CLASS REPORT:
UTD INSTRUCTOR DEVELOPMENT COURSE
HURGHADA, EGYPT
OCTOBER 2013
By Alain Najm, UTD Instructor #110
I have been diving for the past 15 years, and have been an active instructor with different agencies for 10.
Being passionate about SCUBA diving, and even more passionate about teaching, I have always looked for ways to
improve my skills and those of my students.
Lately, I started feeling that there was something missing; I kept feeling that the curricula I was teaching were lacking major inputs regarding both personal skills and the right diving attitude: I found myself certifying more “follower” divers than “thinking” ones.
This is where I stumbled into the UTD website. And without even
meaning to, I had many of my concerns answered in a 10-minute
movie clip featuring AG and Jeff, the founders of UTD, talking about
instructors’ crossover to UTD. I was immediately hooked and subscribed for the crossover in less than 24 hours. At the same time, I
sincerely hoped that I had not fallen to yet another marketing scheme.
But boy how wrong was I to be doubtful: the IDC even exceeded all
those promises!! Let me try to paint a picture for you:
•
Online classrooms and Skype sessions: it cannot get any clearer
and user-friendly than this; and you get to do it at your own pace. The
online material gave me ALL the information I needed about UTD
history, philosophy, standards and procedures, the role of an instructor
and what is expected from him. On top of that, skype sessions I’ve had
with Jeff completed my learning experience as I was able to discuss
first hand any question. In a nutshell: the learning cycle is complete.
•
In-water IDC: perfecting my skills, although a crucial parameter in passing the course, felt secondary during this phase of my
training. The focus was more on HOW TO convey my teachings to
the most challenging students. I got to learn all the tools I needed to