In addition, you must receive a recommendation from your Advanced course Instructor in order to pursue certification. Your attitude, preparedness, knowledge and leadership skills are determining factors in order to receive a recommendation. 

After refining your bike skills and learning how to be a better cyclist during the Advanced course, you will need to attend other courses to view them from the instructor's view instead of the participant's. You should aim to attend at least one of every course up to Advanced in order to determine if you are interested in teaching these courses. This may not be possible, depending on where you live, for example if there are no Instructors in your area offering courses.

At this point, you will also need to register for an Associate Membership with CIAC.

After deciding what courses you want to teach, you will register for an Instructor Training course. These courses are only open to those who have been recommended as Instructor Candidates and you must obtain the registration password from the Instructor who recommended you. At this time you will be able to register as a Regular Member with CIAC and obtain access to curriculum materials: your membership is included with registration in the Instructor Training course.

For all levels, you will learn about necessary processes such as site and route selection, how people learn, insurance and risk management and mitigation strategies. You will receive information on one or both age groupings depending on your preferences: children (age 4-16) and/or adults (14+). 

Learning about teaching is a progressive process, designed to allow Instructor Candidates to control their own "destination" by going as far along as desired. A Level 4 Instructor Candidate will learn how to teach all courses up to and including Advanced, ensuring a complete understanding of the progression that participants may go through. The Levels are as follows:
Level 1 is qualified to teach First Time (kids and/or adults) courses only.
Level 2 is qualified to teach Novice (kids and/or adults) courses as well as Beginner (if the adult grouping was chosen). 
Level 3 is qualified to teach Novice and Intermediate (kids and/or adults) courses.
Level 4 requires adult grouping and is qualified to teach Novice and Intermediate for kids and/or adults and Advanced courses for adults. 

Please note that the highest level available for the Instructor Training course is dependent on the Level of the Course Conductor teaching the course. The duration of the course is also dependent on the Level desired and actual method of delivery by the Course Conductor; you may be involved in actual courses with participants and/or other Instructor Candidates may act as participants.

Once you've completed the Instructor Training course and learned how to teach the level(s) you desire, you will need to complete a practicum. This process ensures that you benefit from the experience of already-Certified Instructors in order to avoid the feeling of being thrown into the deep end. 

Ideally, you will teach, under the supervision of a Certified Instructor, at least one course of each type you intend to teach on your own. We recognize that this isn't always possible, especially if there aren't any other instructors near you, and will work with you overcome these challenges. 

Please note: depending on when you start the process, availability of Instructor Training courses, number and availability of practicum courses, and local conditions (weather, number of participants, public health measures, etc) you may not be able to complete the full certification process in one calendar year. 

In order to become a Certified Instructor - any level - there are a few additional requirements:

Either as part of your Instructor Training course or following it, you will also face a long-answer evaluation. This evaluation may be written or oral interview style and will assess your knowledge, gauge your attitude towards course participants, and give you feedback on many aspects of teaching. 

Proof of these requirements as well as forms from your practicum must be submitted before Certification can be granted.