This information is designed to help you study effectively before you arrive at the Eastern Academy of Scuba Education. Just follow the guidelines listed under the first course you are planning to take. Once you finish that one, move on to the next course you will be taking with us and begin your study for that one. You should do this for each course you will be taking. If there are no study guidelines listed for a particular course, then no advance preparation is required for that course.

With some courses it may seem that a lot of advanced study is required. While it is not vital to cover everything listed ahead of time, these study guidelines are what we would recommend you to follow if you have adequate time to prepare. Sometimes students come to us without any prior preparation and do well. However, while we do not want to burden you with too much studying, preparing ahead of time will enable you to more easily and effectively complete each program of study while you are here. If after reviewing the study guidelines below, you have any questions or concerns during your preparation, please do not hesitate to call us at 1-800-732-9685, if you are in the USA, or +1-772-562-8338, if calling from outside the USA, or you can also e-mail us.

PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course.

In your copy of the course manual, Adventures in Diving, read the six sections on Underwater Navigation, Deep Diving, Wreck Diving, Drift Diving, Underwater Naturalist and Boat Diving. During the course you will actually make five dives. If we can not do a Wreck Dive, we will make a Boat Dive instead. After reading about each subject, answer the Knowledge Review questions at the end of each section. It is not necessary to read any of the remaining sections or complete Knowledge Reviews at the end of those sections.

PADI Rescue Diver Course.

In your copy of the Rescue Diver Manual, read all the sections and answer all the Knowledge Review questions. Your instructor will review all the required course topics in class and set aside time to view the Rescue Diver video before you actually do the open water training exercises.

The EFR (Emergency First response) and DAN Oxygen Provider Course are also highly recommended at this point in your training. We can usually fit both the EFR and DAN Oxygen Provider courses into the allotted time for your Rescue Diver training. If you intend to take the DAN Oxygen Instructor Course, you will be required to have been certified as a DAN Oxygen Provider first. Before taking the DAN Oxygen Provider course, you should read the course manual, DAN Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries. The student materials for this course are included in the course fee and will be sent to you when you sign up for the course.

PADI Divemaster Course.

In your copy of the Divemaster Manual, read all the sections and complete the Knowledge Reviews for each topic.

To study the other academic subjects for the course you are required to have copies of both the Diving Knowledge Workbook and the Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving. To begin with, read the introduction of the workbook to see how to use it correctly. Then start working through each section, answering all the questions. You may find that you can answer many of the questions from your existing knowledge of diving, but there will also be questions which cover unfamiliar material.

Each of the five sections of the workbook is further divided up into sub-topics. At the beginning of each sub-topic you will see a box containing the word “Resources”, together with a reference to the subject in a PADI manual, such as the Encyclopedia. If you had difficulty answering the questions in a particular section, you should study the subject by reading the material recommended in the Resources box at the beginning of that section. The Encyclopedia will be your primary source of information but it is important to remember that it is a reference book, and as such, it is really not designed to be read cover to cover. So, do not over-burden yourself by trying to read the entire book. Use it as a reference book to study only those subjects you are unfamiliar with.

The Encyclopedia and the Workbook are also available in a CD-ROM version if you would prefer to study using your computer. Use the CD-ROM versions in the same way as the books described above. If you do not have a lap-top computer to bring with you to EASE so that you can use the CD-ROM during the course, you may want to consider also purchasing the book versions for use while you are here. Your instructor will review all the required course topics in class and set aside time to watch the Divemaster video during the course. It is recommended that Divemaster candidates have their own copy of the PADI Instructor Manual. If you are planning to take the IDC you may have already purchased a copy.

Divemasters should have good aquatic ability. You will be required to perform some timed watermanship evaluations including, a 400yard/meter swim, 800 yard swim with mask, snorkel and fins, and a 15 minute float. If you do not swim well, you should practice before you take the course.

Instructor Development Course (IDC).

If you are taking your Divemaster Course at EASE immediately before attending our IDC, your knowledge and skills will be brought up to the standard required for the IDC. If you took your Divemaster training elsewhere, it is important to realize that IDC candidates should have already mastered the academics and skills covered in their Divemaster course. Unfortunately, this is frequently not the case. If it is some time since you did your Divemaster training you should refresh your knowledge and skills before taking the IDC.

Firstly, go back through the Diving Knowledge Workbook, answer all the questions, and review any material you are having a problem with by referring to the Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving or other PADI diver manuals.

When you took your Divemaster course, your confined water skills should have reached demonstration quality. If your skill demonstrations and rescue skills are a little rusty, you should try to spend some time practicing in the pool before you come here.

If you are still having difficulty with some academic subjects (Physics and the Dive Tables are the most common problem areas) or you are not entirely confident about your skill demonstrations and rescue skills, you should seriously consider taking our private 1-day IDC Preparation Course. The IDC Preparation Course will alleviate your concerns and will thoroughly prepare you to enter the IDC with added confidence in academics and confined water skill demonstrations.

The main course book for the IDC is the Instructor Candidate Workbook. It is important to do some preparation for the IDC using this book before you come here. Briefly skim through each section to get an overview of what it contains. As you look through each section you will notice blank portions in the text. Do not attempt to fill in the information. It will be given to you during our classroom presentations.

However, at the front of the book is a section called "Independent Learning" which contains 16 Knowledge Reviews and it is important to complete all of these prior to starting the IDC. Instructions are provided at the top of each Knowledge Review regarding reading assignments to complete before answering the questions. These reading assignments will be from several sources including, articles in the workbook itself, the PADI Instructor Manual, or from one of four other books required for the IDC - The Best of the Undersea Journal, The Business of Diving, Children and Scuba Diving and The Law and the Diving Professional.