Phases of learning

Attempting to understand the phases of learning that a pupil experiences when learning to drive is meaningful for a trainee driving instructor.  It may have been a while since you learnt something from scratch, you might have forgotten the typical feelings that are felt by pupils as they strive to learn.  Frustration for example.  Oh how frustrating it can be at times.  I recall failed attempts to learn musical instruments, the frustration is felt even now.  As we all experience the unfolding of our lives and the experiences we enjoy and endure, there will inevitably be thoughts of how we failed to learn a certain lesson of life at given times…. but how often is that frustration felt actually empowering.

It often is all about the experience.  It is quite amazing what potential we have in us to achieve if what we experience makes us happy, confident and motivated.  If the carrot is dangled there within sight, reach and it looks mighty juicy, then that carrot will normally, eventually get eaten.

When it comes to the basic car control, a driving instructor would do well to recognise the stages that their pupil will go through.  Initially in the cognitive stage, there is a considerable amount of thinking going on as we introduce the different controls to our pupil.  We should be careful not to burden them with too much detail too soon; pupils will benefit from time spent understanding how and why the car is controlled in the ways that we can.  For those pupils that have no previous related experiences to compare to eg cycling, mechanics, travelling at speed, sports with techniques, multi-tasking then it does pay to invest the time and effort initially to let these new ideas sink in.  What may be blindingly obvious to you may be entirely alien to your pupil and they may need plenty of time to become aware of a concept that they cannot even see from the drivers seat eg clutch control, steering, gear changes.  Telling your pupil that this is a practical activity is important because the learning process for practical activities inevitably involves real, tangible outcomes that affects things like the car, other road users, and/or the pupil’s confidence.  We are not in theoretical land here where outcomes matter not.  Outcomes are real, meaningful and that is one of the first seeds to sow in a new pupil – with learning to drive comes responsibility.   Responsibility in maintaining safety but also in developing effective learning.  If a driving instructor is talking at length about a subject that the pupil is not engaged in at all, then that cannot be ignored.  Talking AT pupils is not just a waste of time but it is damaging to the working relationship.  The timing and extent of detail that you go in to for a given pupil should be directly related to the needs of that pupil.

As your pupil continues to drive around, forwards, in reverse, approaching junctions, then in the right environment learning will take place and begins to become partially automated as they move in to the associative stage.  Choosing the correct place to practise is essential in creating a satisfying experience for your pupil.  Asking questions regarding their perception of fear/danger, how they identify a developing hazard are very relevant because were you NOT to understand how they feel at this stage then any progress can be seriously inhibited because you are inviting them to do the wrong thing, in the wrong place, at the wrong time.  Forcing a pupil to drive around so that they are scared out of their mind is unprofessional and reckless.  It is also incredibly dangerous because in these circumstances the senses shut down in our pupil, so any notion you have of controlling outcomes by verbal instruction can be futile due to your pupil literally not being able to hear you, such is their concentration and/or fear. 

With the passing of more time and increased confidence then your pupil will have less strain on the working memory freeing up the ability to talk while driving.  You can introduce concepts such as glancing at a side mirror vs properly observing via a side mirror.  In the initial stages your pupil’s head will almost continuously be facing straight ahead; a perfectly natural and instinctive reaction to the activity.  But in this autonomous stage the actions of gear change, foot work and signalling are more controlled, measured and natural looking, so introducing the more advanced concepts of safe driving will be much better received, such as well timed “chin to shoulder” observations. 

It is important to recognise though that just because you may have 40 + years of driving experience, the experiences your pupil is having can be extremely mind blowing.  The sense of speed, danger, discomfort, freedom, power that a pupil perceives is very personal to them; these can equally be contributing positively in the learning process as well as negatively.  When the feelings are affecting the driving behaviours (ability) then it is important to have an open conversation with your pupil and invite them to explain how they feel.  Not only will that insight assist you in better understanding your pupil (thereby assisting in maintaining safety and learning) but crucially, the conversation will help to raise the awareness of your pupil about what makes them tick.  It was said many moons ago “Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider” (Francis Bacon) and I would strongly urge you to invite your pupils not only to talk with you about matters affecting their learning, but also to reflect by WRITING.  If your pupil is thinking, writing, reading about their learning experience then there is great potential for effective learning.  Anything that you can do to encourage this will be time well spent.

Tom Ingram provides driving training to trainee driving instructors 0775 607 1464  http://drivinginstructortraining.bigtom.org.uk/