Define what constitutes a good instructor?
- Thread starter joe rock
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OP
So do you think it's possible to be a great OW instructor and a lousy instructor of advanced courses and visa versa? If so why?
JR
JR
Joe, in theory everything is possible...having said that an Open Water Scuba Instructor is trained to do courses from DSD right through to Divemaster.
Obviously as a newly certified OWSI, it's recommended we concentrate on doing OWDs before moving on.
However, we all have to add our own personal experience and abilities.
Doing OWD classes seems to me more challenging than AOW or Rescue, simply because those divers have more experience and I'm already building on a foundation of the students experience and my own.
Up and beyond recreational diving certification, I know a lot of good recreational instructors who are excellent tech divers but do not want to be tech instructors..............maybe another thread can be opened on this?
Obviously as a newly certified OWSI, it's recommended we concentrate on doing OWDs before moving on.
However, we all have to add our own personal experience and abilities.
Doing OWD classes seems to me more challenging than AOW or Rescue, simply because those divers have more experience and I'm already building on a foundation of the students experience and my own.
Up and beyond recreational diving certification, I know a lot of good recreational instructors who are excellent tech divers but do not want to be tech instructors..............maybe another thread can be opened on this?
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I will agree that it's good to have exposure to what (and how) different agencies teach ... but I don't think it's necessary to have credentials from multiple agencies.
One of the best pieces of advice I ever got as a dive professional came from my CD when I became a divemaster. He told me to spend at least a year at the divemaster level, working with as many different instructors and different agencies as I could. He said that I'd learn something from each one that would help me build my own "toolbox" of skills and teaching tricks. And he was absolutely right.
Even from instructors I thought were not very good, I learned a few things that have helped me be a better instructor. On the other hand, I see no need to hold certifications from different agencies. For the most part, the skills they teach are all the same. What differentiates them are the approach to teaching them, and the standards the agency sets for their leadership positions. That is generally something more useful to the organization of the class than the knowledge you'll be passing along to your students.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
One of the best pieces of advice I ever got as a dive professional came from my CD when I became a divemaster. He told me to spend at least a year at the divemaster level, working with as many different instructors and different agencies as I could. He said that I'd learn something from each one that would help me build my own "toolbox" of skills and teaching tricks. And he was absolutely right.
Even from instructors I thought were not very good, I learned a few things that have helped me be a better instructor. On the other hand, I see no need to hold certifications from different agencies. For the most part, the skills they teach are all the same. What differentiates them are the approach to teaching them, and the standards the agency sets for their leadership positions. That is generally something more useful to the organization of the class than the knowledge you'll be passing along to your students.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
One thing that made my BOW instructor great was simple: He saved a block of time at the end of each pool session for students to continue working on skills under supervision. Students who were struggling repeated the very basic stuff, and students who were doing well worked on more challenging skills or just "dove the pool." Enjoyable and effective.
Amen, this is really in my mind right now, having just worked with a weekend open water class this weekend. Every confined water dive has "time for practice of skills" built into it. I think as an instructor students "playing" on the bottom of the pool does as much or more for them to get the skills down as do demonstration, and doing it, I always stress when it is practice time, to work on the skills you aren't comfortable with doing, and I will help you get better, and do so with every student during practice time.
Papa_Bear
Contributor
So do you know what they call a Medical Student who passes all his courses with "C"? Doctor! The same applies to instructors! Good ones and bad ones, they all passed! But a good one inspires their students to learn more and be better than they. the instructor, is and imparts confidence and safety in our sport in their students! They have passion tempered by Patience and all the knowledge available at the time and common since that can be summarized in simple non-complex remembrances that when that student gets into that situation they will know "What my instructor would do"! And it will be the right thing at the right time, as that instructor sleeps well at night!
RikRaeder
Contributor
They've got to know what they're talking about, firstly, and preferably have enough experience to be able to do what they are teaching well. A good instructor needs to have respect for their students and the understanding that people learn in different ways and at different rates. That means patience and a creative teaching method that will allow them to reach all students, not just certain types.
They need to have excellent interpersonal and communication skills and a bit of empathy so that they can reach an understanding of each and every individual student. They must connect with each and every student in a meaningful way so that they can tailor the material to that students needs. I'm not talking about taking long, hot showers together, but rather taking the time and making the effort to see what makes each student tick and how best to reach them.
Teaching a skill (and DMing) is a service job. That means working with people and that means dealing with customers. If you can't accept the type of relationship that implies (read: have too big an ego), you probably aren't very good. I'd think you'd have to love teaching in order to be any good. If just doing it to make some bucks or some free dives, one wouldn't be able to make the personal connections neccesary to effectively pass on the information in an effective way.
That's what I think
They need to have excellent interpersonal and communication skills and a bit of empathy so that they can reach an understanding of each and every individual student. They must connect with each and every student in a meaningful way so that they can tailor the material to that students needs. I'm not talking about taking long, hot showers together, but rather taking the time and making the effort to see what makes each student tick and how best to reach them.
Teaching a skill (and DMing) is a service job. That means working with people and that means dealing with customers. If you can't accept the type of relationship that implies (read: have too big an ego), you probably aren't very good. I'd think you'd have to love teaching in order to be any good. If just doing it to make some bucks or some free dives, one wouldn't be able to make the personal connections neccesary to effectively pass on the information in an effective way.
That's what I think
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I'd like to point out that neither NOAA nor the American Academy of Underwater Sciences certify instructors. As to multiple certs, I think it usually a negative factor especially when certified by agencies that have contradictory outlooks and approaches ... the only reasons for that could be a change of heart, selling out or card collecting, and only the first of those reasons would I find recommendable.
Mattyo
Registered
There is a danger in that you may do all your training through the one shop with the same instructor and never know any different. Good if he/she is a great instructor, but hey as a novice how would you know if they are good or bad. If you've never tried something another way or a different version how do you know what your using is the best for you. This applies to equipment and training. Make sure you are taught all the skills you need and dont be scared to ask to repeat skills until you are confident. There is a lot of quick box ticking that goes on in the diving world to get students pushed through the system in pursuit of the training dollar. The difference between a good and bad instructor in my view is one that insists you demonstrate required skills repeatedly not one who ticks the box the first time you do it. Put in a bad situation even these basic skills could save your life.
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