Dive Instructors of the Future: A student's experience of the Instructor Development Course
Anthony White Dec 12, 2024
Dive Instructors of the Future: A student's experience of the Instructor Development Course
Ever wondered what it's really like to go through our instructor development program? Well, one of our newest students, Sally, is here to pull back the curtain and give you an inside look. Take it away, Sally!
Introduction
Hi I’m Sally! I’m 18 years old and I am a freshman studying Computer Science and Environmental and Sustainability Science at Northeastern University in Boston. I am currently doing my IDC with Blue Planet while I am home over winter break. I started diving when I was 13, at a scuba/sailing camp in the British Virgin Islands called ActionQuest and have been going every summer since 2019. This past summer I earned my Divemaster certification, and I am so excited to get my instructor certification! My twin sister Daisy is also doing her IDC in Florida where she goes to school, but we both plan to take the January IE in Key Largo.
12/6: Classroom Day 1
Today I took the metro to Blue Planet for orientation and paperwork. I met Sarah, the course director, for the first time (in person), and we went over how the IDC would work, and the schedule she had planned. I also filled out some paperwork for my instructor application and got the very exciting news that I could get my Master Scuba Diver cert for free, so we applied for that as well. After orientation and paperwork, we got started on the Padi Systems and Standards workshop. I got used to referring to the Instructor Manual and learned about how to use the Guide to Teaching. My key takeaway: Style vs Standard. I am feeling very excited about getting into the pool tomorrow!
12/7 & 12/8: Into the Water!
I spent my weekend at the MSSD pool in DC!
On Saturday I met Trish, and Sarah, Trish and I went over my skill circuit (the 24 skills I was evaluated on while doing my divemaster). I also got to try out my new all pink gear which was very exciting. While going through the skills, Sarah and Trish helped me and reminded me on important aspects to include, like pointing to blowing bubbles the entire time my regulator was out of my mouth and locking my knees to help my fin pivot. My favorite part of the day was when I got to demonstrate the loose cylinder band skill for a couple of open water students! We ended the day with my swim test: a 15-minute tread and 400m swim. The tread was surprisingly fun: I got to talk to Trish about college, and STEM. The swim was not as fun, but I basically did the whole thing on my back staring at the ceiling. Day 1 in the pool was super tiring but helped me realize what I need to work on to polish up my skill circuit!
On Sunday we started with working on a few of the skills I was not as strong with. Trish showed me that exhaling completely before swinging my gear around to rest on my leg during the gear removal and replacement helped it appear seamless and controlled. We also worked on my fin pivot, and orally inflating my BCD to be neutrally buoyant. While working on these skills, Solomon took pictures and videos, which will help me look at my positioning and see each aspect as I did the skills. He also captured me doing CESA, which is a critical skill that will be on the IE. We then moved onto Rescue 7, in which poor Trish was sacrificed as my victim until a divemaster student replaced her. Trish and Sarah reminded me that for the purpose of demonstrating, I should make every step clear and controlled, not as urgent as an actual rescue scenario. Michelle (another instructor), and the divemaster candidate she was working with then joined us, and we practiced Rescue 7 on each other. Doing Rescue 7 with the pocket mask proved to be more difficult than the mouth to mouth, but I feel like I got the hang of it towards the end. Remembering to adjust the mask as needed and creating that closed seal is super important, so that the air doesn’t escape out of the sides of the mask. I will be doing Rescue 7 again at the lake, so hopefully today will make it so at the lake we only have to run through it a few times. Again, another tiring day, but looking forward to what’s to come next!
12/9: The Paperwork Begins
I took the metro to Blue Planet and met Sarah there at 10 am to get started on more workshops! We started with a Standards Exam, which was an open note test, and was essentially testing my ability to refer to the Instructor Manual and Guide to Teaching when problem solving. After the Standards Exam, we moved onto the Dive Theory exam, which showed me that I need to brush up on my physiology and equipment knowledge. We then did the Risk Management workshop, and EFRI work, and I filled out my application to be an EFR Instructor which was super exciting. We also went over how to speak to students regarding risk management, and Sarah gave me an idea of how the Knowledge Development presentations will go. Now I am going to go home and review Dive Theory!
To be continued...
