 Danny Gibson
Carlisle NEW I would like to thank Graham Hooper and Susan McCormack for such a well delivered BTEC LEVEL 4 course. I could call Sue or Graham and they would happily answer any of my questions to help me develop client centred learning for my course work but most importantly to develop this with my students. For those who might be reading this if you are in two minds weather to go on this course, don't think about it too much just do it you will not be disappointed, just be opened minded and please believe me your mind will be opened even more. Sue and Graham really help you all the way through the year course which I've now completed and passed. So I would like to thank Sue and Graham and the whole of the TRI-COACHING TEAM.  "Here is the sixth in a series of articles I have written on the subject of driving instructor training, first published in The Intelligent Instructor magazine.
I hope you enjoy it." My last article focused on the EU projects that have influenced thinking in the UK and resulted in the DVSA National Standards. This article will take a look at the DVSA National Standard for Safe and Responsible Driving. As I said in last month’s article, driving cannot be seen as an isolated, skills-based task, but rather, as one that considers the specific purpose of the journey as well as the goals for life and skills for living of the individual carrying out the driving task. In this respect, the Standard for Safe and Responsible Driving goes far and beyond the practical driving test and requires that the driver understands their role and responsibility as a qualified driver. There are six Roles in the DVSA National Standard for Safe and Responsible Driving: Role 1 – Prepare vehicle and its occupants for a journey Role 2 – Guide and control the vehicle Role 3 – Use the road in accordance with the Highway Code Role 4 – Drive safely and responsibly in the traffic system Role 5 – Review and adjust behaviour over lifetime Role 6 – Demonstrate developed skills, knowledge and understanding The Standard applies to driving: · all types of vehicle covered by driving licence category B · manual and automatic vehicles · on any type of road · at any time · in any weather conditions · with any number of passengers (staying within the law and the manufacturer’s specification) · with any load (staying within the law and the manufacturer’s specification) · for private use and for commercial purposes (staying within the law) Roles 1 to 5 set out the standard needed to get a category B driving licence and continue lifelong learning. Role 6 sets out the standard needed to drive more safely and efficiently. It will help reduce risk and costs, especially if you: · carry passengers · drive a lot · drive in varied conditions It is useful if you want to: · drive vans or minibuses for a job or as a volunteer (staying within the law) · accompany a learner driver (staying within the law) · train to be a driving instructor · provide other driver training · work in a job that requires driving a car or light van Linked to the Standard is the DVSA National Safe and Responsible Driving Syllabus, which consists of four Units: Unit 1 – Prepare a vehicle and its occupants for a journey Unit 2 – Guide and control a vehicle Unit 3 – Driving a vehicle in accordance with The Highway Code Unit 4 – Drive safely and efficiently This Syllabus aims to provide a structured approach to gaining the skills, knowledge and understanding to be a safe and responsible road-user in this class of vehicle. Drivers who fully engage with the programme of study and training that this Syllabus supports will be able to demonstrate: · their knowledge and understanding of the theory of safe driving · their ability to apply their theoretical knowledge and understanding while driving · their ability to reflect on their own driving performance and to recognise the need to take remedial action if needed The underpinning research indicates that the process of learning to drive safely and responsibly needs to be approached in a joined-up way if it is to be successful. Therefore it is important that drivers and trainers do not see these units as ‘boxes’ that can be ‘ticked-off’ one-by-one and in isolation. The route taken through the material by each learner may differ. It is important that learners and trainers all understand that a driver can only be said to be competent when they understand how the content of the units fits together. In developing the National Standard for Driving™ the DVSA has made the assumption that further improvements in road-safety will follow if newly qualified drivers can: · develop a greater awareness of the risks associated with driving · learn to actively reflect on their own driving performance and take steps to improve where they see areas that require further development To support these objectives the DVSA believes that the learning-to-drive process should be ‘client-centred’. This means that there should be an emphasis on transferring ownership of the learning process to the client at the earliest possible stage. Some ADIs seem to believe that a syllabus for teaching someone to drive is a list of topics that should be gone through systematically. Actually, it is easier to work from the DVSA National Syllabus and then use the topic as a platform, on which to build and develop the skills needed to drive safely and responsibly. As driving instructors, we need to deliver great lessons that are built around Lesson Planning, Risk Management and Teaching and Learning Strategies. First and foremost, learner drivers need to work towards a goal. Once the goal has been identified and agreed, the structure of the lesson and the appropriate route will follow, which naturally leads to a division of the responsibility for risk. The teaching and learning strategies will encourage the learner driver to reflect on their own performance and determine the need to take remedial action. Reflection is one of the most important aspects to improving road safety because if a newly qualified driver can recognise a ‘near miss’ and take steps to avoid something similar happening again, they are more likely to remain crash-free. My next article will look at the DVSA National Standard for Driver and Rider Training. Susan McCormack  "Here is the fifth in a series of articles I have written on the subject of driving instructor training, first published in The Intelligent Instructor magazine.
