Diver Training, Has It Really Been Watered Down???

[CT-Rich]

I did the longer course back in 1980. Diving and expectations for divers was a lot different. I will say that I enjoyed the longer program. I looked forward to the classes and pool sessions. Was it more effective? It's apples to oranges. I think it was a lot more fun. Repeating skills over in the pool week after week cannot be argued against was great for proficiency. Is it a model that would work today? Probably not.

 

[TMHeimer]

I did the longer course back in 1980. Diving and expectations for divers was a lot different. I will say that I enjoyed the longer program. I looked forward to the classes and pool sessions. Was it more effective? It's apples to oranges. I think it was a lot more fun. Repeating skills over in the pool week after week cannot be argued against was great for proficiency. Is it a model that would work today? Probably not.

Sorry to bring up an old word, but would you say that the longer pool sessions meant you were able to "master" the skills? Ei., as opposed to doing them once successfully in today's courses.

 

[EastEndDiver]

I was trained in the 70's and feel the same way CT-Rich does my basic course was 36 hours over a 12 week period and the Advanced was also 36 hours....Lots of practice …...things started to become "second nature" meaning you didn't have to think about doing an exercise it just was reflex for lack of a better word..

I doubt many divers today would commit to that type of training.

I may be jaded after 4 decades of diving but I see too many "divers" who should NOT hold a certification card mostly in tourist destinations.

 

[CT-Rich]

Sorry to bring up an old word, but would you say that the longer pool sessions meant you were able to "master" the skills? Ei., as opposed to doing them once successfully in today's courses.

I enjoyed taking the class, looked forward to go every week, became friendly with the other students. It was a good experience. Were my skills that much better than the weekend wonders of today? probably, but the required skill set was very different. I was taught a lot of things like buddy breathing, CSA, ditch and don, mouth to snorkel breathing, surface towing an unconscious diver. Some of those skills are no longer taught because they were unsafe to practice or replace by technology, like buddy breathing and calculation repetitive dive groups. Who here could plan a multi-level dive profile using the navy tables? There was only one gas available. We didn't even have tanks until the forth class, if I recall correctly. First class was a swim test, the second and third were snorkeling. We only got orally inflated horse collar BCs on the last pool session and there was no discussion (at least that I remember) about buoyancy control.

The cost to run a class that way would make getting certified today cost prohibitive and considering how people pile crap onto their schedules today, asking for a very high level of commitment that many would not be willing to make. I am encouraging my daughter to take scuba as an elective in college, so she can get her advanced certification (she has just OW).

I was probably better at clearing my mask and more comfortable setting up the gear, but my first OW dive was in a 1/4" farmer John wetsuit which was much more restrictive than anything available today. Apples and oranges.

 

[HBVetera n2312]

This is an interesting and VALUABLE subject. I have been an instructor for over 30 years teaching everything BUT SCUBA, and since I am in the pipeline for my instructor certification, I find a lot of the comments here very useful and valuable.

I can say this as my experience teaching has taught me, that I have seen training methodologies evolve as we find that everyone learns a certain way, some like to read, some need pictures, some need hands on. This is a very much studied field, learning and how the brain works. So with technological advances, we have seen teaching and learning advances. I honestly believe that when someone thinks training has been watered down, they see it as different than what they themselves did. When I look objectively at some of the topics I still teach today, I see that we are experiencing an "efficiency in training" model which is driven by real world experiences and lessons learned.

An example:

When I first received medical training as a young soldier in 1986, I was taught to stop bleeding on the extremities in the following manner-
direct pressure, elevation, pressure points, pressure bandage, tourniquet. In the very same Army in 2006, the very same subject was taught in the following manner-
CAT III Tourniquet.

As an instructor, I feel that this is simply a result of lessons learned, so the training is much more efficient, shorter, and more effective. I realize that I have to be open to continuing education and that as technology changes, so does training.
We find that there are a lot of BS techniques being taught that no one uses when overstressed or task-loaded. Gross motor movements are much more intuitive unless the student has mastered, and I mean MASTERED, the fundamentals, then more advanced technique based on fine motor skills can be taught, then mastered. I see this idea prevail in subjects like weapons training and open hand combatives training. Very much different subjects than SCUBA, but using the same brain and motor-skills. Repetition is KEY for positive muscle memory in all motor skills development training in a stress environment.

Just my view as a non-SCUBA instructor. Will keep reading, very good discussion here.

 

[JamesBon92007]

We only got orally inflated horse collar BCs on the last pool session and there was no discussion (at least that I remember) about buoyancy control.
.

