Interveiwing an instructor

[ndl]

Hi everybody, publishing my thoughts is new to me , but from what I have read on other subjects here I hope you can help.

I've been scuba diving for about 20 some odd years. and over those years I have taken a number of courses. Some of those courses I feel that the instructors just didn't try to teach the skills that I thought where involved in an advanced form of diving. And in some of the courses the instructor was arrogant.

I have been reading ScubaBoard for a while, and I don't really want info on differant dive organizations.


My question to the members of ScubaBoard is this: What are some of the questions you would ask a instructor before signing up for a class. The class that I'm thinking of taking is adv. nitrox and deco. theory, so a good fit with the instructor is important to me .Thanks in advance.

 

[padiscubapro]

Hi everybody, publishing my thoughts is new to me , but from what I have read on other subjects here I hope you can help.

I've been scuba diving for about 20 some odd years. and over those years I have taken a number of courses. Some of those courses I feel that the instructors just didn't try to teach the skills that I thought where involved in an advanced form of diving. And in some of the courses the instructor was arrogant.

I have been reading ScubaBoard for a while, and I don't really want info on differant dive organizations.


My question to the members of ScubaBoard is this: What are some of the questions you would ask a instructor before signing up for a class. The class that I'm thinking of taking is adv. nitrox and deco. theory, so a good fit with the instructor is important to me .Thanks in advance.

If you are looking into doing decompression diving, I would ask the instructor what type of dives he/she does when they aren't teaching.. There are many tech instructors whose only "tech" dives are training dives with diver level students. If this is the only experience the instructor has I would avoid this instructor.

Training dives are planned knowing the student does't have the expeience a seasoned tech diver has and the profiles and sites are chosen accordingly. This instructor may be extremely confortable doing these types of dives but how much practical (experience based) knowledge can they pass on.

 

[matt_unique]

Hi everybody, publishing my thoughts is new to me , but from what I have read on other subjects here I hope you can help.

I've been scuba diving for about 20 some odd years. and over those years I have taken a number of courses. Some of those courses I feel that the instructors just didn't try to teach the skills that I thought where involved in an advanced form of diving. And in some of the courses the instructor was arrogant.

I have been reading ScubaBoard for a while, and I don't really want info on differant dive organizations.


My question to the members of ScubaBoard is this: What are some of the questions you would ask a instructor before signing up for a class. The class that I'm thinking of taking is adv. nitrox and deco. theory, so a good fit with the instructor is important to me .Thanks in advance.

Definitely ask about the diving they do for fun. Ask how often they do these dives as well. I would also ask about the gases they use on their dives (i.e. practice what they preach). The dives you will be doing for these courses will most likely be within recreational depths (simulated deco exercises) so you definitely want an instructor who is doing real deco dives outside of the courses.

--Matt

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

I think the questions the instructor asks of you also reveal a lot - this was a big part of how we selected our tech instructor - half on answers to our questions, and half on his questions to us.

 

[ndl]

has anyone had a bad instructor for tech training, and what were the first clues to tip you off that the instructor wasn't as good as you thought they should be.

 

[MikeFerrara]

has anyone had a bad instructor for tech training, and what were the first clues to tip you off that the instructor wasn't as good as you thought they should be.

I had a real bad instructor. LOL

He never got in the water. It's just as well because he wasn't safe to dive with anyway.

Picking an instructor at the entry level can be hard. At the tech level though you should already know enough to be able to spot a good diver. DIVE with him prior to starting a class. If he's worth a hill of beans he's going to want to check you out anyway.

Travel if you have to but don't take some shlock at a local dive shop who just decided there's a tech market, did a few dives with some fake deco and got an instructors card. There's lots of those these days.

 

[FreeFloat]

I think the questions the instructor asks of you also reveal a lot - this was a big part of how we selected our tech instructor - half on answers to our questions, and half on his questions to us.

I'd be interested to hear more about the type of questions you were asked, and what made you realize they were good questions (if they aren't obvious)

 

[roni]

Find out how long he had been diving and teaching. What can he teach and from what agency (some agencies are easier to progress in), call the agency and find out if he had any quality assurance problems and if they know him.

 

[wedivebc]

Hi everybody, publishing my thoughts is new to me , but from what I have read on other subjects here I hope you can help.

I've been scuba diving for about 20 some odd years. and over those years I have taken a number of courses. Some of those courses I feel that the instructors just didn't try to teach the skills that I thought where involved in an advanced form of diving. And in some of the courses the instructor was arrogant.

I have been reading ScubaBoard for a while, and I don't really want info on differant dive organizations.


My question to the members of ScubaBoard is this: What are some of the questions you would ask a instructor before signing up for a class. The class that I'm thinking of taking is adv. nitrox and deco. theory, so a good fit with the instructor is important to me .Thanks in advance.

Ask to see his log book. Like padiscubapro said, make sure the instructor is doing the type of dives you are training for when he is not teaching. I always do a dive with my students which gives us a mutual feeling how compatible we are. This checkout will tell alot about the instructor. Is he organized, does he practice good dive safety habits, does he practice what he preaches? Is he fun to dive with?
Have a good course...

 

[jhelmuth]

Q: What makes your classes different and better than (name a few instructors/shops here)?

Q: Why do you teach (put in the class/course name here)?

Q: How many students do you teach each year?

Q: What are your qualifications to teach? Tell me about your diving and instructional background.

Q: Describe the worst student you've ever taught?

Q: What was the outcome of that course for that student?

Q: What did/would you do differently after that experience?