Driving Instructor Training

Susan McCormack
"Here is the first 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 them."
Instructor training 1.
With the DVSA announcing that the Part 3 will be replaced with a Standards Check-style assessment, this series of articles will 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.
Firstly, I want to explore the current situation with the Part 3 test and look at what the Part 3 assesses; and whether it is fit for purpose.
What does the Part 3 assess?
The Part 3 assesses the candidate’s readiness to enter the DVSA ADI Register. In doing so, the candidate would be able to charge money for their services as an Approved Driving Instructor. Therefore, the DVSA uses the Part 3 test to assess whether the candidate can deliver value for money by ensuring learning takes place and the car is kept safe.
The Part 3 is necessarily a snapshot assessment of the candidate’s scope and depth of knowledge, skills and understanding needed to join the DVSA register of Approved Driving Instructors. It is important to separate subject knowledge from the rest: the subject is just the means of carrying out the assessment. The instructional techniques and core competencies are standard on every pre-set test combination and must be demonstrated regardless of the subject. It is not about teaching the subject; it is all about teaching the skills; and, similarly, the Part 3 is not about assessing the subject; it is all about assessing how the candidate employs the skills they have learned; and how flexible and adaptable the candidate is at modifying those skills to suit the individual needs of the trainee driver, the Examiner is choosing to portray.
If the trainer focuses on the knowledge, skills and understanding of the trainee driving instructor (and not the pre-set test combinations), the trainee is far more likely to be successful when it comes to the Part 3 test.
The Part 3 assesses:
Core competencies of fault identification, analysis and remedial action;
plus, seven instructional techniques:
Planning
Communication
Q&A
Levels of instruction
Feedback and encouragement
Control of lesson
Instructor’s use of controls
And, one instructor characteristic: Attitude and Approach to the pupil.
Three top tips for Trainers:
· Focus on instructional techniques, characteristic and core competencies;
· Pick whatever subject is most suitable to develop the goal of the session – for example, to improve the use of feedback and encouragement;
· Avoid making the subject the goal – for example, Crossroads.
The conversation might go like this:
Trainer: Today, I would like to spend the first part of the session focusing on your use of feedback and encouragement. What do you think about your use of feedback?
Trainee: I think I focus on the negatives too much.
The trainer might then spend a couple of minutes exploring what the trainee means by ‘the negatives’, with the aim of developing a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely) goal with the trainee.
Further questions might include:
What would you like to achieve by the end of this session?
How long do you need this session to last?
How would you like to structure the session – i.e. which seat do you want me to sit in and do you want me to play a role?
Which subject do you want to use?
How will you know when you have achieved the goal?
Is the Part 3 fit for purpose?
Yes and no … As an assessment, the Part 3 is perfectly fit for purpose. However, the training is not. The training often focuses on the subject and not the skills needed to deliver that subject.
It’s similar to the ‘L’ test in this respect. It doesn’t matter which manoeuvre the candidate is expected to carry out, the test is actually assessing the candidate’s ability to control the car at slow speeds, make effective observations and be reasonably accurate.
These skills need to become the goals; and the subject is simply the means of achieving the goals.
For example, the conversation might go like this:
Instructor: What would you like to work on today?
Pupil: I am still really struggling with my clutch control.
The instructor might then spend a couple of moments exploring what the pupil means by ‘struggling’, with the aim of developing a SMART goal with the pupil.
Further questions might include:
What would you like to achieve by the end of this session?
How long do you need this session to last?
How do you want to do this? / What help do you need from me?
How will you know when you have achieved the goal?
The ADI might then suggest a topic and a suitable area or ask the pupil if they have preferences. In this way, the pupil achieves their goal of developing their clutch control whilst, for example, reversing around a corner; and the instructor keeps the car safe by doing the observations.
My next article will continue to look at the Part 3 test by focusing on the trainers, who are delivering Part 3 training; and why there is a need for change.