Skills Tool

We all see that AccesSurfers show improvements, however we need a more “formal” way of documenting those to persuade our funders to fund the activities and to motivate people to become more interdependent. We see value in your observations and we would like to use what you see and turn it into data to show impact with our community. 

Objectives

We are looking to identify and quantify change. Answer the questions from two timeframe (before and current). Get the perspective of all volunteers that work with a particular individual throughout time at AccesSurf in variety of water activities. 

The comfort level scale answers how comfortable a person is in the activity. Each question will ask about a different aspect of the activity to gauge a level of comfort in the activity. Answers range from:

1. Very Uncomfortable – very uncomfortable will indicate verbal and behavioral actions that show discomfort.
2. Uncomfortable
3. Neutral – a person usually has a neutral comfort level and it is usually exhibited while waiting on land for a turn to participate in the activity.
4. Comfortable
5. Very comfortable – very comfortable determinations would be verbal and behavioral actions that show comfort.

This scale is probably the most difficult to understand. This is modified from a therapeutic perspective and should be used in general terms.

Think of the scale as a level of assistance that the volunteer gives to help an individual access the activity. Think of  your observations in general terms and answer questions according to how much work the volunteer put into facilitating accessing the activity.

1. Total dependent – total dependency indicates the volunteer is doing 90-100% of the activity.
2. Max assist – max assist is the volunteer is doing 60-89% of the activity to support a person in doing the activity.
3. Min assist – min assist is the volunteer is physically doing less than 60% of the activity in question.
4. Verbal assist – verbal assist is indicated when the volunteer only has to direct the individual verbally with little to no physical gestures or no physical assistance.
5. Self-direct – self-direct is when the individual may not be able to do something physically but can teach and direct the volunteer of his or her needs to participate in the activity.
6. Total independent – independent is indicated when the activity in question is done by the individual and the volunteer takes more of a buddy role in the activity.

This scale is in terms of the general skill level of the individual participating in the activity. Questions should be answered in general terms and should be based on the observed skill level.

1. Never paddled – If this is the first time the individual has paddled, then indicate the observed skill level.
2. Beginner – If the person is very new to the sport and does not know basic skills, then they are beginners.
3. Intermediate – If the paddler knows the basics of paddling and can stay afloat and go for short distances, then the individual is an intermediate paddler.
4. Advanced – If the paddler knows the basics and has practiced some skilled techniques, they are likely advanced paddlers.
5. Skilled – If the paddler has competed and is practicing paddle technique and has been coached in paddling, indicate skilled.
6. Expert – If the paddler is a seasoned paddler and has competed and taught the sport to others, then they are considered experts.

This scale is very simple and includes 3 levels. We are looking for how much physical exertion and environmental demands were put on the individual during the session.

1. Low – If the individual was exerting below 40% of their energy, then they were doing a low level workout.
2. Medium – If the individual was exerting 40-69% of their energy, they were in the medium range.
3. High – If the individual was exerting 70-100% of their energy, they were in the high range.

This scale is to identify if individuals are developing opportunities in the community through relationships, participation in water activity community and/or accessing the environments. 

1. Always Disagree
2. Sometimes Disagree
3. Neutral
4. Sometimes Agree
5. Always Agree

We would like to identifying the following:

1. Are individuals accessing community environments?
2. Are they developing  relationships outside of ASH events?
3. Are they participating in the water activity community?

In this scale we are looking at the individual’s skill level. This scale is similar to the previous scale, however the titles are different.

1. Absolute Beginner – Absolute beginners have never participated in the activity before.
2. Advanced Beginner – Advanced beginners have participated in the activity but are still learning the basic skills of the activity.
3. Intermediate – Intermediate level individuals have the basics down and are learning to change their techniques.
4. Advanced Intermediate – Advanced intermediate individuals have learned the skills to participate and have received coaching in the activity. They are not experts yet, but they know the activity well enough and have skills in the activity.
5. Advanced – Advanced individuals have skills in the activity and can compete in the activity on a skilled  level.

Here are the links to each observation survey. If you have any questions, please contact us.