I hope you enjoy it." With the DVSA announcing that the Part 3 will be replaced with a Standards Check-style assessment, this series of articles continues to explore how we train people to be driving instructors and the knock-on effects of this training on teaching people to drive and, ultimately, on road safety. The last article followed on from the earlier ones in this series and considered what makes a great trainer. There are five essential communication skills: Rapport, Listening, Questioning, Feedback and Intuition. When you measure yourself against these skills, you will be able to self-develop and ensure you are delivering great lessons. This article and the next two will focus on the DVSA National Standards. Up until recently, there were three National Standards: 1. The DVSA National Standard for safe and responsible driving 2. The DVSA National Standard for developed driving competence 3. The DVSA National Standard for driver and rider training Now, there are just two standards as the second one has been combined with the first one: 1. The DVSA National Standard for safe and responsible driving 2. The DVSA National Standard for driver and rider training Where do they come from? The DVSA National Standards are based on key projects from Europe over the past 30 years, notably: · GADGET (Guarding Automobile Drivers through Guidance, Education and Technology). ‘Research in the field of driver behaviour was boosted in the late-90s through the EU GADGET project. Part of its research culminated in the development of a matrix which identified goals for driver education. This research was based on risk factors gleaned from novice driver accidents and on existing research which identified the operational, tactical and strategic levels of driver behaviour. The GDE matrix identifies 4 levels of driver behaviour: the operational, tactical, strategic and lifestyle/personality levels and the knowledge and skills required on each one (including risk factors and an ability to perceive one’s strengths and weaknesses at each level). Benchmarking the goals for driver education from the GDE matrix with most countries’ driver licensing systems leads to one basic conclusion: current driver training and testing focuses primarily on the lower levels of driver behaviour, namely the operational and tactical levels (vehicle control and driving in traffic), and fails to address the higher levels of behaviour (trip-related issues and the influence of personality and lifestyle). Another shortcoming is a failure to encourage the learner driver’s independent decision-making and self-evaluation capabilities.’ · MERIT (Minimum European Requirements for driving Instructor Trainers) ‘The MERIT project attempts to address the weaknesses identified in the GADGET report by recommending training and quality assurance of driving instructors based on a holistic approach for developing safe driving competencies, based on all levels and cells of the GDE matrix. Some of the training issues relate to psychological insight into learners and young adults; it should be stressed, however, that the future instructor does not have to be a fully qualified psychologist to be able to address these issues in training. MERIT’s recommendations include training for driving instructors on the higher levels of the GDE matrix, and on a range of teaching methods, including coaching, to improve the effectiveness of driving tuition.’ · HERMES (High impact approach for Enhancing Road safety through More Effective communication Skills) ‘The HERMES project began in March 2007 and was finished in February 2010. Its main aim is to create a short 3-5 day training course for driving instructors to allow them to develop their ‘coaching’ skills. In addition, a number of coaching scenarios have been developed to enable instructors to coach in on-road training, track training and the classroom, and to meet a wide range of goals in the driver education process. HERMES builds on a number of different EU projects in the driver training field which recognise the need for: • less reliance on short-term instructional methods which tend to help learners to pass the driving test, and more focus on active-learning methods to prepare learners for solo driving and to foster ongoing learning after the test • more focus on the higher levels of the GDE matrix in driver training (personality factors, self-awareness, emotions, different trip-related contexts for novice drivers and their motives for driving). This project also comes at a time when various countries are optimising their driver training curricula and taking into account the goals outlined in the GDE matrix. These countries, while changing their curricula, have also identified a need for a corresponding change in the way driving instructors conduct the training.’ What is clear from these three projects is the influence on the DVSA National Standards, both for safe and responsible driving; and for driver and rider training. Both standards focus on the importance of a holistic approach to driver training that encompasses the higher levels of the GDE and also develops self-evaluation skills, so that newly qualified drivers will be able to make safe choices and decisions about their driving. In this way, driving cannot be seen as an isolated, skills-based task, but rather, as one that considers the specific purpose of the journey as well as the goals for life and skills for living of the individual carrying out the driving task. My next two articles will each focus on one of the DVSA National Standards. References: EU GADGET Report EU MERIT Report EU HERMES Report Susan McCormack  "Here is the fourth in a series of articles I have written on the subject of driving instructor training, first published in The Intelligent Instructor magazine.
I hope you enjoy it." With the DVSA announcing that the Part 3 will be replaced with a Standards Check-style assessment, this series of articles continues to explore how we train people to be driving instructors and the knock-on effects of this training on teaching people to drive and, ultimately, on road safety. The last article looked at what makes a great lesson and discovered it was no coincidence that the vital ingredients in a great lesson happened to be the very ones being assessed in the Standards Check and the new Part 3: Lesson Planning, Teaching and Learning Strategies, Risk Management. This article follows on from the earlier ones in this series and considers what makes a great trainer. There are five essential communication skills: Rapport, Listening, Questioning, Feedback and Intuition. When you measure yourself against these skills, you will be able to self-develop and ensure you are delivering great lessons. Rapport The relationship between the learner and the instructor – or the trainee driving instructor and the trainer – is fundamental to ensuring learning takes place and value for money is given. The relationship needs to be client-centred, equal and based on the understanding that learning comes from within. This is very different from the traditional hierarchy between learner and instructor (trainee and trainer) where the relationship was based on the belief that learning takes place through a transfer of knowledge from the expert to the person doing the learning. To create this equal relationship, the trainer needs to use non-verbal communication skills, such as eye contact, nodding, smiling and matching body language. Above all, the trainer must have unconditional positive regard for the other person. Listening To maintain the rapport, the instructor must actively listen and work hard to remain on the agenda of the learner. Active listening involves: · Repeating back Try repeating the exact words the person has used. Sometimes, it is only necessarily to repeat the last two words and make them into a question, to encourage the person to keep speaking. For example: Trainer: ‘What would you like to do today?’ Trainee: ‘I’m not sure.’ Trainer: ‘Not sure?’ · Paraphrasing Repeating the words the person has spoken but putting some interpretation on them will also encourage the person to continue speaking. For example: Trainer: ‘What would you like to do today?’ Trainee: ‘I’ve been practising my commentary and trying to watch other people’s driving since I last saw you. I don’t know whether listening to my commentary or seeing if I have learned anything from watching people’s driving would be a good idea?’ Trainer: ‘Okay, so if I’ve understood you correctly, you would like to demonstrate your commentary and pupil observation skills so that we can discuss the progress you have made since practising this at home. Is that correct?’ Questions Asking questions will enhance learning, providing they are focused on the individual’s development. Often, we ask questions as driving instructors to check knowledge, rather than asking questions that are focused on developing critical thinking skills in the individual. Here are some examples: ‘How have you been getting on since we last met?’ ‘Are you able to fit in your studying and practising with your home and work life?’ ‘Do you know how you learn best?’ ‘What do you need to get out of today’s session to advance your understanding of what is involved in being a driving instructor?’ ‘What do you need to get out of today to be able to continue practising at home?’ ‘How can I support you?’ All of the above questions are far more effective than anything to do with knowledge and information. Feedback The purpose of feedback is to develop self-evaluation skills in the trainee or learner. Understanding how you learn best, what strengths and weaknesses you have, and how your emotional state affects your ability to learn, are key skills. Scaling is a very effective form of feedback because it raises this sort of self-awareness. For example: ‘On a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is no good and 10 is very good, where would you put yourself for the progress you are making in learning to drive / becoming a driving instructor?’ ‘What have you done well to give yourself that score?’ ‘How do you need to develop?’ ‘What support do you need from me?’ ‘How will you feel when you have succeeded?’ Eliciting (drawing out) the feedback from the person learning is far more effective than giving your opinion on their progress or achievement. Sometimes, it is necessary to give your feedback because this helps the other person benchmark themselves and sets a standard – so long, as the standard you are using is not the test - practical L test or Part 3. Intuition This essential communication skill is hugely underestimated in its relevance to client-centred learning. Only when we use our intuition can we recognise whether effective learning is taking place. If the trainee driving instructor suddenly appears disengaged from their learning, you are wasting your time and theirs. Often, this is about noticing a mismatch between their body language and what they are saying. Are they suffering from task overload and no longer able to process the huge amount of information that is being given to them? Change tactic and re-focus your training on their learning. Remember, it makes no difference who you are teaching – whether a learner, fleet driver or trainee instructor – you need to deliver a great lesson around lesson planning, risk management and teaching and learning strategies; and to do this, you need to use five essential communication skills: Rapport, Listening, Questions, Feedback and Intuition. My next article will look at the DVSA National Standards. Susan McCormack  With the DVSA announcing that the Part 3 will be replaced with a Standards Check-style assessment, this series of articles continues to explore how we train people to be driving instructors and the knock-on effects of this training on teaching people to drive and, ultimately, on road safety.
In my last two articles, I focused on the current situation with the Part 3 test and looked at what the Part 3 assesses; whether it is fit for purpose; who are the trainers; and asked why bother changing what we currently have. This article follows on from the previous ones and explores what makes a great lesson. 1. Learning must take place There are several ingredients in a great lesson but the overall aims must be to: · Deliver value for money and · Ensure that learning takes place. Ensuring learning takes place requires first and foremost a fundamental understanding of how individuals learn. We used to believe that learning took place through a transfer of knowledge from the instructor to the learner. The instructor was seen to be the font and source of all knowledge and information and this needed to be ladled into the gratefully-receiving learner. Repetitive practice through ever-decreasing levels of instruction – from guided to prompted to independent – embedded the learning; and a focus on the core competencies of fault identification, analysis and remedial action finished off the mix so that the learner could go off and take their driving test regurgitating the best practices their instructor had instilled into them. This way of teaching is based on an out-dated and old-fashioned understanding of how people learn. It produces drivers, who are not self-aware and do not know how to take ownership of and responsibility for the driving task. We only have to look at the crash statistics of novice drivers to know that this is true. These days, we recognise that learning comes from within. It is not about a transfer of knowledge from the expert to the learner. For effective learning to take place, the learner must be encouraged to reflect on their performance and think for themselves. To achieve this, the lesson must be focused around the learner and adapted to suit their individual needs. It must be broken down into bite-size manageable chunks by the trainer so that the learner is very clear where their focus needs to lie. 2. Lesson Planning The lesson must be well-planned in conjunction and agreement with the learner: · Goals must be set so that the learner knows what they are setting out to achieve; · The structure of the lesson needs to be agreed with the learner; · A suitable route must be used; and · The instructor must be able to adapt the lesson plan where necessary to ensure that learning will take place and the goal will be achieved. 