Ow, iow, aow

[MXGratefulDiver]

I take a different approach ... my AOW class is designed with specific skills objectives. Each dives focuses on certain skills. There are no electives. There are six scheduled dives, but if a student needs more work on specific skills, we'll discuss why and repeat that dive until the objectives are met. My latest student required nine dives to complete the class.

Prior to the dives there are about 10 hours of classwork that goes over how to plan and prepare for a dive (including gas management), how to be a dive buddy, how to control your buoyancy and trim, how to navigate underwater, techniques for diving in low visibility, mitigating the risks imposed by deeper depths, and techniques for search and recovery. My students learn how to use SMBs, reels, spools and lift bags. They learn how to control their buoyancy mid-water ... with no visual references. They learn now to ascend a buoy line making and holding stops without having to grab ahold of the line. They learn how to use compass, time, and depth to mentally keep track of where they are relative to their starting location for finding their way back to a buoy or anchor line. They learn how to kick without stirring up the bottom or kicking the crap out of things. And most importantly they learn that they can ... in fact ... be completely in control of holding a position pretty much wherever and however they want to in the water.

I would not accept a student into my AOW class straight out of OW. I've taken a couple with only a few dives after OW ... but they were made aware that it was going to be a long class and I was going to expect them to go out with their dive buddies and do some diving between the time the class started and the time I decided they had achieved the class objectives. The "slowest" student I've had so far required 14 class dives and about twice that many dives independent of class before she was done.

Before I will hand them an AOW card, they have to demonstrate to me that can independently plan, prepare for and execute the dives the card says they should be able to do ... deep, night, low-vis type dives.

I figure if the card's gonna say "Advanced Scuba Diver", then that's what it oughtta be.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[lowviz]

I didn't mean to blast you personally............

Not taken that way, as if either you or I care. You are, if nothing else, massively consistent. Have to respect that. I've hung on the board just to entice noobs to try local NJ diving. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out. I have no financial gain in this other than seeing fresh faces on the boats, I frickin love it, come on out! One out of ten keeps at it and the merciless midAtlantic redefines their lives, as it did mine. I like people, so sue me. Other than my cherished acquaintances on SB, I couldn't give a ****. this is all for now and until I have something useful to say.

 

[lowviz]

Not taken that way, as if either you or I care. You are, if nothing else, massively consistent. Have to respect that. I've hung on the board just to entice noobs to try local NJ diving. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out. I have no financial gain in this other than seeing fresh faces on the boats, I frickin love it, come on out! One out of ten keeps at it and the merciless midAtlantic redefines their lives, as it did mine. I like people, so sue me. Other than my cherished acquaintances on SB, I couldn't give a ****. this is all for now and until I have something useful to say.

I wrote S***, this is the advanced forum, why didn't it print?

 

[kanonfodr]

I would prefer that mainstream AOW training move in the direction of what NWGratefulDiver says he does: skills-specific training. Looking back on my AOW class, I came out with a lot of pictures (the camera came along) and some skills and knowledge that I still find useful (but not much). I know it wouldn't be very marketable, but I would prefer something that actually focused on everything that OW tends to lack: trim, bouyancy, propulsion, and gas/dive planning.

Granted, those classes already exist (UTD Essentials and GUE Primer/Fundamentals, various Intro-To-Tech and Cavern/Intro-Cave courses) but they aren't very accessible to Joe Diver who knows little more than what his LDS vomits onto him. I see it time and time again here in Vacation-Diver Land: divers with "Advanced" or, even worse, "Professional" certifications whose in-water skills and abilities leave...a lot...to be desired.

Also, one has to identify the mindset that mainstream training tends to produce among it's students: where the student is now capable and prepared for demanding dives. I find that hardly the case, and it has gotten many of my newer dive buddies in trouble when diving with similarly-certified/experienced divers. Nothing life-threatening, but things that could have been prevented if one of the group had been trained in a non-mainstream manner.

I guess my point is to make the "Tech" or "Advanced" mainstream and trash the mainstream, since I see it often failing divers.

Peace,
Greg

 

[DevonDiver]

Firstly, the PADI AOW is Advanced OPEN WATER. It is an 'extension' of the OW course, not an 'advanced' training course. So many divers get confused by this and expect too much of the course and certification.

I think that the quality and benefit of an AOW course is ENTIRELY determined by the quality, experience, motivation and professionalism of the instructor concerned. Any bad or de-motivated instructor can just 'go through the motions' with this course and deliver very little value to the student concerned. Whenever I read bad impressions that divers have of the AOW concept, I can see exactly how they had a lacklustre and unimaginative course...

I think the amazing thing about the AOW course is how flexible it is. A good instructor can tailor this course to meet the requirements and provide value to ANY student, regardless of their experience.

Open Water 'Plus' AOW Course

Taking an AOW back-to-back with an OW course, will allow a good instructor to really develop and fine-tune your base dive skills. I've attained great results when given the opportunity to spend a further 5 dives with a OW student. So many people criticise the OW course for being too short, too few dives, not developing dive planning, self-rescue etc etc. In this respect, the AOW really is like an OW+ course... 9 dives rather than 4. So much more can be covered in lessons and in-grained by the student over more time in the water.

