Let The revolution Begin!

[IndigoBlue]

Ok I can see that we have some different ideas going here. Lets break it down and start at the basic OW level training academics. Here is my suggestion for a starting point (a draft if you will)

Basic Requirements
Swimming Ability and Watermanship
Physical Status with Medical History
Expectations and Attitude
Examinations

Physics
Breathing Gases, Pressure/Density/Volumn Relationships, General Gas Law, Dalton, Henry, Charles, Boyles, Gas Mixtures (enriched air), Temperature Effects, Humidity, Buoyancy (Archamedies), Viscosity, Illumination, Vision, Acoustics, Thermal Qualities, Fundamentals of Compressed Gases as related to diving, Compressor Operation and Cascade Systems, Characteristics of Cylinder Materials and Fabrication, Characteristics of Thermal Protection Materials

Underwater Physiology
Direct/Indirect Effects of Pressure, Respiratory and Pulmonary Functions, Cardiac Function, CNS and Pressure, Effects of Narcosis, DCS: Contributating Causes and Treatments/Avoidance, Henry's and Boyles Laws and how it Effects the Human Body, Body Mechanics:Kinesiology, Buoyancy, Equalization: The Sinuses and Ear Mechanism

Equipment
Basic Equipment Requirements, Selecting and Purchasing Equipment, Equipment Configuration, Minimizing and Streamlining, Thermal Protection: Determining the Environmental Requirements, Diving Tools: Selection, Securing and Application, Instrumentation and Computers,Maintenance and Repairing Procedures, Functions and Design of a Regulator, BCD, SPG, Depth Gauge, Compass: USE and Navigation Techniques, Compressed Gas Cylinders: Inspections and Maintenance, Compressor Maintenance and Inspection Cycles, Open Circuit Scuba, Semi-Closed Circuit Scuba, Closed Circuit Scuba, Helmet Diving

Accident Analysis
Diving within Your Limitations, Buddy System Procedures, Rescue and Search Procedures: Self Reliance - Buddy Reliance, When Good Goes Bad, Prevention: Dive Planning, General First Aid, CPR and Oxygen Provision, Calling for Help, Divew Safety, Marine Life Injuries, Pressure Related Injuries or Illness, Correcting or Handling the Problem

The Environment
Training for Overhead Environments, Marine Life Identification: Avoidance and Contact, Low Vizibility and Dark Water Diving, Boat Diving Procedures, Shore Diving, Cold Weather Diving, Reading the Water: Waves, Tides and Currents, Entries and Exits, Weather General

Planning The Dive
The Individual Habits, Buddy Protocols, Communication Systems Below and Above Water, Emergency Procedures, Types of Diving, Dive Table Development and Theory, Dive Table Comparison (US Navy, Enriched Air, DCIEM, etc), Decompression Theories and Practices: Accepting the Risk, Repetitive Dive Planning, Tables and Computer Assisted Diving, Breathing Consumption Rates and Gas Planning Procedures, Dive Plan Violation Protocols, Conducting the dive.


Ok so these are some of the topics I feel that divers need to understand to effectively be a safe diver. I will be looking at the skills later. Comments Please

I presume this is JJ speaking, asking the question.

I believe you need to differentiate between a college course in scuba and the resort course that many if not most divers are interested in.

My own approach follows the continuum of what is natural for the customer. It goes something like this:

