Profession outdoor activities instructor

Outdoor activities instructors organise and lead recreational outdoor trips through which the participants learn skills such as hiking, climbing, skiing, snowboarding, canoeing, rafting, rope course climbing etc. They also provide team-building exercises and activity workshops for disadvantaged participants. They ensure the safety of the participants and the equipment and explain safety measures for the participants to understand themselves as well. Outdoor activities instructors should be prepared to deal with the consequences of bad weather conditions, accidents and should responsibly manage possible anxiety from participants concerning certain activities.

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Personality Type

• Social / Artistic
• Social / Realistic
• Enterprising / Conventional

Knowledge

• Outdoor activities

  Sportive activities performed outdoors, often in nature, such as hiking, climbing, skiing, snowboarding, canoeing, rafting, and rope course climbing.

• Protection from natural elements

  Forces of nature, such as weather patterns and seasonal conditions, their characteristics and any means of protection against them.

Skills

• Assess nature of injury in emergency

  Assess the nature and extent of injury or illness to establish and prioritise a plan for medical treatment.

• Apply risk management in sports

  Manage the environment and athletes or participants to minimise their chances of suffering any harm. This includes checking appropriateness of venue and equipment and gathering relevant sport and health history from athletes or participants. It also includes ensuring appropriate insurance cover is in place at all times

• Organise sporting environment

  Organise people and the environment to achieve desired objectives safely and efficiently.

• Adapt teaching to student's capabilities

  Identify the learning struggles and successes of students. Select teaching and learning strategies that support students’ individual learning needs and goals.

• Give constructive feedback

  Provide founded feedback through both criticism and praise in a respectful, clear, and consistent manner. Highlight achievements as well as mistakes and set up methods of formative assessment to evaluate work.

• Instruct in outdoor activities

  Instruct students in the theory and practice of one or several outdoor sport activities, usually for recreational purposes, such as hiking, climbing, skiing, snowboarding, canoeing, rafting, or rope course climbing.

• Observe student's progress

  Follow up on students’ learning progress and assess their achievements and needs.

• Guarantee students' safety

  Ensure all students falling under an instructor or other person’s supervision are safe and accounted for. Follow safety precautions in the learning situation.

• Encourage students to acknowledge their achievements

  Stimulate students to appreciate their own achievements and actions to nurture confidence and educational growth.

• Apply teaching strategies

  Employ various approaches, learning styles, and channels to instruct students, such as communicating content in terms they can understand, organising talking points for clarity, and repeating arguments when necessary. Use a wide range of teaching devices and methodologies appropriate to the class content, the learners' level, goals, and priorities.

• Use rope access techniques

  Apply ropework to work in elevated position. Safely ascend and descend ropes, wearing a harness.

• Provide first aid

  Administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation or first aid in order to provide help to a sick or injured person until they receive more complete medical treatment.

• Assist students in their learning

  Support and coach students in their work, give learners practical support and encouragement.

• Provide lesson materials

  Ensure that the necessary materials for teaching a class, such as visual aids, are prepared, up-to-date, and present in the instruction space.

• Motivate in sports

  Positively foster athletes and participants' intrinsic desire to carry out the required tasks to fulfill their goals and to push themselves beyond their current levels of skill and understanding.

• Demonstrate when teaching

  Present to others examples of your experience, skills, and competences that are appropriate to specific learning content to help students in their learning.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB