Interski 2023: Top Takeaways on Cooperative Learning

Held every four years, Interski brings instructors together from around the world. The event offers a valuable educational opportunity for snowsports educators to share their innovations and core beliefs. It gives PSIA-AASI, through its national team, a chance to compare the American Teaching System with the educational approaches of other countries and bring home ideas that help PSIA-AASI members improve and evolve.

Here, PSIA Alpine Team member Dusty Dyar shares his takeaways from Denmark’s workshop on cooperative learning.

Denmark’s Cooperative Learning Workshop focused on different ways involving the guest more in the teaching process will enhance their learning.

Top Takeaways

• Cooperative learning blends group work within the class with traditional teaching. It is student-centered, has a clear structure—with the teacher leading the process—and includes an equal share of involvement and time on task. The essential components of cooperative learning are simultaneous interaction, positive interdependence, individual participation, and equal group participation.
• Cooperative learning is a teaching method with a high activity and involvement rate, which keeps students engaged in the learning process. It is structured and includes clear goals so students will remain on track to achieve specific outcomes.
• Cooperative learning creates an environment that encourages a good guest experience, as students have more involvement with each other and with the instructor while taking more ownership of what they are learning.

I think this approach can be used harmoniously with PSIA-AASI teaching fundamentals. Instructors can use it with their guests, and trainers can use it with instructors. It may even work as a vehicle to highlight the use of our fundamentals in training.

It gives instructors the ability to develop their teaching skills as they receive continuous feedback from their group throughout the lesson and will promote a student-centered class structure where instructors share the responsibility of the learning and content with the people they are teaching.