Teaching nothing

[RobPNW]

I know, I know, NO SOUP FOR ME!

 

[Tournesol2000]

@wetb4igetinthewater, I agree with you. I do find it challenging to do nothing! I tried in a small pool. Spent an hour trying to not move. It was frustrating and I failed. I even tried on the bottom of the pool. I still moved. I have no idea how or why.
When I took a refresher course, it was all BS to me because I felt I was over weighed and added air in my bcd. I could move up and down by my breathing but it was either up or down. No stopping moving.
I feel I just need more time in the water.

 

[Finsdeep]

I am not a SCUBA instructor but am a flight instructor and airshow instructor. One thing for sure. Every student learns differently. It is up to the instructor to adapt to how each student learns. A good instructor thinks outside of the box to reach the same end result with each student. I have seen scuba instructors who can do this and others who treat 5 students as one person. So "doing nothing" might work for some. The "duck" might work for some. Neither may work for an entire class. Keeping the ol ego in check is a big one for the instructor. Im fairly new to Scuba Board and have seen a lot of ego. Cocky is a good way to turn off the learning switch. Humility is your friend and gains more respect. The day someone thinks they know it all they should quit what they are doing. That's when it gets dangerous. I dont want a know it all as my dive buddy and certainly not in the cockpit with me. Keep learning nomatter your title or position.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I am not a SCUBA instructor but am a flight instructor and airshow instructor. One thing for sure. Every student learns differently. It is up to the instructor to adapt to how each student learns. A good instructor thinks outside of the box to reach the same end result with each student. I have seen scuba instructors who can do this and others who treat 5 students as one person. So "doing nothing" might work for some. The "duck" might work for some. Neither may work for an entire class. Keeping the ol ego in check is a big one for the instructor. Im fairly new to Scuba Board and have seen a lot of ego. Cocky is a good way to turn off the learning switch. Humility is your friend and gains more respect. The day someone thinks they know it all they should quit what they are doing. That's when it gets dangerous. I dont want a know it all as my dive buddy and certainly not in the cockpit with me. Keep learning nomatter your title or position.

Teaching any subject is a matter of expanding one's toolbox. It never ends, as there will always be a student whose preferred learning method isn't being addressed, and one has to adapt to it. I'm big on minimizing stress to improve the chances of learning/retention. However, some people (exceptions) thrive on a more militaristic approach. That's something that I would never do, as providing a militaristic approach requires a very different mindset. I know I am not the right instructor for every single customer out there. It isn't possible. There are people who just want the c-card and be done with it so they can dive on vacation. When I resume teaching, my focus will be people who want to become cold water divers, as that is how I have built my program. It doesn't make sense for vacation divers who will always follow a dive guide be certified by me.

I don't see a duck analogy. If the idea to convey that you see a duck on the surface moving around but no movement (other than its feet underwater), that isn't a good analogy, as that's doing something.

This thread is a bit old, but hopefully I have mentioned the discussion with students where I ask them "what does a good diver look like to you?" and also "how do you want to look as a diver?". It comes down to having control, being efficient, relaxed, and being capable of "doing nothing" (hovering effortlessly in any position, not necessarily horizontal - but as horizontal is most difficult, that's what I work on for hovering. I don't do those b#llshit Buddha hovers).

The way I have taught has changed dramatically over the years. The biggest changes (and improvements in results) has been
1) focusing on proper weighting (including weight distribution) as that has reduced the amount of buoyancy changes when depth changes
2) doing skin diving/snorkeling skills before scuba (not allowed by all agencies, which I disagree with) as that allowed me to break skills acquisition into smaller steps and also helps with trim (@Eric Sedletzky made a point in a comment a long time ago how freedivers go in the direction they are pointed, as opposed to seahorsing around like many divers do)
3) doing frog kicks on the surface on the back, as that allows me to communicate with my students as they frog kick and they develop a feeling of what is the proper body position (if their knees break the surface, then they know they are breaking at the waist)

After that, it is just following the skills in order. It isn't rocket science, but I am always looking at new ways to accelerate learning or improve it. I'm always looking at more tools for my toolbox. And I will shamelessly borrow/steal/abandon ideas if it gives me better results. There are a number of instructors who do a far better job at teaching than me, and I actively engage with them to improve. I hope to co-teach or assist with them one day.

 

[BWes]

I like the description by wetb4igetinthewater of having the students play with weights and learn to trim themselves. We all know how critcal bouyancy control is but I cannot count the number of times I have had to make adjustments to achieve trim. As Vicko said, things change. You need a heavier wet suit because the water is colder. The air tank offered by the shop is a different size then the one you are use to. Hey, this 2 kg weight won't work, I need a 5 lb weight (bad joke). The student needs to understand how to achieve trim so they can adapt.

Breath control was mentioned. I count this as a critical skill for managing air consumption and adjusting bouyancy. After years of diving I still practice breath control.

Good discusion

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I'm placing this is basic scuba instead of instructor-to-instructor for the reason that I'd like feedback from divers of all levels, from not even certified yet to experienced instructors. This absolutely belongs here in basic scuba as we are talking about open water courses, and there is nothing more basic than that.

Now I do take open water instruction seriously, but still make sure it is fun, and convey concepts in a way that students will remember them.

In my opinion, the most important thing a diver must be able to do is to remain motionless at a fairly constant depth (depending on the length of their breath cycle, they will ascend and descend slightly). But when you really think about it, it is important for a student to do what exactly? That's right! Nothing!


It is my job to first weight my students properly, which as I have said many times includes weight distribution so that the student can float horizontal effortlessly with little change in depth. Second, it is my job to teach my students how to do this (and I'm in the process of ways to improve that).

