OW and AOW

[boulderjohn]

Perhaps it was my instructor then (circa 1985) versus what I've seen in some courses these days. When I got certified, we did two solid weeks of pool work and conducted a real CESA instead of a mock one in a swimming pool. Also (and my memory could be wrong) the PADI OW manual was more substantial. I seem to recall detailed illustrations and explanations of pressure/volume relationships as well as some basic illustrations and descriptions of how regulators work. At least the regulator information is now in the Rescue manual. Also, the new manuals seem to be presented more like "sound bites" of information that rather than detailed descriptions. My 2 psi

Real CESA's are still required for PADI OW certification, in addition to the one in the pool. NASE only does the pool CESA, but they certify only a handful of students a year.

The requirements for what must be done in the pool are a bit more than they were in 1985. The amount of time spent in pool work is however long it takes to get the work done. there are shops that do it over several weeks now. The PADI OW manual today is much better than it was when I was certified. The manual is carefully laid out in keeping with modern instructional theory on course design, with frequent check quizzes and other design features to enhance understanding and retention.

I don't know of any information missing from the current OW manual, except that the ones that are designed for the computer version of the course do not include tables. THey do, however, have detailed explanations of how computers are to be used in the dive, and they have an online computer simulator so students can practice and understand more fully how they work to deal with decompression issues.

 

[Erich S]

That was not a normal part of instruction--that was something done by individual instructors on their own. In this History of NAUI, Al Tillman (NAUI Instructor #1) talks about the 1960 Houston meeting of instructors from across the nation that led to the formation of NAUI. He said they were surprised to see some of the instructors doing that sort of thing. He says that they were of the opinion that it was more for the benefit of the instructor (they were having fun doing it) than the student. There are still instructors who still do this today, although it is pretty rare.

Mine was a PADI class and you're probably correct that the harassment drills were not sanctioned but back in 1976 who knows.

 

[boulderjohn]

Mine was a PADI class and you're probably correct that the harassment drills were not sanctioned but back in 1976 who knows.

I am quite sure that neither NAUI nor PADI ever officially sanctioned it.

There was a lot of training that had a boot camp mentality in the earliest days of instruction, and none of it was ever official. When I became an instructor, I had to read a lot of historical documents. One of them talked about this. Apparently it was very common in the earliest days of instruction for individual instructors to brag about their very high failure rates. "I'm such a great instructor that only 20% of my students get certified!" Harassment drills were used, and students would have to do overcome physical challenges like doing pushups while wearing scuba gear. None of this was official, but it was fairly common.

Agency leaders realized that this was akin to a plumber bragging that only 20% of the leaks he works on are actually fixed and worked to eliminate that attitude. With most agencies today, the official mindset is that it is the instructor's job to use solid instructional methods and intervene in student problems so that the highest possible percentage of students can truly meet the scuba standards.

Some people who survived that kind of boot camp instruction did indeed have to go through more in their classes than students do today, but that does not mean they are better divers, and the many divers who did not survive that training style missed out on a lifetime of great diving as a result.

 

[TMHeimer]

The shop where I DMd paid to rent the pool. I believe if a student could not complete the skills to an acceptable level they had 2 choices--pay for extra individual help (don't know the fee for that but assume it included pool and instructor fees), or join a future class already in progress. But for the majority of students the pool times were adhered to within reason, as I believe rent was by the hour.

 

[Clark Fletcher]

The big thing that I recall from my Basic Scuba class in the late 70s was that our instructor staged our masks, snorkels and fins at different points on the bottom of the pool. We then had to swim the width of the pool, don our equipment as we went (clearing our mask along the way), and clearing our snorkel when we surfaced on the other side of the pool. I'm sure that was probably just my instructor. But, it was probably the most difficult skill I've ever had to demonstrate in the water.

 

[boulderjohn]

I'm sure that was probably just my instructor. But, it was probably the most difficult skill I've ever had to demonstrate in the water.

And it's a critical skill for a scuba diver. It's something we have to do all the time.

 

[tursiops]

And it's a critical skill for a scuba diver. It's something we have to do all the time.

I fear your sarcasm will be lost on many readers.

 

[boulderjohn]

I fear your sarcasm will be lost on many readers.

You are probably right.

Announcement: my tongue was well in my cheek while typing that last post.

 

[Clark Fletcher]

I fear your sarcasm will be lost on many readers.

Perhaps. But, not lost on me.

 

[boulderjohn]

OK, now that I have artlessly introduced the thought (for which I apologize)...

Much of what was done in some of the classes in the earliest days of scuba has pretty much gone away because of the realization that it served no purpose. A good example is breathing off of a bare valve with no regulator. That used to be pretty common. Unless you are filming the absurd ending of the silly film Sanctum (I may have been the only viewer who got that far), the skill has no application in scuba.

One of the key concepts in educational theory is interference. Simply put, this occurs when learning one thing hinders your ability to learn another. Modern instructional design focuses its learning on that which is most important, spending less time and focus on materials of lesser importance, and eliminating altogether that which adds no real value to the course content.