1) Swimming on the surface
2) Swimming underwater
3) Snorkeling on the surface
4) Surface diving and blast clearing the snorkel
5) Clearing the mask seated using the snorkel
6) Swimming and snorkeling with an exposure suit
7) Proper weighting with the exposure suit for swimming and snorkeling with neutral buoyancy
8) Donning the scuba unit
9) Breathing on scuba
10) Breathing underwater shallow on scuba
11) Clearing your regulator
12) Recovering your regulator
13) Clearing your mask on scuba
14) Air sharing shallow on scuba
15) Ear clearing
16) Descent procedures
17) Neutral buoyancy and hovering in the deep pool
18) Air sharing with ascent
19) Pool touring and buoyancy control
20) Ascent procedures
21) Cramp relief
22) Tows
23) ESA
24) EBA
25) Gear ditch & replace surface
26) Gear ditch and replace underwater
27) Pool rescue segment
28) Site survey for open water predive
29) Dive planning
30) Predive buddy checks
31) Entries and exits
32) Open water emergency skills
33) Open water touring with buoyancy control
34) Open water comprehensive skills check
35) Open water navigation
36) Open water ESA
37) Depth limitations based on air diving
38) Depth limitations based on nitrox diving
39) Boat diving procedures
40) Diving in currents
41) Surface consumption rate calculations and usage
42) Open water rescue
43) Ditching your weight belt at the surface (drill this a lot)

Then you can arrange the diving physics and physiology and biology around the skills outline, so that it all flows coherently. I prefer to give the written test near the end of all training, when the students have had a chance to assimilate more by their own experience during the training. That way the test is less of an academic waste of time.

You can actually unify all of the academic requirements around one single principle, just like Cousteau did back in the 1940s:

"Don't hold your breath while breathing on it!"

If you want to have the best instruction in the world, then it might as well be just line mine!

However 1000 instructors will give you 999 other answers.

 

[IndigoBlue]

However, there is a solution. Offer the same "resort course" that everyone else does. You ought to be able to figure out if you like being wet that way, and its trivial enough that crediting it towards the "real deal" works too.

Agreed.

 

[GDI]

I presume this is JJ speaking, asking the question.

I believe you need to differentiate between a college course in scuba and the resort course that many if not most divers are interested in.

My own approach follows the continuum of what is natural for the customer. It goes something like this:

1) Swimming on the surface
2) Swimming underwater
3) Snorkeling on the surface
4) Surface diving and blast clearing the snorkel
5) Clearing the mask seated using the snorkel
6) Swimming and snorkeling with an exposure suit
7) Proper weighting with the exposure suit for swimming and snorkeling with neutral buoyancy
8) Donning the scuba unit
9) Breathing on scuba
10) Breathing underwater shallow on scuba
11) Clearing your regulator
12) Recovering your regulator
13) Clearing your mask on scuba
14) Air sharing shallow on scuba
15) Ear clearing
16) Descent procedures
17) Neutral buoyancy and hovering in the deep pool
18) Air sharing with ascent
19) Pool touring and buoyancy control
20) Ascent procedures
21) Cramp relief
22) Tows
23) ESA
24) EBA
25) Gear ditch & replace surface
26) Gear ditch and replace underwater
27) Pool rescue segment
28) Site survey for open water predive
29) Dive planning
30) Predive buddy checks
31) Entries and exits
32) Open water emergency skills
33) Open water touring with buoyancy control
34) Open water comprehensive skills check
35) Open water navigation
36) Open water ESA
37) Depth limitations based on air diving
38) Depth limitations based on nitrox diving
39) Boat diving procedures
40) Diving in currents
41) Surface consumption rate calculations and usage
42) Open water rescue
43) Ditching your weight belt at the surface (drill this a lot)

Then you can arrange the diving physics and physiology and biology around the skills outline, so that it all flows coherently. I prefer to give the written test near the end of all training, when the students have had a chance to assimilate more by their own experience during the training. That way the test is less of an academic waste of time.

You can actually unify all of the academic requirements around one single principle, just like Cousteau did back in the 1940s:

"Don't hold your breath while breathing on it!"

If you want to have the best instruction in the world, then it might as well be just line mine!

However 1000 instructors will give you 999 other answers.

Wait Let me think!

