The 2023 PADI IDC Explained
The PADI IDC has a special place in my heart. I’ve taught 100’s of them in different countries and seen first hand how people’s lives change.
Let me explain to you how you can get the best from your PADI IDC.
The 2023 PADI IDC Explained
The new revised PADI IDC makes more use of the digital world. The new PADI IDC Digital Crew Pack has 16 e-learning sections to complete before attending workshops on your IDC. All designed to make you “think like an instructor”. There are also a few changes to some teaching assignments.
What to expect from your PADI IDC
First things first
To enrol onto a PADI IDC, you’ll need:
To be a PADI Divemaster who has been a certified diver for 6 months or more
- At least 60 logged dives and 100 dives to attend an IE.
- Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care (CPR and First Aid) training within the past 24 months.
- A medical statement signed by a physician within the past 12 months.
- You also need to be an Emergency First Response Instructor, – but you can earn this rating during your instructor training.
Get ready for your PADI IDC
There are a couple of areas where you’ll need to prepare yourself for your PADI IDC.
Dive Theory
You’ll need to be up to date with the latest Dive Theory.
There are Theory exams on both your PADI IDC and your PADI IE so it’s a good idea to be up to be fully prepared.
It’s been a while since you were last up to speed with theory, get hold of some really current, up to date Mock Exams and practice, practice, practice!
PADI Standards
The PADI Instructor Manual is updated every year.
PADI Standards are always evolving, so it’s imperative that you’re fully up to speed with the changes.
Not only to pass your PADI IDC, but also to be an effective and modern PADI Instructor in the real world.
Mock Exam papers
Here are the latest set of IDC Mock Exam papers
The PADI IDC digital crewpack - explained
You’ll need to buy a PADI IDC digital crewpack.
You can buy one from any PADI 5 star IDC Centre, or from a PADI Course Director.
It’s full of very useful stuff!
What is in a PADI IDC digital crewpack?
PADI IDC eLearning
Lots of great interactive sections for you to work through at your own time, in your own home.
Each section has a table of content followed by Topics.
You can follow along with the text and then answer quick quiz questions.
- Getting Started
- Dive theory for Dive Leaders
- PADI System Overview
- Learning Instruction and the PADI System
- Discover Scuba Diving and Experience Programs
- PADI Open Water Diver Course
- Risk Management and Legal Consideration
- Managing Risk
- PADI Quality Management and Licensing
- Introduction to Teaching Presentations
- Conducting and Evaluating Knowledge Development
- Confined Water Training
- Open Water Training
- Continuing Education and Leadership Courses
- Business of Diving
- How to Teach the Recreational Dive Planner (RDP)
The Diving Knowledge Workbook - eLearning
Your IDC digital crew pack includes the Diving Knowledge Workbook.
This workbook has been popular for years to help prepare people for their DM or IDC exams.
PADI's Guide to Teaching
The latest version of PADI’s Guide to Teaching is invaluable to IDC Candidates and PADI Instructors.
It gives great tips on how to teach skills over a range of courses.
Open Water Course Prescriptive Lesson Guides
The complete PADI Open Water Course Prescriptive Lesson Guides.
Including all videos, Knowledge Reviews and answers.
PADI IDC resources
Here you’ll find links to download forms to help with your IDC.
- Confined and Open Water Evaluation Slate
- Knowledge Development Evaluation Form
- Lesson Plan Form
- Guidelines for Preparing Teaching Presentations
Exams
- Open Water exams and quizzes
- Rescue Diver exams and quizzes
- Divemaster course exams
Specialtiy Instructor Guides
In your PADI Digital Crew Pack, you’ll find Instructor Guides for the specialities that PADI Assistant Instructors can teach.
Your PADI IDC - explained
The Instructor Development Course (IDC) is made up of two parts – the Assistant Instructor (AI) course and the Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) program.
Most dive professionals complete the entire IDC and go on to attend an Instructor Examination (IE), which is the final step to earn a PADI Instructor certification.
