Resources for SDI Instructor Candidate

[EmilyFarrell]

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?

 

[Alaskan Scuba Dude]

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.

There are several ways individuals learn. Using those techniques enables everyone to understand. There's always room for improvement.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

While not from SDI, I would consider going through this instructor guide from RAID. It is something I recommend to all instructor (candidates) regardless of agency. Kudos to RAID for making this public.

 

[Alaskan Scuba Dude]

While not from SDI, I would consider going through this instructor guide from RAID. It is something I recommend to all instructor (candidates) regardless of agency. Kudos to RAID for making this public.

Since you appear well acquainted with every known dive professional on the planet, you may care to explicate some rather unusual inconsistencies noted in the RAID Instructor Playbook. It was exactly as prescribed—a playbook for divers not competent to take effective action.

• An Out Of Air diver does not follow the donor diver as suggested by RAID; instead, they lead through a restriction or opening.
• An Out Of Air diver may need to purge air from their BCD if ascending too quickly while being held by the said donor.
• Clearing a flooded mask the first time round is not the correct objective.
• Consoles should be a thing of the past.
• Partially flooding a mask may not facilitate demisting—prep mask beforehand.
• Moving into an upright position to reach the first stage and retrieve the regulator hose may not work for everyone. Being slightly inverted or horizontal should suffice.
• When releasing a weight belt you grab the buckle not the free end—use a plastic tri-glide to prevent lead weight dislodging.
• Divers should lean backward not forward to do bubble checks on first stages while on the surface.
• SMB deployment above water is mandatory but deployment underwater is optional—total nonsense.
• Snorkel removal and replace is an oxymoron for divers with less than 30-dives.
• A snorkel should never be tucked under the mask strap to secure it.
• Don’t use your tongue as a splash guard when breathing through a snorkel.
• It would be time consuming trying to correctly weight a diver without using scuba gear or fins in a swimming pool when the actual open water dive is in seawater.
• Not being able to hold neutral buoyancy has nothing to do with increased lung volume.
• Trying to complete a 360 degree turn while holding a compass, with no intention of teaching the student a helicopter turn is irrelevant.
• Lights signals are contradictory to conventional signalling.
• Open Water divers do not need backup lights unless it’s Christmas.
• Identifying the effects of narcosis by writing your name on a slate is totally useless.
• Novice divers should never be taught to remove the regulator from their mouth to inflate the SMB—when there are safer alternatives.
• The Master Rescue Course is pure marketing hype—included is a photo of a diver wearing neoprene mitts.

Disclaimer: Many of the alternative suggestions provided by RAID may prove incompatible when training novice divers.