Clarifying learning outcomes

In this blog from Tom Ingram (Owner of BIG TOM Driving School) PDI’s are invited to consider the manner in which learning outcomes are realised.

It is a great shame if a driving instructor is unwilling to check what learning outcomes are being achieved when we work within a 1:1 learning environment.  The reason why this is so important is because it is a measure of how effective the learning is for any given pupil.  If a pupil is able to explain to us how a particular key learning point is meaningful to them, this is really powerful, because it is demonstrating to us that there is specific, deep thought being applied to the learning process.  It is the pupil’s learning experience that will determine the learning; no amount of a driving instructor repeating the letters “M S P S L” to a pupil who is not engaged is ever going to affect learning outcomes.

The balancing act for an effective driving instructor to consider is where the pupil is at any given moment of time.  Early days of learning to drive can take a great deal of cognitive effort, and they are working hard. As the competence increases space is created in the brain for the pupil to be invited to consider connecting themes such as the relationship between speed and gears.  Increase that competency yet further and a pupil can be invited to consider what they can now do to improve further rather than settle for what they can now achieve.

Assisting our pupils to recognise where they currently are in the learning process is deeply beneficial to them as it helps to provide some perspective.  A pupil is not necessarily going to know “how to learn”, they may not naturally be able to perceive the importance for them to actually relate to learning.

I will provide below a few examples of how we can clarify the effectiveness of learning outcomes, all are real, one of which was mentioned in this blog a long time ago, but if I group them together I think it will assist for the purpose of this blog.

When introducing to a pupil the key “ingredients” of an effective reversing manoeuvre (it matters not which one we are talking about, this applies to them all), I was emphasising the necessity of 1.  Control of the pace of the car so as to provide some “order” to proceedings    2.  Accuracy of the position of the car in the road so as not to unduly affect others whilst also maintaining safe gaps   3.  Making effective observations all round to keep things safe at all times.  I invited my pupil to think on that concept for a moment and asked if there was an example he could think of from his own experiences to date that chimes with that structure.  He used to play football to a high standard and was able to explain to me the importance of a disciplined and well executed start play from the keeper in order to then perform a particular set move further up the pitch.  Fail to pay attention to the detail from the keeper and it has consequences for the ultimate objective later on.

Whilst introducing the different purpose of the central mirror vs the side mirrors to a pupil, I naturally then went on to explain how this inevitably results in mirror check observations being performed in pairs.  My pupil who was well versed in metacognitive techniques thought about this for a while and then said to me “So it is a bit like ‘BBC’ then.  ‘Blink, blink, click' – yes I will remember that".  Referring to the eyes looking initially at the central mirror, then the corresponding side mirror followed by the signal.

Whilst discussing the importance of controlling the speed when practising approaching roundabouts so as to enable the eyes to make the necessary essential observations my pupil thought about this and then with some degree of effort explained how he was visualising that concept.  If he was attempting to scroll through to a particular bit of a film that he had watched up to, the chances of him being able to pinpoint the exact place he was trying to identify would be greatly improved if he scrolled through at x2 rather than x30.

The examples here whilst being factual are really not important, what is important is that when a pupil engages with me in this manner, I can tell that the learning outcome has some meaning to them.  The chances of my pupil continuing to remember key safety concepts and techniques are greatly improved if they can relate to it in some way.  Sometimes though, we do need to help them on their way with this kind of personalised learning.  For starters, we need to provide them with the opportunity to deeply think, it is the act of deeply thinking that drip feeds the long term memory.

To summarise.  Clarifying learning outcomes is essential.  One consistent theme that I have witnessed over time is how effective it is to the learning process when the pupil is willing and able to consider the way in which they like to learn.  If they can determine how things happen in the car, and in doing so, that facilitates them to actually think about what is going on….. this is powerful stuff.

Tom Ingram provides PAYG driving training for trainee driving instructors 0775 607 1464