Thoughts about Intro To Tech Standards Changes

[Trace Malinowski]

Sorry Trace, I'm just missing the point. I'm not trying to disagree with you, but I'm not quite clear what point your trying to make.

could you just try to reduce this down to a simple and blunt point.

The blunt point: Assuming that technical diving instructors have higher degrees of experience and skill levels than technical divers, how does it benefit anyone to allow technical divers to teach a technical diving course rather than a technical diving instructor? Answer: It doesn't.

An SDI instructor is a recreational instructor, but still only a technical diver.


Additional understanding:

Why don't we just make anyone who graduates from a technical class into a recreational instructor? I believe the answer to that is that there is a lot that a technical diver doesn't know about being a diving instructor at any level.

There is a lot that a technical diver doesn't know about teaching technical diving and safeguarding the well-being of students. Even an excellent recreational instructor may not have the diving experience and internship experience to be prepared for the possible risks we experience in technical education. For example, one thing that I do to safeguard the well-being of my students is position myself so that I can intercept a DSMB or liftbag if the student becomes entangled in the line. In addition, I have a hook knife in my left hand during DSMB and bag deployments. This will allow my right hand to be free for a long hose deployment if necessary. Once the bag is safely deployed, I'll quickly replace the knife. If the bag catches a student and I cannot intercept, or fail to intercept the bag, I can quickly cut the line to protect the student from being pulled to the surface. The use of a hook knife allows my fingers to be free if a student simultaneously loses buoyancy control to help arrest his or her descent if the student fails to do so. I've cut the lines on 3 such dangerous deployments in my career without the diver even changing depth once hopelessly snared. That is just one small example of the forethought a technical instructor brings to the table. Experience comes from diving and from taking classes and interning with excellent technical instructors and instructor trainers. It isn't enough for me to believe I can handle a possible problem. I want to know that I can. Technical instructors have spent a lot of time as both technical divers and as experienced educators, so while the exceptional recreational instructor can teach a good technical program, even a mediocre technical instructor will do a better job than most recreational instructors and an excellent technical instructor is priceless.

Summary:

I believe that allowing technical divers (who may be recreational instructors) to teach Intro To Tech will reduce the quality of the program because they are not technical instructors and haven't developed the skills and experience that will benefit SDI/TDI, the stores for which they work, or the diving industry in general in the long run - with a few exceptions - but, those exceptional instructors would also benefit SDI/TDI, dive centers and the industry even more by becoming TDI technical instructors.

 

[clint@uniquescuba.com]

The blunt point: Assuming that technical diving instructors have higher degrees of experience and skill levels than technical divers, how does it benefit anyone to allow technical divers to teach a technical diving course rather than a technical diving instructor? Answer: It doesn't.

An SDI instructor is a recreational instructor, but still only a technical diver.

Got it! Agreed!

 

[Scuba Cowboy]

I'm kinda at a loss to understand this one too. Why would you allow an instructor to introduce people to a course they can't teach?

 

[ppo2_diver]

I'm a firm believer that the technical diver market will eventually weed out those instructors who are certified to teach Intro to Teach (with the new standards) from those who are qualified to teach it. Kind of like Darwinism for instructors.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

I'm a firm believer that the technical diver market will eventually weed out those instructors who are certified to teach Intro to Teach (with the new standards) from those who are qualified to teach it. Kind of like Darwinism for instructors.

Duane, I love your optimism, but if weeding out poor instructors hasn't happened in recreational diving, what makes you think it will happen in technical?

 

[clint@uniquescuba.com]

I think it's unusual that someone from SDI/TDI hasn't chimed in yet. I know they monitor this board heavily and usually participate in the conversation very quickly.

I wonder if this is a change not fully supported by all representatives of SDI/TDI?

 

[M_Bipartitus]

I think it's unusual that someone from SDI/TDI hasn't chimed in yet. I know they monitor this board heavily and usually participate in the conversation very quickly.

I wonder if this is a change not fully supported by all representatives of SDI/TDI?

They likely have off for the holiday weekend.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

They likely have off for the holiday weekend.

Yeah, I agree. I didn't expect that anyone from SDI/TDI would read it until after the weekend.

As for the on-going dialogue, I thought opinions would be just as interesting to read which is why I posted to the forum rather than send Sean, Steve L, or Steve M a private letter or E-mail.

