Thinking of getting scuba training? Think about this too....

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

SCUBA diver training has been streamlined tremendously in the last forty years since I started teaching it, and has been way streamlined in the past ten years. I am seeing certified scuba divers who have no clue how to scuba dive properly, I see this a lot. Part of the problem is that these divers do not know that they have been poorly trained.

I am going to attempt to tell those of you who are not yet certified how to ensure you do not become a graduate of a scuba class and not know what you are doing.

A little background: There are market pressures in the scuba industry to get folks certified and diving, while along the way selling them equipment and continuing education. I think this is fine and I encourage all my students to take additional classes, and buy their own equipment. What I do not encourage is for people to take more classes in order to compensate for poor training at the entry level. Due to these (and other) market pressures some instructors and dive shops are turning out poorly trained scuba divers at the entry level. Do you want to become one of these divers? If you do, read no further. I you do not please read carefully.

Do not shop for price, do not look for the cheapest class. Do not look for the Groupon deal. If you cannot afford a good class then wait until you can afford one.

One thing you should do before you buy into a class is ask to have a sit down with the instructor and ask him / her to review all the training standards for your class. All classroom requirements, all pool requirements and all open water diving requirements. This should probably take about 30 minutes. Ask them to show you the printed materials that the training agency has provided detailing the training standards/requirements. As the class progresses ask the instructor to review your progress as compared to the training standards/performance requirements. Satisfy yourself that there are no performance requirements being left out or shortcutted.

Make sure you MASTER all the skills, and knowledge requirements.

My firm belief is that a lack of mastery learning is 90% of the problem with recent graduates of scuba training classes. Below I have copied and bolded the PADI definition of Mastery learning. I urge you to read and thoroughly understand what mastery learning is and is not. I urge you to make sure before you are certified that you have achieved mastery learning in all phases of your training and for every performance requirement.

PADI courses/programs are performance based. Certification signifies that the student demonstrated mastery of all course knowledge and skill performance requirements.

During knowledge development, mastery is defined as meeting Knowledge Assessment requirements listed under Administrative Procedures.

During confined and open water dives, mastery is defined as performing the skill so it meets the stated performance requirements in a reasonably comfortable, fluid, repeatable manner as would be expected of a diver at that certification level.

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Recall above when I suggested for you to not shop for the cheap class...the reason for that is that when doing the training on the cheap, the instructor often does not have time to spend with you to completely ensure you have achieved mastery learning. Take a look at mask clearing...lets look at that skill.

The mask clearing skill is often one of the more challenging skills for students because you get a mask full of water in your nose and in your eyes and then you have to conduct motor skills in a proper sequence to remove the water. If you manage to remove most of the water one time, two times but feel uncomfortable doing so,have you mastered the skill? No, you have not. If you are certified as a diver after barely completing that skill you have been cheated. If in 3 months you are diving 60 feet deep and your buddy accidentally kicks your mask off of your face and it floods are you likely to be able to clear it in a comfortable, fluid manner? Maybe not...However if you achieved mastery of that skill during training then this should present no problem for you.

There are other skills that are equally important for your safety that you must master in order to become a safe diver. Being able to jettison weights on the surface quickly and efficiently is very important should you encounter a surface emergency. The list is long..

What do you get when you buy a cheap car?

You get the same thing when you buy a cheap scuba class. The training, unlike the car will last a lifetime and it is worth it to invest more in proper training rather than discount training.

 

[The Chairman]

While streamlining a class isn't always bad, it allows lazy instructors to get even lazier. Smart instructors will use any extra time to focus on additional skills that will make you more comfortable in the water. I certify under NASE, and they have me update student records online EVERY time I get into the water, whether it be in the pool or open water. After I enter the daily data, I simply copy, paste and send my student an E-Mail that shows what they've accomplished and what they have yet to do. While there are minor differences in what each agency requires, there's really a huge difference between instructors. Because of this, and since I share the same opinion as Jim, that there are a lot of incompetent divers out there, I require a pool session with AOW students if they weren't OW certified by me. That's right, it's bad enough that I devote a full session of remedial Scuba to certified divers before I will take them out into open water. Caveat emptor.

