Any tech instructor worth his salt is going to recommend that future students do their own research in advance of training. Mark Powell's 'Deco For Divers' is an excellent resource for that.
I put together my own reading list for tech students. This helps them locate great resources online that can establish understanding that support the dive planning they do on the course.
Technical Diving Course Pre-Reading List
When it comes to (tech) diving training, the maxim "
you get out of it, what you put in" is really applicable.
I encourage students to pre-study the manual and do their own supplementary research and reading in advance. The knowledge they bring to training shapes the theory that can be covered in discussion based-learning during the actual course. Completing the knowledge reviews in advance frees up time in the schedule for more involved discussions on underlying theories..
Given that a large number of tech divers now use dive planning software and/or tech computers that run Buhlmann ZHL-16 B/C w/GF (and even the GF variant of VPM-B/C) - then there is a clear need for understanding the theory behind gradient factors. How else can a diver intelligently select appropriate settings for their deco software?
This, of course,
is supposed to be covered by instructors - as the TecRec courses do cover teaching the use of deco software for dive planning. If gradient factor selection is a part of that software, then it has to be taught by the instructor. Likewise, if VPM or RGBM were used, that theory behind those models should also form part of the diver education.
I'd suggest, however, that deco theory is constantly evolving - and is quite debatable. Putting deco modelling information into a tech manual could be risky from a liability perspective... as it might represent advocating a given model or theory that subsequently gets disproved or becomes out-of-date. No agency would want to put information into a course manual that could become dated quickly. There are other, more responsive, sources for that information.
The emphasis remains on the
individual tech instructor teaching the information that the student tech diver needs to know. That requires a level of professionalism where the tech instructor educates themselves to a level of expertise in the subjects needed. There is a need for tech 'professionals' to take responsibility for their own development and capacity to pass on critical information to their students. I am surprised that so many don't....
Tech instructors should not just be
regurgitating the contents of an agency manual. They should have the expertise and understanding to
teach tech students what is current and pertinent to the training conducted.
There really is nothing stopping a tech instructor from adding deco theory and deco model workshops as supplements to their tech training courses. This, of course, requires more time in the program. That means more cost to the student. From my experience, there's a lot of prospective tech students that simply don't see a value to paying for extra workshops and knowledge in their training schedule.
Some tech instructors/centers, as standard, factor in more time to teach extra-curricular theory lessons. It's a very good thing. However, they lose trade because of that - because many students are looking for the cheaper, quicker option for tech training. Thus, the tech instructor/center that sticks to the bare minimums...
only regurgitates the manuals and provides a most superficial outline of theory... shaves a day or two off their courses.... gets more custom.
I've been thinking, for several years, of writing a 'deco theory' distinctive specialty course. However, I've yet to be convinced there'd be sufficient demand to justify the cost and time in developing that.