The way I remember it they called it "proper weighting" and in my class we learned to weight ourselves so that we were roughly neutral at the end of the dive. And no, there wasn't any discussion about being neutral while diving. As for the horse collar, my instructor suggested that it could be used as a "rebreather" while ascending to the surface if, for example, you were too deep for a successful free ascent. The concept may have been a better alternative than downing or an air embolism, but probably not by much

 

[CT-Rich]

The way I remember it they called it "proper weighting" and in my class we learned to weight ourselves so that we were roughly neutral at the end of the dive. And no, there wasn't any discussion about being neutral while diving. As for the horse collar, my instructor suggested that it could be used as a "rebreather" while ascending to the surface if, for example, you were too deep for a successful free ascent. The concept may have been a better alternative than downing or an air embolism, but probably not by much

Yes, proper weighting, but you were wearing what you were wearing.... No Trimming out. You orally inflated once you were on the surface, or if you were in trouble pull the CO2 cartridge before you pass out or struggling on the surface. I waited until I could afford a new Jacket BC with a power inflator, which was pretty cutting edge at the time.

 

[HBVetera n2312]

Sorry to bring up an old word, but would you say that the longer pool sessions meant you were able to "master" the skills? Ei., as opposed to doing them once successfully in today's courses.

I know that in my classes, you can only MASTER a skill once you can DEMONSTRATE the skill properly in a controlled environment with no variables, then in a scenario based exercise, PERFORM the skill as demonstrated under stress with numerous variables. You must do this on three consecutive separate training evolutions to pass minimum standards.

Again, in my world this is our standard, but the physiological and psychological learning evolutions are the same. I do believe there is value in seeing something and learning at your own pace either with a book or interactive video or eLearning, but there also needs to be a person standing in front of you teaching because that person has done in real life what they are teaching you to do. Whether it is a tactic, technique, or procedure, a person has to show you physically that something works. It also builds confidence in the student, which is one of the instructor's responsibilities.

I believe that a hybrid of online classes and classroom instruction helps make a better informed student prior to entering the pool.

 

[TMHeimer]

I enjoyed taking the class, looked forward to go every week, became friendly with the other students. It was a good experience. Were my skills that much better than the weekend wonders of today? probably, but the required skill set was very different. I was taught a lot of things like buddy breathing, CSA, ditch and don, mouth to snorkel breathing, surface towing an unconscious diver. Some of those skills are no longer taught because they were unsafe to practice or replace by technology, like buddy breathing and calculation repetitive dive groups. Who here could plan a multi-level dive profile using the navy tables? There was only one gas available. We didn't even have tanks until the forth class, if I recall correctly. First class was a swim test, the second and third were snorkeling. We only got orally inflated horse collar BCs on the last pool session and there was no discussion (at least that I remember) about buoyancy control.

The cost to run a class that way would make getting certified today cost prohibitive and considering how people pile crap onto their schedules today, asking for a very high level of commitment that many would not be willing to make. I am encouraging my daughter to take scuba as an elective in college, so she can get her advanced certification (she has just OW).

I was probably better at clearing my mask and more comfortable setting up the gear, but my first OW dive was in a 1/4" farmer John wetsuit which was much more restrictive than anything available today. Apples and oranges.

Agree on all points. I guess some of the skills--like tables for multi-level dives--are pretty much obsolete today, while others such as rescue techniques (beyond "tired diver tows) should not have (IMO) been removed. I very much like the idea of a couple of days snorkeling as opposed to once going down to pool bottom, coming up and blast-clearing. This is not rocket science, but I believe gives the new diver a head start. All the repetition you mention on the skills that were taught is my reason for saying yes, the OW course has been "watered down". Also agree that the course you took would be "impractical" today due to the cost for all those hours, people's schedules, as you say.

 

[TMHeimer]

I know that in my classes, you can only MASTER a skill once you can DEMONSTRATE the skill properly in a controlled environment with no variables, then in a scenario based exercise, PERFORM the skill as demonstrated under stress with numerous variables. You must do this on three consecutive separate training evolutions to pass minimum standards.

Again, in my world this is our standard, but the physiological and psychological learning evolutions are the same. I do believe there is value in seeing something and learning at your own pace either with a book or interactive video or eLearning, but there also needs to be a person standing in front of you teaching because that person has done in real life what they are teaching you to do. Whether it is a tactic, technique, or procedure, a person has to show you physically that something works. It also builds confidence in the student, which is one of the instructor's responsibilities.

I believe that a hybrid of online classes and classroom instruction helps make a better informed student prior to entering the pool.

I would probably agree that the process you describe is what I may consider "mastering" a skill. As opposed to doing it once correctly.