Knowledge and skills

One of the biggest challenges within the training industry is in ensuring that the message you have to give has “value”.  Does the content have relevance, is it practically important to the recipient?

In social settings, all of us are (to greater or lesser degrees) tolerant of this internal “b****hit barometer” that we all have constantly running in our heads.  We can choose to ‘sit it out’ and pretend to listen for a minute or 2, or we can politely make our excuses and abort, heading for a conversation that has a bit more “realism” connected to it. 

But in business there seems to be this unwritten rule of etiquette which suggests that because a business person or organisation has managed to “get in to your space” at this moment in time, you are compelled to endure it.  This has been used and abused for decades where training providers have been ignoring how practically important their content is for their customer.

Our driving training industry is no exception in this regard; people and organisations buzzing around, making a lot of noise, generating much ‘heat’ delivering training content that lacks any practical worth.  If it wasn’t so expensive in your resources of time and money it could actually be funny.

But rather than giving the impression that I’m just having a rant here, my point is actually incredibly important to us as driving instructors as we are in fact included in this situation.  Very recently an ADI in my area put up a technical question on a facebook group for driving instructors about signalling on a roundabout (much kudos to the ADI for the desire for knowledge).  Every ADI that responded gave a factually incorrect answer that goes against the Highway Code.  Just think about that for a second.  That means that not only is each and every one of those ADI’s teaching all of their pupil’s incorrect information (I wonder how long that has been going on for?) but you could quite justifiably question: a) how well they were trained to become a driving instructor and b) how much they are investing in their CPD to keep them ‘fresh’

Quite understandably when the DVSA assess you as a driving instructor one of the questions the examiner will be assessing about your instruction is:

Under the heading of “Teaching & Learning Strategies”:

Was the technical information given comprehensive, appropriate and accurate?

So each of us has a professional duty to ensure that the message we give adds value.  When you need assistance with your accounts you seek professional guidance, as you do when the car or pet dog develops a problem.  Your pupils are PAYING you to spend time in your company because they expect your service to be professional, relevant, factually correct and providing them with some value.

It is about as simple and historically meaningful a concept for humankind as you can ever wish for:  I have a problem that needs solving, who should I go to in order to fix this problem? 

In a training environment such as providing driving instruction, it is absolutely essential that the service you provide is credible.  Think of it in much the same way as a trades person makes sure all equipment is maintained, safe and practically up to the job.  In the same way driving instructors need to keep the skills and knowledge that they utilise daily fresh, relevant and correct.  To put this in context is to recognise that the environment in which we exist is organic, and naturally we respond favourably to regular and good quality nurturing.  The 3 ‘E’s of road safety: education, engineering and enforcement evolve and naturally so should we as practitioners in that environment.  Ensuring you invest in yourself is positively contributing to your customers.  

Book yourself on to a BIG TOM “Pedagogy” online support session (£20/hr): short, sharp refresher CPD that you can control when and how much you engage.  Call Tara on 0775 607 1464  
http://drivinginstructortraining.bigtom.org.uk/