help me plan my next O/W basic class

If you would like to participate in helping me plan my next open water basic class, feel free to propose to add/change/delete any of the following items.

Background -- it will be a small class of 4 students that starts this coming week for 4 classroom sessions, then 3 pool sessions, and finally 3 open water sessions for 6 total open water dives.

First classroom night:

Intros, show risk video, waivers, medical forms, cert folder, overview of all chaps in the book, overview of all skills pool & ocean, overview of the learning process of visualization, demo & imitation, practice & drills, show & tell, follow the leader. Cover chap 1 (intro), chap 2 (equip), chap 3 (skills). Demo a reg, B/C, fins & boots together, masks, snorkels, computer & dive tables together, compass, knife, safety sausage, buddy line, whistle, signal mirror, yoke & DIN valves, discuss wetsuits vs drysuits, Q/A.

2nd meeting for first pool evening:

Swimming skills, wetsuit weighting, snorkel blast clearing, mask clearing without scuba (shallow end of the pool), gear assembly, buddy predive checks, breathing on scuba (shallow), reg clearing 3 ways, mask clearing on scuba, reg recovery 2 ways, air sharing (shallow), power inflator, oral inflator, pool tour underwater, buoyancy control, deep water drills same as shallow, air sharing ascents as donor & receiver.

I would be interested to hear the following:

From instructors, what would you do differently, for the first classroom and for the first pool session? Why?

From non-instructors, which of the above gave you trouble when you first learned it? What helped you to overcome that trouble?

This is for real.

I just finished a PADI class I put together from my church. I'm already SSI (was NASDS in 1971) but took the class to go through it with my friends. Good instructor, good class. But I felt that the instructor spent so much time teaching skills (which he SHOULD) that he forgot to tell everyone about DIVING. About the fun of it, the thrill, how it feels... What do you see, where can you go. Why is diving FUN. It felt like he'd done so many classes, he forgot about the fun of diving.
Before and after class, I would tell the guys about the dives I'd made that week, and they'd eat it up!
So my suggestion is to sell the diving and teach the skills. They need the "how", but they also need the "why".
Just my 2 pennys...

Oh, and one more thing. Fin Pivot<>buoyancy skills.

Rick Inman once bubbled...
I just finished a PADI class I put together from my church. I'm already SSI (was NASDS in 1971) but took the class to go through it with my friends. Good instructor, good class. But I felt that the instructor spent so much time teaching skills (which he SHOULD) that he forgot to tell everyone about DIVING. About the fun of it, the thrill, how it feels... What do you see, where can you go. Why is diving FUN. It felt like he'd done so many classes, he forgot about the fun of diving.
Before and after class, I would tell the guys about the dives I'd made that week, and they'd eat it up!
So my suggestion is to sell the diving and teach the skills. They need the "how", but they also need the "why".
Just my 2 pennys...

Click to expand...

Thanks Rick good point.

I normally put the motivation step somewhere in the front, after the intros. You're right, it deserves emphasis.

I was going to say that 7/10ths of the earth is covered with water (an old sailing line). And that now they will each get to experiece the beautiful side of that 7/10ths probably for the first time. Something like that. I hope I do it justice, like you said.

Rick Inman once bubbled...

Oh, and one more thing. Fin Pivot<>buoyancy skills.

Click to expand...

I was planning to work around the fin pivots this time, and not teach it.

Rather, by teaching buoyancy in the pool by touching the surface of the water, without breaking through with your hand, to see if that will teach an appreciation for fine tuning buoyancy.

I have seen classes taught with and without fin pivot drills. I am starting to lean away from them. They stir up too much muck in the open water. And I prefer to emphasize to students to never touch the bottom of the ocean or lake, and fin pivots destroy that notion unfortunately.

IndigoBlue-

exactly what brand of C-card will your students have at the end of their classes?

Aren't certain skills required by whatever agency you represent? Maybe even fin pivots?

I'm not really expecting an answer to the above, just curious as to why you ask on this board what you should be teaching.

Juls

I think that most everyone in my class, particularly my wife, had the most trouble with mask clearing, making more than just one person bolt to the surface. I would suggest that you teach mask clearing on or before lecture one and send students home to practice in the local pool or whereever, you know a lower stress environment than a scuba class. I would also suggest snorkeling around with no mask to build confidence needed to handle having to surface safely with no mask. For my wife it simply took a lot of time. Introduce it early, tell them it's a life saving skill that everyone needs to be comfortable with and give them time to practice.

