How much classroom and pool instruction do you need to be ready to dive?

[rsingler]

I view the open water course, and certification as an Open Water Diver to be only a license to learn how to dive. You DO NOT learn how to dive in an OW course, be it a weekend or a semester. You learn techniques and skills that allow you to begin to learn how to dive, in a reasonably safe and comfortable manner. In a thread about open water training, probably 5 years ago (Looking Back - Did Your OW Teach You Enough?), I made the statement, 'I learned what I needed to learn, in order to begin to learn how to dive.' I still believe that to be true about OW training.

This is spot on! We have had a long development from (mostly) military divers and weeks-long training, to scuba training with broad appeal that is handled in baby steps. Once you get your ticket to learn, get Advanced Open Water certification to begin to perfect your techniques. As for Open Water, you will be safe if you stay within the limits of your training.

As for the one day class, that is the only way my shop teaches it now. Why? Because they couldn't sell longer class arrangements to the current age group of young interested dive candidates! No one signed up!

In our one-day marathon, we spend 10 hours total, with lots of breaks, and in class remediate questions that arose during e-Learning. But the student had to spend 3 days to a month leaning the theory from a text and video, or online course. Night classes, with multiple question and answer sessions would have been better, but no one signed up.

In the pool, we have a max of four students and one instructor and maybe a divemaster. LOTS of personal attention. Even with that, about 10% are suggested to arrange for some add'l one-on-one tutoring (at add'l cost) because they don't pick up the skills to be safe in the ocean. Otherwise, helping them along individually slows the whole class down.
Come ocean time, not everyone passes for the same reason.

Bottom line, one pool day with practice is certainly enough to be safe, but that assumes you are comfy in the water, don't panic easily and have paid attention during the book studies.
Then, start diving right away to practice, and get more advanced training soon after.

You get out what you put in.
As an old diver, I find that I can only offer what people want to buy. In my area, the way I'd like to do it just doesn't sell when people come to the shop.
But my private students get it over multiple days.

 

[tilikum]

One day just doesn't seem like enough

 

[Lorenzoid]

6 hours is enough for some folks...I wouldn't want to do it in one session though. Most people benefit from repetition. My stock class is 4 2 hour pool sessions. Based on student progression it could be 6 or 10 2 hour pool sessions.

I can't speak for others, but I know I learn to do things best when I have had time after practice to go home and digest it before trying to repeat it. Somehow, "sleeping on it," replaying things in my mind, etc., is what cements it for me. Sometimes, something just "clicks" in the middle of the night, and I wake up knowing the question I SHOULD have asked in class or suddenly seeing the light about the thing I just didn't "get." One long session to learn ANY skill that requires not just thinking but coordination between mind and muscles would not do it for me.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I take the stand that an OW card is not only a license to learn but it is also a verification that one has learned enough to safely plan, execute, and return from a dive with a buddy of equal training and experience. With no professional present.
That's what the RSTC Open Water Diver Guidelines state should be the case.
They are also capable of dealing with most issues that may arise as part of that.

The reality, however, is sadly not even close to that in too many cases.
Due to fast, abbreviated, and minimal content training.
All the skills you need to safely dive should be smooth, fluid, and more or less instinctual BEFORE you enter open water.
The open water checkouts are verification of that.

How much time is enough should not be a set amount. It should be based on the student's understanding, skill, and comfort with the environment and the gear. As well as the necessary skills and knowledge. I don't like to schedule more than 2 -2 1/2 hours per pool session. With kids and those who get chilled easily 2 is often the limit. When divers start to get chilled and/or tired the learning process seems to come to a grinding halt. Frustration sets in. Skills degrade rapidly and it just turns into a cycle of failures.

I have had divers get through all the skills and achieve the comfort levels I want to see and what standards dictate in 10 hours of actual practice. Add time to swim around and play a little and it becomes 12-13. I've had other with challenges who required the full 16 hours standards for SEI recommend. I don't rush and don't take people to open water until I am satisfied that they can perform all the skills effortlessly and do them while swimming. I also don't take them unless I am sure that if something would happen to me that they could assist me and get me out of the water or assist me in aiding another diver. The last sentence is an agency standard.