 

[dreamdive]

I was quite lucky with my instructor when I started scuba. Thank you Jim for posting this.
As a beginner, you simply don't know what to look for in an instructor. Although he taught OW PADI, he dived technical OC. So his personal
diving was way more advanced than what he was teaching, which added greatly to my experience.

 

[dbulmer]

Above post 1 and 2 we have excellent advice from 2 very experienced instructors.
I'm not a dive pro - just an average diver.

Here's my advice to new divers or those looking to learn.

When you signup for a class, try to get the written course materials in advance of your course starting. If you are doing the course at a resort , schedule time before the course starts - give yourself time to read the course materials.

Why? The course materials contain a lot of information which form the core of the course. If you read this core material you will have more time to ask the instructor about something you didn't understand or perhaps are a little worried about.
It's all new - so it's natural to want to ask questions so don't be shy and make the instructor answer any questions you have.
If you are having a problem with any of the skills get the instructor to show you how to achieve it, ask them to demonstrate it, ask them to break it down into bits that you can do without feeling stressed. Diving is supposed to be fun so if you feel stressed ask the instructor to slow down and go at the pace that you feel comfortable with.

In some circumstances that might mean rescheduling your class and incurring extra cost. If it does it will be money well spent - there's nothing worse than being scared on a dive. If you do feel scared (don't be in denial about this - a little anxiety is perfectly natural but if you are truly frightened that's something else and you should be talking to your instructor about it) signal with your thumb and speak to your instructor.

Above all else, look to see if your instructor actually cares - if you feel that the instructor doesn't care, speak to the shop about having a different instructor or go elsewhere. The instructor is there to ensure that you fulfill the performance requirements - your job is to ensure that he/she gives you the know-how to do that.

One final point - The vast majority of what you learn in an OW text book has practical value - put what you learn in class to good use - keep any training materials you have and if you are out of the water for any length of time go over the material again. After I certified I did not dive for 18 months and it was good to have the materials to look at before I did a refresher dive.

One more thing - you should come out of the course wanting to dive - you should feel enthusiastic - channel that enthusiasm and do a few dives before you consider buying equipment and taking more courses.

 

[RJP]

Prospective scuba students should also keep in mind that, as the saying goes, "It takes two to tango!"

Even the most diligent instructor lacks a magic wand, so half of the responsibility for achieving mastery-level performance sits squarely on the shoulders of the student.

I've seen a great many students show up unprepared for class, seemingly disinterested, and sometimes actually resentful of being asked to repeat skills until they can do them to mastery-level performance.

Learning scuba isn't that hard - and frankly neither is teaching it - as long as both the student and the instructor care enough to put in the time and the effort.

 

[Neilwood]

Prospective scuba students should also keep in mind that, as the saying goes, "It takes two to tango!"

Even the most diligent instructor lacks a magic wand, so half of the responsibility for achieving mastery-level performance sits squarely on the shoulders of the student.

I've seen a great many students show up unprepared for class, seemingly disinterested, and sometimes actually resentful of being asked to repeat skills until they can do them to mastery-level performance.

Learning scuba isn't that hard, and frankly neither is teaching it... as long as both the student and the instructor care enough to put in the time and the effort.

Teaching any subject is a two way street - the instructor can only do so much to get the information across. If the student isn't willing to participate, there will be no learning going on. The instructor also has to know how to read his/her students behaviour /body language in order to know when they are mentally shutting down and could do with some time doing other skills or just a break from learning for a cup of coffee.

When I did my OW, I looked at it from my previous experience of being a First Aid trainer. If people came along having at least tried to read some of the book between sessions it made my job a lot easier. Reading the OW course book cover to cover twice (including re-reading sections if I struggled to understand it the first time) certainly helped when I went along to do the course.

