Redesigning AOW

[TSandM]

It seems as though it's a pretty common thing, to see people criticizing their AOW class as not providing very much actual learning. I know I felt that way, and most recently, Thrillhouse had the same reaction. Peter and I were discussing that thread, and we got to talking about how we would do an AOW class, if we were to design one. I thought I'd throw our ideas out and see what other people have to say about how they would do it.

First off, I'd have most if not all of the dives be required, rather than the "subject tasting" structure of the existing (at least PADI) class. Now, the required dives might vary with area, but the material of the five dives would be set by the instructor, appropriate for that area. (For example, night diving would be required for the PNW, because many of even our daytime dives in summer are dark enough to be effectively night diving, because of the light absorption by the surface algae layer.)

Second, one of the required dives would be a skills dive, where the divers practiced such things as clearing a flooded mask, recovering a regulator, and sharing air WHILE DIVING. This dive could be done in shallow, sheltered water, but would include such things as actually carrying out an air-sharing ascent under control. The reason for this dive, in my opinion, is that it would make the deep dive safer if the divers had ready responses for the biggest problems that they would be likely to encounter on that dive -- things like freeflows, or running out of gas.

Peak performance buoyancy would be a required dive, and the goal of it would be not only to get the diver properly weighted, but to get them into something approaching a stable horizontal position in the water.

Peter thinks the deep dive should be included, to give the divers an opportunity to experience narcosis under supervision. But it should include some basic information on gas management (eg. rock bottom and an introduction to SAC rates).

Both of us agree that a dive to practice navigational skills should be included. Unless you do nothing but dive off boats with a guide, you are going to have to do some navigating. How that dive would be structured would obviously depend on where you are, but it should definitely include some compass work, and if possible, some natural navigation as well, even if it's just getting the divers to tell you what KINDS of landmarks or features they would look for to orient themselves (wave lines in sand, etc.)

The last dive could be region-specific. For example, in the PNW, a dry suit dive might be a reasonable one to include. For places where most diving is done off boats, a boat dive (to include such things as the use of emergency signaling devices, and gas planning for a mandatory return to the upline) might be more useful.

It seems to me that such a class, if it included the kinds of information I listed, would be good value for money, and still an appropriate class for someone with a very small number of dives.

Thoughts?

 

[Dan Gibson]

I would drop the term advanced since it's pretty tough to go from not advanced to advanced in five dives.

Even with what you posted, isn't that student still just getting a taste of each just as is the case today? The only thing that will make them advanced is a lot of experience in these environments.

Thoughts?

 

[coach_izzy]

Having "completed" the requirements for the advanced diver, I wish my instructor would have followed your syllabus.

I remember the "lecture" portion of the advanced dive, it was nothing more than a bunch of people exchanging dive stories and bragging about their number of dives, and how they needed the card for operators that required it. Of those 3 hours, we only did perhaps 15 minutes worth of work. Then referrals were handed out to those who requested them and off to complete your 6 dives you went.

I left the place with that the taste of certainty, the certainty that I learned NOTHING from those 3 hours.

Of course, I have continued taking courses since then to help me become a better diver. Some have been good, some again, left me with that feeling of wasted time.

GUE is next on my list, as a friend of mine took the fundies and helped him improve his skills tremendously. Unfortunately, my location and the sporadic availability in my area made it difficult.

I will most certainly enroll once I finish my move to the west coast, as they seem to have a stronger presence there, and your description of the advanced class reflects their philosophy.

A class like that would be demanding but worth every penny. Let's see what agencies (other than GUE) are willing to implement it.

Speak soon

 

[Ann Marie]

I agree with Dan. I hate the term Advanced.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

We can debate this forever BUT as long as JoeSmooo down the street charges a couple of hundred bucks for his advanced card you won't get many takers. How much can you expect to charge and get customers if you have a truely complete course? Same applies to open water. When you have people charging 189 for open water classes, can't compete by offerin a treuly complete time involved course.

We do pool and class sessions over 6 different dates plus a weekend of checkouts yet the one day wonder guy trains more people for half the money of course.

People don't see the true value in education do they?

 

[pir8]

What He Said

 

[8thElementDiver]

Yes, "Advanced" is an unfortunate term to use for the class. But overall I think the AOW class is exactly what a beginning diver needs because it gives them a sample of different types of dives under the direct supervision of an instructor. I think we can all agree that that's much better than having a newbie jump in the water on their own and getting stuck with you as a buddy when they don't really have a clue about what to expect on this deep/night/drift/etc dive.

