The University of Texas
Underwater Science and Scuba Diving Program
Dept. of Kinesiology and Health Education
Division of Physical Education
PED 102G.1 Basic Scuba
Spring 2010
General Information
Instructor: Peter Oliver
Office: Texas Swimming Center (TSC) 2.202
Phone: 512-476-6639
Office hours: Monday & Wednesday, noon – 1 p.m. and by
appointment
email: p.oliver@mail.utexas.edu
Co-instructors: Marco Aleman, Randy Beckmann, Kevin Coleman, Felipe Gomez, Brendan Hamilton, Hun Il Kim, Navin Jagganath, Jac Malloy, David Spindler. Section assignments are posted on our website.
All sections: Classroom meetings Tuesday evening from 5:00-6:30 p.m. in Bellmont 328 lecture hall.
Pool lab sections meet in the Texas Swim Center (TSC). Your UT ID is required to enter the TSC facility. You should be dressed out in swimming attire and on the pool deck (specifically, the Southeast corner–to the left end as you enter the pool) at the beginning of your section time. Be on time. We begin promptly so we can finish on time.
Pool Lab Sections
Tuesday 8:00 - 9:30 p.m. (11805)
Wednesday 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. (11785)
Wednesday 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. (11800)
Wednesday 8:00 - 9:30 p.m. (11810)
Monday 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. (11780)
Monday 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. (11790)
Tuesday 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. (11795)
NOTE: The Tuesday evening lab (immediately after each classroom meeting) is the FIRST lab of our weekly cycle; the Tuesday afternoon lab (immediately before each classroom meeting) is the LAST lab in our week. We do not follow a standard calendar week. This will be important if you are wanting to make up a certain missed lab section.
Required Materials
The required text is the NAUI Scuba Diver textbook. We recommend that you get the complete NAUI Scuba Diver Education System (SDES), which includes the textbook, its workbook, Dive Tables, a logbook, a DVD, and other materials. All reading assignments are from the NAUI Scuba Diver textbook. The NAUI SDES can be purchased at Royal Scuba (4403 Guadalupe), Tom’s Dive & Swim (5509 Burnet Road), or Oak Hill Scuba (6156 Hwy. 290 W).
Equipment
All equipment necessary for the course is included; you need furnish nothing. If you own you own equipment, you are welcome to bring and use it, but the department's equipment is available to you throughout the course.
We encourage but don’t require you to have and use your own mask, snorkel, and fins. These are personal items, and fit, comfort, and familiarity will enhance your learning experience. If you are going to become active in this lifetime adventure sport, then you will certainly want to own at least this basic equipment.
Lockers
The TSC has a limited number of lockers available for semester assignment. Because scuba classes only use the pool one day a week, assigned lockers are not a priority for us. If you have personal snorkeling/scuba gear that needs stowing, we can get you a locker assignment. The TSC supplies the lock for assigned lockers. There are many “day-use” lockers open to all; these must be cleared after each lab, and you must supply the lock for the locker. If you do not have a lock, it is safer for you to bring your clothing and personal belongings onto the pool deck rather than leave them in an unlocked locker.
Course Purpose and Scope
Learning to dive safely involves both knowledge and skill mastery. Classroom presentations and pool training will cover many aspects of diving, and you will be able to become proficient in the skills of skin and scuba diving. You will learn about function, care, and handling of diving equipment, diving physics, medical aspects of diving, the aquatic environment, diving activities and dive planning, diving safety, and handling problems.
Scuba Certification
The University closes the course with the completion of the classroom meetings and the confined water (pool) training. For perceived liability exposure reasons, the University does not let us include open water training and scuba certification within the scope of their entry-level course. However, open water training and certification as a NAUI Scuba Diver will be offered as an option at the end of the semester and outside of the University setting (see below). We encourage you to complete your training and achieve certification as a scuba diver, but this is not necessary and continuing or not continuing to certification does not influence your grade in the course in any way.
Course Prerequisites
Swimming ability: Comfort in the water is essential to being a safe diver. The first pool lab will include a swimming skills evaluation. We will ask you to demonstrate the following:
* Sprint swim 50 yards in 50 seconds (across the
pool and back)
* Swim a distance of 200 yards, not timed, nonstop,
using any stroke(s)
* Float or tread water for 10 minutes
* Swim underwater or on a single breath a distance of
50 feet
If you are unable to complete any of these skills, you should work on your swimming strokes and stamina and perform the skill(s) later—preferably before the first quiz. Any of the course instructors can observe you complete a given skill. You must demonstrate all of the swim skills in order to proceed to certification. The Swim Center is open for recreational swimming five hours a day during the week: Monday-Friday from noon-2 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. Gregory Gym Aquatics Complex also has hours for recreational swimming. If you are a weak swimmer, you should sign up for one of the swimming classes available through the Kinesiology Department.
