Has your student learned and will they remember? -

Has your student learned and will they remember?

Article by Mark Powell

As Instructors, we have the critical responsibility of teaching our students key skills that will help to keep them alive underwater. Equally, as Instructor Trainers (ITs) and Course Directors (CDs), we have the critical responsibility of teaching our instructor candidates the skills required to become effective educators themselves. However, before we focus on how others learn, it’s essential to consider a more fundamental question: When have we truly learned something?

Defining Learning: More Than Just Immediate Recall

It’s a common belief that learning is confirmed when a student gives the correct answer or successfully performs a skill after a presentation or at the end of a course. But is this enough? Can we say someone has truly learned a skill if they can perform it momentarily, only to forget it shortly after?

At SDI, we define learning as a permanent observable change in behaviour. This means that learning isn’t just about giving the right answer at a specific point in time; it’s about ensuring that knowledge is retained and applied in real-world situations, even months or years after the course has ended. As scuba instructors, our goal is to help our students retain that learning, not just for the duration of the course, but far beyond it.

Evaluating Training Effectiveness

When it comes to evaluating training effectiveness, many instructors focus on immediate reactions, often through post-course surveys. This feedback tells us whether students liked the course, but it doesn’t indicate whether they learned the material or can apply it in real life.

The Kirkpatrick Model, a popular framework for evaluating training effectiveness, breaks down evaluation into four levels:

Level 1: Reaction – How did the students feel about the course? Did they like it?
Level 2: Learning – Did the students acquire the knowledge and skills they were intended to learn?
Level 3: Behavior – Did the students apply the knowledge and skills during the course?
Level 4: Results – What changes can be observed in the student’s performance in the real world months or even YEARS later?

Evaluating Levels 1, 2, and 3 is very common, this is largely because it can be done during or at the end of a training course. However, what truly matters is Level 4: the results. The problem is that this can only be assessed long after the course has finished. As instructors, we must recognize that true learning goes beyond passing the final exam or demonstrating skills during a course—it’s about what students can do long after the course ends. A great instructor doesn’t only think about what students can do at the end of the course, but what they will be able to do six months, one year, or even two years later.

The Forgetting Curve: Why Retention Can Be a Challenge

There is a well-established concept known as the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve, which reveals a startling truth about learning retention: without reinforcement, a student may forget up to 80% of what they were taught within a few days. In fact, within one hour of learning, they may retain only 50% of the material.

An example of the forgetting curve in practice can be recreated by dividing students into two groups. The first group attended an introductory psychology course, successfully completing the whole course and passing the final exam. The second group did not have any involvement in the course. Four months after the course, both groups were given a test on the material covered in the course. The first group, who had studied and passed the course, scored on average 8 percent better on the test than the second group who had never studied the material.

This has significant implications for us as instructors. If our students remember only 20% of what we teach them, what does this mean for their ability to perform under pressure when they are outside the controlled environment of the course? The answer lies in review. Repetition and reinforcement are key to retention, and the more we encourage students to revisit and practice what they’ve learned, the better they will retain and apply those skills.

Practical vs theoretical

With diving, the situation is more complicated in that we are primarily concerned with practical skills rather than theoretical knowledge. When learning skills, there are a number of stages of learning that students go through.

Cognitive stage. The first is known as the cognitive stage. This is where the students learn the various steps involved in performing the skill so that they “know” how to perform the skill even if they cannot actually “perform” the skill. For example, it is relatively easy to explain to someone the steps involved in juggling three balls, and they may be able to repeat the steps back to you, but that does not mean they know how to juggle.

Associative stage. The next step is known as the associative stage and is where the student actually starts to “perform” the skill. In our example, they might start to try juggling and may well be able to briefly keep three balls going. However, at this stage, it will require all of their concentration, and any interruption is likely to throw them off.

Autonomous stage. The third stage is known as the autonomous stage, and this is where the student can maintain their juggling, possibly while talking or moving around.

Mastery. Some researchers define a fourth stage known as mastery. For example, if you are juggling chain saws or knives, there is no room for error, and doing this—especially while balancing on a tightrope or unicycle—would definitely display mastery.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Obviously, mastery requires a huge amount of practice, so AT what stage of learning is it reasonable to expect students to achieve mastery with regard to, say, buoyancy or mask clearing during a four-day open water course?

Would we expect them to achieve the cognitive stage during their open water course? Yes, I think anyone would agree, they certainly need to “know” the principles of buoyancy control or mask clearing.

Would we expect them to achieve associative learning? Again, yes, I think everyone would agree that all students should be able to “do” a mask clear or demonstrate buoyancy control.

