Driving Lessons Gloucester.- D V S A, A D I Standards Check. For Driving Instructors.

D V S A - A D I Standards Check.

As an A D I, you are only too aware that you will be required to attend a standards check at least once every four years. This is usually considered to be a pretty daunting task, but with the right approach, it need not be. The following notes are not the definitive article by any means, but different A D I's will find different parts useful, and will hopefully assist in general. First of all, get it in proportion.........It's only an hour! Make sure your car is up to standard and you have everything to hand that you might need. Choose a reliable and articulate student to instruct.(Remember there is NO role play anymore.) Brief them fully on what to expect on the standards check. Make sure they fully understand their role. Lesson Subject. In this post, I will use "roundabouts" as the chosen subject. A good tip is to call the lesson,"awareness and planning" instead of roundabouts, so that if a serious problem with another subject occurs on the way to the practice area, this can then become the "carrier subject" instead of roundabouts, and can be dealt with under awareness and planning. At the test centre. Q&A to establish what happened on the last lesson. Remember the "last lesson" is not last week, but the lesson just completed, on the way to the standards check. A lot of A D I's go wrong here! So call the lesson, awareness and planning and link it to roundabouts. It must link to the last lesson. Don't do a full briefing, do a recap using Q&A. Do an intro and goal setting. Don't forget to mention the weight of an extra passenger and how it can affect the handling of the car. Also ask your student how their view in the mirror is different with a backseat passenger. The Form S C 1, that the examiner will use to mark your standards check: LESSON PLANNING. 1.Did the trainer identify the pupil's learning goals and needs?....... Use something like this- Q - "What skills would you like to improve on?"- A -"Roundabouts."- Q -"-We agreed this last lesson. Are you still happy to do this?"-"How would you like to do this?"- A - " I don't know when to emerge."...............This then gives you a chance, with the aid of diagrams and more Q&A etc., to brief the pupil on awareness & planning, danger zones , using timing and observation. 2. Was the agreed lesson structure appropriate........? Choose an area where you can progressively build the lesson, using more complex roundabouts as they improve. Don't overwhelm them. Start soft, add more. 3. Were the practice areas suitable?....... See number 2. 4. Was the lesson plan adapted..........? Change the "carrier subject" if needed- if you originally called it "awareness and planning."Do not worry about changing if you have to. It's worth reading A D I 1 for examiners guidelines, read lack of competence part. RISK MANAGEMENT. Think of "risk" as "responsibility." 1.Did the trainer ensure that the pupil fully understood how the responsibility for risk would be shared?......... You need to make the following statement to be sure you are covered: “And finally .........., as the driver you are ultimately responsible for the safety of this car and your passengers.  If however, I see a situation developing that I think you might not have seen I will intervene. That intervention might be verbal but if necessary I will use my dual controls or help with the steering wheel. Do you understand and accept what I have just said?” You could add: "You are responsible for telling me if you don't understand." "You are responsible to get the best out of this lesson-what are you going to do about it?"......Answer- Questions, diagrams, another go. "How can I help you with this first roundabout?"........Answer- Talk through, etc. "Will you take responsibility for following my instructions?" "Are you willing to take responsibility for positioning, gears, speed, etc?" 2. Were the directions and instructions given to the pupil clear? Directions and instructions is EVERYTHING you say. So keep it clear and simple. 3. Was the trainer aware of the surroundings and the pupils actions? These statements and questions are what they want (or similar.) "I want to see this through your eyes.-Tell me what's happening." "What can you see?"      "Is there any movement?" 4.Was any verbal or physical intervention by the trainer timely and appropriate? This comes down to the appropriate level of instruction. 