Medical history form: You will complete a medical history form so that we can evaluate any possible medical problems for scuba diving. For your own safety as well as that of your potential future diving partners, it is very important that you complete the form honestly. If there are any questions about your fitness for scuba diving, you will be required to obtain approval from a physician to scuba dive before you will be allowed to continue in the class. Regardless of a physician's opinion, you may still be declined for training if you have a contraindication to scuba diving, especially one that could pose a potential danger to a dive buddy. We are concerned about your safety as well as that of your future dive partners.
Course
Requirements and Grade Determination
Your grade in this course will be determined by the following areas:
A. Knowledge (50% of final grade)
You need to be knowledgeable about diving in order to dive safely. Two equally
weighted exams will be given during the semester. Each will count 25% of your
final grade. There is no “Final Exam.”
Exam 1 is the NAUI Scuba Diver Exam. It will cover all of the material presented in the NAUI Scuba Diver textbook. You must score at least 80% on the NAUI Exam in order to proceed to certification. The quiz is scheduled for Week 8.
Exam 2 will be comprehensive and will include both NAUI text material and information presented in class and/or labs that is beyond the information in the textbook. This exam will be given at the last regular class meeting.
B. Skill development and course participation (50%
of final grade)
You need to become comfortable with your diving skills. Skill development takes
time and requires active participation. This grading area is determined by your
participation, your progress during the semester, and your ability to
comfortably demonstrate the basic suite of essential diving skills at the end
of the course.
You may miss one pool lab without any grade penalty. Departmental rules impose a 3% grade penalty per non-attendance. If you miss a pool lab, you should make it up—for your own learning as well as your grade. To qualify for participation in the certification dives you must have no more than one missed, un-made-up lab. Pool lab attendance is tracked using a sign-in sheet at each lab meeting. It is your responsibility to sign in to record your attendance on the sheet each time.
Especially in the early weeks of the semester, each pool lab builds upon previously learned skills. Therefore, it is important that you meet each pool lab in its turn. Try to make up any missed lab session by attending another pool lab within the same pool lab weekly cycle. Remember, our lab cycle begins with the Tuesday evening pool session and ends with the following Tuesday afternoon’s. Also, if you are trying to make up a missed lab, preference is given to students who are registered in the specific section. The number that can be present in any lab is necessarily limited by the amount of equipment available.
An Adult CPR/AED class is included as a part of this course. If you are currently qualified in CPR, you can present your CPR card any time during the semester and be excused from attending our CPR class and lab. However, you are encouraged to re-qualify.
Certification as a Scuba Diver
If you wish to achieve your NAUI Scuba Diver certification and have qualified at the end of the course to pursue certification, there are several options open:
To continue to certification in our program, you must score at least 80% on the NAUI Scuba Diver Exam (Exam 1), have completed the suite of swimming skills, and have fulfilled the pool lab attendance and scuba skill requirements.
Option 1: We will offer open water training and certification independently of the University. Open water training for this semester is scheduled for the weekends of April 24-25, May 1-2, and May 8-9. Open water training dives are conducted at Lake Travis. We will supply all of the equipment. To cover the rental of scuba equipment, wetsuits, materials costs, instructor fees, and certification fees, we must charge for this program. The cost is $115.00 (plus your park entry fee). You will find that this option is an exceptional value, and you will have the opportunity to continue through to certification with the instructors and classmates with whom you learned.
Option 2: We can give you a referral letter stating that you have successfully completed the knowledge and skill performance requirements of the course. You can present this form to any NAUI or other-agency instructor as verification of your readiness for open water training and certification. You would be responsible for contracting with them for completion of your certification.
Option 3: You can independently contract another open water training time with any one of our UT scuba instructors. You can also join us for the certification dives at the end of next semester.
The Small Print
Honor Code: The core values of the University of Texas at Austin
are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and
responsibility. Each member of the University is expected to uphold these
values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers
and community. (http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/events/sjs_honorcode.php)
Special Accommodations
for Students with a Disability: The
University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic
accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more
information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at (512) 471-6259, VP:
(512) 232-2937 or via email at ssd@uts.cc.utexas.edu. Please notify the professor of any special
accommodations that you may need prior to the end of the second week of class.
(http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/)
Policy on
Scholastic Dishonesty: Students who
violate University rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary
penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal
from the University. Since such dishonesty harms the individual, all
students, and the integrity of the University, policies on scholastic
dishonesty will be strictly enforced. For further information, the
student may refer to the Web Site of the Student Judicial Services, Office of
the Dean of Students (http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/).