What about the autonomous stage? Is it reasonable for us to expect them to do it “automatically” after a four-day open water course? In this case, I think the answer is probably no. They need to be able to do it, but it is just not reasonable or realistic to expect them to achieve the automatic behaviour required for this third stage.

If they are not going to achieve this level during an open water course, then when will they achieve it? The sad truth is that many divers do not achieve this third stage of learning. Not only that, they may even drop back to a previous stage. They still know how to do it in theory but lack the skills to perform the skill in practice. Given time, they will even forget completely how to do it. The hours of practice required to maintain their skills, let alone move from the associative stage to the autonomous stage must come with further practice that can only be achieved after the initial training has occurred.

This further practice can be achieved independently, with the diver practising with a buddy, or it can be achieved with an instructor. This is one of the main benefits of continuing education; it allows new divers to continue practising and progressing towards the autonomous level under the supervision of an instructor while adding on further skills and knowledge.

The Importance of Practice: Moving Beyond the “Okay Plateau”

In diving, just like in any other skill, there comes a point where students get to the level where they are OK but not getting any better. This is known as the “OK plateau”. Similarly, instructors, course directors and instructor trainers can fall into this trap if they do not focus on improving their teaching ability.

To move beyond the plateau, we must embrace the concept of deliberate practice. Just as learning to juggle involves moving through stages—from cognitive (understanding the theory) to associative (practicing) and finally to autonomous (mastery)—we must help our students move from understanding theory to practicing skills and, eventually, mastering them. Mastery means performing skills effortlessly in various conditions, including those that are stressful or unexpected, like zero visibility or while dealing with equipment malfunctions.

The key to mastering any skill is consistent, deliberate practice, not just practicing until you get it right but practicing until you can’t get it wrong. This mindset should be instilled in your students to ensure that they don’t just “do” skills—they do them confidently and reliably, regardless of the circumstances.

Avoiding Skill Fade: Use it or Lose It

Skill fade is the gradual decline in proficiency or expertise within a particular skill set due to a lack of regular practice or use. In other words, even if you gain a skill, you will quickly lose that skill if you do not keep up regular practice.

If you have only just learned a skill and have managed to only get to the point where you are barely proficient at it then it will not take much skill fade for your performance to drop to an unacceptable level.

This means that one of the most important lessons an instructor can give their students is the importance of regular practice. With practice they will continue to improve and get better but without practice their skills will gradually fade and they will become less and less able to perform key skills and emergency procedures.

Does This Apply to Instructors as well?

Even highly skilled individuals can experience a decrease in their abilities if they don’t actively maintain them over time. It might take longer but it will still happen. As instructors, we must remember that teaching is also a skill that requires constant practice and development. How many of us are stretching our own teaching abilities? Are we truly keeping ourselves updated and evolving as instructors? Like our students, we must avoid the trap of skill fade—where our teaching abilities deteriorate over time if we don’t actively maintain and refine them.

As instructors we must also recognize the importance of staying active in our own teaching practice. If you haven’t taught a high-level course recently, or if it’s been a while since you’ve taught certain skills, you might be at risk of skill fade. It’s critical to teach regularly to keep your skills sharp and stay up-to-date with best practices. If you haven’t taught at your highest level in over two years, for example, this could be a signal to dive back in and refresh your teaching.

But I’m a Course Director or Instructor Trainer – I’m Above All Of This

If you are a course director or instructor trainer but haven’t taught an instructor course in a while or haven’t taught an instructor course at your highest level recently, consider this: teaching skills fade if not practiced regularly, even at the highest levels. If it’s been months or even years since you’ve taught at your highest level, then it’s likely that your teaching skills could be slipping. This is why it’s important for course directors and instructor trainers to continually assess their own skills and, when needed, refresh their knowledge and practice.

This is why the SDI standards state

Instructors, Course Directors, and Instructor Trainers must teach a course at their highest level every 2 years from the date they last taught that course. If a course is not taught within that two-year period, teaching status for that level will be inactive and the instructor or IT must attend an update to regain active status for that level.

Conclusion: Empowering Our Students

At the end of the day, our job as instructors is not just to teach students how to perform skills but to teach them how to practice and retain what they’ve learned. By incorporating deliberate practice techniques, continuous evaluation, and self-reflection into our teaching methodology, we can help our students become better divers. Moreover, we must remember that, as instructors, course directors and instructor trainers we also need to practice what we preach—consistently improving our own teaching techniques to ensure we remain effective and impactful in the long term.

Reflect on your own practice. Are you continually improving as an instructor, or are you on the path to the “okay plateau”? When did you last push yourself to improve your teaching skills? When did you last teach at your highest level? When did you last teach an instructor course? The journey to mastery is ongoing—for both us and our students.

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