Driving Instructor or Amateur Psychologist?

How much can instructors be reasonably expected to understand about the psychology of their pupils?

Following on from my last post about unit 6.4.1. of the NSDRT document we focus on the knowledge and understanding requirements of minimising risk. This segment would have been much more helpful to instructors if it had some some reference materials listed so we could obtain the specialist knowledge required to fulfill the new criteria. I'm sure you'll see what I mean.

   We must know and understand the signs that a learner's fitness may be impaired by alcohol, drugs or prescription medicines. How do we do this? Apart from using your eyes and ears, combined with the gut feeling you get from experience I don't think there's a lot to go on. Pupils are regularly tired, irritable or have other things on their mind which all adversely effect driving performance. When a pupil gives the signs of any of these I ask if they are OK to drive and I suggest we make the lesson less demanding than previously planned. The signs would be more or less the same if a pupil was under the influence of drink or drugs. So what specific signs are we looking for?

   Item b) tells us we must know the signs that a learner may be suffering from a physical or psychological condition making them unfit for the lesson. This includes conditions that the learner may be unaware of or trying to hide. We are not trained doctors, we are driving instructors. How am I supposed to know that a person has a psychological condition they are unaware of? This is not my field of expertise and I find it unfair that these requirements are being imposed on us without any real support. Physical conditions would be easier to spot but you would hope the learner would be aware this and not try to hide it.

   What do you do if you believe a learner is unfit to be trained or has a permanent physical or psychological condition they have not revealed. I would stop the lesson certainly. Other than that I would talk to them as best I could given my skills and experience as a driving instructor. Other than that I don't know where to acquire the specialist knowledge the document seems to hint at.

   Knowing how far you are responsible for the health and safety of yourself and others is somewhat abstract. How far and on what scale? What is the criteria for this. We know we are sharing responsibility so we're not 100% responsible. How far is too far or not enough? This item doesn't make sense to me.

   Knowing what action we can take and how to use dual controls brings us back into the real world. I expect we all know how to use dual controls and move the steering wheel etc. They're the basics of our everyday working lives. I've had a problem with a small number of clients when it comes to feedback on risk-related issues provoking a fear based response. Some learners and their parents just don't want to know about real life and expect to drive around as if in a huge ball of protective cotton wool. This is unacceptable. We've got to make people aware of the risk or we are not doing our jobs properly. If you're old enough to drive then you're old enough to deal with the issues around driving I say.

   Once I encountered deliberate behaviour that placed us at risk. A disturbed young man aimed the car at a lamp post before swearing at me. Don't know why he did it. He just exploded in rage. I kept calm, drove him home and made sure we were all square money wise. I bade him goodbye and left. That's all you can do really. We must demonstrate consistent attitudes ourselves so when we do say something of a serious nature it is not taken as being frivolous. I've enjoyed writing this post. I feel I've got a lot off my chest.

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Managing Risk on Driving Lessons

Maintain Command of the on-road environment.

I was going to write about the unit on teaching in groups but that stuff just isn't for me. I find it all a bit uncomfortable to be honest and wouldn't be in a position to comment. Much more appealing to me is unit 6.4.1. which is all about Managing the on-road environment to minimise risk. A subject dear to all our hearts or we wouldn't even be here.

   In the performance standards column we find we must be able to take reasonable steps to make sure that the learner is fit to take the lesson and what to do if they aren't. You'd think that learners would not go out on Friday if they have a lesson on Saturday morning but with some this is not the case. You can tell as soon as they start moving the seat and setting up that something isn't right. I keep a close eye on things and usually it all becomes obvious very quickly. Recently I asked a pupil what time he'd been up drinking til and it was 4.00am. Lesson is at 8.30 so probably over the limit. Time to end the lesson there before we set off and get into trouble. Perhaps driving instructors should be able to legally breathalyse pupils if they suspect that they are under the influence of alcohol? Red eyes and wavy steering is probably cannabis as it was one Saturday morning. 3 hours of sleep and plenty of joints the night before is not good prep for a driving lesson. I always let them know they will have to pay for the lesson as I drive them home.

   Making sure a learner understands how you will share responsibility for the safety of themselves, the instructor and other road users is a tricky one,. It all depends what stage they are at and the subject being taught. The level of responsibility shared with the learner could go up and down depending on the environment and experience of the subject. As the learner gains in competence they will take on a greater share until they eventually reach total responsibility upon passing the test. Too much responsibility too soon can be detrimental to the learning process whereas too little too late can lead to a sense of stagnation and boredom. Sometimes leading to the pupil finding another instructor.

   Clear instructions and directions are the very basics of the job and I don't think many instructors would have difficulty with this. I like to become a bit less formal if I've got to know a pupil but I like to maintain clarity. Explaining when we may jump in with instructions or helping with the controls is good to explain just before the first move off. It goes a long way to helping the learner feel safe. 

