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Maintaining the Paddle Canada Standard
Curriculum-Based Teaching BY CHRISTOPHER LOCKYER
FOR YEARS the paddling community has been teaching paddling dis- ciplines using curriculum-based learning. I think that our programs are well produced and delivered. Nonetheless, does curriculum-based teach- ing produce the best paddlers and the best coaches? Can it be modified to unlock the full potential of our students?
I put this question to Brenna Kelly, a Canoe Kayak Canada Whitewater Instructor: Curriculum-based learning provides a solid framework for instruc-
tors to follow. It gives new instructors an outline of what to touch on in a lesson, and it gives experienced instructors a reminder of what not to miss or new ideas you haven’t thought of before. However, I do view curriculum more as a guideline as opposed to a must-do checklist. Using a theme for your courses will give you flexibility on what you can
do during the session. Instead of teaching specific maneuvers and strokes, think about learning outcomes and objectives. Assess what abilities your students already have and identify what areas need tweaking to perfect the stroke or maneuver. Once these areas have been identified, you can focus your instruction on improving performance in these areas. Identify the needs of the student, not merely what they need to do in
order to pass. The end goal of any paddling program is not the certifica- tion, but the personal growth of the student. We should be viewing stu- dent development in the long term. Provide your students with activities that they can do on their own to improve the identified areas and give them metrics to measure their progress.
Why I Like to Canoe
I love the canoe because it is so calming. I think it’s the sound of paddle strokes and the ripples hitting the water from the paddle, and the sense of nature being nearby. I know that it is important to know all the strokes, or you would get lost easily. The wind would blow you around easily or you would get frus- trated! Now that would not be an enjoyable paddle!
It is also important to know the safety of the canoe. For example, if your boat got tipped over what would you do?
Now that I have taken lessons I feel more confident about the canoe. BY SYDNEY HAAK, AGE 10 Brantford, Ontario
Sydney and her family joined Adrian Camara, Kanawa editor and canoe instructor, for canoe lessons in the summer of 2012. Please ask your past and current students if they would like to write a short relfection on their experiences on the water. Send the stories to
kanawa@paddlecanada.com and Adrian will do his best to have them published in Kanawa.
60 | Canoeroots
AS THE 2014 paddling season approaches, please take time to ensure that your courses will meet Paddle Canada’s standards. While Paddle Canada values being as flexible as possible to meet the needs of its instructors and their clients, we have a broader respon- sibility to the membership to maintain the strength and credibility of Paddle Canada courses and instruction. An important reason to keep the standards of all Paddle Canada courses high is the group insurance plan. If incidents occur in some Paddle Canada courses, it jeopardizes our insur- ance rates for the entire membership. As the old saying goes, “make sure the quality goes on before the PC name goes on.” Here are a few ways to ensure that your courses are meeting the required standards:
• Verify that the instructors are accredited to deliver the course, clinic or session.
• Ensure that the instructor operates within the program guidelines (content, environmental conditions, instructor ratios, program length etc.).
• Ensure that all extra content is within the spirit of the course and the Paddle Canada mandate.
Paddle Canada’s standards live, for the most part, within the minds and experience of instructors. It is difficult to reduce such knowledge to a set of standards to apply across the country because it is often built out of the paddling community and envi- ronments where we learn, refine and apply our paddling and teaching skills. Whatever your standards are, they should be, and usu- ally are, consistent with the principles and procedures in Paddle Canada’s programs. It is our job as instructors to clearly set
out to our students the skill standards and learning objectives of each course and to provide feedback on how our students are progressing towards these standards during the course. Although it is difficult to refuse to grant a certification, it is vitally impor- tant that the Paddle Canada skill standards be met before accreditation is granted. Have a safe paddling season in 2014, ERIC WILLIAMS President Emeritus, Paddle Canada Director, Canadian Safe Boating Council
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