Teaching it Neutral Style... a paradigm shift in Scuba instruction

[Scott]

Come to think of it, probably the most revolutionary part of Pete's class compared to PADI is no snorkel. What would PADI say about diving without that essential piece of life support equipment?!!

Probably wouldn't say a thing after you have completed the snorkel regulator exchange in confined water and open water.

 

[Peter Guy]

Just a few points from a PADI instructor who has taught large (8+ students) in dark cold water with limited visibility.

a. You can NOT "control" more than two students by yourself (if that). I don't care what the visibility may be. Even if you plant them on a line, if you are evaluating one student (say mask flood and clear) at one end of the line, you have zero control over the student at the other end who decides to bolt because some water got into her mask. And when they are on their knees, when the straighten their legs, up she goes. Of course, in bad viz when you can't even see them....

b. Scuba diving, like any other skill, needs practice. For the "average" diver, in particular the average, vacation diver, I'm not at all sure that whatever class method is used, will be sufficient to create a diver who is neutral, horizontal (two different things) and squared away when they go diving two years after their last week of vacation diving. The only advantage of Pete's type of instruction for that diver is that maybe, just perhaps, they might remember some vague feeling of "rightness" a couple of years later. Of course if they've never experienced the joy of floating, they may never get it so at least we, as instructors, should attempt to introduce that in their OW class.

 

[Diver0001]

Imagine if this was taught to newbie instructors during IDC's...........

Since PADI changed the standards it should be.

PADI never mandated teaching on the bottom. This was a habit that instructors had built up over time.

I remember when I started teaching neutrally buoyant in about 2007. It started with the descent. I changed the approach. I put a pause in the descent during every descent in confined water. My protocol is to get under water, pause and then continue. It's amazing how many times you make a descent in confined. When it came time to teach the hover, all I did was say "pause longer than usual".

Before that, instructors were going to the bottom and then trying to get BACK to neutral buoyancy and struggling with it. Some instructors weren't even able to demo it adequately. In my case, I was able to take a whole group down from the surface, pause for 30 seconds and then go diving. I initially did it as a way to save time so you weren't busy for 20 minutes trying to get a whole group into a hover. I could do it in 1 minute flat no matter how big the group was.

Once I started doing that, however, the dominoes started falling. I stopped putting students on the bottom for other skills and started briefing that the END result we were looking for is that all of the skills could be done together with hovering.... so I allowed them to "float while learning". Initially I met resistance from colleagues. Some of them didn't understand why I let students hover or stand in a fin-pivot while watching demo's for example. It looked chaotic to them. They told me that I didn't have control, that it was dangerous and that it was a standards violation, none of which was true.

The real "click" among my colleagues came when they started seeing the results. For example, I had a student who initially learned her mask R&R from a fin-pivot but during mod-5 confined, her pony tail was irritating her and she took off her mask, fixed it and put it back on again all while hovering. When I trained my daughter she picked up a traffic cone from teh bottom at one point, put it on her head and did all 19 skills in a sort of "skit" one after the other in a sort of "tin-man" routine..... while hovering.... (and oh, yeah, I was bloody proud of that). A few saw it and said, "I need to know how you did that"

And there were many other examples. They started seeing that the results were interesting even if some of them didn't know how to get to that point and a few were still convinced that regardless of the results it must have been a standards violation. One of those was even a CD. He told me that it was task loading and therefore against the rules. I ignored him and engaged him about the results and he eventually became a convert as well.

Then I met John and several others on Scubaboard who were already doing this in one form or another. We connected and decided to write an article about it. Thankfully John is both persuasive and a bonafide expert in educational theory with a Phd to back it up. He wrote the article, talked extensively to PADI and we were eventually allowed to publish. I guess they must have tried it out because shortly thereafter they announced that the standards would be adjusted.

R..

---------- Post added September 25th, 2015 at 05:32 PM ----------

So in what way are you NOT adopting the DIR philosophy?

The DIR approach involves a strict adherence to certain protocols, practices and choices of gear. It is entirely possible to look the part but not be DIR. I think I'm a good example of this. I've dived on DIR boats before and was able to "blend in" but I have not followed any GUE or UTD training. My training is all PADI, IANTD and TDI.

A "real" DIR diver would not accept me as a member of the clan because of that, even if I'm indistinguishable under water. Perhaps the best example of this is the click I had with TSandM. She and I clicked as buddies in a way that I've never experienced before (or since). I think she felt the same way about it. She was hard-core DIR. I was just another stroke. But we clicked HARD nonetheless.

R..

 

[Cowtown44]

I think this is going to be a very informative thread, likely to get a sticky. I'm a new diver but a strong believer in proper weighting, neutral buoyancy and proper trim. In my thinking, they are the pillars of safe diving. I have a basic question that I hope someone can answer with authority. When one walks up to a dive shop counter in the US, what agencies certifications are recognized in order to rent gear and tanks? Is it a shop by shop decision? Who makes the decisions about what agencies certifications to accept and why? What about outside the US?