  Staying one step ahead of the learner is paramount so we need to scan the environment for hazards and keep the other eye on what the pupil is doing and providing training inputs at the same time. No wonder it's a tiring day. This can all be done with ease after a few years of experience. Because we are so alert and on it we can take timely action when there is a hazard that the learner is not aware of. Simply bringing it to their attention should be enough. Physical intervention or talk through will be required when we encounter a hazard that the pupil does not know how to deal with.

   We need to take a client-centred approach to all this so the pupil is better equipped to deal with the hazards independently should they crop up again. If the learner becomes unfit to drive then timely action is required. I ask the pupil if they are ok and invite them to end the lesson themselves if they feel they can't go on. It's not often this happens but the learner has always communicated a sense of relief knowing they can stop when they want. The requirement to record specific details of situations and the risks that arise occurs more in fleet training I find. The assessment form should record such details to present to the company and to help the driver to deal with the hazards safely in the future. More next time.

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The Coach Has Arrived

It's the one we've all been waiting for!

I've been looking forward to this particular unit of the National standard for driver and rider training. 6.3.1 deals with the subject of coaching which is the most important single element of the new approach for my mind. Funnily enough this unit is a lot shorter than some of the others which didn't seem to be dealing with much. Let's take a look.

   Driving instructors must be able to listen when the learner tells us about the obstacles they experience that prevent them from applying  practical driving skills and understanding the theory. I find that this takes a bit more than listening. Sometimes a little bit of questioning is required to find the obstacles. Often the learners themselves do not know where the obstacles are coming from. I recently had a pupil trying to drive through red lights and never knew what the speed limit was. After a question and answer session it turns out he used to ride a motorbike and that's the reason that he stares at the road surface. He is so used to looking for potholes and things as you do on a bike. Once the problem is brought into awareness then we are in a position to put things right.

  Sometimes learners are embarrassed to say what the problem is. Pupils who have been involved in a crash which has left them feeling nervous seem loath to admit it. This happened recently with a pupil of mine who burst into tears recounting the crash. When she saw there was no ridicule or judgement coming from me then she calmed down and the driving improved. Pupils who have difficulty reading may not wish to admit it which can lead to problems passing the theory test. Simply listening without judgement can be the most powerful way to help learners overcome obstacles.

   Working with the learner is the main thrust of coaching rather than just telling them things. We need to help them reflect on their experience of the lessons. How our feedback is helping them or not and also the feedback of other training providers. If the pupil feels that a previous instructor has been unduly harsh or critical it can be a problem. The instructor may not have been harsh but if the learner thinks they were then that is what makes the obstacle. I find feedback must contain at least a couple of positives even if the actual driving performance on the lesson was poor. Parents can also give unguarded criticism which can destroy confidence. Again, talking it through seems to work wonders.

   Some pupils are reluctant to take ownership of their learning and actively want the instructor to be in charge right up to the test. I tell my pupils I am teaching them to be independent and the worst thing an instructor can do is make a learner reliant on them. As soon as they are ready we've got to transfer the responsibility. Not forgetting that at all times we are responsible for the safety of ourselves, learners and other road users.

  When it comes to formal assessment I take it this means the driving test. I always agree with the pupil when it's time to book it. I never recommend me going out on the test with them. It's not something I enjoy but I let the pupil know I will go out if they want me to. It's mostly people from overseas who want me out on the test it seems. After the test we need to help the learner reflect on the outcome. This is more important if they failed so we know what needs to be done in order to pass next time. A high degree of positivity is needed so they don't give up altogether. Most instructors will already be practising the recommendations in this module I would say. Next up is the unit all about group based learning. Not something I've ever done but worth a look nonetheless.

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Lets Have a Demonstration!

Demonstrations are an important part of driver training.

In unit 6.3.2. of the National standard for driver and rider training we look how to explain and demonstrate skills and techniques. This unit will seem familiar to most driving instructors who do this sort of thing every day. Like most instructors I mainly give demonstrations when it comes to manoeuvres or junctions unless I think there's a need to demonstrate on another subject. I find pupils are reluctant to request a demonstration so I always tell them I'm happy to demonstrate anything they want if they think it will help.

   \Regarding the performance standards of this unit we must be able to select suitable locations for a demonstration. Pretty easy if it's a manoeuvre. The suitability of a location would seem to be obvious. If you want to demonstrate roundabouts then it will have to be where the roundabouts are. However the difficulty level of the location must be taken into account. What may be manageable for the instructor may be too demanding for the pupil.

   We must provide timely and appropriate explanations and demonstrations of the required skills. Most of the time this is simply talking yourself through the subject while you put it into practice in front of the pupil. Sometimes it pays to perform the skill a little slower than if it was a natural drive to allow for a clearer talk through. I like to do one with just me talking and then see if the learner has any questions. I'll then do a second demonstration based on what has been asked. That way it's not just me showing off that I can do it.

