels.

17- Feeling the legs press into the front of the boot, with no flex at the knees or waist

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Straight run

 

18- Uses a side step, herringbone, or walks up a slope using a traverse, depending on what works best for the customer, or skips when it is better to go to the carpet. Gets into an athletic stance and skis straight down the hill. Glide to a stop or make a wedge.

 

19- Provides feedback when they lean back: hands up, look forward, stand on the balls of their feet, chest over toes. Makes sure they have an athletic stance on a slope in motion. Can see if their hands drop, or they move back at the ankles, knees, waist, or all of the above. 

 

Using the carpet

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20- Helps them with support behind hips if needed, proper spacing, support on and off carpet and setting up to ski, takes off skis, using T-bar if needed. Knows when the customer may not be ready for the carpet if they are very slow learners or fearful.

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Gliding wedge

 

21- Starts with a straight run if the snow is slow, or a wedge if fast. Uses T-bar if customer is very fearful or challenged, works on athletic stance in a narrow wedge. Gets them comfortable sliding on skis with a sense that they can control their speed. Corrects problems with pushing knees together or crossing tips. Explains how to get up, reset heel, and put skis on. 

 

22- Gliding wedge bouncing with the weight on the balls of the feet and chest over toes. Checks to makes sure the ankles are flexing first before the knees.

 

23- Gliding wedge leaning forward just at the ankles and back to the start position, repeat to the bottom.

 

24- Gliding wedge, to slightly wider wedge, then back. 

 

25- Gliding wedge to braking wedge, repeat adding more speed each time, checks that weight is on toes and chest is over toes when braking. Makes sure customer is comfortable with speed. Does as many as necessary so customer is in control with an athletic stance.

 

Using the rope tow

 

26- Demonstrates standing close to the rope, skis pointing uphill, slowly squeezing with both hands, stepping off, standing with skis across the hill knees pointing uphill, stepping skis tips downhill, leaning on poles to set up in athletic stance, doing a gliding wedge to a stop. Assists weak customers with skis off and going just a few feet if necessary to help them start and exit.      

 

Gliding wedge turns 

 

27- Uses the gliding wedge as the platform before trying to turn. Starts in an athletic stance straight downhill with speed, has the customer count for three seconds, or more to go fast if the snow is slow, make a slight turn, go straight for three seconds, and turn in the other direction. The pattern is, straight, turn, straight.

 

28- Corrects if they use too wide a wedge, lose their athletic stance and lean back when their focus shifts to turning, turn too soon, turn too far and slow down, and rush from one turn to the other. All of these can cause them to turn with their shoulders, not their feet. 

 

29- Finds what way to turn works best for them, pointing both big toes or pushing on a big toe.

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30- Can see when knee is moved inside versus flexing the ankle, or if the hip moves outside and flattens the ski, or if the knee is flexed rather than the ankle. Explains ski shape and turning.  

 

31- Tries to combine both methods pointing and pushing on the big toes.

 

32- Reverses the order pushing and pointing, then pointing and pushing. Strong beginners could make it this far or further; instructors go as far as the student can go.

 

33- Has customer make small turns then big turns, then combines a specific number of each, 3 small then 3 big. Reverses the order, 3 big and 3 small.

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34- Does not do just one turn to a stop, starting in a traverse and making top part of the turn first.

 

35- Has customer make very small turns with more speed in the gliding wedge and very quick hard pushes from big toe to big toe.

 

36- Has customer make larger turns touching hand to knee as they push on toes.

 

37- Has customer make larger turns bouncing on the big toe, and then combine with touching the hand to knee

 

38- Has customer link turns to a stop in each direction. Catches any turning of the shoulders and leaning inside the turn.

 

39- Has customer gradually go higher and steeper making sure they are in an athletic stance and turning their feet.

 

40- If customers are fast learners, instructor works on more intermediate skiing if there is time, works on smaller wedges, more speed, and turning both feet to create more matching.

 

41- If time, can work on faster weight transfers for earlier matching.

 

42- If time, can work on smooth down and up to improve timing and matching.

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43- If time, can work on more deliberate approach to matching if needed.