The Master Teacher track is designed to give a specific direction to an instructor’s educational development and to provide a goal independent of PSIA National certification for those interested. With the time and commitment involved in completing the program, a Master Teacher will develop a sense of purpose and pride in both themselves and their continued training. The Master Teacher track has a core of professional development courses that allows instructors to acquire new knowledge from specialists in a variety of fields related to skiing and ski teaching. The track consists of the core curriculum and candidates will be asked to complete one Accreditation program, or “major” if you will, of their choice.
Instructors who are not pursuing Master Teacher Certification (MTC), but find a specific course that is of interest to them may also take MTC courses. MTC course work must be completed within six seasons. Instructors may choose to begin the MTC program as a Level I instructor and incorporate the Level II exam into their completion schedule. Validation will be in the form of comprehensive exams that will be taken online after completion of each course. Written material will be provided at each course for reference and for use in studying for the exams.
Master Teacher candidates must complete all required courses (12 credits), one Accreditation Program of their choice (6 credits), and two optional courses that meet the criteria for their selected Accreditation Program (2 credits). Participants will not need to “sign up” or “declare interest” in the Master Teacher Program. The courses attended, dates and locations are all tracked by PSIA-E. The course credits will count toward the Master Teacher Certification up to six seasons; beyond this time frame, the outdated credits will have to be retaken. All courses satisfy the continuing education requirement to maintain membership. Indoor courses may only be used for credit a maximum of once every four years.
Candidates will take a comprehensive on-line exam that includes ten multiple choice questions for each course taken. The candidate must score at least 7 out of 10 for each course. If a member is unsuccessful, s/he will be able to retake that exam after a 48 hour waiting period. After two failed exam attempts, the candidate will be required to retake the course. You will be notified of your results immediately upon completion of the exam. A copy of your scores is automatically forwarded to the PSIA-E office. Level II Certification is required prior to taking the last course exam and becoming Master Teacher Certified. Achieving the Master Teacher designation is separate from other Certifications.
In addition to the online exams, there will be an on-snow teaching evaluation performed during the Foundations of Teaching required core course. This course needs to be taken for this evaluation to be conducted once the member has completed a minimum of ten credits. Candidates pursuing Master Teacher Certification should plan courses accordingly and attend the Foundations of Teaching after accumulating a minimum of ten credits.
There are several Accreditations to choose from. Once a participant has completed all three courses (six credits) in any given Accreditation, they will receive a certificate for that specific program. Candidates may complete more than one accreditation, however only one accreditation program is required to achieve Master Teacher Certification.
Master Teacher candidates must complete a total of 20 credits as follows to achieve Master Teacher Certification.
Required On Snow Courses – 10 credits
- History Comes Alive
- Foundations of Teaching
- Movement Analysis
- Children’s Specialist 1
- Children’s Specialist 2
Required Indoor Courses – 2 credits
- At Your Service
- Communication Station
Optional Indoor Courses – 2 credits
- Two (2) Optional Sessions of your choice
One Accreditation Program - 6 credits
Master Teacher Exams
Master Teacher Exams will be administered online. For $10 per season, participants may attempt an unlimited number of exams online during one season. Master Teacher participants are no longer required to accumulate a minimum number of credits before attempting any exam. When a course is completed, the exam can be taken on line by the course participant. Each exam consists of ten multiple choice questions and all members will be required to successfully pass all exams to achieve Master Teacher Certification.
All requirements must be completed within the six season time frame to satisfy the Master Teacher Certification.
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