Survey Results: Student Preparedness & Satisfaction Following Pool/Confined Water

[RJP]

As many Scubaboard'ers might know, last week I fielded a survey regarding divers' experience during their pool/confined water training. The topic must have struck a chord with many folks, as the level and breadth of participation was phenomenal. While responses are still coming in, there have been nearly 700 validated completions in the seven days that the survey has been up. I figured this was more than sufficient to conduct some preliminary analyses on the data.

I'll share a few key findings below, but those who are interested in a "deep dive" can see a summary write up and the full data presentation here:

Getting New Divers Off On The Right Foot

The objectives of the study were:

• Evaluate diver perceptions of key outcomes of pool/Confined Water training sessions
  • Preparedness for Open Water dives
  • Overall satisfaction with pool/Confined Water experience
• Determine which logistical factors associated with pool/confined water sessions correlate with higher preparedness and satisfaction

Divers in the survey were asked two different ways about how prepared they were for their open water: how prepared they felt at the time... and looking back in hindsight, how prepared do they now believe they were.

While roughly half of respondents felt "mostly prepared" at the time, nearly 3-out-of-10 student divers felt only "somewhat, slightly, or not at all prepared" for their open water dives. Ultimately, fewer than 1-out-of-4 students report that they felt "extremely prepared" for their open water dives at the end of their pool sessions.

And, when asked to consider their level of preparedness with the full benefit of hindsight - and a fair bit of diving since becoming certified - the number of divers who felt only "somewhat" prepared (or less) actually increases.

Not surprisingly, the level of satisfaction that students report with their pool sessions overall is highly correlated with their perceived level of preparedness. And, accordingly, one quarter of divers say that they were only "moderately, slightly, or not at all" satisfied. And on the high-end, only 1-in-4 report that they were "extremely satisfied" with their pool sessions.

Again, full "data dump" available at the link posted above but here's my "statistically speaking" overall conclusion as to which things appear to have the greatest correlation with diver reports of high preparedness for open water and high satisfaction with their pool training.

Interested in seeing what folks think about the findings. Some are fairly intuitive, some less so. Also, some interesting differences between what instructors perceive as "optimal" vs what the aggregate data from student divers would suggest.

Ray

 

[tomfcrist]

It's about what I would expect to see.

Just goes to show that the consumer doesn't really know what they want in a dive class until they have already taken it. I would guess that most newbs with zero diving exposure would blindly choose the weekend course over the 4 week comprehensive one...once they have some experience they can appreciate the idea of a longer more comprehensive course.

 

[descent]

The survey looked like it was designed to tease out student / instructor ratios, but didn't ask "how many instructors were present?"

 

[RJP]

A question mark, but no question.

Ratios were't part of the survey, nor part of the intent. Could have asked a million different questions, but needed to keep survey short to ensure high participation/completion rate. Plus given that approved confined water ratios are as high as 8 or 10:1... the likelihood of multiple instructors being present is relatively low. Other than a new instructor team-teaching with someone, I've never seen more than one instructor involved in a confined water session. DMs and DMC's, sure. Which of course would raise the issue of then needing to determine "was another dive pro present? Was that person a DM or another Instructor? Are you sure?" Etc...

---------- Post added April 7th, 2015 at 11:45 PM ----------

would guess that most newbs with zero diving exposure would blindly choose the weekend course over the 4 week comprehensive one...once they have some experience they can appreciate the idea of a longer more comprehensive course.

It's not an entirely unreasonable assumption for a non-diver to make, is it? And hell, if a shop is willing to run that class for $99... even better!

The question becomes one of how do we ensure that they don't need to wait until it's too late to do anything about it? Hitting them over the head with "you need high-quality instruction... or you'll die" doesn't do much more than scare people away. Agency A has higher standards than Agency B is even more meaningless to a non diver than it is here on SB, so that's a non-starter.

 

[boulderjohn]

I did my OW training in a pool at a resort in Mexico, and it was highly inadequate. My responses on the survey reflect that. Yet I came out of the total certification in decent shape. I felt confident in the water, and I had decent, but not great, buoyancy. I learned all of that during the OW dives themselves. It was not until I was training for the DM certification that I realized how much required training had been skipped in my pool sessions. When I started instructing myself, I developed a theory about the difference between what I and other instructors do in places like Colorado and what instruction is like in resort areas, like the one where I was certified.

Where I teach, only about 20% of our students complete their OW dives with us. The rest take a referral and complete their certification at a resort during a vacation. Even the ones that do it with us do not usually do those dives with the pool instructor. Because of the logistics that result from having such a small percentage complete their training with your shop, pool sessions and OW sessions are scheduled separately. It would be pure luck for an instructor to have the same students for both. Our local OW opportunities are relatively poor. We are in cold, murky water, and we have to use a platform. With the poor visibility, the tour portions of our dives tend to be short, nothing like the experience you get doing a full length dive at a nice dive site.

