An Investigation into Instructor Effectiveness

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Abstract
Instructor effectiveness was investigated at Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC). The importance of effectiveness in instruction has recently been stressed to enable safe progression in skill acquisition in adventure activities as well as to prevent miseducative experiences. Instructor effectiveness was measured using a questionnaire that was developed using constructs from experiential and physical education theories. The results showed high levels of instruction at NOC. The instrument did discriminate between more and less effective instructors as perceived by students even though overall scores were high—some instructors were scoring consistently higher than others. The differences were true for all the different sub sections of the questionnaire which included structure, communication, perception, motivation, arousal levels, feedback, group processing, action/practice, and leadership. On average the female instructors scored higher on the questionnaire than the male instructors not only with total scores on the questionnaire, but on all sub-sections except the action/practice sub-section. A corresponding check sheet was developed as a result of the research to match the questionnaire for use by instructors as a way for them to remember to include the various aspects of instruction and to use with the questionnaire as a perception check. Although there were differences in instructor effectiveness between the different types of clinics taught at NOC (kayak, canoe, etc.), the results were not statistically significant. Information in the form of comments from individuals and researchers that attended the clinics provided information in detail on an array of topics. Themes that emerged from this qualitative information are summarized to provide information that could assist possible future developments in instructor training for NOC or other centers teaching adventure activities.

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