What to Expect on the SSI Instructor Evaluation

What should you expect to happen at the SSI Instructor Evaluation (also known as the IE)? You’ve completed your SSI ITC and are now ready for the final verification by SSI that you are a diving instructor.

We often comment that IE stands for “It’s Easy”. It should be if you have prepared right over the ITC and working with your SSI Instructor Trainer.

The SSI Instructor Evaluation in Kenya is normally spread over two days and is conducted by a SSI Instructor Certifier from the SSI office.

WHAT IS THE SSI INSTRUCTOR EVALUATION SCHEDULE?

The SSI Instructor Exam is split into 4 components:

1. Written exams
2. Classroom Presentation
3. Confined Water Teaching
4. Open Water Teaching

Written Exams

The written exam is a 100-question multiple choice exam split between SSI training standards and dive theory. This includes knowledge of dive physics, dive physiology, dive equipment, ecology, dive skills and decompression theory, tables, and planning. The training standards part is an open book, meaning you get to use your SSI Instructor Manual. This is because as an SSI Instructor, you should know where to locate training standards and can teach properly. You don’t need to memorize every standard just need to know where to find it in the instructor materials.

Classroom Presentation

You will give a classroom presentation, demonstrating how to use SSI materials to help students struggling with a concept in their dive course knowledge section. During the IE Orientation, evaluators will assign you a question from an SSI course exam or quiz to answer.

You will use the SSI teaching materials including lesson guides, manuals, and digital products such as the SSI app and Digital Learning to teach your fellow IE candidates. Your presentation will last 10-15 minutes, depending on the depth of the content you need to teach. You will use SSI materials to explain the concept, interact with students, and provide real-life examples of how they will apply the information.

During the SSI ITC, YOUR Instructor Trainer will teach you the best strategies to prepare for this presentation, ensuring you can achieve a high score.

If you don’t pass on your first attempt, you can try again with a new question.

Confined Water Teaching

The confined water teaching section of the SSI IE is split into two sections.

The first is that you will teach a skill in confined water from an SSI Course. You will brief and then demonstrate the skill then evaluate your “students” performance of it. The students will be assigned deliberate problems for you to identify and correct. Once you are happy they’ve done it correctly you end the water session and debrief them. During the Ocean Tribe SSI ITC you will run through many presentations to get you familiar with the scoring system and format to use.

The second section of confined water teaching on the SSI IE is to assess whether your dive skills are of demonstration quality. You will be assigned 3 skills from the Open Water Diver course including an emergency skill to demonstrate.

Open Water Teaching

The Open Water teaching section of the SSI IE is split between an Open Water teaching presentation.

In the open water teaching presentation, you will teach two skills from the SSI open water diver course. You will set up the training site and brief your divers and assistants about the way the session will operate. The students will be assigned deliberate problems for you to identify and correct. Once you are happy they’ve done it correctly you end the water session and debrief them. During the Ocean Tribe SSI ITC, you will run through many presentations to get familiar with the scoring system and format to use.

You will also complete an expert level demonstration of a rescue bringing the diver up and assisting and unconscious diver on the surface.

What if I fail a section of the SSI Instructor Evaluation?

In the unlikely event of failing one or more of the segments described above, you would only have to return to a later IE to retake the segment/s you failed. The approx cost of retaking a segment is 250 euros

How much does the SSI Instructor Evaluation Cost?

The whole SSI IE costs 500 euros and this fee is included in your Instructor Training Course package.

If in the unlikely event, you do have to retake a module of the Instructor Evaluation then it is 250 for a repetition