Historical overview
This is the first in a series of articles that looks at how we train people to be driving instructors and the possible impact this is having on road safety. What I am going to write about will not sit comfortably with some of you because you might feel that you were let down by your training provider. However, I want to stress that I am not throwing stones at anyone. These articles will contain my personal point of view based on 28 years of experience in the industry. The point of them is to illustrate how it is absolutely necessary to incorporate coaching and client-centred techniques into the way we train people to be ADIs because this then enables those same techniques to be part of the way we teach people to drive.
The articles will cover the following topics:
Back then we held regular discussions about how best to deliver the training – whether to focus on post-Part 3 and train people to become driving instructors; or to get people through the Part 3 and then offer courses in business development and instructional techniques. At that time BSM was the largest provider of courses to trainee driving instructors. The instructor college started up and delivered initial training before sending their customers to driving schools to start on a trainee licence and therefore complete their 40 hours’ core curriculum training prior to taking the Part 3 test. Eventually, the Instructor College founded Red Driving School. The AA was becoming established as a growing driving school and getting into instructor training as well.
The Part 3 test was organised into the ten pre-set test combinations (PSTs) we have currently and ORDIT (the Official Register of Driving Instructor Trainers) was borne, following on from ADITE (Association of Driving Instructor Training Establishments). All ADI trainers were encouraged to join ORDIT, which meant they would be recommended through the ADI 14 to prospective ADIs. In order to join the ORDIT register would-be trainers had to successfully pass an assessment which focused on their ability to deliver training around the PSTs and core competencies of fault identification, fault analysis and remedial action.
Somewhere along the way trainers started to lose sight of the point of the qualification process to become a driving instructor and focused on the qualification process itself. The point of the qualification process is to assess that people are adequately prepared to teach people to drive by being able to give value for money, ensure that learning takes place, and keep the car and its occupants safe. Losing sight of this crucial point meant that trainers focused on getting their customers through the three exams – theory, practical and instructional ability – and, in particular, the test of instructional ability as this was (is) the most challenging for most people. Newly qualified ADIs were expected to work out for themselves how to teach people to drive and often complained that they had no idea how to teach roundabouts, for example, as this hadn’t been covered on their training because it was not one of the PSTs. When it came to taking a check test recently qualified ADIs assumed the best way to demonstrate their competence was to revert to teaching a PST … and, in fact, some ADIs would be teaching pedestrian crossings with the use of signals or the emergency stop with the use of mirrors during their everyday driving lessons because that is the way they were trained.
The focus of the Part 3 training is far too often on the key points of the subject rather than on the instructional skills and techniques. Trainee driving instructors are often treated as if they have no previous experience of any value to driving instruction. To separate previous valuable life experience from the training process is ridiculous when we consider that teaching people to drive safely is all about communication – having the awareness and insight to adapt the way you communicate to suit the way someone learns most effectively. Training someone to become a driving instructor in many ways should be no different from teaching someone to drive. There is a test to pass at the end – whether it is a Part 3 test of instructional ability or the practical L test. Focusing all the attention on the tests is dangerous and does nothing to raise self-awareness and develop self-responsibility.
It seems to me that instructor training is a soul-destroying experience for a lot of people. The drop-out rate is horrendous and the pass rate of around 30% for Part 3 represents those people who have got that far – many drop out much earlier. The reason for the appalling drop-out rate and the low Part 3 pass rate is because trainee driving instructors are not encouraged to think for themselves. They have to learn everything by rote and this does not fit their individual learning preferences. The most effective way to train people to be driving instructors is to use a client-centred approach and adapt the way you train to suit the way they learn most effectively. Encouraging trainee driving instructors to take responsibility for their learning; to structure their training sessions themselves; to set their own goals, will accelerate their learning and help them recognise how to adopt a client-centred approach with their learner drivers. The knock-on effect will result in newly qualified drivers being safer on the roads because they will be able to make decisions that take into account their strengths and weaknesses and factor into the equation how their emotional state affects their cognitive processes and therefore their behaviour.