Successfully completing just the AI course results in a PADI Assistant Instructor qualification. When an AI is ready to progress, attending an OWSI program allows entry into an IE to earn a full PADI Instructor rating.
Dive professionals who hold an instructor rating with another diver training organization may be eligible to enroll directly in the OWSI program. This recognizes prior instructor training and provides a path to become a PADI Instructor.
The PADI IDC
During your PADI IDC, your PADI Course Director will teach you to conduct all PADI core courses.
You’ll be able to organise and present information, conduct skill development sessions and control open water dives.
Basically, you become a better public speaker and your confidence will soar. You’ll get really good at demonstrating skills while being aware of student diver safety.
The course has lots of “hands on” workshops. Here are a list of some that your Course Director might involve you in.
- Orientation
- Dive Theory Workshop
- Learning Teaching Workshop
- Confined Water Training Workshop
- Open Water Training Workshop
- KD Presentations Workshop
- PADI System Workshop
- RiskManagement Licensing Workshop
- DSD Workshop
- OWD SetUp Scheduling Workshop
- Continuing Education Workshop
- Sales Techniques Workshop
- Course Close
See my post: WHAT HAPPENS ON A PADI IDC
Knowledge Development Workshop
- You’ll complete the Knowledge Development Presentations
Workshop before giving any knowledge development teaching presentations. - To complete the full IDC, you must prepare and deliver three
knowledge development presentations and earn a score of 3.4 or higher on the
Knowledge Development Evaluation form on at least two presentations. Three
presentations must include:
a. at least one PADI Open Water Diver course presentation
b. at least one PADI continuing education course with supporting student media
c. at least one PADI continuing education course without supporting student
media - You can earn the Assistant Instructor rating, by preparing and delivering
two knowledge development presentations, including one from the Peak
Performance Buoyancy course, and earn a score of 3.4 or higher on the
Knowledge Development Evaluation form on at least one presentation. - To complete the OWSI program, a candidate must prepare and deliver one
knowledge development presentation that earns a score of 3.4 or higher on
the Knowledge Development Evaluation form.
Click HERE for FIVE mock exam papers for US$49 (or equivalent in your currency
Skill Development Workshop
Skill Circuit
You’ll be asked to perform a “Skill Circuit” Where you will demonstrate 24 skills.
You will Perform all 24 dive skills in the Skill Evaluation, scoring a minimum of 82 total
points, with no individual score below 3 and with at least one underwater skill
to a 5.
The evaluation criteria is:
1 – participant unable to perform exercise
2 – exercise performed with significant difficulty or error
3 – exercise performed correctly, though too quickly to adequately exhibit (or illustrate) details of skill
4 – exercise performed correctly and slowly enough to adequately exhibit (or illustrate) details of skill
5 – exercise performed correctly, slowly and with exaggerated movement (appeared “easy”)
24 dive skills - skill circuit
- Equipment assembly, adjustment, preparation, donning
and disassembly - Pre-dive safety check (BWRAF)
- Deep-water entry
- Buoyancy check at surface
- Snorkel-regulator/regulator-snorkel exchange
- Five-point descent, using buoyancy control to stop descent
without contacting the bottom - Regulator recovery and clearing*
- Mask removal, replacement and clearing*
- Air depletion exercise and alternate air source use (stationary)
- Alternate air source-assisted ascent
- Free flowing regulator breathing
- Neutral buoyancy, rise and fall – using low pressure inflation
- Five-point ascent
- Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent
- Orally inflate BCD to hover for at least 60 seconds
- Underwater swim without a mask
- Remove and replace weight system underwater
- Remove and replace scuba unit underwater
- Remove and replace scuba unit on the surface
- Remove and replace weight system on the surface
- Surface dive while skin diving and clear snorkel using blast
method upon surfacing - Disconnect low pressure inflator
- Re-secure a loose cylinder band
- Perform an emergency weight drop
* To earn a 5, diver must demonstrate skill while neutrally buoyant.
