skiing

I went skiing yesterday for the first time. Well, actually I went once when I was 12. But that was back in Ohio and I wiped out on the bunny hill, twisting my ankle. I had decided then that skiing was not for me. But since I had moved to a state where there are real mountains, I thought I would give it a try. So what does this have to do with instructional technology you may ask. Well, obviously if you don't know how to do something, you have to learn. So how did I learn? Well, they do offer group classes at Beaver Mountain on how to stop, how to turn, and so forth. But the time they offered lessons wasn't right for me. So my friend Doug, who is relatively new to skiing, said he would help me learn the basic skills. He demonstrated how to stop, and I practiced. He did a pretty good job, and after a few runs on the little dogie, the least challenging of the runs at Beaver Mountain, I tried my hand at the Little Beaver. Little Beaver was very challenging...I wiped out a few times. But I was able to get myself back up.

I guess you could say that Doug helping me learn how to ski was a case of peer tutoring. Doug was not an expert skier, but he was able to demonstrate what he had learned and talk about some of the things he experienced and learned as he was practicing. So that was very helpful. Peer tutoring has been shown to be effective in helping students learn many different subjects at the primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. While I am still far from perfect skiing, I got a good start. Now as soon as the soreness wears off, I will give it another try.