Item: THE HUMAN FACTOR: EVERYONE'S PRIORITY, NOBODY'S CURRICULUM. INSIGHTS FROM AN ISSW 2024 WORKSHOP
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Title: THE HUMAN FACTOR: EVERYONE'S PRIORITY, NOBODY'S CURRICULUM. INSIGHTS FROM AN ISSW 2024 WORKSHOP
Proceedings: Proceedings, International Snow Science Workshop, Whistler, BC, Canada, 2026
Authors:
- Richard Fjellaksel [ CARE Center for Avalanche Research and Education, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway ] [ Department of Health and Care Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway ]
- Tarjei Tveito Skille [ CARE Center for Avalanche Research and Education, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway ] [ Department of Psychology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway ]
- Tim Dassler [ CARE Center for Avalanche Research and Education, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway ] [ Department of Psychology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway ]
- Audun Hetland [ CARE Center for Avalanche Research and Education, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway ] [ Department of Psychology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway ]
- Ian McCammon [ Salt Lake City, Utah, USA ]
- Tove Dahl [ CARE Center for Avalanche Research and Education, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway ] [ Department of Psychology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway ]
Date: 2026-09-28
Abstract: Human factors are widely recognized as central to most avalanche accidents, and avalanche educators can access more content about them than ever before. Far less is known about how they are taught in avalanche courses and whether teaching them changes anything. How can we expect backcountry travelers to make better decisions if we cannot describe what a better decision might look like in practice? At ISSW 2024 in Tromsø, Norway, we ran a World Café workshop with 45 avalanche educators, mountain guides, researchers, program managers and rescue personnel working in nine different countries. Three questions structured the discussion: What works when teaching human factors? How do we know it works? What does not work? The level of agreement about methods for teaching was striking. Practitioners trained in different systems and reliance on different certifying bodies converged independently on the same experiential repertoire: engineered field experiences, storytelling, assigned roles, handing the decision to learners, and structured debriefing. Practitioners were equally consistent that presenting biases as a list in the classroom does not work. Regarding how they knew if any of their human factors teaching is effective, the same educators had almost nothing to say. The evidence available to them, such as learner reactions and the quality of a debrief, comes from the moment of instruction, not when the behavior they care about is relevant after the course, at other times on the mountain. We argue that this is not a missing assessment but a missing outcome. Companion rescue has a specified, observable competence, so it can be taught, practiced and certified. Human factors outcomes, where stated at all, are framed as awareness, and awareness is a mental state that cannot be observed. Actions can. We set out to understand what each of three constraints would require and offer illustrative learning outcomes expressed as observable actions. Each action is paired with evidence an instructor could gather during a course and evidence a learner could generate afterwards. With this, we hope to help put human factors back into the avalanche curriculum in a form that can benefit everyone. For human factors to not remain everyone's priority and nobody's curriculum, the first step is specifying what learners should be able to do.
Object ID: ISSW2026_FS3.2.pdf
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15788/1790098431
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Tim Dassler
Keywords: human factors, avalanche education, experiential learning, teaching strategies, learning outcomes, instructor development
Page Number(s): 145 - 153
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