Question for PADI Divemasters and Instructors

[tbeck3579]

I was very fortunate to find the YouTube video "Neutrally Buoyant". It is an instructor video that showed me what I should learn as a student -- it solidified my book learning and what to expect next. As I was watching I was thinking about all the CE (continuing education) credits I needed to maintain my certification. Are PADI instructors required to do that? What oversight does PADI provide?

I'm just wondering how do I find good instruction? When I want to find a good educator in higher education, or a good doctor, I can ask to see their CV (curriculum vitae). It is a professional resume, of sorts, that lists everything they have done to get where they are.

 

[oldschoolto]

I was very fortunate to find the YouTube video "Neutrally Buoyant". It is an instructor video that showed me what I should learn as a student -- it solidified my book learning and what to expect next. As I was watching I was thinking about all the CE (continuing education) credits I needed to maintain my certification. Are PADI instructors required to do that? What oversight does PADI provide?

I'm just wondering how do I find good instruction? When I want to find a good educator in higher education, or a good doctor, I can ask to see their CV (curriculum vitae). It is a professional resume, of sorts, that lists everything they have done to get where they are.

Your over thinking this whole scuba diving... Slow down and relax.. You were given a name from Peter... You never stop learning or should I say, Picking up new skills or ways to think about something..

Jim...

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

This video?
First, an instructor just needs to pay his/her dues to maintain status. There is no recertification required for instructors. While I and many other instructors would support it, I doubt it would fly, given the peanuts that many instructors have to live off of when teaching in backpacker tropical destinations. And a lot of certifications come out of those places.

I don't think a CV will guarantee good instruction. You need to understand what is involved in open water courses. A CV won't capture the self-education they have done to become a better instructor. You need to interview your instructor, have a good understanding of what your needs are (are you a fish and have no issues or do you have any phobias? Or somewhere in between). What is their teaching style? Does his or her personality mesh with yours? You want to get a good course, but you don't want to think your instructor is an ass.

Here is a blurb (a cut and paste) of what I tell people interested in taking an open water course. I hope this helps.
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If a student wishes to maximize her or his benefit from early training (open water and advanced open water certification), it is important that the student interviews prospective instructors to find a good match in terms of personality and teaching methods.

In order to facilitate this process for the teaching methods, there are a couple of books and websites that I highly recommend (I also recommend them to instructors who pursue excellence as an instructor).

The books I recommend are by James (Jim) Lapenta for open water and advanced open water courses.

https://www.amazon.com/SCUBA-Practical-Guide-New-Diver-ebook/dp/B00I9K2KW4/
https://www.amazon.com/SCUBA-Practical-Advanced-Training-Adavanced-ebook/dp/B01N3UDHLT/

The online resources I recommend are by Harry Averill (a.k.a. Cave Diver Harry) and Andy Davis. Both are generous with publishing top notch training. Their respective websites/blogs are found here:

http://cavediverharry.com/
http://scubatechphilippines.com/scuba_blog/

For those who seek true excellence in diving in the skills they develop, I recommend that students look for instructors with strong tech backgrounds and/or ones that have gone through GUE Fundamentals, UTD Essentials, or ISE Basics of Exploration or are certified for cave diving. The reason that I recommend instructors with such a background is they have pursued excellence in their own diving, as these are some of the most difficult courses a diver can take. Students who take these courses find that they have the result of dramatically improved diving skills. And that translates to helping the new diver have the appropriate foundation of skills from which he or she can grow rapidly.

While people like Andy Davis, Jim Lapenta, and Harry Averill are not accessible to everyone, there are a number of other instructors who look at how to teach at the highest possible level. Look for them. Students may recommend other instructors, but honestly, while they have good intentions, they honestly don't know what makes a good instructor. It wasn't until I became an instructor that I realized how many standards violations occurred during many of my courses. Through my own pursuit of excellence as an instructor, I learned about better methods for teachings as I started with a number of shortcomings myself, and I'm still growing. Unfortunately I've learned that many instructors are mediocre. Fortunately, there are so many instructors who are excellent but it requires some work by the student to find them.

Finally, I'd recommend checking out this basic skills video: (not sure why it doesn't play at the beginning. Tried to force it but it doesn't work).

