2013 Teacher Training Summit | June 7 - 9, 2013  
REGISTRATION IS FULL
Miami Beach Resort & Spa  
4833 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, Florida 33140
866-765-9090
For complete details regarding 2013 Teacher Training Summit click here.

• 2011 Teacher Training Summit Final Report (Vail, CO)                                                
• 2011 Survey Results for Comprehensive Pilates Teacher Training Programs (Vail, CO) 
• 2009 Teacher Training Summit Final Report (Dallas, TX)

The PMA’s Teacher Training Summits provide a forum for delegates to deliberate over issues critical to the future of Pilates education. To date, we have held two Summits, in 2009 and 2011.

The first Summit in Dallas in 2009 proved to be a landmark event. Much was accomplished, but it was just the beginning. Participants in the first Summit were inspired to create series of ‘next steps’, to take their initial work forward. The second Summit continued the work begun in Dallas.

In brief, the aims of the 2011 Summit were to:

• Reveal how comprehensive Pilates teacher training programs are currently structured across the field. This was done by means of gathering data from schools regarding the general subject matter that is taught in their programs. All responses were kept anonymous.
• Present the data (expressed as statistics), in order to reveal structural similarities and differences among comprehensive Pilates teacher training programs.
• Examine how these statistical findings compare to the tasks presented in the PMA’s 2005 Role Delineation Study, which outlines the capabilities of a comprehensively trained Pilates teacher.

The outcome we sought was to establish a recommended basic template for the minimum essential components of a comprehensive Pilates teacher training program that would lead to minimum competency.

The 2013 Summit continues the work begun at the 2011 Summit, specifically the exploration of the components of teacher training programs.  Our intention is to agree upon a template delineating the minimum essential components required for comprehensive Pilates teacher training.

The Summit investigation involves gathering data from a large number of Pilates schools from around the world (our goal is 100 schools), in order to reveal to the delegates a suggested minimum template for teacher training, as drawn from the data. The delegates will review the proposal and make whatever changes they deem appropriate. The resultant template will then be shared with the larger Pilates community.

In 2011, the investigation included data from 20 schools. During the 2011 Summit, the delegates determined that some of the questions asked in the data gathering process were too ambiguous, and that notions of self-practice, observation, and teaching hours were too subjective. For the 2013 Summit, the survey questions have been made clearer and more succinct, with the goal of achieving a more accurate revised template proposal. 

In addition to the minimum template discussion taking place on Saturday 8 June, there will be a guest speaker representing the vocational licensing of schools. Mr. Pat Sweeney, School Administration Consultant from the Wisconsin Educational Approval Board will speak on the morning of Sunday June 9. This segment will offer delegates the opportunity to learn about the benefits, challenges, and processes involved in school licensure. Mr. Sweeney has already made great contributions to our understanding of this area, and is a supportive advocate of the licensure of Pilates schools.

Please note: this exercise was/is not an attempt at establishing a standardized program. The aim was to reveal how much congruence exists between what is taught in comprehensive programs, and what is required in the PMA certification exam. The high pass rate for the PMA certification exam indicates that congruency does indeed exist.