We should better educate new OW students for what to expect from an AOW class. Some AOW classes can be great fun for students, and as usual, it comes down to what the instructor is willing to put into the class.

AOW should be a sampler class. If students want more in-depth instruction about a particular type of dive, then they should take the specialty class--that's why they're there.

And if they want to improve their skills even more, they should take a Rescue class.

None of the dive agencies are going to make the AOW class harder than it is. Remember, this a business for them, and they are competing against other ways people can spend their money on recreation. Do people need to take a rifle safety class to go hunting? (Mostly, no.) When was the last time a ski lift operator asked for your certification before letting you get on a lift to a black-diamond run? Did that jet-ski operator have to take a class to learn what a dive flag was, and that using them for an obstacle course was illegal?

In summary, the agencies want to make diving as fun and accessible as possible for people. Should people learn more and practice their skills often--definitely! But that's up to them to do (just like taking a rifle safety course before tramping through the woods in search of game). And the agencies offer that level of training for those who want it--you're just not going to find it in an AOW class, which should remain a taste-of-diving class.

For those of you who feel like you got a bum deal from your AOW class, I recommend contacting the regional manager of the dive agency. A good way to ensure something happens is to email multiple people at the agency--it's much harder to ignore your email when many others know about it, too. Let them know your frustration. It is their problem to fix, because every instructor should accurately set expectations for their students.

 

[ppo2_diver]

I also feel that the standard AOW class is not realistic. Here is how I run my AOW courses.

Dive 1: Nitrox Dive - I require a dive for Nitrox as this allows me to go over basic diving skills. We do mask skills, gas sharing, etc. It also allows for the students to determine their SAC rate that they will use for gas planning for the rest of the course (and beyond).

Dive 2: Peak Performance Buoyancy Dive - We do underwater skills such as center of gravity, frog kick, trim, swimming through the buoyancy course and some other fun little games to demonstrate how effective your lungs can be when moving through the water column.

Dive 3: Navigation Dive - Do the standard navigational stuff. It's pretty straight forward.

Dive 4: Deep dive - Really focus on dive planning including determining the gas plan. I have students put together one of my kid's puzzles for the timed problem solving skill. It is one of those puzzles that have shapes cut out of a plastic ball. You have to match the shape of the piece to the corresponding hole shape. We'll start with the pieces in one bag and the balls in another. There are also a bunch more pieces in there (to add a little more task loading). PADI requirements don't state that this doesn't have to be an individual skill. So if there are more than one person in the class, we'll run this as a team skill. So the focus is on working as a team to achieve the dive goals while keeping their time, depth, and gas in mind. Of course this is all done while hovering.

Dive 5: Wreck Dive - This has been the most requested dive as we have some great wrecks in the Great Lakes. Again we go over gas and dive planning. We'll also shoot bags and do some line work (non-penetration) to get an idea of what would be done in the wreck specialty. Well, my wreck specialty that is.

All through the class, we'll also do OOG and mask skills on all dives. I like to focus on increasing the divers awareness for both their buddy and environment and working as a team to solve underwater problems.

 

[Tollie]

TS&M,

I've gone around this many times and for sure the AOW can be strengthened. Indeed, the structure you outline can be done now by any Instructor that wants to. The question in my mind is why isn’t it done regularly?

I have to say I have been shaped by GUE. The real strength of what GUE does in its training is the centrality of a couple of very basic concepts that provide the building blocks for recreational to exploration grade diving.

Once you have the platform (trim and buoyancy) the team concept and SA you can build out by adding in new skills and equipment. Without these it all falls apart.

Sadly, I think that the largest majority of Instructors do not have the rock bottom fundamentals down either as concepts or as skills. I also think the general diving public which really is the very occasional diver doesn’t want to go thru the kind of challenge that even a "Fundies-Lite" type program would require.

I don’t think its a cost issue either... a 5 dive course as you have outlined it would cost the same as a 5 dive conventional AOW... I think it’s an attitude towards diving both teaching and learning that most instructors and potential students are not interested in.

 

[hudson]

TS&M,

Peak performance buoyancy dive should come first, and in fact should be part of all five dives with the instructor continuously providing feedback.

My beef with the navigational part of the AOW course was a rectangular mid-water navigation course was NOTHING like real-world navigation, so a setup mimicking practical scenarios be it a boat dive or a shore dive would have tremendous value.

You should throw in proper kicking somewhere in there.

Completely agree with deep dive and gas management. I would also include deep stops and shooting SMBs.