During the PADI IDC, you will take part in a number of workshops to learn the art of teaching students and setting up your teaching scenarios for safety and accomplishing the skills. You will take part in presentations from our PADI Course Director Mark and PADI IDC Staff Instructors, about the skills of teaching, marketing, and working in the scuba diving industry. There will be a number of pool sessions in which you will take part in graded presentations when you are put in the scenario of an instructor teaching a skill to a number of students. You will also give short academic presentations on set questions to your PADI Course Director. Finally, there are a couple of days in the ocean when you focus on being graded on teaching the open water segments of diver courses.
There is also the option to complete the Emergency First Response First Aid and CPR Instructor program during the course which is necessary to be able to teach the Rescue course when you are a certified instructor. Following on from the course we can look at getting you some PADI Specialty Instructor ratings to move you up the PADI Instructional ladder.
IDC Workshops
The PADI IDC workshops are held in the first half of the IDC (or online with live with the Course Director and fellow candidates) and build on the PADI IDC eLearning and knowledge from previous courses. Through practical application, guidance from staff cooperation, and teamwork, these workshops will develop your instructional skills to be used on the practical side of the IDC and throughout your dive career.
Exam Practice
Ok no one likes exams. But the PADI IDC is preparing you to complete the PADI Instructor Exam. As such prior to the IDC you have been brushing up on your dive theory and familiarising yourself with the PADI Instructor Manual and PADI Guide to Teaching. During the IDC we will practice with a couple of Dive Theory and General Standard and Procedures exams to prepare you for the IE and ensure that your study has been effective.
Dive Skills
Part of being a good instructor is to have good dive skills. You will have been practicing the 24-skills circuit prior to the IDC and there will be a dive skills workshop and evaluation session to ensure that your skills are ready to teach. There will also be an assessment of your PADI Rescue Diver skills too, in preparation to teach rescue courses and for the rescue assessment during the PADI Instructor Exam.
Knowledge Development Presentations
Knowledge development presentations are given by the instructor candidates during the IDC to demonstrate their ability to use the PADI materials to teach. You will use the PADI materials including lesson guides, manuals, and digital products such as the PADI apps and eLearning to teach your fellow IE candidates, in answering questions assigned by your PADI Course Director from the Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Rescue, Divemaster, Project Aware and Peak Performance Buoyancy Courses.
Confined Water Presentations
To prepare you to be able to teach PADI dive courses in the pool and other confined water locations, you will give a number of confined water presentations during the PADI IDC. These will include practicing using your cue cards to brief the skills, before giving demonstrations and correcting student diver problems, simulated by your fellow candidates. Teaching presentation skills are normally from the PADI Open Water, PADI Advanced Open Water, and PADI Rescue Diver courses.
Open Water Presentations
During the PADI IDC, you will practice teaching two skills at the same time in open water. This is to simulate if you were teaching multiple courses at once. On our ocean training site, you will practice setting up the dive site before conducting the skills. This will focus on diver safety, supervision, and making sure your “students” meet the performance requirements. This will prepare you for the open water section of the IE of course and real-life when planning open water training for your dive students.
