How would you teach a 10yr old to use dive tables?

[psychocabbage]

If thi is in the wrong section, please move it.

Now, scenario:
10 yr old student diver. (4th grader for those not sure)


How would you break down dive tables to those not that well versed in math..


The reason I ask is because the wife feels that since I just get math that maybe I cannot break it down best for her.

I feel its very easy and should just make sense to all. So we are going to look at different techniques and then find one that works for her.


Note: I have yet to even start to explain it to her.. Last year, my 10 yr old got it with no problem. This year, my now 10 yr old may have an issue.. But who knows.. hehe

She starts her classes tomorrow!


(please leave all your "10 yr olds dont need to be diving" comments to some other thread.. they are not welcome here. She already has all her gear. Computer and all.)

 

[gcbryan]

I think you teach them the way you teach anyone else. The math isn't more than 4th grade math. It isn't really more than 1st grade math.

 

[psychocabbage]

I dont think they are complicated.. but nothing mathmatical is very complicate to me.. I live in that world (IT Consultant) so having to figure out everything from energy consumption to bandwith usage is all in a days work..

The wife just wants some primer in case there does arise any issue..

Being basic scuba, many new divers who just went through the course may have some input on what made it all click for them. I know in my class, there were several that just could not get it.

 

[mwilding]

The only math involved is rounding off. Can she round off? Can she learn a step by step process? Shouldn't be too hard.

 

[J.R.]

Now, scenario:
10 yr old student diver. (4th grader for those not sure)

How would you break down dive tables to those not that well versed in math..
(please leave all your "10 yr olds dont need to be diving" comments to some other thread.. they are not welcome here. She already has all her gear. Computer and all.)

I'm not exactly sure how to *teach* it to a 10 year old as I have neither a 10 year old nor am I an instructor... but what I would like to pass along is the following:

When I started DM-ing I had a certain degree of anxiety about very young divers... a great degree of this was a certain ignorance on my part based on limited experience with them. Since that time I've worked with a number of youngin's and have found that, for the most part... my stress level has decreased and the fun of it has increased.

What I've also found is that kids have a neat way of telling YOU whether or not they really want do dive. I had one 10 year old who, on decent to the work platform (25 feet)... had "ear problems"... the instructor took her to the surface and they decended a second time... very... very slowly. When she still indicated that she had ear issues he asked me to take her to the surface.

Using the down line we began a very slow assect... about every foot I'd point to my ear and ask, "Are you OK now?" At every stop she'd point to her ear and calmy shake her head "no"... at one foot from the surface she still had 'ear problems'... the moment her head broke the surface the *problem* went away.

Bottom line... this young lady had a very controlled way of being able to tell an adult that she really didn't want to be where she was... (she did great in the pool... but open water wasn't her thing... yet.) We played around on the surface a bit... chatted... and then I offered to tow her back to shore.

The one think I learned from all of this is that kids will try their darnedest to please... but have their own way of saying when they're ready. Being a good buddy and listening to what they tell us is imporant to their success. I figure this young lady WILL be back in the water some day... just not now.

Good luck with you're young one... I'll listen now and maybe learn something more about teaching kids.

 

[Henryville]

Other issues with a person of this age learning to dive aside, I agree, it's more a matter of teaching a process and logic than it is of teaching mathematics.

I would alot more time to it than I would for an adult, go through more examples that are immediately followed with the student doing a comparable problem on her own. I would separate them from their parent to the extent possible (always keeping another adult present, of course) to avoid dependency and a tendency to give up and toss the work onto mom or dad.

Watching a child of this age develop proficiency at a complex video game leads me to more comfort with the idea that a kid can learn to execute a logical process.

 

[SparticleBrane]

How would you break down dive tables to those not that well versed in math..

Sounds like they need to know math a little better...kind of an important subject...

 

[psychocabbage]

She has gone to 23ft for about 20 min with me so far. She has been chomping at the bit for a chance to get her cert (Her older 2 sisters already have theirs) so she is the most eager to get it all done and start diving. She got to play on the boat last summer while we dove and would snorkle around the boat but she really wants to go down and have some fun with us down below.

So the issues are not at all about her wanting to do it.. its just wanting to head off any probable issue we may encounter.

So if anyone has any very basic way to instruct on dive tables, lets hear it.. If you had a problem with them and then it just clicked, what was it for you that got it to click?

There are many that do get them but just as many that do not.. I have seen them in my class and while I was one of those that rolled my eyes at the time, its not my job to teach them. So, here I am asking for those who have any input to please share..

We will be practicing tonight before her class tomorrow morning. We already went over the tank, markings and the reg..

Thanks!

 

[RJP]

(please leave all your "10 yr olds dont need to be diving" comments to some other thread.. they are not welcome here. She already has all her gear. Computer and all.)

Sorry, can't resist going down this road just a bit. Won't go as far as to make the blanket statement that 10yr olds shouldn't be diving. However I will say that you may be focusing on the wrong thing when determining whether your particular 10yr old should be diving:

It's not just about whether they "get" the material. It's about deciding whether you're putting a 10yr old into a situation they can't handle. This is true of ANYONE regardless of age.

Most parents figure that if they are the 10yr old's buddy they will be able to bail their kid out if the ***** hits the fan. Probably true relative to any other person the parent would buddy with. However those same parents usually fail to recognize the corollary that if the 10yr old is YOUR buddy then THEY need to be able to bail YOU out if the stuff hits the fan.

If your 10yr old doesn't have the intelligence, skills, situational awareness, and possibly physical strength to come to your aid in an emergency you are diving solo, and your kid is on a "trust me" dive. If that's the case you need to ask yourself why you are willingly putting your child in that situation.

I have a 10yr old daughter who could probably teach her 5th grade math class, and I wouldn't even think about certifying her until she was about 14 or so. And even then I wouldn't suggest it, but would wait until she begged and pleaded to get certified. And then I would make sure she completed Rescue Diver before I would dive with her 1-on-1 without another DM or instructor with us.

 

[SparticleBrane]

She has gone to 23ft for about 20 min with me so far. She has been chomping at the bit for a chance to get her cert (Her older 2 sisters already have theirs) so she is the most eager to get it all done and start diving. She got to play on the boat last summer while we dove and would snorkle around the boat but she really wants to go down and have some fun with us down below.

So you, as a diver with <100 dives, and as someone who (I'm assuming here) has zero experience in a position of diving leadership, and as someone with questionable diving practices (IMHO), took her diving...?