Ranking of Scuba Specialty courses

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

To me it's nitrox, drysuit, deep and wreck. Basically the things that are harder to do/learn yourself or that prevent you from doing something (like diving Silfra without a drysuit speaciality or renting a tank with nitrox for an extended somewhat deeper dive (like 30m). PPB is basically useless because just diving more enables you to learn buoyancy (usually) but I took it anyways as a starting diver to get a bit more guidance.

If PPB does not include reducing the lead weight to the optimum amount and fixing trim issues then I agree, it is useless. Most occasional divers I see dive overweighted and sometimes I see big swings in buoyancy. Some of the divers make adjustments to their diving where they have achieved more or less sufficient buoyancy despite being overweighted. I don't believe any of those divers are working on reducing their weight. That takes an instructor in a course or an experienced buddy to help them.

I was surprised to see several posts placing the self-reliant specialty before PPB. Upon completion of the self-reliant course I can see the conversation going this way: "Congratulations on becoming a self-reliant diver. You can now have uncontrollable ascents and crash into the reef all by yourself now!" :wink:
 
If PPB does not include reducing the lead weight to the optimum amount and fixing trim issues then I agree, it is useless. Most occasional divers I see dive overweighted and sometimes I see big swings in buoyancy. Some of the divers make adjustments to their diving where they have achieved more or less sufficient buoyancy despite being overweighted. I don't believe any of those divers are working on reducing their weight. That takes an instructor in a course or an experienced buddy to help them.

I was surprised to see several posts placing the self-reliant specialty before PPB. Upon completion of the self-reliant course I can see the conversation going this way: "Congratulations on becoming a self-reliant diver. You can now have uncontrollable ascents and crash into the reef all by yourself now!" :wink:

In skydiving after certification you start jumping on your own. Only after getting more experience you are allowed to jump with buddies
 
I was surprised to see several posts placing the self-reliant specialty before PPB. Upon completion of the self-reliant course I can see the conversation going this way: "Congratulations on becoming a self-reliant diver. You can now have uncontrollable ascents and crash into the reef all by yourself now!" :wink:[/QUOTE]

Unless I misunderstood the question, it was asking what classes are most requested, not recommended. When taking students into advanced classes that can get them hurt, such as deep, self reliant and ESPECIALLY any Tec classes, if there are any buoyancy issues period, we remediate until they are fixed. If not, they stop training and get to go back and either do PPB or one-on-one refresher with an instructor.

Besides, with the experience requirements going in to self reliant, most students have been diving for a while. Its not like they go right from OW into self reliant. They need 100 dives, AOW, AND a skills assessment. Most buoyancy issues or uncontrolled ascents I have seen at this level are from not enough experience in dry suit, or task loading during deco stops, blowing a bag etc.
 
I was surprised to see several posts placing the self-reliant specialty before PPB. Upon completion of the self-reliant course I can see the conversation going this way: "Congratulations on becoming a self-reliant diver. You can now have uncontrollable ascents and crash into the reef all by yourself now!" :wink:

Unless I misunderstood the question, it was asking what classes are most requested, not recommended. When taking students into advanced classes such as deep, self reliant and ESPECIALLY any Tec classes, if there are any buoyancy issues period, we remediate until they are fixed. If not, they stop training and get to go back and either do PPB or one-on-one refresher with an instructor.

Besides, with the experience requirements going in to self reliant, most students have been diving for a while. Its not like they go right from OW into self reliant. They need 100 dives, AOW, and PADI requires a skills assessment with the instructor. Most buoyancy issues or uncontrolled ascents I have seen at this level are from not enough experience in dry suit, or task loading during deco stops, blowing a bag etc.[/QUOTE]
 
I hope you did not say what you meant to say. What you said was that the teaching is irrelevant to what the people learn. What did you mean to say?
I just mean that teaching methodolgies are irrelevant.
The learner grasp of the topic is the point and even with superpower teaching and uber knowledge transfer skills, experience cannot be shorcuted.
But of course I am just a little inexperienced educator and I am open to improve my teaching :)
 
I just mean that teaching methodolgies are irrelevant.
The learner grasp of the topic is the point and even with superpower teaching and uber knowledge transfer skills, experience cannot be shorcuted.
But of course I am just a little inexperienced educator and I am open to improve my teaching :)
Maybe what you are missing, grasshopper, is that the valuable experience usually does not even begin until the quality teaching has happened. Too much teaching is trying to give people objectives, instead of tell/showing people what to do to attain those objectives. Suppose the student gets water in their mask, do you just let them try a dozen things to get the water out or let them bolt to the surface? That is, do you let them get experience, or teach them something?

Maybe I don't know what you meant by "teaching methodlogies." Can you give examples?
 
Maybe what you are missing, grasshopper, is that the valuable experience usually does not even begin until the quality teaching has happened. Too much teaching is trying to give people objectives, instead of tell/showing people what to do to attain those objectives. Suppose the student gets water in their mask, do you just let them try a dozen things to get the water out or let them bolt to the surface? That is, do you let them get experience, or teach them something?

Maybe I don't know what you meant by "teaching methodlogies." Can you give examples?
If you call me "grasshopper", please let me call you "sifu" and kowtow.
Please enlight me :)
 
I reckon you should drop a curtsy mate
And learn the padi books and go to the next course like a diver, prepared
It is not what I want it is what I am prepared for I say
 
Well that didn’t take long to morph into a pro-con AOW conversation.
 

Back
Top Bottom