Certification Agency Poll

[erichK]

I got the OW and AOW certifications from CMAS. All the following certifications (up to DM) were NAUI.
I general I think that in spite of the technological progress (theoretical course on video, CD etc.) the main part of the course is the OW dives with the additional information received from instructor. No video (which is pretty flat and boring with not very good actors in it) can make more impression and submit the material in more interesting form than a really experienced person. FrogX

Agree here and disagree with seahunter...based on over twenty years of teaching experience in other areas. There is a big (and verifiable!) difference between interactively learning from a live human being and "learning" from a video. While a truly excellent instructor can exploit a video, by playing it in small bits, with frequent interuption questions, comments and challenges, poor or poorly prepared ones usually use them as a substitute for actual teaching.

Would also say, from peronal experience and a great deal of thought and fair amount of discussion and reflection about three generations of divers (I certified first in the late sixties, then again in 1982, and again in 2001 (ACUC OW, PADI AOW) that diving cannot be safely and competently learned in two or three days by most people. While the behaviours involved can be introduced and tried a few times, there is simply not enough time to physically and mentally rehearse them to ensure that they will, indeed, occur in situations of stress. (Bachrach and Egstrom researched and tested this combined physical practice/menta-rehearsal learning process in their classic STRESS AND PERFORMANCE IN DIVING)

Add to the ever-shorter training times the increasing practice of certifying even pre-teenage children and the potential for injury to both divers and delicate marine habitat becomes a real concern.

During my OW course I got a lot of information and training , much more than students get on PADI or NAUI courses (OK, my CMAS courses took place on a different continent, which could play its role). May be some of this information was excessive, but as I realized later it was very valuable, and I recalled the instructions and training I got then many times. FrogX

The relevance of learning Boyle's law, etc. is precisely that it can prevent poor planning based on a poor understanding of physics. Of course the physical training and mental rehaearsal of physical behaviours is more important, but there should be time for both. (I can still remeber myu profound disappointemt *and that of my 14 year old daughter* when we cracked open our slick PADI AOW textbooks to find how little depth they actually had.)

You can ask me why I chose NAUI and not continued with CMAS, it's because I feel that PADI is a more commercial organization than NAUI. I don't believe into mix of commerce and education. FrogX

Again as a longtime teacher, I have to agree here. The LDS PADI instruction we got was pleasant and competent, but nothin like as patient, intense or detailed as the comprehensive support and training provided in the ACUC OW training by the non-profit Saskatoon Triton club.