For students that saw Seinfeld when it aired (US, Gen X and later), I think they'll remember this. What about the idea of doing nothing as to understand what buoyancy control is all about?

I think stress management and panic proofing are ahead of being able to stay perfectly motionless laying flat in the water column, but I suppose it’s all important and all has to be learned simultaneously.

With that said, I used to DM for an instructor who taught scuba at a high school pool.
It was mostly students and their parents. The students weren’t the problem (except chasing the whipper snappers around like wild goats during their OW fun dive in the ocean).
The parents on the other hand, oh boy!!
We had a mom that was the worst flailer I’d ever seen. Just constantly gyrating and doing the jig underwater. Funny part is she was almost panic proof, she just flailed. During the mask removal/re-install/clear exercise I figured she would freak and bolt. But no, actually she took her time breathing with no mask so she could gyrate somemore to try and stay upright, and when she saw a glimmer of hope that she was not going to turtle she put her mask back on and cleared it then began flailing again. I pulled her aside and we worked on the flailing and gyrating. I got her to relax a little better but could not completely get rid of the gyrating. The instructor passed her. Her other skills were there, she was just a flailer.
So for a person like her your assessment might be correct that being able to lay still is indeed a skill that needs to be mastered.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

I think buoyancy and trim may be the most underrated skill, but I'm skeptical of most important.

1. Safety is a higher priority. That means making sure there aren't any panic issues. Airway control is key. Being able to clear a mask and recover a lost regulator. And so on.

2. I'd add something that's not an easily taught skill: Situational awareness. I had two DM's taking Dry Suit Diver from me awhile back. New to cold water diving. On dive 2, I told the 2 buddy teams I had to keep eyes on their buddy and an eye on a buoy anchor line so we all ended up together on the bottom. My two DM candidates assumed the perfect, level, trim and slowly descended. What they missed was the fact that in that perfect trim and slow descent they were drifting away from the anchor line. Once on the bottom, they couldn't see the anchor line so I had to bring them up again and re-descend on the line. They were so focused on trim and looking good that they didn't pay attention to where they were.

Of course, it really is an "all of the above" situation. You need a variety of skills to dive safely, have fun, and get the most out of the experience.

 

[TMHeimer]

I think buoyancy and trim may be the most underrated skill, but I'm skeptical of most important.

1. Safety is a higher priority. That means making sure there aren't any panic issues. Airway control is key. Being able to clear a mask and recover a lost regulator. And so on.

2. I'd add something that's not an easily taught skill: Situational awareness. I had two DM's taking Dry Suit Diver from me awhile back. New to cold water diving. On dive 2, I told the 2 buddy teams I had to keep eyes on their buddy and an eye on a buoy anchor line so we all ended up together on the bottom. My two DM candidates assumed the perfect, level, trim and slowly descended. What they missed was the fact that in that perfect trim and slow descent they were drifting away from the anchor line. Once on the bottom, they couldn't see the anchor line so I had to bring them up again and re-descend on the line. They were so focused on trim and looking good that they didn't pay attention to where they were.

Of course, it really is an "all of the above" situation. You need a variety of skills to dive safely, have fun, and get the most out of the experience.

I agree. In fact, buoyancy I believe is not included as one of PADI's 24 "pool" skills to be passed. They have had more emphasis on it since the OW course was revised 7-8 years ago, a good thing.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I agree. In fact, buoyancy I believe is not included as one of PADI's 24 "pool" skills to be passed. They have had more emphasis on it since the OW course was revised 7-8 years ago, a good thing.

There is the hover in confined water in different skills (2 inflate methods for example).

@Eric Sedletzky and @Seaweed Doc ,

I want to respond to your excellent comments, but I want to think about how to articulate my thoughts first as you bring up very valid points.

 

[VikingDives]

@Finsdeep, you make a good point about adapting to students. One of my rules of thumb is that my students are going to teach me as much as I teach them. I've had a few where I've just started pulling things out of my "hat" because nothing else seemed to work. Sometimes those things worked, and sometimes not, but I always learned something.

I agree. In fact, buoyancy I believe is not included as one of PADI's 24 "pool" skills to be passed. They have had more emphasis on it since the OW course was revised 7-8 years ago, a good thing.

The last time I counted, there were 28, but this brings in another problem - more skills doesn't = more time in the pool.

Something I do (or perhaps, don't do) in my SDI classes is teach all of PADI's 28 skills. I specifically don't teach compass navigation, or most of the surface sills that PADI requires. My students master towing divers in the pool, they don't need to demonstrate that in open water.

I also don't waste an hour of pool time teaching snorkeling. If you want to learn how to snorkel, that's another class. I spend my time teaching scuba (if I had unlimited time though, I'd probably teach snorkeling first though).

I have a little portion of my classroom that's dedicated to "what you aren't learning, and why." We talk about things like compass nav (there's not enough time to master it, or understand it, or perform it at our open water site), overhead environments, and rescue skills (though I do teach some rescue skills, we talk about things we aren't teaching like panicked divers).

My goal isn't to make sure I check every box, or keep adding more boxes to my classes. It's about finding the basics and ensuring my students are absolutely competent in them. I also want to get them past thinking they know everything.

From my class graphics:

I tell them at the end of the class I want them to know there's more to this than they thought. That's my only goal. Well that and they don't scare me, and they can hover in neutral buoyancy and trim and perform all their skills in NB/T, and they are correctly weighted and that they look at divers from other shops and either say, "Oh, now I see what you were talking about." or "What is wrong with them?"

And I want them to have the knowledge to develop their skills, even if everything isn't beautiful, so they can continue to improve without me.