You are a divemaster who will soon start his Instructor course and you are worried that something could go wrong, that you lack the necessary preparation to pass all the exams; below you will find 10 helpful tips to help you succeed in your next PADI instructor course and keep your stress level under control.
1 Listen carefully to your Course Director. Nobody becomes a PADI Course Director in a short time and without quality, it is a long and complex path. The Course Directors are diving professionals and their degree qualifies them on a par with a university degree. They are highly trained divers and educators to be able to give you all the information and instructions you need to be successful in this course and in your future dive career.
2 Prepare well in advance. Nowadays the study material is almost all online and being on par with the study is a big plus. Getting to the beginning of the IDC that all the online theory sections have been completed is certainly a fundamental part of your preparation.
3 Focus on your weaknesses and to better identify your weak points you will need to refer to what your past instructors and your current Course Director are telling you. if you are a student who has had problems with topics like physics or with Diving theory, for example in the past, you must keep this in mind and start a review of these topics as soon as possible. if you feel that your skills are not great, talk to your Course Director, you will be amazed at how sometimes small tricks are enough to greatly improve your theoretical and practical performance. Be honest with the IDC staff and your CD, help them understand your fears. It is their job to understand you.
4 Don’t think about the exams, they are at the end of a planned study path and much easier than your IDC. During your IDC you will have to perform presentations dozens of times and at the IE you will only have to repeat them as you have learned them. During the IDC it is important to listen carefully to the lessons because all the suggestions you will receive will be advice that will be worth your entire life.
5 Learn from your other IDC classmates. The IDC course very often today is a time for students from different countries and backgrounds to meet, a mixture of techniques and knowledge from which you can certainly take advantage. You will understand that there is no absolute technique for many of the skills you will learn. Be diligent and attentive to what others say, because a mistake made by another student sometimes teaches much more than a mistake made by yourself.
6 Be on time for lessons and flexible. Very often you have to be organized for contingent circumstances such as the weather. Sometimes your Course Director belives that some kind of activities has to be postponed and other anciticipated. This is all made for your benefit. So try to arrive on time for lessons and always ready for a change of plans. This is dive life…
7 Do not surf on internet searching for boring skills videos. If you have any doubts about the development or the execution of certain techniques, talk to your staff. Remember there is nothing on the Internet that cannot happen during your IDC course and your staff is very prepared and will be able to give you all the necessary information at the rignt time without you getting overload by extra work. Remember they know what is good for you and they know what you need to improve. If they tell you study physiology is because you need to study physiology. Focus is all.
8 Try to have fun. Also have fun. Fun is a fundamental component because you are taking this step in order to have even more fun someday teaching other students. The IDC will be an event that you will remember all your life, but it must be a joyful memory, made up of unique experiences, where you met people whose names and faces you will never forget. You will also find during your instructor career a lot of information that your CD taught you during your instructor course.
9 Use the equipment you use every day. If you have any questions about its use, talk to the IDC staff, if you are undecided between using the integrated weights and a normal weightbelt, know that your staff will be able to advise you which best option for a particular exercise. If you have a Wings jacket could you use without problem during your IDC? CD and IDC staff will help you on that. Do not forget that the snorkel is part of your required equipment and if you think that you have forgotten to use it as a divemaster more than once, now try to reposition it and get used to it again. If you think you have buoyancy problems, forget about weighted anklets, they can hurt you and are not dive equipment you will use in the future. Remember what you practice duringin the IDC you will do it for a lifetime, do not look for overhelming techniques. Everything is much simpler.
10 Practice as much as you can especially before starting your course. Dive, spend time with divers, guide, assist other instructors and remember that during the course you will be given educational tools such as the instructor manual which you could always refer to in your subsequent courses. You will find there many answers to your future questions. Pay close attention to the IDC lessons. You will experience fatigue due to stress and lack of sleep, but remember that every word has its weight and that every little detail will help you to get evolved from Divemaster into Instructor
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