My turn...
As most know I am an instructor. Here is a partial description of what we have done, what we want to do and why. This board has been a significant resource and thats part of the reason I am posting this.
First some statements of how I perceive things.
I dont believe current standards prevent a good class.
I dont believe current standards insure a good class.
I do believe the following do prevent good training:
1, There are market pressures to shorten and cheapen training. I wont list them but they come from both manufacturers of equipment and the customer as well as other competition
2, An instructors idea of what good training is will be, to some extent, based on his/her own training. Many instructors have little (dive) training beyond AOW. Think about it. A DM or instructor course teaches supervision and how to teach. What additional training do they have in the basics such as trim, equipment configuration, propulsion techniques and so on and so on. Have you ever heard of a recreational instructor candidate failing because of poor trim, fining technique or silting as a result? Is an instructor ever asked to remove and replace a mask while maintaining depth and trim? Can a diver of this level develop other divers of this level? Yes. Is this good enough? IMO, most divers and instructors dont know the difference because thats all they have seen.
Over the past several years as I have attempted to run a DS and as Ive continued my own training and experience I couldnt help but notice that the divers around me just flat out stink. I dont just mean a little off, I mean rotgut bad. I noticed that the instructors didnt look so hot either. The students do it like the instructor. Here is the real kicker
my students were diving just like the rest. But wait, I was doing everything right. Well, the way I was taught anyway.
I started to look at what I think the end product should be and the process that produces it. I also spoke with and stole ideas from people like Jarrod Jablonski and other instructors I know that have stopped teaching for dive shops out of disgust. I started evaluating the standards with respect to what is actually required and what is left to the discretion of the instructor. For instance, we must have students swim neutrally buoyant. We can have them properly trimmed if we want. We can teach a frog and modified frog kick if we want. We must have them hover. We can have them balanced and trimmed to hover horizontally if we want. We must demonstrate skills like reg recovery/clearing, mask remove/replace and air sharing. We may demonstrate these skills while kneeling on the bottom if we want or we can demonstrate them while hovering horizontally and maintaining depth. We can insist on good buddy skills if we want. Many say that an instructor is diving solo. The instructor may be the responsible party and have the most experience in the group but if pool and classroom training were successful nobody should be solo.
The above opinions and observations led to some no-brainer type changes. The changes started in the classroom. It is the instructors job to show application for the material.
I show video of recreational divers in the Caribbean. I point out the poor trim, total lack of buddy teams, the poor buoyancy control and the dangling equipment. Also obvious, is the damage to the reef. I also show footage of cave divers. I dont do this to promote cave diving but to show proper trim, buoyancy control and team diving. Eventually I will get some video of these skills outside of a cave. I also show a video called A Deceptively easy Way to Die. I do this to keep them out of caves and all other environments that they are not trained for. In lecture I explain the mechanics of balance and trim and show what equipment and techniques we use to manage them. We illustrate the consequences of poor trim and buoyancy control. I talk about how basic skills affect ones ability to cope with a problem and avoid problems in the first place. I give personal accounts of real world examples. I talk about different methods of donating air, my experiences with them and why we teach it the way we do (Hogarthian).
In the Pool
We added some time and adjusted the cost accordingly. There is time each session for practice and play. We use a buoyancy control course and various mask games to have fun, reinforce good technique and keep repetition interesting.
From the beginning, no staff member ever touches the bottom. All skills are demonstrated while holding depth and trim. I cant teach hovering this early but if students emulate us (and some do) I dont stop them. If needed students are allowed (not encouraged) to use the bottom during early skill practice. At this stage it is more important to learn the mechanics such as learning to breath under water, clearing a reg and mask or recovering a reg. When we demonstrate UW swimming we do not stress the flutter but the frog and modified frog. I also demonstrate turns and reverse kicks. Interesting enough, divers seem to naturally want to flutter. I guess this is from past swimming experience. They get over it.
When we get to neutral buoyant swimming we move tanks and weights to help achieve proper trim. We continue these efforts when we teach hovering. Hovering is done in a horizontal position and then more swimming. From here on we avoid the bottom completely. Good buddy skills are stressed throughout and in fact I have some new ideas to reinforce team concepts. Every class is a beta version it seems.
OW is more of the same except we are less forgiving when it comes to buddy and situational awareness. In a course of this length these skill are not mastered but a new diver will know what it looks like and be well on their way. At this point they can choose which video they wish star in.
In addition we plan to get video capability. Video has been used as a training aid for years in sports and even public speaking it would be silly not to use it.
We are considering offering a follow-up class with the sole purpose of refining and polishing these same skills.
In answer to the suggestion of free classes, forget it. We all must eat. My time is valuable to my family and me and if it isnt valuable to the student they should go elsewhere.
We have made similar changes in AOW and rescue classes but maybe that should be another thread.
I welcome flames, criticisms and suggestions.