In fact, my wife just came in and reading over my shoulder she says "everyone should be forced to fin around and across the pool to their buddy with no mask on."

Tony.

First, I'd increase the number of pool sessions.

During the 1st pool session, I'd have them complete the 300 yd swim, 15 minute float and 50 ft underwater swim.

Next, I teach them to use a snorkel in the shallow end. I demonstrate everything, then have the students do it and practice each step until they've mastered (can do it easily every time) the skill. Take snorkels (require a simple J snorkel - no purge valves or trash on the top) off masks and put on weight belts. With your mask on the pool deck, your snorkel in your hand and your weight belt on, get into the shallow end of the pool. You should be where when you stand you are no deeper than chest deep, waist deep is even better. Put your snorkel in your mouth and breathe from it. Now, bend over and breathe through your snorkel while you dip your face into the water. If students are comfortable, they should stay awhile until they feel natural. If they have difficulty, tell them to think about drinking through a straw while they practice the excercise. Remember, they can always stand up straight to end the excercise at any time. If a student needs to, they can slowly build up their time until they feel comfortable.

Next, I demonstrate breathing through a flooded snorkel and have all the students practice the skill.

Next, practice dropping underwater, allowing the snorkel to flood and coming up to blast it clear, leaving your face in the water. Continue until they are comfortable

At this point, you have accomplished three important things.

1. You lowered your student's anxiety level by working in a no risk (shallow) environment.
2. They became experts in no mask breathing.
3. They know they can breathe with a flooded mask.

Next drop the snorkel to the bottom and recover it, blasting it clear and breathing from the snorkel with your face in the water. This will be a snap for your students at this point.

Now, put your snorkel down and pick up your mask. Put it on and drop down to your knees. Break the seal just enough to allow a small amount of water in. Clear the mask. Do not pull out on the bottom, merely push in on the top while looking up. The biggest mistake most people make is not looking up. The second most common mistake people make is not exhaling through their nose. Keep your mouth closed. Have your students repeat this until they are comfortable. Don't forget to have them stand up and catch their breath between clearings. Now, increase the amount of water allowed into the mask to about ¼ flooded. When they are comfortable with that level, move to ½, then to a fully flooded mask. When they've reached the point they can clear it easily every time, drop it to the pool bottom and recover/clear. When that is easy (usually immediately at this point), see how many times they can clear it on one breath. I demonstrate 6 clearings and require my students to reach 3 clearings on a single breath before we move on. After you are at this point, clearing their masks will be easy. You will have reached it in a step by step manner that was easy to accomplish. Next, attach the snorkel to the mask, drop it to the pool bottom, recover it, clear the mask and blast the snorkel, leaving your face in the water to breath through the snorkel. I reming them it takes less air to blast a snorkel than to clear a mask. since they've just cleared a mask 3 times, this will be easy.

Remember, they can always stand up if they feel uncomfortable.

At this point, retrieve fins, take off weight belts and teach kicks. Start with the frog, next add flutter and remind them to use it sparingly. Then teach dolphin, scissor and sculling.

The second pool session will be devoted to finishing kicking techniques, weighting, entries & exits, surface dives (head first and feet first), and displacement method of snorkel clearing. During the surface dives, stress proper buddy techniques - one up, one down.

Bring SCUBA to the third pool session.

Juls64 once bubbled...
IndigoBlue-

exactly what brand of C-card will your students have at the end of their classes?

Aren't certain skills required by whatever agency you represent? Maybe even fin pivots?

I'm not really expecting an answer to the above, just curious as to why you ask on this board what you should be teaching.

Juls

Click to expand...

I am actually quite fortunate in that nowhere in the instructor standards for the basic open water course do the words "fin pivot" appear. Nowhere. Hope that answers your question.

tonyc once bubbled...
I think that most everyone in my class, particularly my wife, had the most trouble with mask clearing, making more than just one person bolt to the surface. I would suggest that you teach mask clearing on or before lecture one and send students home to practice in the local pool or whereever, you know a lower stress environment than a scuba class. I would also suggest snorkeling around with no mask to build confidence needed to handle having to surface safely with no mask. For my wife it simply took a lot of time. Introduce it early, tell them it's a life saving skill that everyone needs to be comfortable with and give them time to practice.

In fact, my wife just came in and reading over my shoulder she says "everyone should be forced to fin around and across the pool to their buddy with no mask on."

Tony.

Click to expand...

