It seems as though it's a pretty common thing, to see people criticizing their AOW class as not providing very much actual learning. I know I felt that way, and most recently, Thrillhouse had the same reaction. Peter and I were discussing that thread, and we got to talking about how we would do an AOW class, if we were to design one. I thought I'd throw our ideas out and see what other people have to say about how they would do it.
First off, I'd have most if not all of the dives be required, rather than the "subject tasting" structure of the existing (at least PADI) class. Now, the required dives might vary with area, but the material of the five dives would be set by the instructor, appropriate for that area. (For example, night diving would be required for the PNW, because many of even our daytime dives in summer are dark enough to be effectively night diving, because of the light absorption by the surface algae layer.)
Second, one of the required dives would be a skills dive, where the divers practiced such things as clearing a flooded mask, recovering a regulator, and sharing air WHILE DIVING. This dive could be done in shallow, sheltered water, but would include such things as actually carrying out an air-sharing ascent under control. The reason for this dive, in my opinion, is that it would make the deep dive safer if the divers had ready responses for the biggest problems that they would be likely to encounter on that dive -- things like freeflows, or running out of gas.
Peak performance buoyancy would be a required dive, and the goal of it would be not only to get the diver properly weighted, but to get them into something approaching a stable horizontal position in the water.
Peter thinks the deep dive should be included, to give the divers an opportunity to experience narcosis under supervision. But it should include some basic information on gas management (eg. rock bottom and an introduction to SAC rates).
Both of us agree that a dive to practice navigational skills should be included. Unless you do nothing but dive off boats with a guide, you are going to have to do some navigating. How that dive would be structured would obviously depend on where you are, but it should definitely include some compass work, and if possible, some natural navigation as well, even if it's just getting the divers to tell you what KINDS of landmarks or features they would look for to orient themselves (wave lines in sand, etc.)
The last dive could be region-specific. For example, in the PNW, a dry suit dive might be a reasonable one to include. For places where most diving is done off boats, a boat dive (to include such things as the use of emergency signaling devices, and gas planning for a mandatory return to the up line) might be more useful.
It seems to me that such a class, if it included the kinds of information I listed, would be good value for money, and still an appropriate class for someone with a very small number of dives.
Thoughts?
