Does ANYONE pass DIR Fundamentals??

[Ghost.Diver]

DIRF not a PASS/FAIL course.

Like UP said, it is reinforcement of basic skills with more emphise (sp) on trim and bouyancy control. Nobody passes. Nobody really fails unless they quit.

My normal buddy, Cave Diver, just finished up his DIRF class last weekend. Also, Fetch from the board took part in it also.

See his write up here

http://www.scubaboard.com/t13618/s.html

 

[buff]

Why pay money for that when the US Navy Seals will teach it to you for free!!

You'll pass or they'll kick yer' arse from here to all eternity.

 

[Spectre]

Rick Murchison once bubbled...
Any course that is structured where "nobody passes" is fatally flawed.

From what I've heard and read, I think the fatal flaw is actually calling DIRF a course. I would think it more akin to a hands-on [fins on?] seminar... you are there to learn something, not to take a test and be graded. If your definition of a course is that you need to get a grade... then DIRF isn't a course... it's a seminar.

 

[Fetch]

Spectre, you said it better than the wordy reply I was working on possibly could have.

DIRF is a fins-on seminar that you can take as many times as you like, building and refining your skills as you go. Its offered as a service to divers who want to become better divers, under the instruction of talented teachers who themselves are among the diving elite.

I should write ad copy for GUE

(seriously, thanks for the alternate viewpoint Spectre, it was very accurate)

jeff

Spectre once bubbled...


From what I've heard and read, I think the fatal flaw is actually calling DIRF a course. I would think it more akin to a hands-on [fins on?] seminar... you are there to learn something, not to take a test and be graded. If your definition of a course is that you need to get a grade... then DIRF isn't a course... it's a seminar.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...

...you haven't taken one of these classes so you can't make that kind of assessment... credibly.

My assessment is that *any* course should be structured and conducted so the performance standards are clear and well defined enough, and prerequisites adequate to successfully screen out most of the people who would fail it before they pay for it.

Rick, classes that are designed as pass/fail often pass folks who really do not have a grasp of the subject... you know that...

You haven't been around carrier aviation much, have you? Failure to fail someone who "really doesn't have a grasp" is a death warrant. It is not done. So I know quite a bit about difficult life-or-death pass/fail courses and how to successfully conduct them.

Shoot, I don't know half the stuff I have certificates for... you probably don't either...

I do have stale certificates from years, decades ago. As for current ones, I really do try to keep up to speed.


And at any rate, the DIRF isn't designed to confer a rating... it is merely a remedial skills class to help folks prepare for GUE Tech 1... you've read enough to know that too...

I've read enough to know I want no part of it.
Rick

 

[Uncle Pug]

Rick Murchison once bubbled...
I've read enough to know I want no part of it.

You crotchety old coot... ut:

So now that that is out in the open
We won't have to fret ourselves over your assessments about it.


~~~~~~~


Spectre... well said... course it went right over the fight deck and didn't land on you know whose carrier. :boom:

 

[Rick Murchison]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...

You crotchety old coot... ut:

So now that that is out in the open
We won't have to fret ourselves over your assessments about it.


~~~~~~~


Spectre... well said... course it went right over the fight deck and didn't land on you know whose carrier. :boom:

AAaarrrr.... That's 'cause I wuz too busy typin' me own response. But I agree that Spectre has cleared the water considerably.
Rick

 

[sheck33]

the DIRF 'class' or 'course' is not a fail/pass one nor do you get another plastic card. Maybe it is a good way to set up other courses. Let the student show the instructor on different occasions he/she can do an array of skills rather then 2 or 3 or 4 dedicated dives. If i can for example deploy a liftbag once without screwing up my bouyancy to much that doesnt mean i am proficient at it. A friend of mine took several months to finally 'pass' tech 1, on emore reason i will practice the DIRF skills to perfection before attempting Tech 1 (or Cave 1 for that matter) But, i am getting better at it, practice practice practice, believe me it is rewarding when your skills get better

 

[O-ring]

Having taken fundamentals and already working on my skills every chance I get (diving almost every weekend), how does tech 1 work? Do you take it, fail it, and retake it (paying twice or more) in the hopes of passing it? Do you just travel to where there are GUE instructors and try the skills portion again? Is there a PADI-style exam? I know what the GUE site says, but it doesn't say anything about multiple classes or address the high percentage of "failure".

 

[Uncle Pug]

O-ring once bubbled...
how does tech 1 work? Do you take it, fail it, and retake it (paying twice or more) in the hopes of passing it?

For those who live nearer to a GUE instructor... it goes like this...

Days 1-3 are training dives while day 4 is experience dives on 30/30 and day 5 is on 21/35 but if you are not ready skill wise to handle any problems that could develop... the day 4 is another training dive day... and if you are still not ready to handle any problem that could develop then day 5 is a training day... and then you get to go away for a month or so and practice... and then you get to do an evaluation dive with the GUE instructor demonstrating that you can handle any problems that could develop and if you are ready then you can schedule to do the 30/30 and the 21/35 dives. Oh, yes... there is a written test.

We didn't have to pay extra for any of the remedial education (it is so unfair for the uneducated to accuse GUE of being a marketing scheme... these guys spend so much time for so little remuneration) but I suspect that the situation will have to change in the future and especially for those who live a farther away.

This is however a valid question and worth asking up front... perhaps is an email to Andrew or JJ.... you might want to also ask JoeR as he will be facing this.

Just remember... if you want the assurance of *passing*... whether you are really ready or not... don't go GUE.