Area:

On 22. January was our first real ski day on cross-country skies. We went to Jegersberg, which is located north of Kristiansand and close to the University. Especially the last point was a benefit for us as we only have to walk for about 10 minutes to get to good snow, where we can put our skis on. The area was mostly flat with a few small hills. This kind of path was good for us, because – it was for almost everybody the first real time on cross-country skis – we could get used to them easily. The one hill was also good for some small exercises. Apart from that we had a nice landscape with a few lakes and even sunny weather, so we could really enjoy this day.

The role of the (vei)leader:

Len, our leader, guide and instructor had especially in the beginning a quite prominent role as he decided where to go, what to do first and giving some individual helpful hints. But the main teaching method was the ‘natural method’, which means getting an expert by practicing the task in the situation and learning by trying, watching and failure. This was the first part of the lecture. The second contained some exercises for everyone on a small hill. That was more a ‘instructional session’, which was followed again by a ‘try it yourself part’. In the last part everyone could decide which group he wants to join dependent on his own opinion about his ability. In almost every part of the day everyone got challenged even if by coaching another mate, who is not used to this kind of activity. And if someone got overchallanged it was no problem putting out their skies and walk up or down the hill to get to the rest of the group.

Len observed everybody in the group by changing places in the group, e. g. let everybody pass and meanwhile watching them or by passing the group to go to the front for guiding the way. Of course a big part of trust in the group is important as nobody should left behind and simultaneous the right way is chosen at the front of the group. The material for this day was very less as everyone just needed a pair of skis, skishoes and skipoles, something to eat for lunch and a few should have a tour wax with them. And there should be some snow on the path… For all kind of exercises we only used the things we have with us e. g. skipoles, hats. So nobody had to carry extra stuff.

The role of the students:

As I said before, there were two main parts of the lecture today: The free play and the organized play. I think both parts are similar important because both include their own advantages. The free play is good for trying things on your own. Everyone can do what he thinks it suites him. So if I am scared to go downhill at the beginning, I can take of my skies and just walk until it gets flat again. After some while I may feel more confident and can try it in small steps. If it doesn’t work or I am too slow, I can still put my skis of. Meanwhile if I am a better skier and I have to wait for the others, I can try a different route (e. g. go up a hill and down again) and pass the others again after some while. Another thing is, that the students learn to teach each other among themselves. But also the organized play should not be neglected. Because here you do some things you are forced to. Even if you would never try it on your own, you will see that you can make the given task – even if it is not perfect. Furthermore everyone is watched now by the teacher, so really every person of the group got a feedback what is good and what could be better.

In my opinion almost everybody was motivated to learn cross-country skiing and pass the day without any bruises. Which was why, as I mentioned in the first part, everyone had his individual challenge and improved the technique after the few hours.

Activities

The main aim of the day was getting used to the long sticks on your feet. That’s why we did a lot of just skiing along a path and see how it’s going (free play). But in the organized play everyone had to pass a few given activities while going down a small hill on skis:

–          Touching the heel and standing up again
–          Doing little steps to one side
–          Skiing just on one ski
–          Passing a tunnel (made of skipoles), plus
throwing your hat to Len and catching it
again in next run
–          Driving in a small circle by doing little steps
in one direction

By doing these activities everyone got a wide range of different motor skills like coordination, endurance and the needed strength for this kind of activity. Even the mobility increased e. g. touching heels, which may be important for falling down.

Conclusion

In my opinion everyone advanced within this day, some more some less. But everyone learns different! And if we will do it more often, everyone gets the chance to become a good or advanced cross-country skier. The ‘free play’ took a big role of the day – I think in Germany it is more with instructions and then try it on your own, but soon followed by further constructions. This is also a good method, but I think the pupils just do what is being said and don’t really try what feels right or wrong for them. At the beginning they are maybe faster in learning skiing, but in the end I think the method of the ‘free play’ is more effective because they have a better feeling if something is going wrong. It was definitely a good experience learning it like this.

I really enjoyed this day with the nice weather, the challenges and a lot of fun! I am really looking forward to our next ski day! (Come on, snow!!)