If you feel the class is rushed, it is. If you feel the instructor is not getting through to you all they want, they aren't and it's the diver's responsibility to say so and ask for more time. If you feel you are not in charge of your training, something is wrong.

The instructor or shop is your employee when you are learning to dive. They are providing a service that you have paid for. Get what you paid for. You're the boss ultimately. Not them. Never forget that.

 

[Clark Fletcher]

If you talk to a dive shop and ask how much pool work you'll do, and they say anything other than "as long as it takes for you to be comfortable", look elsewhere.

 

[boulderjohn]

If you talk to a dive shop and ask how much pool work you'll do, and they say anything other than "as long as it takes for you to be comfortable", look elsewhere.

While that is the reality, most operations will schedule a certain amount of time, often because they will have to rent the time. The time required to do the class follows Parkinson's law, meaning the time USUALLY required for a class takes the amount of time scheduled. There is a good, solid reason for it.

Classes are generally scheduled for a bit more time than experience has shown it USUALLY takes to get everyone through the class. In a class, students progress at the rate the whole class takes to get through things. Some people pick things up faster than others, but the instructor cannot take each individual through the course at individual speeds--that would be pretty much impossible. As the class progress, the instructor keeps an eye on the clock. There are "accordion" sections of the class, meaning the time required is flexible. These include especially the amount of free swimming time in which the students swim around getting used to being neutrally buoyant. The skilled instructor will adjust that time as needed and as it is available, finishing the last free swimming time at the end of the course when the allotted time is over. In a typical class, everyone has achieved the required state of comfort before that, so the students are actually in the water longer than it is needed to get the job done.

With a class of one or two people, it can go much faster than the normal time, and the instructor may indeed stop the class earlier than scheduled with students who are doing very well.

On the other hand, there are some students who need more time than is scheduled. When that happens, the instructor usually picks up on that pretty early. Realizing that one student may hold up the whole class, keep everyone beyond the scheduled pool rental time, and create a real scheduling problem, the instructor will use one of several methods to take care of that. One common method is to have that individual work one-on-one with an assistant while the instructor works with the rest of the class. In a worst case scenario, the struggling individual is taken aside and given suggestions, including a possible private session.

It is perfectly legitimate for a shop to respond to such a question with the number of hours for which the class is scheduled, even though the real answer is always "as long as it takes."

 

[blac86]

You need however much time in the classroom and confined water as it takes for you to be able to competently demonstrate the skills required of a diver in open water. There's no other answer. I normally do two days of classroom and confined water with my students but sometimes it will be three or four days if they need it.

 

[Codger81]

I completed my OW and AOW over 4 days, excluding the best part of 24 hours completing e-learning across both. Completing 3-4 hours of self-instruction at a time meant for a better learning experience, at the pace and completeness I wanted. Some friends went through taught classes at OW and weren't as comfortable with it.

After easing through my confined water drives without any problems, the only issue I did have was a leaky rental mask and completing my first two OW drives someplace incredibly salty, where it burnt my eyes a bit. I was however instructed and certified one-on-one by a Course Director who'd been instructing for over 20 years, so perhaps that helped.

Within a year I'd completed my rescue and master certs (5 specs / 50 dives). Again as much as possible I focussed on self-study prep, ensuring I was comfortable with theory.

 

[1000RR]

A lot of great information in this thread. My own personal experience, as my daughter (13) and I just completed our OW this past weekend (SSI) went like this:

