What makes a good instructor great?

[ski diva]

Kiragirl posted this in another thread:

Just a quick thought on experts vs. instructors: yes, a lot of instructors may not be experts and vice versa; it takes the right kind of person to be a good instructor (teacher), although they might not be a "perfection" skiier. Most expert skiiers probably would not make good instructors. Not knocking anyone, just sayin'.

Luckily there are a bunch of diva instructors/experts out there!

So if expert skiing doesn't make an instructor great, what does? For those of us who've taken lessons, what are the qualities that set some instructors apart from the rest?

 

[bklyn]

A great instructor has these skills:
- analysis: can tell what you are doing and suggest improvement
- communication: can explain well what the student should do
- expert skier: can demonstrate all the movements in good skiing in all conditions and knows exactly where to take the student to practice

A good instructor often has 2 out of 3, but a great instructor has all.

 

[Shellski]

That fine balance between challenging you to your limit and knowing when you genuinely can't do something.

Being able to explain and demonstrate concepts in many different ways until you eventually 'get it'.

 

[numb3rs]

I'd say a good instructor obviously has to be incredibly patient. The main thing is that they have had enough experience to recognize problems and correct them. They should have a good enough memory to help them think back to what caused them trouble when they were learning. Then they can hopefully remember what tip helped them.

 

[pinto]

A great instructor has these skills:
- analysis: can tell what you are doing and suggest improvement
- communication: can explain well what the student should do
- expert skier: can demonstrate all the movements in good skiing in all conditions and knows exactly where to take the student to practice

A good instructor often has 2 out of 3, but a great instructor has all.

Spot on ... and I would add that when you get down to it, if the instructor communicates the right thing well to YOU, then that is probably enough to make him or her great.

Demonstrating the skills is important for visual learners, but for people who don't learn that way, it might not be necessary. As long as the instructor communicates to YOU in a way that YOU understand and can effectively incorporate, that is all you need. I think. :-)

 

[geargrrl]

A great instructor has these skills:
- analysis: can tell what you are doing and suggest improvement
- communication: can explain well what the student should do
- expert skier: can demonstrate all the movements in good skiing in all conditions and knows exactly where to take the student to practice

A good instructor often has 2 out of 3, but a great instructor has all.

not only analysis, but the ability to PINPOINT what you need next to progress, and teach it effectively.

 

[abc]

A good instructor will do ALL of below:

- can analyze and spot some issues
- can suggest ways to improve
- can demonstrate what he teach

A great instructor can do better than the "good":

- can analyze and spot KEY issues
- can suggest EFFECTIVE ways to improve, tailored to individual students
- can demonstrate by choosing terrain that challenge but not inhibit student progress.



-

 

[SnowHot]

Bklyn hit it spot on..........

In reference, to one of the most impressive experiences I've witnessed, was Stu Campbell, at Stowe last year.
He analyzed one of his students, he said, "do this!" and I watched the student "do it!"
Clear, calm, precise, amazing!

 

[ski diva]

It always amazes me how a good instructor can pick up on the tiny things that can make an amazing difference in the way someone skis. I mean, it's pretty easy to figure out what an out-and-out beginner is doing wrong; not so easy in someone who's more advanced. To me, it's the ability to detect the small things like that, and providing ways to overcome them, that makes a good instructor great.

 

[pinto]

It always amazes me how a good instructor can pick up on the tiny things that can make an amazing difference in the way someone skis. I mean, it's pretty easy to figure out what an out-and-out beginner is doing wrong; not so easy in someone who's more advanced. To me, it's the ability to detect the small things like that, and providing ways to overcome them, that makes a good instructor great.

Yeah, and I have to frame this as "tennis instruction," because I've had so little ski instruction, but quite a bit in tennis. The thing is, it's exactly the same. (And I'm sure it's the same in golf, etc....)

Everyone wants that golden bullet of instruction, and probably would pay dearly for it. I know I can drive down to the Broadmoor and pay Dennis Ralston $175 for an hour's lesson, and he will immediately pick out four things that I'm doing (or not doing) and give me the exact fix. It sounds expensive, but it's cheaper than a series of five $50 lessons with a decent pro that will certainly help, but not nearly as quickly.

I'm sure skiing is the same way, except it seems more difficult to find The Guy (or Gal). I know where to go to find the tennis people; it's easy. Much of it is that it's a world I'm more familiar with, but it's also right there, up front ... broadmoor.com, click on "lessons" and there you have it. You get the top guy, the next level down, the regular staff, etc. I sense that people are looking for that in skiing, but it isn't as transparent.

I know Epic has tried to remedy this somewhat with the Academies, and they seem amazing, but let's face it: it's much more difficult (time and money) to take a week off work, fly to wherever is closest, hope the weather is good, etc. etc.

Okay, I've changed the topic. I'll be done now. But it is frustrating that I know how to do this in tennis (I need a quick fix ... set up an hour, be done with it), but it seems so difficult with skiing.

 

[abc]

Tennis has much more complex sets of moves that still need to be adapted for each situation. Skiing has a small set of very simple moves that needs to be done just right regardless of whatever conditions.

You know what they say? "Practice doesn't make perfect. Practice made permanent". Practice the right move, it become perfect. Practice the wrong move, it made bad habits.

In tennis, you're playing "off-piste" every time, even as a beginer, because your opponent changes. It doesn't take long to stumble upon the best way, FOR ME! In skiing, we spend way too much time cruising around the groomer, until we're finally "advanced" enough to deal with variables. By then, a lot of really bad habits had been formed and ingrained, which needs to be un-learned

 

[Kiragirl]

A good instructor will do ALL of below:

- can analyze and spot some issues
- can suggest ways to improve
- can demonstrate what he teach

A great instructor can do better than the "good":

- can analyze and spot KEY issues
- can suggest EFFECTIVE ways to improve, tailored to individual students
- can demonstrate by choosing terrain that challenge but not inhibit student progress.

what she said!

 

[ski now work later]

I do best with positive feedback along with constructive tips and correction.

Not too many words to crowd my brain, building on concepts one at a time to build skills but not overwhelm me. Reviewing them at the end of the lesson to commit them to memory.

Some time to just ski and practice during the lesson before moving onto the next skill set.

Good company on the lift. Some quiet time on the lift to relax and clear my head.

I love 2 and 3 hour privates with a great coach.

Opportunity to watch my coach ski. I love my Okemo coach's ski style -- it's exactly where I want to go with my skiing.

Laughter and fun!

 

[tbnext]

A great instructor (and Ive met three) works out what sticks in YOUR brain. That is they are a communicator and a teacher first and foremost. This means you TRUST them implicitly.

Sure it helps if they are an awesome skier and up on the latest zen ski technique but this is totally secondary.

I find the biggest hurdle is they tell you stuff, you look like a small dopey dog, they rephrase, you the dog again, they rephrase---light goes on-forever!!

 

[cwmscm]

I think I've only had great instructors as far as instructing. For me, the information is all fine but what really sets the instructor apart as great is if he or she can make it fun!