Grounded in Science: But What Does This Actually Mean?

At the PSIE we talk about our methodology and curriculum being 'grounded in science'. But what does this actually mean? For us, science isn't a fixed body of facts we defend-it's a method of enquiry we share with anyone willing to test their own beliefs.

It would be easy to assume that we (the PSIE) are taking on the role of 'preacher' or even 'politician' and saying that because our educational content is grounded in science that it is better, or superior, to what is offered by other snowsports instructor education and certification organisations around the world! However, this is not the case. We acknowledge that other organisations also use the science of teaching and learning to underpin their snowsports educational material.

Grounded in Science

For us, being 'grounded in science' means that our leadership view the development of our educational content through the lens of a scientist by approaching the world of snowsports instruction with empirical enquiry and continuous curiosity. It means looking objectively at a diverse range of teaching and learning theory including (but not limited to) skill acquisition, learning styles and teaching styles and translating these into more snowsports specific methodology. This helps to minimise the tendency to allow personal beliefs to cloud our judgement and fall into the trap of confirmation bias.

I am currently reading Brené Brown's new book, 'Strong Ground' and chapter 6 looks at the work of Adam Grant an organisational psychologist and it titled, "searching for reasons we might be wrong". The following is a profound quote from Adam Grant, "if knowledge is power, then knowing what we don't know is wisdom". If only more of us could adopt this mindset - where we remain open to the possibility that we do not know everything and that even the science we lean in to may not be correct - then the world would be a better place. If we fall into the trap of confirmation bias then we will simply look for the science that supports our beliefs and thinking. Brené Brown says, "curiosity and thinking like a scientist can help us make more informed choices and decisions".

"If knowledge is power,

then knowing what we don't know is wisdom"

Adam Grant

At the heart of the PSIE's values is curiosity and seeking to understand. That means constantly challenging ourselves, our beliefs, and indeed the science that underpins our methodology and curriculum. And if this means that we need to pivot and update content or even admit that we are wrong then so be it.

Our current methodology is based on a number of scientists such as, Anders Ericsson (Expertise & Human Performance), Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Optimal Experience aka Flow), Edward Deci and Richard Ryan (Self-Determination Theory), Susan Jackson (Flow in Sports), Muska Mosston (The Spectrum of Teaching Styles), Gabriele Wulf and Rebecca Lewthwaite (Optimizing Performance Through Intrinsic Motivation and Attention for Learning) to name a few. And more recently Jennifer Fraser (The Bullied Brain), and Georgie Wisen-Vincent (The Way of Play). For example, the work of Anders Ericsson has influenced how we encourage our instructors (learners) to practice in the quest to reach mastery in their craft and this requires both purposeful and deliberate practice. However, we also recognise that Ericsson's Deliberate Practice and the 10,000 hour rule has been shown, by David Epstein in his book Range, to be more nuanced and to matter more in some domains than others. And the work of Georgie Wisen-Vincent on The Way of Play will help us to strengthen our content around how instructors build the adventure with their guests with an important component of this being practice and play. Her work can also complement how instructors challenge their guests so that they can find flow given that being playful is a felt experience rich in complexity with a close relationship to flow (Norsworthy's Flow Model). Therefore, our goal is to continue to challenge what we know and to become more aware of what we don't know.

My personal hope is that those who attend Interski 2027 in Vail go there with curiosity and an open mind and that the organisations that they represent are open to finding out what they don't know and that what they do know is not set in stone. Then we can truly learn from each other. And while national organisations may be competitors in the marketplace of training and assessing snowsport instructors if we embrace the true meaning of competition (the latin verb competere) 'to strive together' then we can help each other to become better and enhance the world of snowsports instructor education for all.

References:

Brown, B. (2025). Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, The Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit. Penguin Books.

Grant, A. (2023). Think Again: The power of knowing what you don’t know. WH Allen.

Norsworthy, C. (2026). How to Find Flow: 3 steps for high performance and deep resilience. Blink Publishing.

About The Author:

Derek Tate is a ski teacher, educator, and coach and has a Masters Degree in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) with a specialism in flow psychology. During the recent Flow Conference 2026, in Wicklow, Ireland the subject of AI was very prominent and how it could help us not only with our performance but also with our learning and engagement. This blog article has been written with assistance from Claude using a scaffolding approach where the AI assistant has cast a critical eye over the piece and helped edit and shape the argument.