today was the last day of our Assistant Instructor course and it was the best so far … and by far!
we started out at Lake Pupuke with our open water session presentations.
we had each been given two skills to prepare and the two we had worked out well. alex took us down with her five point descent and then the hover.
my two skills were regulator recovery and alternate air source ascent.
pete had spent time with us before we got in the water talking through open water considerations – environmental and positioning issues that form part of the instructors predive planning.
i was pleased with the way my two skills went – i learnt a lot more about positioning in the water.
there were a couple of problems with my ‘students’ reg recovery … not blowing bubbles, not leaning out or tapping the leg but i saw those. i also made sure they were in the right place and my Divemaster and i were communicating over who was watching who.
even though the lake is extremely green at the moment and the visibility is slightly worse than normal, i was still too close to my ‘student’ and copped a bop on the noggin for it. still under the water, it takes a lot for a knock to hurt!
the ascent went quite smoothly and once we were on the surface, i tried to up my positive reinforcement style.
before we got out of the water, pete worked through a Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent (CESA) workshop with us.
control and position for the CESA was something i have been thinking about since i started interning and Divemastering on open water courses, especially when there are more than 4 students in the class. thats more than 8 descents/ascents for an instructor to manager.
he showed us how we could use the line for control and still hear the student. that keeping a hold of the student is important – when you reach the surface as well as when they are swimming up the line.
we got back to the shore and completed our briefings, i definitely saw the benefits in practice, practice, practice.
all the teaching and briefings you do as an instructor follow the same formula.
introduction, objective, value, key points and things to look out for, some positive reinforcement, clarification of a couple of problems and then a restate of the objectives and value.
i’m sure i will get into the swing of things as i get to do more of the sessions (and briefings).
pete worked through our debriefs with us. as i am sure i mentioned before, his feedback is excellent – constructive and really helpful.
we only had a couple of other things to finish off AI – one of them being another 800m snorkel. enjoying the lakes tepid 24 degrees, we jumped in and finished that off quick smart. then it was get changed, pack the car and head straight around to Eves Pantry for lunch! i was soooo hungry!!