3. Teaching and Learning Strategies The instructor must have a range of teaching strategies, from which they can select the most effective to ensure the learner achieves the goals agreed. These include: · Understanding how people process information and the barriers they might have to their learning; · Recognising the importance of developing analytical skills in the learner that they will be able to apply to their own driving once they are on their own; · Using examples to clarify the goal; · Only giving appropriate and accurate technical information, ensuring it is comprehensive; · Breaking the learning down into bite-size chunks so that regular and appropriate feedback can be built into the lesson; · Following up the learner’s queries and answering them; · Maintaining a non-judgemental manner; and · Encouraging the pupil to reflect on their own performance. 4. Risk Management We teach our learners to drive in a dangerous environment. If we could teach them to drive in a simulator there would not be so much risk around. However, we need to give people experience of the real world to help develop their self-evaluation skills, whilst simultaneously ensuring that learning takes place. The days of a lesson that is a ‘general drive’ - where we see and deal with whatever crops up along the way - are long gone. A lesson like this does not deliver value for money and does not ensure learning takes place because there is no goal being achieved and the learner is not taking ownership of their learning. We have to manage the risk to ensure that learning takes place: · The learner needs to understand how the responsibility for risk will be shared; · Directions and instructions need to be given clearly and in good time; · The trainer must be aware of the surroundings and the learner’s actions; · Verbal and physical intervention must be timely and appropriate; and · Sufficient feedback must be given after this intervention to ensure the learner understands the risks. These ingredients combine to make a great lesson – whether that be for a learner driver or a potential driving instructor. It is, therefore, no coincidence that the Standards Check assesses the extent to which the instructor has included these ingredients in their lesson; and that the new Part 3 – in the format of the Standards Check – will do the same. Training driving instructors to incorporate these skills into their driving lessons will produce safer new drivers, who know how to self-evaluate and are able to take responsibility for their learning and the driving task. My next article will focus on the qualities a great trainer needs to have, in order to deliver a great lesson. Susan McCormack  Tri-Coaching Partnership are on the ORDIT Register
Tri-Coaching Partnership are members of The Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) Official Register of Driving Instructor Training (ORDIT).The Tri-Coaching Instructor Training (TCIT) course has been used and approved in many ORDIT assessments by trainers, who have been on our Train the Trainer course and subsequently applied to join ORDIT. ORDIT is a good way for you to promote your business in instructor training through the Find Your Nearest trainer, which is mentioned on all pages on the www.gov.uk website that deal with instructor training. When you attend our two-day Train the Trainer course, you will leave with a TCIT Course Book and a full set of Trainer Guidance Notes that take you through the thirteen modules in the course. You will be able to present this material on your ORDIT assessment and show how you would be using it with your PDIs. We will also dual-brand our TCIT course to your driving school name free of charge, which gives you the opportunity to market yourself under your own banner and, simultaneously, under the Brand of Tri-Coaching Partnership. Your future trainee driving instructors will be able to purchase the TCIT course dual-branded to your driving school. Our course is bang up to date because it is matched against the DVSA National Driver and Rider Training Standard and the new Part 3 test. We will update all our materials as and when necessary and your PDIs will receive any amendments, leaving you to concentrate on what you do best - training. Whether you are already in the business of training driving instructors or wish to get into this in the future, the Train the Trainer course is essential for your development. Please see below for course dates and locations. Train the Trainer GROW YOUR BUSINESS with our 'Train the Trainer' course CHELMSFORD ADI Train the Trainer 10th & 11th April 2018 SHEFFIELD ADI Train the Trainer 2nd & 3rd May 2018 NEWBURY ADI Train the Trainer 16th & 17th May 2018 CHESTER ADI Train the Trainer 27th, 28th June 2018 TAUNTON ADI Train the Trainer 18th, 19th July 2018Book online using this link or call 0800 058 8009 http://www.tri-coachingpartnership.com/adi-train-the-trainer-course.html |
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