Fall Conference Recap
by Jill Chumbley, NRM Eduation Coordinator
Three years ago, the Education Leadership Council (ELC) was formed in an effort to meet strategic goal #3: Consolidation, Cooperation, and Consistency,
as charged by the 2016 Leadership Summit for PSIA/AASI. Fall Conference (an annual meeting of discipline representatives) had been occurring since before
that time under various names with vague goals, depending on who was there and where work was left off the year previous. With the creation of the ELC
(which includes one member per division as well as team members and coaches), the direction of Fall Conference took a on much larger initiative.
For the last two years, the discipline groups and teams have been trying to wrap their heads around the concept and development of learning outcomes
to better align our certification as well as make our certification more concrete when moving across the country. The question was “what exactly does
having PSIA/AASI Level __ Certification mean an instructor can do?” This is much like you might get in a syllabus for a college course:
“at the end of this course you will be able to...” With 50 years of doing it a little bit differently, and with a loose document like the National Standards
as our unifying document, you can imagine this was more than tricky. However, discipline task force members did the hard work on figuring that out and getting
it down on paper as accurately as they can (always a work in progress). And now the fun work begins!!!
Fall Conference 2019 focused on bringing the national alignment initiatives to life (and home to the divisions)!
This year, each discipline continued working on refining learning outcomes, assessment criteria, performance guides, and other materials (like assessment forms
and universal task lists). The groups also began to train on how to train and use learning outcomes, assessment criteria, and all the other materials
when they return to their home divisions. Additionally, interdisciplinary groups worked on- and off-snow on creating more refined learning outcomes, etc.,
for People and Teaching Skills. And most importantly, they also worked on training the trainers on how to train People and Teaching skills effectively!
Feedback from NRM discipline representatives from this Fall Conference was that this was the most tangible work they felt Fall Conference had ever produced.
The plan for the coming Fall Conferences is to continue with both the development of each discipline's outcomes and assessment criteria, and most importantly,
to continue to train our leaders to train their Ed Staff to impart this information to the membership. This will enhance the members' experience across divisions
and strengthen the value of PSIA/AASI certification throughout the industry and across the world.
Head over to the
Fall Conference 2019 page on our website where there are reports from
several of our discipline representatives who participated in Fall Conference. Each discipline is in a slightly different spot with their outcomes
and other materials, as well as implementation. Please read what they have to say, and even more importantly, if you happen to spot one of these people
this season, take some time to have a conversation with them about the exciting things to come. We want you to comprehend the changes that are coming
and understand how it will benefit you, and we want to have a chance to hear your ideas!
Happy Reading!
Jill Chumbley
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