Swims and floats
You’ll have to swim 400 metres/yards,
and float/survival swim for 10 minutes, without using swimming or flotation aids.
You are allowed to wear exposure suits with weighting for neutral buoyancy if
required for the water temperature.
Confined Water Teaching Presentations
- You’ll complete the Candidate Confined Water Teaching
Presentation – Dry workshop before giving any wet confined water teaching
presentations. - To complete the full IDC, the you must prepare and deliver four confined
water teaching presentations and earn a score of 3.4 or higher on the Confined
and Open Water Evaluation Slate on at least two presentations. For one
presentation, the candidate functions without a certified assistant. - To earn the Assistant Instructor rating or complete the OWSI program, you must prepare and deliver two confined water teaching presentations
and earn a score of 3.4 or higher on the Confined and Open Water Evaluation
Slate on at least one presentation. For one of the presentation, you’ll be asked to teach without a certified assistant.
Open Water Teaching Presentations
- Candidates must complete the Candidate Open Water Teaching Presentation –
Dry workshop before giving any wet open water teaching presentations. - Present at least two integrated (two skills) open water teaching presentations,
scoring a minimum of 3.4 on each skill for one presentation, including:
a. at least one skill from the PADI Open Water Diver course.
Course Director Manual 123
b. at least one skill from a continuing education course requiring a demonstration.
c. at least one skill without a certified assistant. - To earn the Assistant Instructor rating, the candidate must present at least one
integrated (two skills) open water teaching presentation (wet) from the Peak
Performance Buoyancy course, scoring a minimum of 3.4 on each skill. - To complete the OWSI program, the candidate must present at least one
integrated (two skills) open water teaching presentation (wet), scoring a
minimum of 3.4 on each skill.
Rescue Diver Workshop
By the end of Part 1 of this workshop, at and in an open water site, you should be able to:
• Demonstrate the organization, sequence and conduct of Rescue Diver course:
– Exercise 2 – Panicked Diver
– Exercise 6 – Surfacing the Unresponsive Diver
– Exercise 7 – Unresponsive Diver at the Surface
• Brief and debrief one or more skills or tasks from Exercises 2, 6 and 7.
• Demonstrate techniques that may be used to meet the performance
requirements for Exercises 2, 6 and 7.
By the end of Part 2 of this workshop, you should be able to:
• Perform a demonstration-quality rescue of a simulated panicked diver at the
surface, in water too deep in which to stand, in either confined or open water.
• Perform a demonstration-quality rescue of a simulated nonbreathing,
unresponsive diver at the surface in open water that is too deep in
which to stand.
• Participate as a rescuer, simulated victim, secondary rescuer or equipment
handler in an open water scenario that includes:
– Bringing a simulated nonbreathing, unresponsive diver from the bottom to
the surface (from not deeper than 9 metres/30 feet).
– Providing aid at the surface while towing a nonbreathing diver to an exit.
– Removing a nonbreathing diver from the water.
– Administering oxygen to a nonbreathing diver while using a rescue
breathing mask.
Dive Theory
Every subject, every topic explained in a fun way. 100’s of questions. Mock exams.
Enrol here: click on picture
US$79 ( your bank will charge you in your own currency)
Pool & Class teaching
Briefings, De-briefings, Demonstrations.
The psychology of how people learn
Enrol here: click on picture
US$79 ( your bank will charge you in your own currency)
Both Courses
Almost as if you’re watching PADI Course Director Steve Prior teaching a full IDC.
Enrol here: click on picture
US$99 ( your bank will charge you in your own currency)
Final Words
Diving is FUN!
Therefore, Teaching diving is FUN,
Learning how to teach is FUN
Your IDC MUST be FUN! it just must be!
The PADI IDC is truly life changing. The things that you’ll learn are just as valuable in real life, and extremely useful in all workplaces.
Make sure that you’re fully prepared and enjoy every moment. You’ll never forget your IDC!
Make it a GOOD one!