   We must make sure that the learner understands any theory that links to the demonstration. I find the best time to demo something is right after a briefing with a diagram. That way the info is still fresh in the pupil's mind. After the demo we need to make sure that learners have enough opportunity to practice. No point doing a demonstration at the end of the lesson. As the learner practices we need to give feedback. This is a more straightforward unit as the vast majority of driving instructors will be putting these things into practice anyway.

   Where possible we need to be able to encourage learners to practice in a structured way outside of lessons during private practice. To facilitate this I made videos which can be watched on You Tube. Each video contains an explanation and a demonstration for that particular topic. That way learners can remind themselves in between lessons. parents and other accompanying drivers can also check that they are teaching the right stuff. Next time we will be looking at the element on coaching. Should prove interesting.

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The Car is the Classroom

There are things we must know and understand.

Continuing with our look at Element 6.3.1. of the National standard for driver and rider training we must not hesitate to take a look at our knowledge and understanding of teaching driving head on. To kick off we need to make sure we are communicating properly with our pupils. With more people from overseas taking lessons it's important that we can assist in getting through the language barrier. Making eye contact is something I approach with a small amount of caution. Some people just don't like it. In a car our faces are pretty close together and it can seem a little threatening or overwhelming to some. It's good to offer eye contact and if the pupil does not reciprocate I just stop doing it and look at the diagrams instead. Worst of all are the ones who make eye contact while the car is moving at speed. I find this a bit scary and address the issue at once.

   Using consistent language is a good way to start a course of lessons. Especially when it comes to giving directions or referring to the controls. I like to keep these consistent but it's often better to talk to the pupil naturally once you have got to know them I think. Relating to people informally at times can help deepen the instructor pupil relationship. All my reviews come from the people I got chatty with rather than just using instructor language. It's all about adapting to your pupil. 

   When it comes to breaking subjects down and using diagrams I'm a big fan. I don't really consider a subject covered unless there's been some diagrammatic input but that's just me. I find that questions go hand in hand with a diagram. Inviting the pupil to draw on it to show what they think is a good technique.
   Setting out guidelines on acceptable behaviour in the car is not something I have considered doing. Most people behave themselves and I think I'd find it a bit patronising towards the client. What would be unacceptable behaviour anyway? You can't tell people how to dress or what words are unacceptable really. I suppose poor behaviour means smoking and eating. I'll allow for cigarette breaks during lessons if that's what the pupil wants but not in the car. Don't bring chips either.
   We are really entering the new age of awareness with the next item which is the effect of our own assumptions on particular groups and how they effect our ability to deliver effective learning. I am so guilty of doing this but like to think that I still do the job properly. There are certain areas of town where I pick people up who look a certain way and I'm already deciding that this is going nowhere. I'll just turn up one day and they won't be in. Not even bothering to call and cancel. Unfortunately these gut feelings often turn out to be true. As we are all people there will be these unspoken assumptions. It's part of who we are and how we view the world. I think if you are aware of your attitude towards others then it's quite easy to get round it and deliver a worthwhile lesson.
  There are a few more points which either repeat what has already been said or simply read as management gibberish before we reach the last point about exterior influences on the learner's attitude. This can be a big problem and unfortunately often comes from parents. They only had a certain number of lessons so that's all they're willing to pay for which makes me rush things. I've said something about real life driving and danger which has upset their precious offspring. it's stuff they need to know and if they can't handle a bit of reality then they shouldn't be driving at all. I have a job to do to produce safe and intelligent drivers and I aren't going to do it by avoiding the real life issues. So there. Next time we move on to the next element which is all about skills and techniques. Should be good.

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A Change in Climate for Driver Training

Create a positive relationship with learner drivers.

I've got to say since I started studying the National Standard document and began putting it's ideas into practice I have really enjoyed how it's changing the way I deliver lessons. My pupils seem to respond well to the client centred approach and it's made for some very enjoyable sessions. Maybe it really does work. This week I'm into unit 6.3.1. Let's have a look at what it's all about.

   Learners who are not actually engaged in the learning process and just sit there absorbing information are not equipped to drive safely after the test it seems. I can understand that. Get people thinking for themselves and you're on to a winner. The performance standards section tells us that we must establish an efffective method of communication, verbal or otherwise that is free from discrimination. This may mean avoiding words which could be taken the wrong way or be considered offensive. This can be a bit of a minefield in these times of everyone taking offense at the least little thing. Any good instructor should be able to talk to someone and be able to avoid areas which may become tricky. If you stick to talking about driving then not much can go wrong really. I'd say the main danger is when the instructor and learner enter into general conversation.