5.Was sufficient feedback given to help the pupil understand any potential safety critical incidents? This comes down to lack of instruction. Failing to examine an incident. If something does happen, you must discuss it. Find out what pupil is thinking and feeling. Bring in other scenario's if possible......"How would that situation be different at school time?" Remember the old core competences may not be on the S C 1, but they are still there in disguise. You must still refer to them. TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES. DO NOT MISS OPPORTUNITES!.........If you see other road users driving erratically, pick up on it! Don't miss any chances to discuss the behaviour of others. 1.Was the teaching style suited to the pupil's learning style and current ability? Use questions such as, "How would you like me to help you with this?" Use any situation to discuss (see above.) As described earlier, you must use the core competencies: Recognize the fault. Analyse the fault. Correct the fault. 2.Was the pupil encouraged to analyse problems and take responsibility for their learning? Can be Q&A to analyse problems. 3.Were opportunities and examples used to clarify learning outcomes? See what others are doing and discuss. Can be others doing things right as well. Point out good and bad. 4.Was the technical information given comprehensive, appropriate and accurate? Know your subject. (The examiner will!) 5. Was the pupil given appropriate and timely feedback during the session? Link feedback to what happened- don't leave it too long afterwards, especially if the incident was safety critical. 6.Were the pupil's queries followed up and answered? Don't miss a chance to answer. 7.Did the trainer maintain an appropriate non-discriminatory manner throughout the session? Don't categorize, learners, boy racers, white van etc., don't discriminate or stereotype. 8.At the end of the session- was the pupil encouraged to reflect on their own performance? Engine off at driving test centre. Get pupil to self-analyse-"What have you done well?"  "What have you improved on?"  "Is there anything left that you haven't asked me?"  "Are there any more skills that you would like to develop?" You can then end the driving lesson with a link to the next lesson, from the information just gained. LEVEL OF INSTRUCTION. It is important to get this right. There are three basic levels, depending on the learners stage and the road situation. Full talk through. Q&A. Independent. You can use all three at a time. Example-"Slow down to 10mph, there may be a lorry round the corner, and that will give you more time to react." Add in the underlined part, it makes all the difference. "Show me with your eyes that it is safe to turn." "What if that red car carries on reversing?"  SCALING. This is a solution finding, self evaluation tool. Use scaling at the beginning and end of the lesson. Scaling. Choose a scale of 1-10, 1 being low and 10 being high. "What score are you now on this?"    "What would you like it to be by the end of the lesson?" (It doesn't have to be 10, it can be 6 or 7.) If necessary, ask them to re-evaluate. (Justify that 7.) How did you score on the so and so? Find solutions. You can also ask the student to picture a ladder-what rung are you on? Mind Maps can also be used for solution finding and self evaluation, but to describe it properly requires another article. Coming soon..... MAKE THE LESSON "REAL." Use real situations in the standards check lesson, by discussion, description and observation. Other ways: "Tell me the story." Ask the student to describe an event and some likely outcomes. Discuss how to avoid potential accidents. "Give me a time when you would".......(Use excessive speed, use a phone.) "Being a passenger, can you remember being scared?" "What factors are you taking into account when you decide how fast to go on this road?" Q&A You can vary your approach to Q&A and make it more interesting. These are good expressions: Was? Will? Would? What if?(that's a good one.) Tell me. Show me. Describe to me. 7 Deadly Sins. Below is a list of the seven most common reasons for failing a standards check: Was the lesson plan adapted, when appropriate, to help the pupil work towards their learning goals? Did the trainer ensure that the pupil fully understood how the responsibility of risk would be shared? Was the teaching style suited to the pupil's learning style and current ability? Was the pupil encouraged to analyse problems and take responsibility for their learning? Was the pupil given appropriate and timely feedback during the session? Was sufficient feedback given to help pupils understand any safety critical incidents? Was the pupil encouraged to reflect on their own performance? I will publish the 7 deadly sins in detail in the next post. Well, that's all for now on quite a big subject. Remember, these are only notes to help you pick up on some confusing points. Add some of these to what you do every day, and you will be fine. http://www.drivinglessonsgloucester.org