 

[darrenlowjq]

Since PADI changed the standards it should be.

PADI never mandated teaching on the bottom. This was a habit that instructors had built up over time.

AFAIK PADI has not changed the standards to mandate teaching neutral during IDCs, but rather merely encourage teaching neutral in general? Correct me if I'm mistaken on this. I read that piece in the UJ you are referring to and was heartened to see that some PADI instructors care enough (or know enough) to teach students proper skills, but the shop I did my OW with 2 years taught me on my knees and still do so to this day.

I think part of the problem is that once you become a PADI Instructor, there is no re-qualification process other than paying your annual dues so even if standards are raised its difficult to ensure that all active instructors teach to the higher standards as well. This problem is compounded by a very large instructor base which is logistically very hard to police.

The DIR approach involves a strict adherence to certain protocols, practices and choices of gear. It is entirely possible to look the part but not be DIR. I think I'm a good example of this. I've dived on DIR boats before and was able to "blend in" but I have not followed any GUE or UTD training. My training is all PADI, IANTD and TDI.

A "real" DIR diver would not accept me as a member of the clan because of that, even if I'm indistinguishable under water. Perhaps the best example of this is the click I had with TSandM. She and I clicked as buddies in a way that I've never experienced before (or since). I think she felt the same way about it. She was hard-core DIR. I was just another stroke.

My GUE instructor expressed the view that you don't have to be GUE certified to be a GUE diver. If you dive in accordance with the standards and protocols GUE teaches, you are a GUE diver. Conversely, a GUE trained diver who does not dive in accordance with the standards and protocols taught is no GUE diver. I cannot agree more with this statement.

Welcome to the dark side?

 

[The Chairman]

So in what way are you NOT adopting the DIR philosophy?

Mostly it's about the 'tude'. I'm not a DIR diver. There are bits of my gear, like a Wireless AI PDC, that would never be allowed in DIR. I'll never use or teach ratio deco. But mostly, I don't feel a need to isolate myself in that regard. It's nothing but Scuba Diving to me. I'm OK with that.

My one question is. You teach out of Key Largo. The worst viz I have ever seen in Key Largo in over a 100 dives there would be considered good to excellent viz in many a quarry north of there, at least part of the year. It would seem to me that to maintain control in 2 ft or less of viz with students neutral you would need to restrict yourself to 1 student.

You obviously haven't been to Cannon Beach. Normally it's 5 to 10 foot visibility and acres of silt. Sometimes it's worse. Jule's undersea Lodge is not much better, but it doesn't have enough silt for my tastes. I want those first two dives to be stressful and a challenge. I've spent hours in a gin clear pool, teaching them how to maintain their trim, position in the water column and how to do an anti-silt technique. It's show off time for them.

Not saying that is not a good idea anyway, just that for folks who are doing 3-4 students on the OW check out dives they may feel a need to keep the divers anchored in one spot in some conditions.

I prefer two, but won't teach over four anymore. It's just not worth it to risk my reputation turning out less than optimal divers. I don't (and won't) turn out a high quantity of divers... I want to turn out quality divers instead. It's my choice.

NetDoc no doubt had to unlearn some of granddaughter's habits that she earned in the pool sessions, and it was extra work for her, too. Worth it.

Thanks for the overly kind words! It was fun, and diving should be fun. But yes, I've stopped accepting referrals without getting them into the pool first. They pay only for the pool, but I'm not going to take them into OW unless I am confident in their skills first. This goes for AOW too. If I wasn't you OW instructor, then we're going to spend at least a morning or afternoon in the pool to be sure you have your act together. I have yet to have an AOW student complain about getting their trim and buoyancy down.

Pete takes the extra time needed to get his students to feels what the sensation of neutral buoyancy feels like.

Actually, I am taking less time to teach this way than I did before. Let's face it, getting people comfortable (in control) is the hardest skill to master. I think that's why most instructors leave it to the very last. Also, most instructors (that I have seen) don't take the time to explain the simple physics of thrust in regards to attitude. The students have to connect these dots on their own, and it's why it takes them so long, AFTER the class to feel like they have mastered their buoyancy. Teach that first and then build every other skill off of it. By the time they finish mastering the last skills, they have had a lot of practice staying neutral. They still need practice and once they leave the class we can't make them use those skills.

But, you'll notice that as you impart control (trim & buoyancy) it becomes easier to lead them. After a few classes under her belt teaching this way, my biggest critic (mselenaous) and BFF, realized she hadn't had a single bolter. Not one. Not even during the pool sessions. Think of the time savings right there.

PADI tends to get a bad rap here because of their the modular system of instruction. But some instructors may simply be lazy.

