Elena has approved this second post. The original is in the Basics section.
I have just posted an article entitled "Incompetent and unaware: We don't know what we don't know...". It follows a presentation I gave at TekDiveUSA this weekend and a number of requests to summarise it for those who weren't there as the themes and issues identified are common to all divers, irrespective of age, experience or agency!
Article - Incompetent and Unaware: We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know
There are a number of resources posted at the end of the article to help improve diving safety and personal performance, but before any of that can happen, there is a need to recognise our own shortcomings!! This is very hard to do in a reflective manner, and therefore it normally requires external input, be that an honest buddy or teammate or a class specifically designed to challenge your own biases and create new ways of thinking about team and communications; links to the classes I run are at the bottom of the article.
In terms of the classes themselves, I have had some very prominent divers in the industry undertake the class including IANTD ITT Phil Short, IANTD IT Tim Clements, GUE Technical Training Director Rich Walker, GUE IT John Kendall, TDI Director, Training Jon Kieren and TDI Director, Product Development Lauren Kieren and AAUS President Rick Gomez, ITT for SSI XR Cat Braun along with 12 others divers ranging from Divemaster level through to Recreational Instructors who are also commercial training captains. All have said that it is something that should be part of their instructor development programs.
Some links to reviews here and here from this weekend's class.
"I found this course and the content extremely interesting and useful for myself as a diver, as an instructor and instructor trainer, and other areas and activities in my life. I am looking forward to applying and practicing what I have learned, and possibly some day attending a more in depth and advanced course." - Josh Thornton, Sub-Gravity
"I originally signed up for this course with professional development in mind. Little did I know, it would be more of a personal development training program. It is very easy to assume how we will (or how someone else should) preform in adverse situations in an environment we are comfortable in. This training program put the team in an unknown environment (simulated space travel with missions to complete) that no one had experience in to draw from which took us out of our comfort zone, allowing us to see how each of us will preform. This process gave me the feeling of stepping out of my own skin to take a look at myself and my actions from an outside perspective." - Lauren Keiren, TDI
There is a discount code for the online course for SB'ers which is valid until 31 Jul 16 (not 31 May as per the article) which you will find at the bottom of the article.
If you sign up for the online class, you will have continued access to the materials, even when they are updated (I strive for continual improvement so they will be!). So pay once, get multiple classes.
If you sign up for the classroom-based class, you get the online class free plus a bunch of tangible deliverables which will make your diving safer and more enjoyable.
I will be running at least two classes in September (over the period 15-21 Sep) in the Rhode Island area and likely something in November/December in the Denver area to tie up with some other training planned. I am also planning on running at least two classes around Inner Space 2017. If you sign up to the newsletter here, you will be notified of classes as they are added to the calendar.
Any questions, just ask!
Gareth
I have just posted an article entitled "Incompetent and unaware: We don't know what we don't know...". It follows a presentation I gave at TekDiveUSA this weekend and a number of requests to summarise it for those who weren't there as the themes and issues identified are common to all divers, irrespective of age, experience or agency!
Article - Incompetent and Unaware: We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know
There are a number of resources posted at the end of the article to help improve diving safety and personal performance, but before any of that can happen, there is a need to recognise our own shortcomings!! This is very hard to do in a reflective manner, and therefore it normally requires external input, be that an honest buddy or teammate or a class specifically designed to challenge your own biases and create new ways of thinking about team and communications; links to the classes I run are at the bottom of the article.
In terms of the classes themselves, I have had some very prominent divers in the industry undertake the class including IANTD ITT Phil Short, IANTD IT Tim Clements, GUE Technical Training Director Rich Walker, GUE IT John Kendall, TDI Director, Training Jon Kieren and TDI Director, Product Development Lauren Kieren and AAUS President Rick Gomez, ITT for SSI XR Cat Braun along with 12 others divers ranging from Divemaster level through to Recreational Instructors who are also commercial training captains. All have said that it is something that should be part of their instructor development programs.
Some links to reviews here and here from this weekend's class.
"I found this course and the content extremely interesting and useful for myself as a diver, as an instructor and instructor trainer, and other areas and activities in my life. I am looking forward to applying and practicing what I have learned, and possibly some day attending a more in depth and advanced course." - Josh Thornton, Sub-Gravity
"I originally signed up for this course with professional development in mind. Little did I know, it would be more of a personal development training program. It is very easy to assume how we will (or how someone else should) preform in adverse situations in an environment we are comfortable in. This training program put the team in an unknown environment (simulated space travel with missions to complete) that no one had experience in to draw from which took us out of our comfort zone, allowing us to see how each of us will preform. This process gave me the feeling of stepping out of my own skin to take a look at myself and my actions from an outside perspective." - Lauren Keiren, TDI
There is a discount code for the online course for SB'ers which is valid until 31 Jul 16 (not 31 May as per the article) which you will find at the bottom of the article.
If you sign up for the online class, you will have continued access to the materials, even when they are updated (I strive for continual improvement so they will be!). So pay once, get multiple classes.
If you sign up for the classroom-based class, you get the online class free plus a bunch of tangible deliverables which will make your diving safer and more enjoyable.
I will be running at least two classes in September (over the period 15-21 Sep) in the Rhode Island area and likely something in November/December in the Denver area to tie up with some other training planned. I am also planning on running at least two classes around Inner Space 2017. If you sign up to the newsletter here, you will be notified of classes as they are added to the calendar.
Any questions, just ask!
Gareth