So here's my theory.

If you do your pool dives with instructors in my situation, we feel a lot of pressure to get the students ready to go by the end of the pool sessions, because the odds are that after those sessions, we will never see them again. I want them looking like divers when they are in their last moments in the pool. In a resort area where the same instructor is going to conduct the pool session and then lead four very nice, long OW dives, I suspect there may be a temptation to cut the pool sessions short on the assumption that the real learning will take place during the OW dives.

 

[RJP]

Saw some interesting data recently suggesting that the divers with the best retention rates are those who did academic/pool at home... and referral checkout dives in a warm-water location. Divers who do their ENTIRE training in warm-water have significantly higher dropout rates.

Is it possible that divers who do their pool work at home and checkout dives in warm water get "the best of both worlds"?

 

[beanojones]

Can you explain the meaning of the "30% practice time" caption?

---------- Post added April 8th, 2015 at 08:46 AM ----------

In a resort area where the same instructor is going to conduct the pool session and then lead four very nice, long OW dives, I suspect there may be a temptation to cut the pool sessions short on the assumption that the real learning will take place during the OW dives.

As one of those instructors who proabably spends maybe 20-60 minutes total in what might be called confined water training as most instructors recognize it, this pretty much hits the nail on the head.

Almost no one wants to hear an instructor talk about anything (except, of course, the instructor himself. The instructor really really loves the sound of their own voice.). The divers to be, they want to dive. That's why they take the course. Not to listen to the instructor, or to watch unrealistic skill demonstrations, but to actually do things themselves.

Briefings (and demos) can be almost completely eliminated from most CW sessions, and when they are, it is amazing how fast anyone can get divers actually diving and being confident in the water.

 

[RJP]

Can you explain the meaning of the "30% practice time" caption?

 

[beanojones]

(Ai Yi Yi)

How can any instructor not spend almost 100% of the time in a pool having students dive? In the ocean as Confined Water, we have control issues that keep us from turning people loose to frolic around. We have to either sit students out or keep from the swimming at certain times.

But dangit, a pool has sides, and perfect visibility. They cannot run away and hide or get lost! Instructors, let the students fly around underwater!

NO freedom to dive, no Learning! (To the tune of no justice, no peace.)

---------- Post added April 8th, 2015 at 09:21 AM ----------

Saw some interesting data recently suggesting that the divers with the best retention rates are those who did academic/pool at home... and referral checkout dives in a warm-water location. Is it possible they get "the best of both worlds"?

I imagine it's the dives in warm water more than anything else. Once a student realizes that standing around listening to an instructor talk, or watching the instrcutor do stuff, is not what diving consists of, and in fact diving involves the activity of, you know, diving, they tend to get jazzed on the activity.

My relatively limited time using pools is the same. Turn 'em loose to buzz around the pool, (make them do the skills while they are diving) they get turned on to the activity, because, activity. Coach 'em up on their sticking points of the activity, not on my talking points. And coach them up in the way they will have to deal with it while diving, while swimming in neutral buoyancy.

I want to write a book for the new diver myself. Except my book will say "put down book, get in water, go diving" and nothing else on every page.


This actually came up time and time again, when I was still allowed to post in I2I. Non working instructors don't realize just how much dead time (AKA boring time) they put into a class until they work with a working warm water instructor who is used to time constraints and does not allow dead boring time into the class, because time is money, when the only money comes from teaching diving.

In six weeks, anyone can teach themselves to dive. If it takes an instructor six weeks to teach someone how to dive, they are actually standing in the way of the diver, and not helping them in the slightest.

 

[Yellowdog]

I did my OW training in a pool at a resort in Mexico, and it was highly inadequate. My responses on the survey reflect that. Yet I came out of the total certification in decent shape. I felt confident in the water, and I had decent, but not great, buoyancy. I learned all of that during the OW dives themselves. It was not until I was training for the DM certification that I realized how much required training had been skipped in my pool sessions.

I took the PADI online e-course, about a 45 minute pool session and 4 Cozumel open water dives to get my OW. It was completely inadequate training. Since then I have done a lot of reading, video time, diving and AOW to try and make up for the initial deficit. My son wants to get certified this spring and after calling all the lds within driving distance, I chose the course / instructor that I did my aow with. The course is 6 weeks, 12 hours class, 12 hours pool + 4 ow dives. He may get bored but hopefully he will be a better / safer diver for the extra time spent.