Previous experience....ask!

One of the key tools that we have freely available to us as driving instructors is the ability to test previous experience before our pupil drives into a new subject.  We NEED to know this to maintain safety and promote learning.

To help demonstrate the necessity of asking prior to “doing” I will use the example of turning right at a crossroads controlled by traffic lights with a separate green filter arrow. 

We mention the ‘new subject’ (above) to our pupil.  “What does this mean to you?”

Blank face.  Big pause.  Followed by “Sorry…. I’m not with you”

You open up a book or show them an animation on your iPad, you set the context, you name the key identifiers “cross roads, traffic lights, green filter arrow, junction, priority, position, observation”.

“Uhm….. not much really”

Has the pupil ever ridden a bike before on public roads?  Did it involve ever doing this?

Do they recall seeing this in their theory study? What can they recall?

Have they witnessed anyone they know do this?

Generally speaking – how does this go?  What are the “rules”?

Depending on the answers above will determine at what level of detail you then need to go into.  Matters of safety should always trump matters of finesse; finesse can be introduced later but first, safety must be maintained.  What risk is associated with this goal?  Are there options of how to go about it?  How can safety be shared between pupil and instructor? 

The more “new” detail that is being covered in a briefing is quickly filling up the working memory of the pupil.  Conversely, previous experiences can greatly reduce the load on the working memory as those experiences are being drip fed from long term memory.

Unrealistic expectations of a pupil to achieve a goal while they are driving with an overloaded working memory is not good business (safety)…. it’s not smart learning either. 

Consider for a moment how this feels to a pupil who has NO previous experience of any kind regarding this subject:

What speed should I approach at?  Will I be stopping?  If I stop and I shouldn’t have done, will I cause a vehicle behind to hit us?  If I do have to stop, how do I do that?  Where would I stop?  Would I need to wait to see the green filter arrow?  Will I always get a green filter arrow?  What happens if I wait and the red light comes on?  If a vehicle in front of me turns right, does that automatically mean I can too?  Do I have to still look out for pedestrians or will they know I’m turning right?  What happens if a motorbike from behind also wants to turn right?  When I have a green light, can I be sure that all other lights are red?  And on it goes.

Our ability, as experienced drivers, to appreciate how this seemingly easy task is being considered by our pupils varies greatly between instructors.  Have you considered what are the pre-requisite skills for achieving this goal?  Routines for approaching junctions.  Clutch control.  Spatial awareness.  Control of steering and braking for good positioning.  Observations to assess speed/distance and to be aware of what is around.  Use of handbrake.   

Pupils hear your words on the briefing, they are looking at your diagrams, they are engaging with your questions, but you really do have to understand they might have NO appreciation of how this is about to go.  Your intention to “talk them through it” stands for not very much if they cannot ‘hear’ your words because their working memory is overloaded and has shut down their ability to hear.   

It really is in your interest to understand the level of risk that is associated with this task.  Choose your locations well.  Consider all the options you have available from doing demos, parking up and watching others, sharing driving responsibilities between you both, varying the pitch of verbals, agreeing and understanding terminology that is going to be used.  Encourage your pupil to consider the options that are available to help them learn:

SET GOAL (is it clear, measurable, realistic… think safety)

CONSIDER OPTIONS (let the pupil think of their strengths and weaknesses.  Give them TIME to think)

DECISION MAKING (agree on a plan but make sure that the pupil recognises a decision is being made)

EXPERIMENT (no judgement – this is practise time)

ASSESS (encourage the pupil to consider how well it went, focussing on what ACTUALLY happened – this is an important skill)

REFLECT (is this time to celebrate success – what is the pupil measuring …. competence/confidence, how meaningful has this process been and can it be adapted to be even more meaningful)

Give your pupil the opportunity to think.  Writing notes helps learners think.  It does not have to be there and then, but encourage them to develop the skill of thinking about their learning experience.  The more they feel like they are owning the process, the more they feel responsible for it, the more they want to effect positive outcomes. 

In summary, an instructor does not honestly know how our learner thinks about the prospect of performing a particular goal.  The very least we can do is attempt to assess previous experience because that will be our ‘early warning’ of how hard our pupil is cognitively working.

Want to read more on this?  Unit 6.3.3 of our Driving Standard. 

My parting quote from ADI1:

“It is impossible to force learning on a pupil.  Progress is always determined by what the pupil is comfortable with.  The skill is recognising when the pupil stops learning.  The pace of a session should be set by the pupil.  On the other hand a pupil should not be talked out of experimenting, if this is within safe bounds.”   

Fine words indeed.

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