Instructor Foundation Course

I've recently done the Instructor Foundation Course (IFC) course in Pimlico.
The course was made up of classroom lessons and practical sessions in the swimming pool. First off we were asked to imagine the perfect instructor (i.e. someone we looked up to during our own training). The conclusion was that there is not a complete overlap between good diving skills and good teaching skills. The aim for the rest of the time was therefore to draw out the good instructing skills: patience, empathy, etc.

The classroom sessions taught about HOW to teach and HOW we learn. All interesting stuff. The main points were that we take in most information visually and therefore lessons should try to emphasise visual learning by using colourful visual age and with hands on props. After all - SCUBA diving is a practical sport.

The practical side of things involved being taught a couple of example practical lessons in the pool. Emphasis was placed on breaking skills down into small units that get repeated until they stick. This makes perfect sense to me- although I'm still baffled by people who can't clear a mask in the pool.

On the second day we were expected to teach a 10 minute theory lesson and a 20 minute practical lesson. I really enjoyed this part and it really brought home to us what skills we were expected to learn on the IFC - breaking down skills to small parts and checking for knowledge transfer during the theory lesson.

Now I will remember my acronyms STEP, PAVE, SEEDS, REAP, 3Ps, BAR etc. and hopefully get some practice teaching before going further and doing my open water instructor course and then the exams to become a Nationally Qualified Instructor!