It's easy to call them lazy, but I think it's just that they don't know any better. Why do we teach? Because Scuba is fun, not because we want to be lazy. Teaching on the knees is entrenched in our collective psyches, so it's going to take a bit to overcome that.

Come to think of it, probably the most revolutionary part of Pete's class compared to PADI is no snorkel.

Thanks for the kind words, but that's a part of NASE's 'We don't need no steekeeng snorkel' philosophy.

 

[RJP]

It would seem to me that to maintain control in 2 ft or less of viz with students neutral you would need to restrict yourself to 1 student.

Quite the contrary... I find it's much easier to maintain control of students that are capable of maintaining control of their buoyancy themselves. My experience has been that the "planted" students are the ones who cork... since they don't really know what to do when they are NOT planted. The moment they leave the bottom... they are headed for the surface. (Not to mention what planted students do to the viz.)

 

[The Chairman]

Just a few points from a PADI instructor who has taught large (8+ students) in dark cold water with limited visibility.

Your input is always valued.

a. You can NOT "control" more than two students by yourself (if that).

I abdicate control of my students to my students. They don't get to see the other side of the swimming pool until they can demonstrate this. Herding kittens becomes a little less difficult once you get them in the game. That doesn't mean I leave them alone or stop watching and listening to them in the water. But, once they achieve control and comfort, then things open up for them and me. Until that happens to my satisfaction, we're going to stay in the pool.

b. Scuba diving, like any other skill, needs practice.

Of course it does. Again, that's why I start with the hardest skill and the one that puts them in control throughout the rest of the class. Don't even think about rushing me through it. They get a bit of vector analysis first. Usually this is during breakfast using my ultra high tech fingers to demonstrate. Once they understand that they will go in the opposite direction of their kick, we move on to bubble management. That's usually demonstrated with the "Texas Pete" hot sauce bottle and we discuss why the smaller the bubble they have to manage, the better life under the water will be. Then we're off to the pool and adjusting their trim and buoyancy. By the time I progress through all the skills, they've got a great start on trim and buoyancy.

For the "average" diver, in particular the average, vacation diver, I'm not at all sure that whatever class method is used, will be sufficient to create a diver who is neutral, horizontal (two different things) and squared away when they go diving two years after their last week of vacation diving.

Rule of primacy. This is the first and most practiced skill in the course. Aren't the others important? Sure. But they don't mean squat if the diver isn't comfortable and in control.

PADI never mandated teaching on the bottom. This was a habit that instructors had built up over time.

That was simply excellent. Thanks for contributing so eloquently. When asked to describe why my methods are different, I often point out that while most work from the bottom up, I work from the top down. The bottom of the pool is off limits to my students. They don't get to kneel, sit, stand or whatever on the bottom. They are allowed a single digit if they have to arrest themselves. They're only allowed to use that digit once. What do I do if they use all ten fingers? They've never gotten that far. Not touching the bottom becomes a game to them and people like fun challenges like that. I don't have to point out the class kneeling on the other side of the pool... THEY DO. No, I don't let them get too uppity and point out that there are many ways to teach Scuba. This is simply how I do it. Inside though, I am pumping my fist and thinking, "They get it! They actually get it!"

The more you can convert your class into a game, or a series of games and challenges, the more fun they will have, and the more into it they will be. My second rule of diving is the "Rule of Fun: You can call a dive at any time, for any reason, with no questions asked and no repercussions." IOW, if you're not having fun, let's figure out why and change things. Learning stops when the fun stops.

When one walks up to a dive shop counter in the US, what agencies certifications are recognized in order to rent gear and tanks? Is it a shop by shop decision? Who makes the decisions about what agencies certifications to accept and why? What about outside the US?

I have only been denied in one shop and they accepted another in it's stead.

I think part of the problem is that once you become a PADI Instructor, there is no re-qualification process other than paying your annual dues so even if standards are raised its difficult to ensure that all active instructors teach to the higher standards as well.

This is an issue for every agency out there: not just PADI. Almost all the agencies do an update for their instructors at DEMA, but I bet none of them reach more than %5 of their instructor base that way. That's a guess on my part and if anyone has real time figures for us, please trot them out.

 

[The Chairman]

Quite the contrary... I find it's much easier to maintain control of students that are capable of maintaining control of their buoyancy themselves. My experience has been that the "planted" students are the ones who cork... since they don't really know what to do when they are NOT planted. The moment they leave the bottom... they are headed for the surface. (Not to mention what planted students do to the viz.)

Control is elusive. The more you try to grab it, the harder it becomes. The more you empower your students with their own control, the easier your job is. I like easy. Also, the less time you spend trying to corral corkers or bolters, the more actual teaching you get to do.

 

[The Chairman]

Bubble management instructional aid. As the bubble shifts, so does the diver's attitude in the water. Keep the bubble small to minimize this effect.