- Messages
- 1,840
- Reaction score
- 22
- # of dives
- 1000 - 2499
When I became a tech instructor, my main focus was on teaching the Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures courses. As time went on, I was finding myself rejecting more potential technical students than ones I held classes for. So I decided to find out why. Was it me? Are my standards too high? Do I have unrealistic goals for potential tech students? My curiosity was piqued. As part of my own personal standard, I do an evaluation dive with every potential tech student and I video those dives. So I went back to the video of those people I did not accept into my classes. As I watched, one thing became blatantly obvious. These people did not have true mastery of the fundamental skills for diving (i.e. buoyancy & trim control, etc.) and they just did not look that comfortable in the water. Many were OK divers and didn't kick up the muck or shoot to the surface. But I could just tell they weren't in full control of their position in the water.
So I wanted to try and remedy that, but didn't know how since these folks were already Advanced Open Water divers or higher. I didn't want to sell them "another" class when they wanted tech. Then it dawned on me that I was able to teach the Intro to Tech course. My initial thoughts on the course was that it is a class to let people try out doubles, carry a bottle, and introduce them to more advanced dive planning. I didn't really want to teach this course much initially, but I took another closer look at the standards TDI issued for this course. As I read the standards and applied what I believe makes good divers, it turned out the Intro to Tech class became the vehicle I could use to make people better divers.
As I went over the standards with a fine tooth comb, I realized that I didn't have to target this course to potential technical divers. Instead, I targeted it to ALL divers regardless of certification levels or number of logged dives. As I read the standards, I found that there were quite a bit of "extras" I could add to this course. As with many courses I teach, I started to put together a PowerPoint presentation for the class. After many nights of refining (and teaching it a couple times), I was getting it to a point I was comfortable with. I had the type of class that I was desiring to teach. That and 50+ slides in the presentation and six dives. Some with skills not in the standards. All over two full days of class time.
The "beta" version of my class was a huge success. The students gained a lot of information that they did not know. They were taken out of their comfort zone and shown how to get better. Even though they were already DiveMasters and Assistant Instructors, they quickly found out that they were capable of a higher level of performance. Initial feedback from the course was very positive. Plus, I had a lot of fun teaching this class.
Don't let the name fool you. The TDI Intro to Tech class shouldn't be aimed at giving potential tech students a "taste" of technical diving. It is a course to teach students, at all levels, the fundamental skills for better diving, not just technical diving. It is a course to show students what true mastery is really like. Thus giving them the tools to achieve a higher level of excellence in their diving abilities. Not only should the students be shown what the skills should look like, but they should be given the tools to assess, on their own, how to evaluate their abilities. Courses like Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures should not be a place for people to learn or refine fundamental diving skills. Instead, those courses should focus on learning technical diving skills without worrying about fundamental skill performance. Thus, in my opinion, the Intro to Tech course is essential to make a competent, confident, and comfortable recreational or technical diver. A diver who can respond to any situation in a calm and thoughtful manner. It has quickly become my favorite class to teach and I look forward to teaching it more.
So I wanted to try and remedy that, but didn't know how since these folks were already Advanced Open Water divers or higher. I didn't want to sell them "another" class when they wanted tech. Then it dawned on me that I was able to teach the Intro to Tech course. My initial thoughts on the course was that it is a class to let people try out doubles, carry a bottle, and introduce them to more advanced dive planning. I didn't really want to teach this course much initially, but I took another closer look at the standards TDI issued for this course. As I read the standards and applied what I believe makes good divers, it turned out the Intro to Tech class became the vehicle I could use to make people better divers.
As I went over the standards with a fine tooth comb, I realized that I didn't have to target this course to potential technical divers. Instead, I targeted it to ALL divers regardless of certification levels or number of logged dives. As I read the standards, I found that there were quite a bit of "extras" I could add to this course. As with many courses I teach, I started to put together a PowerPoint presentation for the class. After many nights of refining (and teaching it a couple times), I was getting it to a point I was comfortable with. I had the type of class that I was desiring to teach. That and 50+ slides in the presentation and six dives. Some with skills not in the standards. All over two full days of class time.
The "beta" version of my class was a huge success. The students gained a lot of information that they did not know. They were taken out of their comfort zone and shown how to get better. Even though they were already DiveMasters and Assistant Instructors, they quickly found out that they were capable of a higher level of performance. Initial feedback from the course was very positive. Plus, I had a lot of fun teaching this class.
Don't let the name fool you. The TDI Intro to Tech class shouldn't be aimed at giving potential tech students a "taste" of technical diving. It is a course to teach students, at all levels, the fundamental skills for better diving, not just technical diving. It is a course to show students what true mastery is really like. Thus giving them the tools to achieve a higher level of excellence in their diving abilities. Not only should the students be shown what the skills should look like, but they should be given the tools to assess, on their own, how to evaluate their abilities. Courses like Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures should not be a place for people to learn or refine fundamental diving skills. Instead, those courses should focus on learning technical diving skills without worrying about fundamental skill performance. Thus, in my opinion, the Intro to Tech course is essential to make a competent, confident, and comfortable recreational or technical diver. A diver who can respond to any situation in a calm and thoughtful manner. It has quickly become my favorite class to teach and I look forward to teaching it more.