If you compare the Intro to Tech course to GUE Fundies, the skills are approximately the same, but every GUE instructor MUST have successfully completed the Fundamentals class. In addition, that instructor must be Tech 1 certified - which is basically a 150 foot certification. That has changed, but I don't wish to digress into those standards. SDI or TDI instructors must have completed an ITC or be Advanced Nitrox (130 feet) and Deco Procedures (150 feet) which is comparable to the skills required in Tech 1, but using nitrox instead of trimix with gas switches up to 100% oxygen. What is missing is that it may not have been necessary to develop as solid a foundation because Intro to Tech is not required prior to taking Advanced Nitrox & Deco Procedures.

At TDI, there are many "old salts" teaching technical courses since before basic cave diving techiques of trim, buoyancy, propulsion and equipment streamlining, and use, were viewed to be just as valid for the open water or wreck diving technical commuinities.

The quality-control challenge for SDI/TDI is the difference between how the majority of old school technical wreck divers define the skills required in Intro to Tech vs. how old school cave divers would define these skills. It is important to note that while the majority of wreck instructors would not demonstrate skills that are unsafe, the level of perfection would most likely be lower than that of cave instructors.

If you look at the profiles just in ScubaBoard as a sample, members with "TDI Instructor" listed in their profiles or signatures often have various TDI or other agency technical certs listed. Because it takes longer to become a TDI instructor than an SDI instructor, somewhere on that dive leader's journey, they have managed to broaden their experiences with cave, trimix, wreck penetration, scooter, and other such training. The more training and the more instructors an instructor has had, the more ways of doing things and quality a diver sees. Those of us who have taken such a journey can think back on all our instructors and mentors and take the best of each and incorporate those things into our classes.

An SDI instructor has had a shorter journey and possibly will only have had one instructor for Advanced Nitrox & Deco Procedures to be eligible to teach Intro to Tech. If the SDI instructor has had an excellent instructor for Adv Nx/Deco, all is well. If he or she hasn't, the quality of the Intro to Tech class will suffer. If the quality of the Intro to Tech class becomes reduced, it will weaken the strength of the brand that some of us may be trying to build into a career. We want our brand to be just as good or better than any out there.

For this reason, I think an SDI instructor should have to take training with at least two different technical instructors (preferably one being cave, but optional since some divers do not wish to enter that environment) to increase the chance of having one instructor set the bar on Intro to Tech skills very high and to be able to absorb what is useful from the experience of his or her mentors.

 

[clint@uniquescuba.com]

They likely have off for the holiday weekend.

Aren't many of them Canadian? lol

 

[AndyNZ]

I'm with Trace on this one, though must confess I haven't examined the relevant standards change so may be out of kilter when it comes to subtle nuances.

Take the simple example of a relatively new SDI instructor, who chooses to do TDI AN&DP... they can then immediately teach Intro to Tech??? That doesn't sound right.

There were parts of the my TDI AN&DP that I didn't fully understand until a year after it had finished, other bits that were unclear have slowly crystallised over time as I've done more and more technical dives. The odd bit only made sense when I started to think about how I would teach it.

I can see the potential value in a "recreational instructor/technical diver" being able to offer a limited class - but they need some experience in able to do it well. Every TDI class I've taken has been grounded solidly in asking and answering questions.... why do it like that... what are the alternatives... etc etc. You just can't answer those questions without experience.

Perhaps there is some middle ground, allowing SDI instructors who are tech qualified the option to pursue some form of teaching internship that allows them to gain the experience they need?

Like you, Trace, I think SDI/TDI has the potential to become the major player in the industry - but it really needs to make a concious choice of direction. Whilst accessibility of training "for all" is an issue, quality of training must take precedence.

In a recent discussion with friends and colleagues, we mused about the question: At what point does an agency reach a size where it starts to lose track of it's quality control?? 10 instructors? 100 instructors? 10000 instructors?

Or is it the actual number of instructor trainers?? I know of, for example, a TDI IT (in a galaxy a long way away) who answered the question "Why does the long hose come off the right post?" with the answer "Well, that's what most people seem to do so that's why I do it". This particular IT did a quick, cheap and nasty set of diver courses with a TDI IT back to back, then immediately did an instructor course with the same IT, churned out a whole bunch of inadequate divers and then became an IT themselves.

Pinching a phrase from "boulderjohn", this is classic REDUCTION FUNNEL... someone teaching on the basis of incomplete understanding, who only manages lesser understanding in their students. If SDI/TDI want to be the major player offering quality training then they need to get the standards and the quality control mechanisms sorted now. I don't believe that allowing "recreational instructor/technical divers" to teach an Intro to Tech class is a step in the right direction.