Also because I chose to pay a bit more and do it one to one, my instructor didn't have to worry about an entire group understanding something or having to teach to the slowest person's understanding. I was happy to ask to repeat a skill or ask a question if I didn't grasp something perfectly the first (or second or third) time and he was quite happy doing this with me. I was having issues with getting a hover in the pool so he suggested we broke early to give me a chance to clear my head (obviously seeing I was at or near my limit at that point). We did break for about 20-30 minutes and as soon as I got back in the water, I was managing it without any great issues (I had had enough time to get it "onboard")

 

[RJP]

Would be interesting to understand the formula for creating a knowledgeable, confident, competent diver; How much is the instructor and how much is the student?

At some point, a certain level of student-diligence can make up for some level of 'less-than-perfect' instructor... and vice-versa. Obviously, as diligence on the part of either party approaches zero... the likelihood that perfect diligence of one party can make up for a lack of diligence by the other party diminishes rapidly.

The other important thing is the dynamic between the instructor and the student. While every instructor should bring their "A game" to every class... a more engaged, diligent student often challenges the instructor to raise their level of diligence and engagement. It's human nature...

[video=youtube;0J4Yk7sSF4I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J4Yk7sSF4I[/video]

 

[Doby45]

I was also gonna say that it appears that you put most if not all the responsibility on the shoulders of the instructor. As RJP said, it takes two to tango. I have seen first hand in my own OW class that not all students are the same and they are all there for different reasons. There was a guy in my class that said his parents were making him take the course in order to go on a vacation with them and he had zero desire to be there. He literally wanted to do the least amount possible. So no, not every student wants to go in and memorize charts and practice skills until it is second nature.

I just got OW certified and my desire is to progress my way to DM so that I can help out at the shop that I learned to dive at. But, I will have to work on my ability to deal with the very students that I am talking about right now. I don't have a habit of suffering fools and it has done me well in my 42yrs on this globe.

 

[boulderjohn]

One thing I would ask about before starting a class is the amount of time in the confined water portion that will be spent learning to swim while neutrally buoyant. There has been a significant change in scuba instruction lately. For decades the model for scuba instruction was students kneeling on the bottom of a swimming pool, heavily overweighted, and then doing open water dives, again frequently doing the required skills anchored to the bottom. Many instructors now never have students kneel, starting the first pool session in a horizontal, diving posture, and focusing on neutral buoyancy throughout instruction. They find it makes a huge difference in the ability of graduates to dive comfortably and safely.

Many instructors still follow the old kneeling approach, not believing it can make as much difference as it does.

If I were a prospective student, I would ask if I were going to be taught kneeling or horizontal and neutral, and I would ask how much time I will have simply swimming while neutrally buoyant.

 

[Bob DBF]

I had to vote yes, of course my case was a bit different as I was diving for years before I was certified, some of which is considered technical today.

I was also gonna say that it appears that you put most if not all the responsibility on the shoulders of the instructor. As RJP said, it takes two to tango. I have seen first hand in my own OW class that not all students are the same and they are all there for different reasons. There was a guy in my class that said his parents were making him take the course in order to go on a vacation with them and he had zero desire to be there. He literally wanted to do the least amount possible. So no, not every student wants to go in and memorize charts and practice skills until it is second nature.

Of course the responsibility is on the instructor, the student doesn't know jack, and the instructor decides who gets the cert. If a student is not engaged and mastering the material the instructor should not give the cert. Or is OW like Nav specialty I took, I screwed up the last dive badly and the instructor said it was good enough. I refused the cert until I retook and completed the dive properly, the funny part, I heard after, was that no one else had refused a cert when it was deemed good enough.


The NAUI/PADI OW class I took, the instructor took me aside and and gave me a come to Jesus lecture. Since I was already a diver, he expected me to have all my work perfect and be an example, in and out of the water, to the other students or I would not be getting the OW cert. I did fine but a student that was not doing as well as the rest and did not get certified, I heard he was taking the next class to try again.


But as has been pointed out to me many times, since divers are not dying in droves, the quality of student that is certified is good enough.




Bob
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