The next article focuses in greater detail on the Part 3 test itself and discuss the extent to which it is ‘fit for purpose’.
The articles will cover the following topics:
- A historical overview - my personal experience as an instructor trainer
- Whether the Part 3 exam is fit for purpose
- How the Part 3 fits with the new Standards Check
- How to train using client-centred and coaching approaches
- The link between road safety and instructor training
- The future of instructor training
- A historical overview – my personal experience as an instructor trainer
Back then we held regular discussions about how best to deliver the training – whether to focus on post-Part 3 and train people to become driving instructors; or to get people through the Part 3 and then offer courses in business development and instructional techniques. At that time BSM was the largest provider of courses to trainee driving instructors. The instructor college started up and delivered initial training before sending their customers to driving schools to start on a trainee licence and therefore complete their 40 hours’ core curriculum training prior to taking the Part 3 test. Eventually, the Instructor College founded Red Driving School. The AA was becoming established as a growing driving school and getting into instructor training as well.
The Part 3 test was organised into the ten pre-set test combinations (PSTs) we have currently and ORDIT (the Official Register of Driving Instructor Trainers) was borne, following on from ADITE (Association of Driving Instructor Training Establishments). All ADI trainers were encouraged to join ORDIT, which meant they would be recommended through the ADI 14 to prospective ADIs. In order to join the ORDIT register would-be trainers had to successfully pass an assessment which focused on their ability to deliver training around the PSTs and core competencies of fault identification, fault analysis and remedial action.
Somewhere along the way trainers started to lose sight of the point of the qualification process to become a driving instructor and focused on the qualification process itself. The point of the qualification process is to assess that people are adequately prepared to teach people to drive by being able to give value for money, ensure that learning takes place, and keep the car and its occupants safe. Losing sight of this crucial point meant that trainers focused on getting their customers through the three exams – theory, practical and instructional ability – and, in particular, the test of instructional ability as this was (is) the most challenging for most people. Newly qualified ADIs were expected to work out for themselves how to teach people to drive and often complained that they had no idea how to teach roundabouts, for example, as this hadn’t been covered on their training because it was not one of the PSTs. When it came to taking a check test recently qualified ADIs assumed the best way to demonstrate their competence was to revert to teaching a PST … and, in fact, some ADIs would be teaching pedestrian crossings with the use of signals or the emergency stop with the use of mirrors during their everyday driving lessons because that is the way they were trained.
The focus of the Part 3 training is far too often on the key points of the subject rather than on the instructional skills and techniques. Trainee driving instructors are often treated as if they have no previous experience of any value to driving instruction. To separate previous valuable life experience from the training process is ridiculous when we consider that teaching people to drive safely is all about communication – having the awareness and insight to adapt the way you communicate to suit the way someone learns most effectively. Training someone to become a driving instructor in many ways should be no different from teaching someone to drive. There is a test to pass at the end – whether it is a Part 3 test of instructional ability or the practical L test. Focusing all the attention on the tests is dangerous and does nothing to raise self-awareness and develop self-responsibility.
It seems to me that instructor training is a soul-destroying experience for a lot of people. The drop-out rate is horrendous and the pass rate of around 30% for Part 3 represents those people who have got that far – many drop out much earlier. The reason for the appalling drop-out rate and the low Part 3 pass rate is because trainee driving instructors are not encouraged to think for themselves. They have to learn everything by rote and this does not fit their individual learning preferences. The most effective way to train people to be driving instructors is to use a client-centred approach and adapt the way you train to suit the way they learn most effectively. Encouraging trainee driving instructors to take responsibility for their learning; to structure their training sessions themselves; to set their own goals, will accelerate their learning and help them recognise how to adopt a client-centred approach with their learner drivers. The knock-on effect will result in newly qualified drivers being safer on the roads because they will be able to make decisions that take into account their strengths and weaknesses and factor into the equation how their emotional state affects their cognitive processes and therefore their behaviour.
The next article focuses in greater detail on the Part 3 test itself and discuss the extent to which it is ‘fit for purpose’.
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