Table of Contents


Use ABYC EDU-1 On-Water Recreational Boating Skills–Power to confirm the instructional program includes the complete list of skills identified in the standard.


EDU-1 contains the fundamental skills that have been determined by the subject matter experts to apply across the widest possible platforms and environments. Become familiar with the profile of all skills contained within the standard before designing a curriculum or instructional program. Including additional elements in an individual program is certainly appropriate. Course developers and instructors are encouraged to add material to their offerings as applicable to their local markets, platforms, or waterways.


EDU-1 is not itself a course. Rather, it describes the desired outcomes as a result of successfully completing one (or more) beginner powerboating skills course(s). When the student successfully completes the course(s), he or she should be able to perform all the skills identified in EDU-1. Therefore, course designers should decide how to deliver skills instruction (e.g., one long course, multiple short courses, etc.).


The skills identified in EDU-1 are all independent from one another. They can be learned, demonstrated, and evaluated in most cases as separate skills without dependency across multiple skills. Therefore, they can be designed into an instructional program without having to link or connect them during instruction. Student performance on each skill can be assessed independently as well. A student can be highly proficient at one and have little proficiency in another. Therefore, when designing a program, consider each skill as an individual learning opportunity to be designed, delivered, and evaluated independently from the others.


Familiarity with all the standard elements will enable a better understanding of the full set of skills students should be able to perform as a result of instruction. This will also better inform the course designer about how best to organize and sequence learning objectives and instructional activities to best meet the needs of students.


Once the high-level design of the instructional program has been established, determine the number and scope of the course(s) required to deliver the skills associated with the curriculum, Then, determine which courses will deliver which skills to what level of proficiency.


Develop courses using a logical progression of skills development and experiential learning.


EDU-1 identifies the fundamental set of skills associated with entry-level recreational powerboat operation, but it does not prescribe the exact order or sequence in which the skills should be taught or learned. It is mainly up to the course designer or instructor to determine the order or sequence. However, there is a logical progression for some of the skills within the standard, making it more productive for a student to learn some of the skills before learning others. For example, it might make more sense for a student to learn the skill of “stop the boat” before the skill “bring the boat to a predetermined point”.


Consider grouping manageable blocks of skills together into learning modules. This is easily done, since the standard elements are written as outcome-based, rather than technique-based. For example: a standard element for the skill of moving a powerboat in a straight line would be written “The operator is able to steer a straight course” rather than “the instructor will emphasize steering wheel orientation, so the student effectively moves forward on a chosen heading.”


When skills development is the instructional focus, learning is best accomplished through experiential instruction in situ (i.e., the learning takes place in the actual/natural environment where the boat would normally be operated). For this reason, EDU-1 was developed to target the skills-based outcomes for active, on-water, and hands-on approaches to recreational boating instruction.


Experiential learning is one of the most influential ways to help students learn skills. Experiential learning occurs when student engage in the process of learning through experiences and then reflect on the learning they achieve.


One of the more powerful applications of experiential learning is the use of real (vs. realistic) experiences on a boat during the learning process. As a result, consider the importance of all the human senses associated with the experience of recreational boating. Give thought to designing experiential learning activities in which students develop all their available senses as they learn to demonstrate skilled recreational boat operation. Experiences can take into account the feel of the wind, sounds of other people and boats, and the mechanical steps and procedures associated with boat operation. Awareness of the speed of the boat through the water is often difficult for students to perceive accurately. Continual coaching on this aspect makes learning many other tasks much easier.


Because experiential learning is so potent, the learning of several related skills can be combined into one activity or scenario. This has a synergistic effect that promotes efficiency and effectiveness of the instruction.


This Technical Support Document was produced in part through USCG grant funds to develop National On-Water Skills Standards. 6 ©2022 United States Sailing Association. Facilitated by Think First Serve.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86