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If you are reading this, you are continuing your PSIA Cross-country education and certification journey. From your experiences achieving your Level I certification, you know that completing the Level I e-learning course is a required part of certification. Like the Level I XC e-learning course, the Level II XC e-learning course has been designed to review, present, and further explore concepts that are important in effective/successful cross-country ski instruction. This e-learning course is based on the most recent PSIA XC Certification National standards from the 2021-22 season. If you completed your Level I Certification prior to the 2020/2021 winter season, we highly recommend you review and complete the Level I e-learning before completing the Level II e-learning.
There has been a tremendous amount of work by volunteer members of PSIA-AASI across all regions to update the National Standards across all disciplines. These updated standards are based on the Learning Connection Model (LCM). The collaboration between the eight regions and across all disciplines has resulted in consistency that will make the certification process for all members easier to navigate. This e-learning course and the Level III workbook are part of this larger consolidation between all regions.
Based on the Learning Connection Model, we have organized this e-learning course into the three skill sets that contribute to successful instruction: people skills, teaching, skills, and technical skills. People skills and teaching skills are skills sets that all effective snowsports instructors utilize. The updated national standards in all disciplines share the same assessment criteria and educational resources for these skills. The people skills and teaching skills sections of this e-learning course have been developed to help you learn more about these skills, evaluate your current understanding, and practice improving your ability to use these skills to be effective communicators and educators. Technical skills are specific to each discipline and the cross-country technical skills are based on the Cross Country Fundamentals and Cross Country Technical Model. In this e-learning course we will review the Cross Country Fundamentals and Technical Model and their application in movement analysis (MA).
Course Outcomes:
Upon completion of the LII cross country e-learning course you/participants will be able to:
- Demonstrate understanding, and apply the Learning Connection Model at the LII XC Instructor Level for each skill set: people, teaching, and technical.
- Be prepared to practice/apply what you have learned in on-snow situations.
- Understand PSIA-AASI resources and tools to help prepare for the XC Level II Certification.
Level II Certification
As you prepare for Level II XC certification, you will need to become familiar with the educational documents that are available at the PSIA-AASI national website, PSIA-AASI – The Snow Pros. One of these documents, The PSIA-AASI Cross Country Certification Standards (LINK) “identifies and explains the fundamentals of great skiing, effective teaching, and connecting with students and defines the assessment criteria within PSIA-AASI’s certification process” (8). Here is a overall description of Level II proficiency according to the Certification Standards:
“Level II certification generally means that the instructor is qualified to teach beginner and intermediate guests, in which students are primarily on intermediate (blue) and some green terrain.”
Level II E-Learning Experiences
This e-learning course has been designed to help you attain the depth of understanding and knowledge needed to become a PSIA Level II Cross Country certified instructor. Learning experiences in this course include quizzes that ask you to look at photos, watch videos, answer multiple choice questions, and other activities for specific student situations, and complete a movement analysis grid. You will also complete activities which are formative assignments designed to help you learn.
The quizzes have been constructed to help you process information and check your understanding. Similar to the Level I e-learning course, a concept will be presented via a short text, photo, and/or video, and then a quiz will follow. Some quizzes will ask you to search the XC Level II Workbook, PSIA Cross Country Certification Standards, and/or the Performance Guide for answers. All quizzes are “open book,” so please refer to all the references offered below if you need help with your answers.
Useful references include (electronic versions free to members):
- Performance Guides for Cross Country
- Performance Guides for People Skills
- Performance Guides for Teaching Skills
- PSIA-AASI Certification Standards
- The PSIA Cross Country Technical Manual
- The PSIA Teaching Snowsports Manual
- The PSIA Children’s Instruction Manual
- PSIA-AASI web site (thesnowpros.org)
- Your fellow instructors. If possible, find an experienced PSIA-AASI certified instructor to be your mentor. Be an active learner!
Click on, “The Learning Connection Model,” to get started.