All skills should be performed while trim and midwater. This allows students to improve their buoyancy skills while waiting their turn to perfect the skills underwater, thus making much better use of confined and open water training.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I'd ask these questions: what are the ratio of instructor to students? (my opinion, not more than 1 to 4). Do they have an assistant instructor or divemaster? How much pool time do you get? How many sessions? How are skills taught? On the knees or midwater or somewhere in between? Pretty much everything can be taught midwater, but many still teach on the knees.

Please, please, please, don't go for the cheapest price. Also look at what gear they provide you.

Also, your certification never expires. You don't have to do anything to maintain it, but no one would recommend to stop diving for years and then throw yourself back into where you left off.

 

[boulderjohn]

All skills should be performed while trim and midwater. This allows students to improve their buoyancy skills while waiting their turn to perfect the skills underwater, thus making much better use of confined and open water training.

We live in an interesting time in that asking about this one thing will tell you a whole lot.

Not many years ago, almost all skill instruction in almost all agencies around the world was done with students and instructors kneeling on the bottom. IN order to do this, you have to be overweighted, or you will be bobbing about and falling over continually. You should not be in good trim, for that will make you top heavy and make the tendency to tip over even worse.

In the past 5-6 years, there has been a growing trend to teach students in horizontal trim and while neutrally buoyant. Instructors who do this, like me, believe it makes a HUGE difference in student learning. There has been a growing emphasis on buoyancy and trim throughout instruction. The vast majority of instructors still teach on the knees, though. You can learn a whole lot about an instructor by asking him or her about this.

I don't know what you teach. If you are judging a classroom teacher, you can find a whole lot about the teacher by asking him or her to tell you about things like project based learning, collaborative learning, higher order thinking skills, etc. It's pretty similar to that.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

We live in an interesting time in that asking about this one thing will tell you a whole lot.

Not many years ago, almost all skill instruction in almost all agencies around the world was done with students and instructors kneeling on the bottom. IN order to do this, you have to be overweighted, or you will be bobbing about and falling over continually. You should not be in good trim, for that will make you top heavy and make the tendency to tip over even worse.

In the past 5-6 years, there has been a growing trend to teach students in horizontal trim and while neutrally buoyant. Instructors who do this, like me, believe it makes a HUGE difference in student learning. There has been a growing emphasis on buoyancy and trim throughout instruction. The vast majority of instructors still teach on the knees, though. You can learn a whole lot about an instructor by asking him or her about this.

I don't know what you teach. If you are judging a classroom teacher, you can find a whole lot about the teacher by asking him or her to tell you about things like project based learning, collaborative learning, higher order thinking skills, etc. It's pretty similar to that.

John,

You do know that PeterGuy has assisted me in one of my courses, right? He was generous with a lot of tips and tricks and more than doubled the size of my toolbox.

 

[tbeck3579]

Your over thinking this whole scuba diving... Slow down and relax.. You were given a name from Peter... You never stop learning or should I say, Picking up new skills or ways to think about something..

Jim...

LOL, I probably am, but it is who I am. Blame my parents. We were taught as children: anything worth doing is worth doing right. In my twisted mind I feel once I learn how to keep myself safe I can enjoy what I'm doing. It similar to my experience in Germany; I lived in Berlin for 2 years before the wall came down. Learning to drive on the autobahn at speeds in excess of 160 mph was, without question, a "white knuckle" experience in the beginning. Now, I have a "need for speed". I am very safe when I drive at those speeds -- I know the road I'm driving on, I know my tires are rated for those speeds, etc. I can't help myself, I enjoy "flying" down the open road; window down, good tunes on the car sound system. It is amazing.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Learning to drive on the autobahn at speeds in excess of 160 mph....

Jealous!!!!!

 

[tbeck3579]

I don't know what you teach. If you are judging a classroom teacher, you can find a whole lot about the teacher by asking him or her to tell you about things like project based learning, collaborative learning, higher order thinking skills, etc. It's pretty similar to that.

I'm not concerned about what has happened in the past, I'm interested in where I'm going. I want to do the advanced class and I have learned that choosing my instructor wisely will make the advanced class a blast or... Well I won't go there.

 

[tbeck3579]

Whoever Peter is, tell him I have been called worse by my students and employees. Also tell him NOT to call me late to dinner, everything else is fair game.