1. Took online/e-learning course. This was theory, basics, videos, etc. Provided a good foundation for what we were about to embark on. The online stuff probably took 8-10 hours I imagine.
2. Went into dive shop and took 50 question exam. Needed 80% to pass but his rule was you couldn't miss any questions that were life threatening safety type questions that would/could get you or your buddy killed.
3. Went to some springs to do our pool dives 2 weekends later (from the exam). The instructor (very very good instructor w/5600+ dives) provided some classroom type instruction first thing in the morning, then we got wet. We went through 70% of the skills training. We would have done more but my daughter had trouble clearing her ears when we were going to practice them in deeper water (15-20'). Being the springs are 72 degrees, that was enough time to be in the water for everyone - FRIGID, even with a wetsuit... as we weren't moving around a lot. The instructor ratio was my daugher and I to him... so VERY good ratio.
4. The next day we went to a location where we could do our open water dives. It was Blue Heron Bridge in Florida, so the water temperature was great (mid-80's). Since we didn't finish our skills training the previous day, we stayed in the shallower area and worked through a few things then we went out into the deeper waters where we practiced all those same skills but now at depth. The twist to this time was he had 2 friends of his, one was an instructor, the other was another very seasoned diver (wife of the other instructor) with him. So it was basically 2 instructors plus an assistant to my daughter and I - Outstanding (unique) ratio for sure. We got through about 90% of everything and since the first day had challenges with my daughter equalizing, he wanted us to come back down to Blue Heron Bridge another time for the final things plus a more "fun dive" to test them all out.
5. So we met again at Blue Heron Bridge about 2 weeks later. This time it was just him and us... so still a VERY good ratio. We went through the skills we had learned plus a couple final ones and then we went and played for the most part with him following and watching. After we were done, we headed home and me and my daughter used up the remaining air in our tanks in our pool where we practiced more buoyancy and skills drills (OOA, etc.).

After that (which amounted to 3 days with the instructors), I do believe my daughter and I are ready to begin the diving adventure which will entail plenty more learning for many years to come. I also know that if we wanted more time in the water, he would have had no problem if we had asked. Every situation is unique I guess.

 

[Diver0001]

Hi guys, I'm an 18 year old girl who wants to learn scuba diving. I've noticed there are classes available that offer one 6 hour pool session, and are then followed by beach dives. I don't want to rush the learning process, and I'm skeptical that one pool session can really teach you everything before you enter the ocean. An online portion also has to be completed, but I feel that learning something online and learning something in person can be very different. Do you guys think that this is enough time to learn everything and be prepared for the certification dives?

I haven't read the other responses yet so forgive me if I'm repeating.

The amount of time you need to learn is individual. The system used in scuba instruction is 'performance based', which means that you work through it on your own tempo. The result is supposed to be standardized but the amount of time is flexible.

That said, to give a more concrete answer to your question, the answer will depend on a couple of factors:

- how easily you learn and retain information
- if you are comfortable in the water or not
- how athletically inclined you are, to a certain point.

The first point is mostly related to how quickly you can learn the theory and how well you can remember and internalize the skills.

The second point is related to how quickly you can learn to effectively problem solve and perform skills, mostly under water. The more relaxed you are, the easier that is.

The last point has to do with the physical aspects of the sport. How easily you can learn an efficient fin stroke, how easily you learn how to float/hover, etc.

The other main aspect to this is how many people are in your course. If you do a course with more than 3 other people (group of 4) then the efficiency of the confined water training starts to dramatically drop. With 8 people in a course you will easily need 2 or 3 times as much time in the water so that everyone can learn the skills in a relaxed atmosphere. I actually feel bad for people who learn in large groups because the training either drags out or is far too rushed.

In terms of my experience, I train small groups (4 max) and I usually spend 8 hours or so on theory and 6 hours or so in the pool. Most people can complete the confined water sessions and theory in that amount of classroom time. The theory will probably cost you about another 10-15 hours on your own time. The open water sessions are 2x 1/2 days (4 dives) at the dive site. We try to do dives of at least 30 minutes if the water isn't cold. At the end of it all you'll need to spend about an hour getting your certification put in the computer and of course this doesn't include any travel time.

This is about as fast as I think you should go and I should qualify this by saying that I have a fair amount of experience doing this. When I first learned to teach I needed about twice that much time in the water to get acceptable results.

Be aware that going slower will not necessarily result in higher quality unless you are using that time productively. Be wary of instructors who claim that they routinely spend 15 or 20 hours in confined training for the OW course unless they have a very good reason for that. In my experience that much time in confined water often means that they are spending a great deal of time fixing their own mistakes. Some universities spend this much time or more (for example, the 100 hour course) but that is not the context of a normal (commercial) OW course and those courses don't have the same goal in mind.

Does that answer your question?

R..