Dispelling scubaboard myths (Part 1: It is the instructor not the agency)

[boulderjohn]

Well, in 1995 my Open Water course took a little over a month to complete, with classroom sessions before and after every pool and open water session.

Three questions:

• My 3-day class was taught about the same time, so does that mean the average scuba class back then took 17 days?
  
• Did you work continually throughout that month, or were there some days off, perhaps some chances to eat or sleep? That could affect the our computation of the average length of classes then.
• So you had lots of lectures, and they took a great deal of time. Does spending more time on a slow and inefficient mode of learning make it better? If I take all day to dig a hole and someone comes along with a backhoe and digs one next to it in a few minutes, is my hole better than his because it took longer to dig? (I am serious here. this is what we typically see in these discussions. "We spent many, many hours in the classroom learning stuff, but today's students just show up and get in the water!" That argument counts the time spent on academic preparation back then but does not count the time spent on academic preparation now, pretending nothing is happening there. There is no doubt in my mind that if I give the best damn lectures for many many hours, my students will remember less than if they had spent a fraction of that time doing home study and review, and students doing the e-Learning will remember even more.

 

[Wookie]

Three questions:

• My 3-day class was taught about the same time, so does that mean the average scuba class back then took 17 days?
  
• Did you work continually throughout that month, or were there some days off, perhaps some chances to eat or sleep? That could affect the our computation of the average length of classes then.
• So you had lots of lectures, and they took a great deal of time. Does spending more time on a slow and inefficient mode of learning make it better? If I take all day to dig a hole and someone comes along with a backhoe and digs one next to it in a few minutes, is my hole better than his because it took longer to dig? (I am serious here. this is what we typically see in these discussions. "We spent many, many hours in the classroom learning stuff, but today's students just show up and get in the water!" That argument counts the time spent on academic preparation back then but does not count the time spent on academic preparation now, pretending nothing is happening there. There is no doubt in my mind that if I give the best damn lectures for many many hours, my students will remember less than if they had spent a fraction of that time doing home study and review, and students doing the e-Learning will remember even more.

First of all, you know I'm teasing you. I have no basis to question your class. My class was offered on a military base and consisted of 5 days of classes in the classroom, probably a half day, 5 or more pool sessions, after work, and 4 open water sessions. Again, after work. Like a college semester, the instructor got paid well for the time he spent with us, not necessarily what we learned. As I recall, there was a large amount of sea stories and shoot the sh!t that went on....

 

[diverintheflesh]

Sorry, I don't teach OW any more.

Well, I can't teach myself! I'm an ~ a s s h o l e ~ !

LOL

 

[Diver0001]

I'm pretty sure that you have ZERO technical dives to your credit to my 489 (a few more than I quoted at that time)... but you brought it as if YOU were the expert on technical diving and I had no idea what I was talking about.

I am required to post a correction here. stuartv PM'd me that he has "close to 20" staged decompression dives. Based upon that he claims the label "technical diver".

Given the number and caliber of technical divers on SB, I find this claim unconvincing. However those are the facts.

R..

 

[Wookie]

I am required to post a correction here. stuartv PM'd me that he has "close to 20" staged decompression dives. Based upon that he claims the label "technical diver".

Given the number and caliber of technical divers on SB, I find this claim unconvincing. However those are the facts.

R..

Whose term is 'staged'?

 

[diverintheflesh]

I am required to post a correction here. stuartv PM'd me that he has "close to 20" staged decompression dives. Based upon that he claims the label "technical diver".

Given the number and caliber of technical divers on SB, I find this claim unconvincing. However those are the facts.

R..

were they "BIG" dives or "little" deco dives?

 

[stuartv]

were they "BIG" dives or "little" deco dives?

Little. The most deco I've done on one dive is about 55 minutes.

 

[stuartv]

Whose term is 'staged'?

Mine. As in, I used that term. I didn't make it up or claim to own it.

 

[TMHeimer]

Diving Dubai---Yes, good examples of what I said about graduated students having to do their part and try to dive at least somewhat regularly. I'd be the first one to forget 80% of what I learned if right after taking OW I dived once or twice a year. At this point I'd probably be OK with that and only forget 5%...? That ties into my thought about teaching neutrally vs. on knees. The former is better (from all I've read here), but neither works if the students don't dive enough. Or, both can work if they do.

 

[Diver0001]

A couple decades ago.I was certified in 3 days. I didn't know it then, but I later learned they were able to do that by skipping a lot of standards. .

I took my initial training in 1984. At that time the OW standard was pretty much the same as it was up to the point in time -- recently -- that PADI improved the standard.

My OW training included 6 dives in a pool and 6 dives in OW. This was the choice of the instructor. My AOW, which I took in early 1985 was not 5 dives... it was 5 specialties. This was also the choice of the instructor.

Anno 2017 instructors can make those same choices. Nothing has gotten worse. The standard has improved, the internet has allowed a great many instructors to enter in dialogue with colleagues and (potential) students are better informed than ever.

Asserting that things were better in the past seems, at the very least, odd to me. Seeing those opinions propagated by divers with little to no experience and no experience at all in teaching kind of makes me mad.

R..