Resources for SDI Instructor Candidate

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OP
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Messages
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Location
Florida
# of dives
200 - 499
I'm working with a great LDS to move from PADI divemaster to SDI instructor, but have struggled finding good resources/information about preparing for the IE outside of talking to other professionals at the shop. What resources (SDI specific or not) were most helpful to you in preparing to become an instructor?
 

 
There is a wealth of resources on the SDI website (www.tdisdi.com). Also look at the SDI Blog entries for helpful and awesome articles with tips and advice.
 
So SDI doesn't offer an IDC to prep you for the IE?
 
So SDI doesn't offer an IDC to prep you for the IE?
When I did the crossover from the SEI program(originally YMCA instructor) there was no IDC. Just had to take the exams on line. Most of the SDI programs I see to get to instructor seem to be similar to the YMCA and NAUI programs.
You learn to teach by teaching. Starting with DM and working your way through the courses assisting and gaining knowledge and experience.
Much better IMO than cramming for a week to pass an exam and getting through some skills but coming out with little practical experience.
If you aren't able to pass the instructor exams without an IDC maybe you're not ready to become an instructor? The IDC is a money maker.
As DM your skills and knowledge should be instructor level anyway. The only missing component may be the teaching aspect and that can be developed if your instructor is willing to let you actually teach. Under direct supervision of course.
When I was a PADI DM I crossed over to NAUI and the YMCA. My first assignment was to compose an hour long lecture on the history of diving and deliver it to a group of students. Afterwards the instructor critiqued me. That's how I learned to teach. Delivering all seven lectures and conducting all 6 pool sessions while the instructor observed and critiqued afterwards. For classes from OW through DM.
After roughly teaching and team teaching 100 students over 6 months, the instructor came up to us in the middle of May and said he was bringing an Instructor Trainer and another instructor evaluator in at the end of the month. Our instructor exam would be Thursday through Sunday. Be ready.
That's it and it wasn't a problem.
 
@EmilyFarrell

You may want to reach out to people like Mark Powell, Buck Buchanan, and Wojciech Nowak on FB.
 
When I did the crossover from the SEI program(originally YMCA instructor) there was no IDC. Just had to take the exams on line. Most of the SDI programs I see to get to instructor seem to be similar to the YMCA and NAUI programs.
You learn to teach by teaching. Starting with DM and working your way through the courses assisting and gaining knowledge and experience.
Much better IMO than cramming for a week to pass an exam and getting through some skills but coming out with little practical experience.
If you aren't able to pass the instructor exams without an IDC maybe you're not ready to become an instructor? The IDC is a money maker.
As DM your skills and knowledge should be instructor level anyway. The only missing component may be the teaching aspect and that can be developed if your instructor is willing to let you actually teach. Under direct supervision of course.
When I was a PADI DM I crossed over to NAUI and the YMCA. My first assignment was to compose an hour long lecture on the history of diving and deliver it to a group of students. Afterwards the instructor critiqued me. That's how I learned to teach. Delivering all seven lectures and conducting all 6 pool sessions while the instructor observed and critiqued afterwards. For classes from OW through DM.
After roughly teaching and team teaching 100 students over 6 months, the instructor came up to us in the middle of May and said he was bringing an Instructor Trainer and another instructor evaluator in at the end of the month. Our instructor exam would be Thursday through Sunday. Be ready.
That's it and it wasn't a problem.
Good to hear you like that approach - I'm working alongside an instructor/trainer all summer and slowly taking over teaching responsibilities for the classes. Just looking for any external resources others found helpful! I'm trying to get a variety of perspectives on teaching/presenting skills, since everyone tends to have their own style within the bounds of the standards
 
Good to hear you like that approach - I'm working alongside an instructor/trainer all summer and slowly taking over teaching responsibilities for the classes. Just looking for any external resources others found helpful! I'm trying to get a variety of perspectives on teaching/presenting skills, since everyone tends to have their own style within the bounds of the standards
Don't get stuck trying to emulate other people's styles. As a DM I'm sure that you have your own way of communicating and getting information across.
That's how you should teach. Don't try to copy others, even if it's inadvertent. If it's not your style it will show loud and clear. It's likely the students will pick up on that and wonder why it sounds like you are parroting information instead of putting it in your own words.
Some people are great at presenting with visual aids like power point. Others should never get near one. I create a lot of power points so I know how to present with them. They are an aid, not a substitute for actually talking and knowing your subject.
I have had instructors that did not use a single visual aid (other than their hands) and it was crystal clear what the lesson was.
If you are passionate about certain subjects, try to tamp that passion a tad. It's very easy to get carried away and spend the entire lecture session on one point that in the big scheme of things is a minor issue. Save that talk for the restaurant or pub after class.
Get intimately familiar with subjects you are not passionate about. Those are the ones that will trip you up.
And the biggest thing I tell DM's working towards instructor, if you haven't done it yet, take a couple tech classes from a tech instructor other than your DM instructor. At a minimum, Intro to Tech and Advanced Nitrox.
Not only for the knowledge and different teaching perspective, but to get a taste of what diving really is and how it is an extreme activity that can and does kill people. Even at the OW and even Intro to Scuba levels if the instructor is not on their game or the student doesn't seem to be taking things seriously.
I am retiring from teaching but I have told every student the same thing, before they signed anything or I took payment from them.
"Scuba is fun, exciting, educational, relaxing, informative, and, if done within the limits of ones training and experience, it can be safe. But make no mistake, you are entering an alien environment that is normally hostile to human life. Try to go beyond your training too far and too fast, or get complacent, and it will kill you in some very nasty and creative ways. What we are going to do in this class is try to mitigate that risk. The only way to eliminate is not to dive, but, we can reduce the chance of you becoming a statistic."
That never scared away a student, but it made sure I had their full attention from day one.
 

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