3 day Scuba Certification: Hawaii

[scubamarketing]

I'm with DevonDiver on this one. I think people really need to get over the duration part. Even before eLearning in the less than ideal Pacific Northwest, I've done 3 day classes. I would never certify someone if I didn't think they had proven mastery. I ran a college program where we did two nights per week, an hour and a half per night for 8 weeks of just classroom. Then 2 hours a week in the pool for the same 8 week period. I had worse divers come out of 40 hours spread over 8 weeks than I did in 3 days and vice versa. It is dependent purely on the student, the prep work and the instructor, NOT on hours.

 

[g1138]

I have no doubt that all this material can be covered in 3 days.
But will you be able to remember it all?
That's really the question that comes to mind, and really is the reason why I have a slight dislike to a 3 day course. I can't imagine you'll be able to remember everything (both the technical skills and intellectual knowledge) come 3 weeks after the class. Heck, even after my OW checkout dives, I forgot plenty of things.

Looking back very carefully at my own OW cert class, I spent 6 weekends to complete the entire course.
So that means 10 days of lectures (4 hours each) and 10 pool sessions (3 hours each)
followed by a skin dive and 4 checkout dives (fun dives after each skill checkout was completed)

Even after all this I felt a little overwhelmed and a bit nervous during my first dive during AOW, 5 weeks later.

 

[llqwyd]

ZenDiver.3D has it right. While it can be done in "as little as 3 days", it is not wise to rush through your training. I think that this is absolutely one reason we are seeing less and less diver retention these days. Take your time...its worth it!

 

[friscuba]

But will you be able to remember it all?

Sign up for a charter on any boat in Hawaii or the Caribbean, ask everyone what kind of class they took and how many dives they have.... then pull out a dive table and ask them to solve for a pressure group following a three dive profile. You'll likely find out that forgetfullness is quite common,no matter what kind of class they took.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

I'm not an instructor. So I won't presume to know which teaching methods are best, or how much time is ideal to learn effectively.
What I do know is that it seems strange to speak to three coworkers on Friday morning about their upcoming class, starting that night.
I come to work the following Monday, and they're all certified divers.

I also know what it looks like when I'm on a cattleboat full of divers taught in three days.

These are the only observations I have, since I don't teach diving.
I'm sure instructors have seen all types of students, and have many ideas on what is adequate for a dive class.
It is possible that these classes are like fire-and-forget missiles.
You as an instructor, won't see many of these vacation students once you release them into the wild. ;-)

-Mitch

 

[Garrobo]

friscuba: Ever heard of a computer?

 

[scubamarketing]

As an instructor, one of the big issues we're dealing with is competitive sports. You want to learn to surf? A couple of hours. Kiteboard? Half day. Ski/snowboard? They'll have you down the bunny slope in half a day. When we then tell these same people that SCUBA takes 4+ weeks, people go elsewhere. Does that mean classes should be terrible? Definitely not.

But again, I can teach an excellent class to a well prepared and attentive student in 3 days who I feel comfortable certifying.

But I also tell all of my students that I won't dive with them until they're rescue certified because I think everyone should have rescue skills.

 

[aquaregia]

There's considerable work on educational theory that indicates an extremely poor retention rate for long periods of classwork with no opportunity for review. A good program should have short periods with frequent reviews of the material in subsequent classes. This can be done with both didactic and practical sessions, given adequate time.

I've taken my share of one- and two-day classes for recreational activities, and I wouldn't trust either my swedish massage skills or my abseiling abilities. Nobody handed me a card that said I was qualified to independently rappel down cliffs, however, nor did I leave with the idea that I should. Surfing is relatively safe if you can swim in the ocean. Snowboarding is relatively safe if you can sit down. None of those activities have academic content in their lesson plans, nor do they need it. SCUBA might not be rocket science, but it's certainly not hiking.

The trick isn't whether someone is competent enough after 4 days to be certified, it's whether they remain that competent two weeks later. Intensive courses can transfer a lot of material very quickly, but it's not retained.

 

[scubamarketing]

I will agree completely that SCUBA and hiking/snowboarding/etc aren't on the same level in terms of knowledge development, but again, we are talking to NEW consumers that don't know that it's much more intensive. They just want to go on a dive or two a year with a divemaster when they go on vacation, so they don't want to spend weeks learning how to do it. It's a balancing act we have to figure out and it's not easy, but I personally refuse to discount a class purely on how long it is.

 

[Gombessa]

I was actually certified in Hawaii in a 3-day course. I studied the material diligently and took everything seriously (it's in my nature to approach things in such a fashion). I felt I came away from the class with a bare minimum of knowledge and practical skill set to stay out of major trouble. My first few dives after that showed me that many typical vacation divers don't even seem to get that out of their training.

The sheer feeling of inadequacy in the water and obvious holes in my understanding (I didn't know what I didn't know, but I sure as hell knew I didn't know a lot) are what led me to SB and particularly to seek out additional information and more rigorous training, and ultimately become a better and safer diver.