 We must not exploit learners and collude in risky behaviour or attitudes. I've had a few young male drivers who have tended to brag about their illegal driving days and the things they got up to. I try to be diplomatic about this. Challenging attitudes about speed limits and driving under the influence of drink or drugs need to be handled with care so the atmosphere in the car does not become confrontational. If a learner decides that they don't like the way you talk to them they will just go elsewhere for their lessons. This is obviously bad for business. If you can bring them on side and make them think then they are more likely to accept good advice and refer you to other people.

   The learner must understand the requirements of the learning programme. I take it this means the DVSA learning to drive syllabus. On the odd occasion I have recommended  the Driving the Essential Skills book but the uptake on people reading this is very low indeed. Pupils tend to think that the instructor knows what to deliver and they just accept that this will happen. I like to make sure that the learner knows that we work in partnership as they learn to drive and this does help create a friendlier atmosphere. It works wonders with pupils who may have a problem with authority and generally being told what to do.

  The learner needs to understand what other opportunities and resources are available for them to include in their learning process. This I think means guidance when practising with parents or using online materials outside their formal lessons. You Tube videos are becoming increasingly popular in this regard. When it comes to practising with parents there can be a sometimes be a problem with conflicting information. On occasion I have had a chat with parents who were simply teaching out of date methods. It's a long time since they took their test and they too can benefit as they help their children to drive.

   I like to write my notes on the lesson at the end of the session in the car and include the learner in the process. This gives a level of transparency and grows trust with the pupil in my experience. This way I am explaining how I monitor and evaluate the training and gives me a chance to agree on the content of the next lesson, fulfilling item 8 in the column. All good stuff this. Next time I'll be looking at the knowledge requirements for this module.

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The Joy Of Designing Learning Programmes

It's all about knowledge and understanding the requirements of Unit 6.2.

This has been a week of study of the National standard for driver and rider training document. Well, not every hour of every day but you know what I mean. Looking in the right hand column of unit 2 we see that item a) tells us we must know and understand the relevant National driving or riding standard. So by reading it I am fulfilling this condition at the same time. That's good to know.

   Moving along we see that we must understand the requirements of acquiring a licence for the tuition vehicle which is straight forward enough. Next item regards the requirements of any formal post test training. I would think this means either Pass Plus or an advanced driving test with one of the motoring organisations such as Diamond or RoSPA. If you are registered as a Pass Plus instructor then all the information is in the pack. I would think many driving instructors will belong to an advanced driving organisation and so should have some knowledge of post test training.

   We need to understand a range of prior-learning inputs and how to feature them in how the learner is taught. Does this mean experience of riding a bike? I suppose practise taken with parents would count as a prior-learning input, as would any study for the theory test. Anything previously experienced that has anything to do with driving could be used in some way or another. It can boost a learners confidence to think they already know something which will help them to drive. 

    Cultural and religious factors must be taken into consideration when arranging driving lessons. Some people may not be able to attend on certain days. I had a refresher lesson on a Saturday with a client who recognised the Sabbath. He could have his lesson but couldn't pay for it. I just waited a couple of days to get paid. No problem. When it comes to fasting there can be some disruption. driving performance does deteriorate when people are fasting in my experience. People get up early to eat before sunrise so lack of sleep can factor into the equation.

  If people don't want to make eye contact then that's fine by me. Sometimes it's a cultural issue. It's not something I insist on and I never find it rude if people don't look at me when I'm speaking. What worries me more is people who do make eye contact when they are driving the moving car. I always advise to look at the road and speak. People from some cultural backgrounds do not like to contradict the teacher. I find questions a good way around this. Answering a question honestly is not actually contradiction even if the answer is a different view from the one expressed by the teacher.

  I don't know of anyone who uses psychometric tools. But we must understand the ethical issues it says here. Where does one go to study these issues? I'm sceptical of these things anyway. People have a certain view of themselves which is personal to them. When this view is combined with a subconscious desire to please or at least be correct the data acquired simply can't be accurate.I can't see much scope for it's use in driver training.

  Now we come to the section on learning programmes. Like many instructors I don't work from written plans or pre-prepared programmes specific to the learner. I make notes and refer to them, sure. The actual lesson content follows the learning to drive syllabus but apart from that the lessons are shaped by what occurs during the drive. Not according to a plan I wrote the night before. Plans change anyway as you respond to your learner's needs. This was an issue on the check test where the instructor would be expected to shift the focus of the lesson if that is what was needed according to the situation at the time. It's all about flexibility.

   Fostering good relationships with parents is important should the need arise. I must admit I very rarely meet or speak to parents. What I like to do though is regularly monitor and review my pupil's progress. I will shape future lessons on the result of these reviews but it's not like I rewrite a learning programme. The instructor, the pupil and the driving test syllabus is the learning programme and everything else stems from this. Have a read of the document to see what else this section says as I'll be moving on to unit 3 next time. Ciao.

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