2010 FALL MTC course information - coming soon!
Master Teacher – Back to Basics
By Melissa Skinner & Mickey Sullivan, PSIA-E Education Department
We have all been there at one time or another... You find yourself struggling to get to the next level. You change your thought process, your equipment, your surroundings, yet that next level is just out of reach. Then you realize and stop... you return to the basics and everything seems so clear.
The Eastern Division introduced the Master Teacher Program in 1999. Over time, the program has grown from only three accreditations to eight different specialty accreditation options. In addition, several new one-day optional courses have been added. As a result, the program can seem overwhelming for members interested in this advanced education option. There may be too much to consider and too many options to choose from. So, over the summer months we just said “STOP”, think about what is most important to the membership, are there positive changes that can be made to this program and how is the program integrated with our current event selections? With much input from many of our professional staff, we have updated and revised the requirements that make sense to our mission and goals while keeping the integrity of the program intact. We also recognize that some members are in partial stages of the Master Teacher process. We will be working with each one of these members so that they may complete the Master Teacher program and not have taken one single course taken away from them towards their Master Teacher certification.
Changes to our Alpine Level II and Level III Exam Part 2 Teaching exam process took effect in 2007. This change adopted the Children and Youth module to the exam process. Since Master Teacher satisfies the requirements for the Alpine Level III Part 2 exam, we felt the Master Teacher Program should also require Children and Youth education in the process. Therefore, Intro to Kids Zone and Intermediate Kids Zone has become part of the core courses that all participants must attend to achieve Master Teacher Certification.
Several new courses have been added or replace old courses. And there are a few accreditations that have not been well attended that have been eliminated in the new Master Teacher program.
Here is a summary of how the program is re-designed and the requirements necessary for Master Teacher:
Master Teacher Requirements
Core Courses:
Required On Snow Courses – 10 Credits
- History Comes Alive – remains as currently offered
- Movement Analysis – remains as currently offered (may be used for Level II Pre-requisite)
- Foundations of Teaching – remains as currently offered (may be used for Level II Pre-requisite)
- Intro to Kids Zone – new requirement
- Intermediate Kids Zone – new requirement
Required Indoor Courses – 4 Credits (4 one day courses)
- At Your Service – remains as currently offered
- Communication Station – remains as currently offered
- 2 Optional Courses of your choice – remains as currently offered (Optional Course Descriptions)
Accreditation:
Members choose one Accreditation consisting of three 2-day on-snow courses – 6 Credits
This season there are five accreditations to choose from
- Coaching Advanced Skiing and Racing – Remains as currently offered
Coaching Tactics, Techniques and Methodology
Advanced Movement Analysis
Course Setting and Drills
- Adaptive Accreditation – Remains as currently offered
3 Track / 4 Track Skiing
Visually Impaired and Developmentally Delayed Skiers
Sit Down Skiing
- Backcountry Accreditation – Remains as currently offered
Snow Sense and Planning
Collecting Data
Putting It All Together
- Special Populations Accreditation – Replace Childhood Development Course with one Adaptive Accreditation courses as part of this selection
Adult Development and Aging - Remains as currently offered
Teaching Women - Remains as currently offered
Third required course - any one of the three Adaptive Accreditation courses qualifies for this Accreditation. Member may choose which Adaptive course they wish to attend.
- Sports Science -Replace Sports Psychology course with the Science of Skiing
Biomechanics
Exercise Physiology
Science of Skiing - new course offering; incorporates information from former “Get in Gear” course; see website for complete description
The following Accreditations have been discontinued from the Master Teacher Program Offering
- Teaching Beginners Accreditation - Much of this information is incorporated into many of our course offerings
- Freeride Accreditation - A new “Park Skills” event has been added to the regular alpine schedule
- Children’s Specialist - Children’s courses integrated into the Master Teacher required courses
Courses that have been discontinued or revised:
- Get In Gear – Incorporated into the Science of Skiing course
- Knee High Knowledge – material covered in required Children’s “Zone” courses
- Physical & Mental Disabilities – Material covered in Adaptive Accreditation courses
Master Teacher Exams
New for this season - Exams will be administered online. For $25 per season, participants may attempt an unlimited number of exams online during one season. Master Teacher participants are no longer required to accumulate a minimum number of credits before attempting any exam. When a course is completed, the exam can be taken on line by the course participant. Each exam consists of ten multiple choice questions and all members will be required to successfully pass all exams to achieve Master Teacher.