'Late Stage' AOW course

Taking an AOW course later in your diving development can also be a great thing. In this respect, it is more akin to an 'advance' diving course. The student has had time to (hopefully) master all of the basic scuba skills dealt with on the OW course, leaving more course capacity to develop whatever skills and techniques are appropriate to them. Running a successful AOW course for more experienced/capable students relies heavily upon having an instructor who is able to effectively analyse the strengths, weaknesses and needs of the student- and then tailor a developmental course specific for those circumstances.

Taking an AOW course at this stage could allow the student/instructor to focus on developing/refining the core dive skills learnt on OW. It could focus on developing advanced dive skills neglected on OW. It could be a remedial course for divers who have weak areas after OW training and/or developed bad habits.

'Taster' AOW Course

A 'late stage' course could also be a 'taster' course for varying underwater activities that a diver is considering. This is great for divers who have reached a stage where the 'simple thrill' of being underwater is wearing off...and they want to consider what activities and interests they may enjoy. The diver gets a 'taster' of stuff like photography, DPVs, wreck diving - in order to help them assess equipment and training purchases in the future.

'GUE Model' AOW Course

The AOW course can easily be adapted and run akin to the GUE-F type course. This is simular to the 'late stage' AOW course, but would have more specific goals and standards that a student would be coached to achieve. Dive planning, awareness, team skills and bouyancy would feature heavily in each dive, as it would be intended to establish baseline competence in core skills included in pre-tech/cave diving preparation. Dives would progressively develop the diver, rather than being isolated 'experiences'.

Specific focus AOW Course

With imagination and breadth of experience, a motivated dive instructor can tailor the AOW course to achieve specific interests of an experienced student. This type of course should achieve the twin goals of developing core dive ability, whilst focusing that ability and the associated training on the student's interest/desired activity.
Here are some examples of 'focused' AOW courses I have taught:

Example 1 - Wreck diving focused AOW. (all dives conducted on wreck sites)

a) Bouyancy (PPB) dive - developing necessary kick strokes (modified flutter & frog), along with achieving good horizontal trim and non-silting movement.
b) Navigation dive - developing 'natural' navigation by understanding ship structure and lay-out, compass searches to find wreck, navigation using line & reel.
c) Dive Computer/Multi-Level dive - Depth/Time/Gas awareness, dive planning, ascent speeds, emergency deco, safety stops. Developed understanding of relationship between depth, time and nitrogen absorbtion (DCI risk).
d) Deep dive - Gas Management, narcosis awareness, turn-points, rule of 1/3rds, ascent techniques and development of horizontal trim hover (safety stop/emergency deco practise).
e) Wreck dive - Student plans and conducts dive, except skill portions, demonstrating all knowledge/skill developed on previous dives.

Can you now imagine if that student THEN enrolled on a specialised Wreck course...what a good base they would have? I had many students who did an AOW (wreck focused) and then Wreck Speciality course back-to-back. Great training!

Example 2 - Deep diving focused AOW.

a) Bouyancy (PPB) dive - developing necessary kick strokes (modified flutter & frog), along with achieving good horizontal trim and non-silting movement.
b) Navigation dive - developing 'natural' navigation by understanding ship structure and lay-out, compass searches to find wreck, navigation using line & reel.
c) Dive Computer/Multi-Level dive - Depth/Time/Gas awareness, dive planning, ascent speeds, emergency deco, safety stops. Developed understanding of relationship between depth, time and nitrogen absorbtion (DCI risk).
d) Nitrox dive - Dive planning, gas management, underwater awareness of time/depth/gas.
e) Deep dive - Gas Management, narcosis awareness, turn-points, rule of 1/3rds, ascent techniques and development of horizontal trim hover (safety stop/emergency deco practise). If also conducted on nitrox, and theory is done, then student can gain Nitrox certification.

Example 3 - Underwater Photography focused AOW.

a) Bouyancy (PPB) dive - developing necessary bouyancy skills for stable (non-reef destructive) photography. Underwater training exercises supplemented with camera work to demonstrate need for these skills - varying positions, trim etc.
b) Navigation dive - developing skills to map and navigate dive site, to allow diver to make note of, and re-visit, critters. Conducting 'recon' dives to enable better pre-dive planning of photography dives.
c) Dive Computer/Multi-Level dive - Depth/Time/Gas awareness (especially when task-loaded with photography), dive planning, ascent speeds, emergency deco, safety stops. Can be used in conjunction with dive-planning for photo dives, to decide techniques and critters at different dive depths - a dive 'strategy' for maximum photographic value during the dive.
d) Deep dive - Gas Management, narcosis awareness, turn-points, rule of 1/3rds, ascent techniques and development of horizontal trim hover (safety stop/emergency deco practise). When camera is used - students are tested to ensure that they are not 'distracted' by the camera from the core dive skills.
d) Photo dive - Student plans and conducts dive, except skill portions, demonstrating all knowledge/skill developed on previous dives.

There really is no limit to how a good instructor can tailor and focus an AOW course - making it pertinent and relevant to recreational divers at ANY stage of their development.

The flexibility of the AOW course is what can make it an amazing experience...or a complete waste of time... entirely depending on the instructor concerned!

 

[Tropicalwolf]

I think it really all depends on the person and situation.

^^^ Quoted for truth.

Eventhough I still have my own personal opinions about "Card Collectors"