EDAC 634 Spring 2024: Experiential learning by Julee Sims

Julee Sims

EDAC 634

Assignment 4 – Experience and Learning

Goal: The goal of this program is to teach adults the basics of snowboarding.

Objectives: Students will learn:

How to transfer past experiences to the concepts of snowboarding.
Safety and etiquette on the hill and chairlift.
How to make uphill and downhill turns in order to stay in control.
How to load and unload off of a ski lift.

Rationales: Experiential learning has a lot of ideas and theories. I focused on two of Fenwick’s perspectives and considered the psychoanalytic approach to create a program to teach adults how to learn how to snowboard.

The constructivist theory of learning is based on using knowledge learned from past experiences. For example, there are a lot of adults who used to skateboard when they were younger. This past experience would help them to learn snowboarding more quickly than people who had never skateboarded. The concepts of controlling the board with your body are very similar, and students who have past experiences similar to snowboarding will be able to pull from those old skills and apply them to this new skill. These experiences would include but are not limited to skateboarding, wake boarding, and surfing. The students who did have past experience with these sports will be assumed to move on faster than others. Knowing this, the class structure will need to be flexible so students can move on at their own pace which leads into the situative theory of learning.

The situative theory of learning says knowing is intertwined with doing (Merriam and Baumgartner, 2020). Fenwick states, “Learning is rooted in the situation in which the person participates, not in the head of that person as intellectual concepts produced by reflection.” (Merriam and Baumgartner, 2020). Learning to snowboard is ultimately about practicing the skills that are taught. You cannot expect to read about snowboarding and then have the skills to do it successfully. You have to apply the learned skills and practice, practice, practice. In situative learning “one cannot separate the learning process from the situation in which the learning occurs. Knowledge is not received and later transferred to another situation “but part of the very process of participation in the immediate situations.” (Merriam and Baumgartner, 2020). The class is structured to introduce one skill at a time. The students would practice that skill until it is mastered. Then they move on to the next step to practice another new skill. Each skill will be practiced and mastered before moving onto the next.

I also needed to consider the psychoanalytic approach and the possibility of a students’ fears. This approach deals with the conflicting desires an adult may have when learning to snowboard. Adults have past experiences that have led to fears. Specifically, fears of injury and heights are to be considered with these students. They may need some extra help and motivation to get on the chairlift if they are afraid of heights and falling. It can also feel scary when they build speed and feel like they are losing control of their board. An instructor needs to be there to remind them to do their turns and take control of the speed that they will be building.

Module	Activity	Rationale
1. Assessing Skill Levels Based on Past Experiences	Discussions about past experiences to determine skill levels. Skateboarders, wake boarders, and surfers all understand the concepts of using your body to control the board through turns.	Students can share their knowledge and self asses their level based on the constructivist theory of using knowledge from past experiences.
2. Safety and Etiquette	Discussion with the group about etiquette in chairlift lines and on the slopes. These must be learned before a student even clips into their board. Safety and etiquette are extremely important for everyone’s benefit and they must be learned before entering the environment.	Safety regulations and etiquette help keep everyone safe. This can help to reduce injuries and accidents on the slopes and chairlifts. When you give students this kind of knowledge, they feel more confident. This is done considering the psychoanalytic approach and helping students deal with fears of safety.
3. Learning to make Uphill and Downhill Turns	Students will walk halfway up the beginner hill with their equipment to learn about uphill and downhill turns. These are the basic turns that you will need to stay in control on the slope. Students will be given time to practice what they have been shown. Once they show that they are in control on the slope they will move onto riding the chairlift so they can start from the top of the slope.	Situative theory of learning says knowing is intertwined with doing. Practicing both directional turns is how they will master the skill.
4. Riding the Chairlift	Once the student has mastered turning and is ready to start from the top of the slope, they will learn how to load and unload themselves onto a chairlift. An instructor will ride with them to help them learn safety and etiquette.	An instructor will ride with the student because of the psychoanalytic approach. Adults can develop fears of heights and falling based on previous bad experiences and situations. Having an instructor will ensure that the student is encouraged and helped through any difficult fears they may have.