Who helped you with the "how"?

[BluewaterSail]

Well I've commented in a couple of class reports on what I consider to be one instructor's exceptional ability to teach the "how" vs the "what," at the end of one of those reports I think I even used those terms :-D.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/di...eport-s-3-fundies-sessions-3-months-long.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/di...ver-class-report-doug-mudry-march-2011-a.html

I've added one additional example below that I don't think I covered in the other two reports:
Drills (S-drill, valve drill, etc.):
Doug started out by playing demonstration videos in classroom setting... he typically played them at least twice - one time just to watch them, and then another time, where he explained exactly was happening each step of the process. Then, when we would get on site, he would demo the drill twice if it didn't involve the regulator being in his mouth - once all the way through, and once explaining as he went. Then, he would have us face each other, and he would walk each of us through the drill talking us through the first time. Then he would have us repeat it until we were completely comfortable doing it on land. We did not enter the water for drills until we had mastered them on land. Once in the water, he demonstrated them, then had us repeat them multiple times. That was teaching HOW to do those drills IMHO.

I'm with Kate here. I can't think of a specific example right now, but I came away from time spent with Doug feeling that my diving had advanced to another level. I think one thing that made such a difference is that he has a talent for noticing details in what a person is doing. Maybe it goes beyond talent, to his efforts to really focus on each individual. This let him give very specific suggestions on what to do differently. Here is the link to my Primer report:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...uning-basics-become-safer-more-competent.html


The technique of video used in GUE courses also helps with understanding what you are actually doing, which is the first step in doing something different.

But in another vein, Scubaboard has been really valuable. So many times I came away from a dive weekend with something bugging me, and I turned to Scubaboard for advice. Recieving a variety of inputs on either a question I asked, or from a search, really helped. I think that seeing something from a number of angles sometimes allows me to wrap my mind around the issues. But the best advice that I recieved, was breath control in order to easily get below the surface and begin to descend. This little comment made a world of difference. If I recall correctly, that advice came from the OP of this thread.

 

[TMHeimer]

Not an in-the-water thing, a gearing up thing. Our Instructor for Rescue showed us how to quickly put the unit on by yourself while seated--unclipping the left shoulder, flipping the strap (& LPI) over your head while slipping the right arm in it's place. Then buckle left shoulder. Simple, and probably something that should be taught in OW. I do it all the time--when solo, with buddy, on boat, shore. The idea is you can get going to a rescue faster, especially if you are alone. But invaluable any time.

 

[beanojones]

Breaking down a skill (or concept) into its component parts, or analysing a problem and determining cause and correction is called.....TEACHING! So is doing demonstration quality examples of the desired outcomes.

I'll just throw it out there that Demos/briefings, and breaking down a skill into components in a demo/briefing, often ends up being translated as a 'what to do' not a 'how to do' in practice. Students can rarely break down their problems into one of the demo's highlighted points, and the trickiest points of all do not fall neatly along the 'standard problem' lines.

Think about what the students actually do even after a spotless demo and briefing: many students do skills in a completely different way from the way the skills are demo'd. (And that's often just fine.) Since students often do the demo'd and briefed activity in a completely different way than the demo/brief, this is telling us that often students are aware of the goal from the demo (the 'what') and often not processing the steps of the demo ('the how'), and that's fine. That does not mean we need to do even more exaggerated demo's which can paint the skill in a 'not actually related to diving' light, but rather that the demos are received by the students as a 'what to do' and not a 'how to do' , even though we as instructors are intending them to be a 'how to do'.

Moreover, the tricky sticking points are often not the skills or the steps of the skills, but some seemingly unrelated thing that the instructor somehow fails to process, or, more hopefully, does in fact, notice and correct.

I think TSandM's example of the auto dump deflation causing buoyancy issues was a perfect example of an unusual (and therefore usual) sticking point: something unique in her setup made for a problem that was not amenable to an easy/obvious solution, or a brief or a demo, because the problem was not happening to the instructor in his set-up. (Or some other little detail that makes all the difference) So his demo/briefing could be spotless, and hit the key points, and not help her in any way to avoid what was to her an utterly mysterious sticking point, because what the student is doing is where the 'rubber meets the road', so to speak.

 

[farsidefan1]

DEE and her hubby Doug!!! On my second dive trip I went to Cocoview resort with a group I met online, the Texas swamp divers. I had the good fortune of being on the boat with Dee and Doug. I had 12 dives in Belize under my belt and I was a lousy diver. Enthusiastic, studious but a total newbie. Dee observed me as I struggled with trim, buoyancy and a host of other issues. After a couple of dives Dee asked if I wanted some help, "It is just the instructor coming out in me", She said and went on to say if you want me to buzz off no problem, but if you would like some suggestions I'd be happy to help". They helped me adjust where my tank was riding, get my weighting figured out and innumerable other tips. By the end of the week I had tacked on another 25 dives and cut my air consumption by nearly 50%. I still meet them every yr in May at Cocoview and I will ALWAYS be grateful that they took a novice from Utah under their wings.

 

[racerx_]

Come on, there must be more people out there with good stories of how something an instructor did helped you figure something out? Something that helped with mask skills, or better buoyancy control, or better buddy skills . . .

to be honest i felt this was the most lacking part in all my instruction up to date. I'm not really sure the reason, whether the instructors were just complacent (although they seemed competent and experienced so i wouldn't jump to this conclusion) or maybe they felt like most new divers are so far below their skill level that they tend to 'dumb down' instruction and not push em too hard. I felt a lot more "how" and a lot more feedback after each dive would have helped me immensely (still does!)