Tuesday, 14 February 2017

Don't give me that glazed eyes look






In this blog Tom Ingram from BIG TOM Driving School explores the pitfalls in not engaging with our pupils.



A learner could have a misconception about what is involved in learning to drive, or what “good driving” looks like, and having been developed over many years it is well entrenched in their belief system.  A learner may fall into the common trap of under-estimating how long it will take to learn to drive and this affects their motivation to actually learn.  But what about the learner who quite simply is not engaging with you? 

One of the reasons why it is good practice to have a re-cap of the key learning points from the previous driving session is because it enables you to identify if your pupil IS actually learning.  I’ve had pupils looking at me with that glazed eyes look, yawning, illogically nodding or crossing their head, startled when they realise they have been asked a question that requires the formulation of a string of words that are actually meaningfully related to it.

My point here though, it is not their “fault”.  It undeniably needs to be dealt with, without a shadow of doubt, but a pupil should not be in some manner, penalised for not engaging with you.  Lack of engagement inevitably results in lack of learning and progress.  If pupils don’t make progress, they often go elsewhere to a driving instructor who will make progress.  It really, really is that simple.  The teacher in the clip above will be salaried staff, he is getting paid regardless of his “output”, you as a driving instructor on the other hand….. are not!



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

No comments:

Post a Comment