 

[GDI]

Nope I'm not JJ, sorry
I also I would have them do the exam at the end of the course and would also have quizzes to build them up and identify weak areas, during the course. At the end of each class the students would have the opportunity to respond via a questionaire directly back to the instructor. They would also been provided the means to respond directly to the training agency for better QA monitoring.
As far as the college course vs the resort course you could still conduct intro dives at a resort (instructor to student ratio 2:1) but I would not certify them nor credit their dives towards full c-card credentials. I would limit them to only diving under the watchful eye of a instructor at the instructors discretion and never in an area where they could cause harm to the water environment, like only over the rocky or heavy sand areas and limiy them to depths of 10-20 feet.
You are talking skills here, I agree to blend the skills in with the academics but I am wanting to concentrate on the academics only at this point. There are no new secret scuba skills but we can hold those we teach to a higher standard of application

 

[IndigoBlue]

...You are talking skills here, I agree to blend the skills in with the academics but I am wanting to concentrate on the academics only at this point...

That is the classic classroom approach, of course. But I believe the classic classroom approach leaves the students in a fog of confusion and dazed. There is simply too much to cover. It is exactly like the tail wagging the dog.

That is why I favour a better organized modular approach with the skills as the backbone of the organization scheme for the academics as well.

At any rate, when I teach, that is what I do.

If you want to be the best, you have to be better than me.

[If this isnt JJ then I am guessing it is MHK, as my second guess!]

 

[Genesis]

Let me posit something else.

An interesting point was made back up in this thread...... one that after discussion with the person who made it over a surface interval, I agree with.

How about we modularize the class, and pay for it by the hour.

NOW, the student earns not just certification BUT along the way completion/sign-off of the modules. This allows the student to fire the teacher if he/she decides the teacher bites at any time in the process, and not lose anything - they have earned what they paid for and actually learned to that point!

I'm grinding through a progression for this that would make sense - it will take some time to actually develop something that makes sense.

BTW, that previous post looks suspiciously like someone "stole" a copy of an upcoming GUE OW course outline....

The focus isn't at that level yet guys.... at least I don't think it is. Structure before detail.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Things could be modular just as they are now. The changes needed to the actual content don't need a huge amount of changing although a add some important things at all levels.

The biggest changes need to be in quality. If you're going to teach buoyancy control than really teach it. The same with buddy diving. Make them actually demonstrate that they can do it. And for goodness sakes, explain how trim works and make them get that way and use a kick that doesn't blow everything out.

Students don't need to do more. They need to do it better rather than just taking a quick sloppy try at it.

90% of what I've added to my classes has been added to stress the basics more than add things. Of course for every picture of a kneeling diver the agency shows, I get an extra hour of work to get the student to forget it.

If you get them off the bottom and able to do everything they learn to do now while off the bottom while knowing what's going on around them, you have a diver.

Simply write the standards so this is required and arrange the sequence in a logical order and you have it licked. The most important things are always the simplest.

 

[GDI]

That is the classic classroom approach, of course. But I believe the classic classroom approach leaves the students in a fog of confusion and dazed. There is simply too much to cover. It is exactly like the tail wagging the dog.

That is why I favour a better organized modular approach with the skills as the backbone of the organization scheme for the academics as well.

At any rate, when I teach, that is what I do.

If you want to be the best, you have to be better than me.

[If this isnt JJ then I am guessing it is MHK, as my second guess!]

Modular Systems Work And the teaching process when using a modular design have shown great success. I believe that a modular approach in the end result of working classroom and pool and OW may be the best method. Do class room then a pool session then a dive. You could even do the pool first. The academics are only one part of the overall system. I am looking just at this component first. AND again (lol) I am not JJ or MHK Try This www.genesisdiving.com

 

[GDI]

BTW, that previous post looks suspiciously like someone "stole" a copy of an upcoming GUE OW course outline....

The focus isn't at that level yet guys.... at least I don't think it is. Structure before detail.

Hey Genesis You have a good idea about charging by the session. The outline That I posted is not from any GUE upcoming courses. I just pulled things together from various sources and my years of diving.
In any respect the quality of the program would be the key thing to concentrate on.

 

[Genesis]

I can't take credit for the session idea - look in this thread and you will see the original suggestion by O-4 - the idea is his - but it makes sense. We kicked it around over an hour SI the other day and refined it to the point that it makes a LOT of sense.