A CLOSER LOOK AT EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING COURTESY OF NATIONAL ACADEMY SESSION WITH HORST ABRAHAM
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s one of the founders of PSIA’s “student-centered” teaching approach in the mid-1970s, Horst Abraham has long been considered a pioneer in snowsports education. His 1983 book, Skiing Right, became a must-read and remains a
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great resource for anyone interested in looking beyond traditional teaching methodology. Never shy about challenging current ideas, Horst is once again prodding our beliefs about teaching, with an emphasis on experiential learning.
A CHANCE TO CHALLENGE OUR PERSONAL BELIEFS
As much as skiing itself, Horst absolutely LOVES the teaching/learning aspects of being an “instructor,” a term he uses begrudgingly. He prefers the word facilitator, as he believes it better describes our role in helping students learn to ski or ride. His many credentials include former vice president of education for PSIA, president of an international consulting firm, and a position on the executive education faculty at the University of Michigan – all of which have helped mold his beliefs about how people learn, and the role of the snowsports “facilitator” as a partner in the learning process. Over the past few years, Horst has been driving spirited debate among education specialists throughout PSIA-AASI on the
thoughts, processes, and methods of experiential learning. Te groundwork has been laid to bring a more experiential approach to PSIA-AASI education. With a bit of momentum, Horst
offered to lead a workshop at last April’s 2016 National Academy in Breckenridge, Colorado; there could be no better place to bring this discussion to the membership, or a better person to facilitate. For three afternoons we challenged our beliefs, checked our understanding, and discovered what we know and what we don’t know about experience-driven learning.
DO WE REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT WE’RE DOING?
For a small, dedicated group of participants at the National Academy session, the lure of working with Horst to delve into the meaning and methods of experiential learning was too much to resist. I stress “working with” Horst, because he does not allow passive participation. No one was there to simply listen to him lecture. We
were there to be part of the process and shape our own experience, which, as Horst will tell you, is the most effective way to learn. Te school directors, trainers,
and
instructors who took part in the workshop shared a common interest in experiential learning, but not necessarily a common understanding of what it means. What I discovered about myself, and our group, is that while we all believe in and value certain aspects of experiential learning, we may not understand why it's so important to motor- skill development. Because of that, we don’t always use it consistently or effectively to help our students become better skiers and riders. Translating Horst’s approach to experiential learning into an article is difficult, as it must be experienced to be fully appreciated. Here, I’ll offer a few highlights and some insight into his unwavering commitment to the topic, but I won’t attempt to completely explain every opinion, theory, and model. In true experiential style, you may be left with as many questions as answers. It’s your responsibility to seek resources as you build your knowledge and understanding. I hope his message will inspire you as he has inspired me, to question my current beliefs and evolve my ability as a facilitator of learning.
NEWS FLASH: KIDS CAN TEACH THEMSELVES
Author Rob Sogard immerses himself in Horst Abraham's National Academy workshop on experiential learning.
68 | 32 DEGREES • WINTER 2017
Horst Abraham leads a National Academy discussion on the merits of experience-driven lessons.
One of the tenets of experiential learning is that the facilitator needs to grab attention, raise curiosity, and draw people in. So, in Horst-like fashion, he kicked things off with an intriguing and perhaps debatable premise – delivered with video of a TED Talk by education researcher Sugata Mitra titled “Kids Can Teach Temselves.” In it, Mitra tells how computer kiosks were left in a variety of locations throughout India, with no instructions, no explanation, and no teacher. Children were curious and quickly “learned” how to operate a computer, surf the web, and play computer games with no previous knowledge, no coaching, and little or no grasp of the English language. Horst makes it very clear that his intent
WENDY SCHRUPP
WENDY SCHRUPP
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