Assisting with Scuba Classes
What the exam tests
The Assisting with Scuba Classes domain tests your role as an instructional assistant in confined and open water: preparation, demonstration quality, monitoring, remediation, ratios, communication with the instructor, and documentation. Questions often ask what a divemaster should do when a student struggles or when the instructor is occupied.
Before and during class
- Prepare equipment and site, check medical statements and paperwork, and agree roles with the instructor: who demonstrates, who monitors, who handles a distressed student.
- Demonstrate skills slowly, at the same level as the students, and exactly to the demonstration standard. If you cannot perform the skill slowly and cleanly, do not model it.
- Position yourself where you can see all students; monitor air, depth, time, and behaviour. Early signs of panic include wide eyes, rapid breathing, clinging, and skipped breathing.
- Correct errors with a signal and a re-demonstration; break a skill into parts; use positive reinforcement. Never do the skill for the student.
Ratios
A certified assistant can increase the number of students an instructor may supervise in some courses and environments. The exact ratio depends on the course, the environment, and the current PADI Standards. Learn the current figure for each course you assist with, and never exceed it.
Worked example
A student panics at 5 m and cannot clear a flooded mask. What do you do?
Reasoning: stop the skill, signal OK, and ascend slightly or surface if the student is not settling. Re-demonstrate slowly, then break the skill down - partial flood first, then full flood. Keep the instructor informed. Do not hold the student's mask on or clear it for them; that removes the learning and can increase panic. If the student cannot complete the skill after remediation, document it and let the instructor decide the next step.
Traps that cost marks
- Demonstrating too fast or with extra movements the students cannot copy.
- Taking over the instructor's role or changing standards.
- Missing a student who is quiet and frozen rather than active and noisy.
- Forgetting to check air and depth while focused on one student.
- Failing to document remediation or report it to the instructor.