PADI IDC – Extra Information

• Classroom Presentations from the IDC team

The LSD team will run a variety of PADI presentations as part of the IDC curriculum. Attending these will explain how teach in the classroom, pool and in open water. The presentation time is between 1-2 hours with plenty of breaks and we encourage the presentations to be Q&A throughout. All candidates will be given a schedule of the IDC during the orientation presentation which is the first session of the course.

• Candidate Teaching Presentations

This is one of the ways we evaluate your readiness for the Instructor Examination. You will be trained how to prepare a Knowledge Development Presentation and together with our assistance you put together 3 mock presentations based on a question from knowledge review question in student training manuals. This can be from Open Water Course and right up to the Divemaster Course. You will design the presentation to include example stories, training aid and selling some merchandise. These presentations are then marked by the Course Director giving you a score. There are at least 3 of these presentations during the IDC.

• Confined Water Workshops in our pool

We prepare a mock class for you where you act as the PADI Instructor teaching a class of Open Water students. These students are other IDC candidates or IDC Staff Instructors and they will have been told to do a certain portion of the skill incorrectly. It is your job to spot the mistake and to ensure that by the end of the session the student can now successfully complete the skill. You will begin by giving a thorough briefing, followed by a clear demonstration before observing each student perform the skill looking for errors. After correcting the skill you give a final debriefing to the group and await the score from the Course Director. This is all performed observing PADI’s safe practices and standards. There are at least 4 of these presentations during the IDC.

• Open Water Workshops at a local lake

This is almost identical to the Confined Water workshops above except that these are sessions run in one of our local Open Water sites. Again you will be evaluated as you observe a class of students perform 2 skills each on the same dive. These skills may be from different courses. The main difference here is that there is no demonstration from the Instructor. There are at least 2 of these presentations during the IDC.

• Dive Theory & Standards Exam

During the IDC you need to able to show that you have a good understanding of scuba diving theory and there are 2 ways that we check this. The first are Dive Theory exams. These are the 5 theory subjects; Dive Equipment, Diving Physiology, Dive Skills & Environment, Diving Physics and Decompression Theory & the RDP. All these topics are covered as part of the PADI DM course and the last 2 chapters of the DM manual should be used as a form of study. We have some mock exams that students may use to practice but we highly recommend that candidates pay for the dive theory online from PADI as this has some of the most current questions that are used during the PADI IE. If you decide not to purchase the online dive theory, we will incorporate these exams into the IDC schedule.

The second part of evaluation is the Standards Examination and this tests your knowledge on PADI standards. This is an open book exam where you will use the PADI Instructor manual and the Guide to Teaching answering 50 multi choice questions. This cannot be done online and is part of the IDC schedule.

What happens if I do not pass the IDC or IE?

We are extremely confident that you will be successful during the IDC and IE. If for any reason you need to repeat some modules from the IDC or IE we will provide all additional training for free. This is our commitment to you and to make sure you achieve that dream of becoming a PADI Instructor. Our whole focus during the course is to get you that congratulatory handshake from the PADI examiners.

Do I need my own dive kit & student materials?

To work as a DM or instructor in the UK it is expected that you have your own dive kit but during the IDC and IE you are most welcome to use our school kit. We have 40 sets of dive kit so we are sure to have your size. Outside the IDC crewpack which is compulsory, you do need access to the student materials from Open Water up to Divemaster. These need to be current editions as they will be used during the IDC & IE. If you are missing any of these contact the office and we can help.

What is the online IDC study?

The old way of doing the IDC took 8 days with lots of classroom time and this did not suit most candidates. Now with the online study you can get the ball rolling by completing some of the sessions in your own time before the IDC starts and it means that the course time at LSD is just 5 days. You will complete 9 sections online and once this is done we will be sent a verification email from PADI. This really is self study made easy with PADI’s latest digital teaching tools.

What happens after my IE?

Once you finish you IE you might want to take a moment or two to relax and to take stock on what you have just achieved. It is an amazing accomplishment and a just reward for all the effort you put in. So what now? It’s very simple, WE WANT YOU! Having done all your training at LSD you will be very familiar with our set up and course logistics. We will offer you immediate work as a freelance Instructor teaching in our pool and at the open water sites. This is a great way to get that essential experience and to start earning from your new professional rating. We are the busiest centre in the UK so you will have plenty of sessions to choose from. If you just want to shadow some courses before taking on paid work with us then that is absolutely fine too. Our commitment to you continues well beyond your course.