OUT-209: Winter Travel Leadership
A cooperative work experience established with my ASP instructor, John Mackinnon at the Colorado Mountain College - Leadville, CO. Participating in the development of a course that introduces students to winter travel techniques and how to identify hazards to safely navigate in a mountainous environment.
Course Development: Field Days 1-3
Being allowed the opportunity to build a lesson plan for the three days of field trips for the OUT 209 Winter Travel students; enabled further growth as an outdoor educator. This process of aligning lesson plans and learning outcomes has provided insight towards how I plan to teach and develop objectives for students in the future.
Instructional Videos: Split-board Specific
Pre course content aiding in the introduction to backcountry touring equipment with a focus on split-boards. Filming instructional videos for students to learn the process. Starting with an “Out of the Box’ episode and following with a touring skins setup video, with a third and final video demonstrating proper traveling techniques when touring.
Curriculum Design
Continuing to develop material for the canvas course modules introduced me to an efficient method to deliver and organize learning resources in a format that was highly effective for the progression from online learning to practical field instruction. Being able to apply my ideas and teaching methods to alternative audiences has shown what works well along with feedback of topics that may need revision, both in the removal and addition of learning criteria. I look forward to applying these skills and concepts to improve the learning environment I currently maintain in the northern mountains of Colorado to better bridge the backcountry community to good- decision making skills and applicable knowledge. Preparing students for AIARE training and risk management development is a primary objective that has gained momentum from this opportunity.
Teaching Assistant
Progressing my abilities from both experience and time spent in the Avalanche Science Program has been achievable throughout the internship with John Mackinnon and Kip Davis in the guidance and mentorship that was seamlessly provided, especially during my test pit demonstration; with the confidence to keep it simple for the class and positive feedback in a debrief. The instructor meetings played an integral role in preparing me with pre- planned goals and topics to teach to the students. Multiple days of interaction allowed me to understand the student - teacher relationship and how important that is in the learning process and overall student comprehension of the material. A positive attitude and excitement for the learning creates an exponentially heightened interest in the experiential learning process, such as relating any difficulties to personal experiences to ensure student confidence while in backcountry environments. I move forward from this experience with the motivation to improve the learning experience for future students.