Week 1
Week of January 19 – 26
Class
Course Orientation
Class organization
Risk Awareness
Basic Equipment: Mask, Snorkel, and Fins
Reading: NAUI Scuba Diver Preface, Chapters 1 & 2
Pool Lab
Facilities orientation
Swimming and water skills evaluation
Week of January 26 – February 2
Class
Water Compared to Air:
Compressibility
Density
Heat Capacity and Transmission
Light
Sound
Pressure
Primary Effects of Pressure (part 1)
Pressure/Volume/Density relationships
Air consumption
Air Spaces in the Body
Squeezes
Equalization of Pressure
Reading: NAUI Scuba Diver Chapters 2, 3 & 4
Pool Lab
Skin diving skills
Breathing on scuba
Week of February 2 – February 9
Class
Primary effects of pressure (part 2)
Air Expansion Problems
Reverse blocks
Lung rupture injuries
Air embolism
Alternobaric vertigo
Buoyancy
Underwater Communications
Scuba Equipment
Cylinders, Valves,
Regulators
Diving instruments
Buoyancy systems
Weighting systems
Reading: NAUI Scuba Diver Chapters 2, 3 & 4
Pool Lab
Scuba assembly & donning
Normal descents and ascents with equalization of pressure
Using scuba underwater
Regulator clearing, mask clearing
Scuba disassembly and cleanup
Week of February 9 – 16
Class
Diving accessories
Thermal effects and thermal considerations
Protective clothing
Breathing and circulation
Secondary effects of pressure, breathing air at depth
Nitrogen narcosis
Oxygen toxicity
Carbon dioxide considerations in skin and
scuba diving
Pure air
Tissue absorption of gases and
decompression sickness
Reading: NAUI Scuba Diver Chapters 2, 3, 4 & 5
Pool Lab
Entries and exits
Responding to problems: out-of-air situations
Kick variations
Week of February 16 – 23
Class
Monitoring nitrogen loading and preventing the “bends”
Dive Tables
Terms and rules
Determination of time limits
Dive Table planning
Dive Tables sample problems
Special Dive Tables rules
Dive computers
Reading: NAUI Scuba Diver Chapter 5
Pool Lab
Equipment handling skills in the water
Controlling buoyancy underwater
Week of February 23 – March 2
Class
Using Dive Tables to plan dives
The varying environment
The water & the bottom
Water movement, currents, tides, &
surf
Environmental stressors in diving
Navigation: finding your way underwater
Compasses
Natural navigation techniques
Reading: NAUI Scuba Diver Chapter 8
Pool Lab
Compass use and navigation
Buoyancy control skills
Week of March 2 – March 9
Class
Practical diving
Planning dives
Shore diving & site evaluation
Solving problems
Buddy system in diving: Techniques &
procedures
Stress and rescue
Stress in diving / handling stress
Diving nuisances / Self rescue
Helping other divers
Diving rescues
Review for Exam 1
Reading: NAUI Scuba Diver Chapters 6, 7 & Appendix C
Pool Lab
When things go wrong
Diving assists
Diving rescues
Combination/challenge drills
REMINDER: Open water training and
certification dives are scheduled for weekends in April and May. Registration
procedures will begin for those who want to continue to certification.
Week 8
Week of March 19 – 10, 22 – 23
Class
Exam 1: NAUI Scuba
Diver Exam
Reading: NAUI Scuba Diver (review entire book including appendices)
Pool Lab
Further rescue skills practice
Combination/challenge drills
Spring Break: March 15 – 19
Week of March 23 – 30
Review of NAUI Exam
General first aid
“Dangerous” aquatic life
Care for aquatic life injuries
Recognizing diving problems and emergencies
Handling diving emergencies
Health and fitness in diving
Reading: NAUI Scuba Diver Chapters 3, 7 & 8
Pool Lab
Buoyancy control skill practice
Combination/challenge drills
Week of March 30 – April 6
Class
Class
Diving in limited visibility & at night
Diving in currents
Diving from boats
Introduction to nitrox (oxygen enriched air) diving
Reading: NAUI Scuba Diver Chapter 9 & Appendix B
Pool Lab
Combination/challenge drills & review skills
Week of April 6 – 13
Ecology of coral reef systems
Threats to the ocean ecosystems and marine environment
Your environmental responsibility as divers
Reading: NAUI Scuba Diver Chapter 8 & Appendix B
Pool Lab
Lake training dives dress rehearsal
General end-of-semester evaluation of scuba skills.
Week of April 13 – 20
Class
History of Diving
Diving with Enriched Air Nitrox
Introduction to Advanced Diving
Your Future in Diving
Pool Lab
Special: More advanced skills and
challenges. Last opportunity to make up missed labs.
Week 13
April 20 – 27
Class
Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation
Lab
CPR lab and evaluation
Meet at the
April 27
Class
General course review and
Review for Exam 2
Reading: NAUI Scuba Diver (review entire book & lecture notes)
Class only this
week. No labs.
Week 15
May 4
Course evaluation
Exam 2
Class only this
week. No labs.