Mask clearing is definitely one of the first major problems that many students encounter. That is why I feel that it needs to be taught before the scuba phase. If we are all in the shallow end of the pool, sitting, then there is no danger the first few times trying to clear a mask of bolting to the surface.

Pool homework between classes for mask clearing is a great suggestion. Extra sessions with individual students sometimes helps too. I am of course hoping that with my four students, all four of them will take naturally to mask clearing. We will take it slow.

It sounds as though your wife benefitted most from the maskless underwater swim on scuba. I have always had mixed feelings about this particular drill. Thanks for the input, Tony.

Walter once bubbled...
First, I'd increase the number of pool sessions.

During the 1st pool session, I'd have them complete the 300 yd swim, 15 minute float and 50 ft underwater swim.

Next, I teach them to use a snorkel in the shallow end. I demonstrate everything, then have the students do it and practice each step until they've mastered (can do it easily every time) the skill. Take snorkels (require a simple J snorkel - no purge valves or trash on the top) off masks and put on weight belts. With your mask on the pool deck, your snorkel in your hand and your weight belt on, get into the shallow end of the pool. You should be where when you stand you are no deeper than chest deep, waist deep is even better. Put your snorkel in your mouth and breathe from it. Now, bend over and breathe through your snorkel while you dip your face into the water. If students are comfortable, they should stay awhile until they feel natural. If they have difficulty, tell them to think about drinking through a straw while they practice the excercise. Remember, they can always stand up straight to end the excercise at any time. If a student needs to, they can slowly build up their time until they feel comfortable.

Next, I demonstrate breathing through a flooded snorkel and have all the students practice the skill.

Next, practice dropping underwater, allowing the snorkel to flood and coming up to blast it clear, leaving your face in the water. Continue until they are comfortable

At this point, you have accomplished three important things.

1. You lowered your student's anxiety level by working in a no risk (shallow) environment.
2. They became experts in no mask breathing.
3. They know they can breathe with a flooded mask.

Next drop the snorkel to the bottom and recover it, blasting it clear and breathing from the snorkel with your face in the water. This will be a snap for your students at this point.

Now, put your snorkel down and pick up your mask. Put it on and drop down to your knees. Break the seal just enough to allow a small amount of water in. Clear the mask. Do not pull out on the bottom, merely push in on the top while looking up. The biggest mistake most people make is not looking up. The second most common mistake people make is not exhaling through their nose. Keep your mouth closed. Have your students repeat this until they are comfortable. Don't forget to have them stand up and catch their breath between clearings. Now, increase the amount of water allowed into the mask to about ¼ flooded. When they are comfortable with that level, move to ½, then to a fully flooded mask. When they've reached the point they can clear it easily every time, drop it to the pool bottom and recover/clear. When that is easy (usually immediately at this point), see how many times they can clear it on one breath. I demonstrate 6 clearings and require my students to reach 3 clearings on a single breath before we move on. After you are at this point, clearing their masks will be easy. You will have reached it in a step by step manner that was easy to accomplish. Next, attach the snorkel to the mask, drop it to the pool bottom, recover it, clear the mask and blast the snorkel, leaving your face in the water to breath through the snorkel. I reming them it takes less air to blast a snorkel than to clear a mask. since they've just cleared a mask 3 times, this will be easy.

Remember, they can always stand up if they feel uncomfortable.

At this point, retrieve fins, take off weight belts and teach kicks. Start with the frog, next add flutter and remind them to use it sparingly. Then teach dolphin, scissor and sculling.

The second pool session will be devoted to finishing kicking techniques, weighting, entries & exits, surface dives (head first and feet first), and displacement method of snorkel clearing. During the surface dives, stress proper buddy techniques - one up, one down.

Bring SCUBA to the third pool session.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the ideas on the snorkel drills. You mentioned some that I had never heard of.

I believe that skill in clearing the regulator comes from skill in clearing the snorkel. That is why I believe the snorkel skills are important.

Your comment about the frog kick is incredibly interesting as well, Walter. Most instructors teach the flutter kick first. That has always struck me as odd, since in reality a good scuba diver with a low surface consumption rate will primarily be utilizing a modified frog kick, just as you said! I have never seen the frog kick taught first in a scuba class.

What I am thinking of doing, per your suggestion, is to discuss the frog kick during the first classroom, in the skills chapter, then develop that concept of relying primarily on the frog kick starting with the first pool session, relegating the two other kicks (dolphin & flutter) as backups to the frog kick. Thank you!