How motivation affects learning

Motivated to ‘learn’?

I find that most of my learners are as keen as mustard to learn to drive, well, initially anyway.  A very few don’t even start keen which I guess means that there are ‘other forces’ at work. 

It can be a shock though when a young person of 17 years starts to take lessons, and suddenly realises that actually Mum & Dad make it look so easy!  There’s actually quite a bit to this driving!

The thing is though, once learners get over the initial ‘body shock’ of co-ordinating hands and feet independently, they discover that the ACT of driving is perhaps not such a big deal.  However, then their instructor starts talking about anticipating the actions of other road users, forward planning, reading bends, giving priority rather than taking it; in other words, what often distinguishes an ‘average’ driver from a ‘good’ driver is what goes on between the ears.

You see, many people can, and do drive round in the ‘here and now’ only.  In other words they just deal with what crops up in their immediate radar of about 20 feet in front of their moving vehicle.  It’s a little like how the race horses sometimes have blinkers put on them.  Why do they do that?  I imagine it’s to avoid them getting distracted with what is going on around them.... the EXACT opposite of what we need to do when driving.  The mark of a good driver is one who is constantly, moving the head, making observations all around them, so they can risk assess, and plan what they need to do, and also what options they have in the event of an emergency. 

But I would go one step further.  I think there is so much more than even those 2 aspects of driving.  An incredibly important aspect is considering what your attitudes and responsibilities are as an independent driver.  Let me briefly give just a few examples, what are your thoughts on:

                Driving through an amber traffic light

                Maintaining your speed when entering a stretch of road with parked cars both sides of the road

                Wanting to maintain or even better your driving skills after passing the test

                Texting or taking calls on the loud speaker when driving

                Rubbing 10mph off your normal speed to save money

                Wearing a seat belt, or insisting your friends put on their seat belt

                Travelling at 80mph on a motorway

                Slowing down on the approach to a speed camera, then speeding up again

                Driving without insurance

                Purchasing an electric car to help save the planet

                Racing with another driver

                Volunteering yourself as the ‘nominated driver’ for a work Christmas party

                Swearing/gesticulating at other road users

                Assisting a driver who has broken down on the side of the road

                Carrying on driving even when ‘dog tired’

                Sharing a car journey with a work colleague

                Continuing to make journeys when you know the tyre tread is below 1.6mm

                Attempting an overtake when you can’t really see that it’s safe to do so

I could go on, but you get the idea?

Now you’re opinion of that list, and it’s relevance may be affected by a few things.  You may be reading this blog from the point of view of a learner, a learner’s parent, a PDI, an ADI, a trainer, a professional in the field of learning, but interestingly, many readers will already be drivers.  Your opinions may be affected by your parents, your upbringing, your profession, knowing someone who has died or been seriously injured as a consequence of the above, your social conscience, your moral compass.

You are either willing and able to be trained to consider these points or not.  Sometimes I can raise one of the above subjects with a Learner, and literally a glazed look comes into their eyes, I can almost read their minds “Just teach me how to drive, I just want to pass the test”.  Some Learners appear to struggle to be motivated to get out of bed in time for a lesson.

My experience is that it is all in the initial setting up.  If when I speak to a parent, they are telling me that money is extremely tight, they are looking for the cheapest deal, they need their son/daughter to go to test within say £200 of lessons.  Then hey, guess what..... there wont be much time to be considering the above will there.  Stands to reason doesn’t it?  There is no judgement, or criticism in that remark, but it must be a fact.  If my customer (or their parent) is restricting the level of training from the start, then in effect, they have already demonstrated how motivated they are to ‘learn’.

I don’t stand in judgement here.  It is the DSA who police what the learners get tested on, how the driving instructors get tested and monitored.  The general public will ultimately decide whether the standards of training for drivers needs to be raised.  But it’s interesting to consider how people’s motivation to learn affects how WELL they learn.