All requirements must be completed within the six season time frame to satisfy the Master Teacher Certification. For members who are using Master Teacher Certification to satisfy the Alpine Level III Exam – Part 2 Teaching, they must be Alpine Level II Certified. Master Teacher Certification may not be used to satisfy any exam in any other discipline.
Updated Fall 2009 - The Master Teacher track is designed to give a specific direction to an instructor’s educational development and to provide a goal independent of PSIA National certification for those interested. With the time and commitment involved in completing the program, a Master Teacher will develop a sense of purpose and pride in both themselves and their continued training. The Master Teacher track has a core of professional development courses that allows instructors to acquire new knowledge from specialists in a variety of fields related to skiing and ski teaching. The track consists of the core curriculum and candidates will be asked to complete one Accreditation program, or “major” if you will, of their choice.
Instructors who are not pursuing Master Teacher Certification (MTC), but find a specific course that is of interest to them may also take MTC courses. MTC course work must be completed within six seasons. Instructors may choose to begin the MTC program as a Level I instructor and incorporate the Level II exam into their completion schedule. Validation will be in the form of comprehensive exams that will be taken online after completion of each course. Written material will be provided at each course for reference and for use in studying for the exams.
Level II Certification is required to become a Master Teacher. Alpine Level II members who successfully complete the MTC, and then attend an Alpine Level III exam, will be required to successfully complete only Part 1 (skiing) of the exam to achieve Alpine Level III status. Achieving the Master Teacher designation is separate from achieving Level III Certification. The criterion for using the MTC for Alpine Level III, Part 2 Teaching is as follows:
- A candidate must finish the MTC anytime during either the same ski season in which Level III, Part 1 is passed, or during the following two seasons. If the MTC program and testing is not successfully completed by the end of this time frame, a candidate must take the Level III Part 1 exam again (This is equivalent to the requirement of when the Part II of the exam process must be completed).
- A candidate may complete the MTC program first and follow by passing the Level III Skiing exam anytime after that to qualify for Level III Certification. In this scenario, all update clinics after completion of the MTC must be Accreditation program courses, two indoor Master Teacher courses or an on-snow Master Teacher Core Course, even if participant has taken that course previously. There may be no lapses in membership for any reason.
Master Teacher candidates must complete all required courses (12 credits), one Accreditation Program of their choice (6 credits), and two optional courses that meet the criteria for their selected Accreditation Program (2 credits). Participants will not need to “sign up” or “declare interest” in the Master Teacher Program. The courses attended, dates and locations are all tracked by PSIA-E. The course credits will count toward the Master Teacher Certification up to six seasons; beyond this time frame, the outdated credits will have to be retaken. All courses satisfy the continuing education requirement to maintain membership. Indoor courses may only be used for credit a maximum of once every four years.
A candidate may take an on-line exam upon course completion at their discretion. Candidates submit a standard PSIA-E Event application which allows exam access for one season. The exams will be available the day of the event and open to participants though the end of the same season. Members need not wait until they have accumulated a specific number of credits before attempting any exam. Candidates will also be required to accept the terms and conditions prior to taking the online exam. The candidates will take a comprehensive test that includes ten multiple choice questions for each course taken. The candidate must score at least 7 out of 10 for each course. If a member is unsuccessful, s/he will be able to retake that exam after a 48 hour waiting period. After one failed retake attempt, the candidate will be required to retake the course. You will be notified of your results immediately upon completion of the exam. A copy of your scores is automatically forwarded to the PSIA-E office.
There are several Accreditations to choose from. Once a participant has completed all three courses (six credits) in any given Accreditation, they will receive a certificate for that specific program. Candidates may complete more than one accreditation, however only one accreditation program is required to achieve Master Teacher Certification.
Master Teacher candidates must complete: A total of 20 credits will be required to achieve Master Teacher Certification.
Required On Snow Courses - 10 credits
- History Comes Alive
- Foundations of Teaching
- Movement Analysis
- Intro to Kids Zone
- Intermediate Kids Zone
Required Indoor Courses - 4 credits
- At Your Service
- Communication Station
- Two (2) Optional sessions
One Accreditation Program - 6 credits
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