There are three components of BIG TOM driving training that are key performance indicators: safety, enjoyment and positivity. It is the presence of these elements in our methodology that makes the training matter.
The first thing to appreciate is that our pupils do not necessarily recognise all three. However, you would like to think that they could immediately tell you whether a session was enjoyable.
If you are considering a career change and like the idea of being a BIG TOM driving instructor, then perhaps the issue of safety is paramount in your mind. It does need to be; you have a large portion of the responsibility for maintaining safety throughout training sessions. As our pupils develop, they are more able to own some of that responsibility, but for sure, if a driving instructor has a history of accidents while training, they simply aren't keeping things safe for their customers (or anyone!).
It might surprise you, but pupils do not necessarily appreciate a near miss, it is one of our responsibilities to help them to recognise increased risk and possible consequences. This skill is demonstrably lacking on our roads where full licence holders behave in a manner that proves they have little self-evaluation. In BIG TOM driving training, trainee instructors are shown how to develop this vital skill.
The second key ingredient of BIG TOM driving training is how enjoyable the session is. We must take care of this one as a pupil may have a delightful time driving in blissful ignorance of how safe they are or indeed if they are actually learning anything. Our role is one of facilitating learning as opposed to providing an opportunity to entertain. How a pupil engages with our training is complex and emotional, while we want our pupil to enjoy the training, it must have meaning (which I will come on to in a minute). But in my experience, the pupils that we need to think of when considering enjoyment levels are the ones who might be overwhelmed, confused or frantically trying with little reward for their efforts. The reason why I emphasise the point is that an instructor may well be keeping training safe, they may also be contributing to learning, but in the process, our poor pupil is really suffering; and that could be downright cruel if we don't identify it is happening. There are effective techniques to incorporate into driving training that will help you appreciate the enjoyment levels of our pupils. We must all remember that with deep learning, come moments of frustration. Our goal here at BIG TOM is to look beyond the assessment criteria of the driving test, and deep learning is effortful. It is easy to superficially teach pupils in order to pass driving tests, but that is not our objective in this driving school.
Lastly, I mention the need for positivity. When customers pay for our service, they expect an experience that is long-lasting. When instructors train pupils to pass the driving test, is it really any wonder that once that goal is achieved, the content of the training is no longer retained in mind? It stands to reason that if you set up your programme with that limited objective, the extent of your input is likewise constrained. So our training must have a long-lasting, positive effect on our pupils; it must have relevance. We should not confuse the casual or calm air of the training environment with this aspect of relevance. Remember that our job is to create effective learning, and that will inevitably result in encouraging pupils to dig deep; this kind of learning is effortful. That very point is the first sentence that our customers read in one of our key resources. It is for this precise reason that I find little favour with addressing the DVSA Standards Check criteria by rote. This superficial learning is not adequate - yes, it will pass your test with an A grade, but that will be entirely meaningless because your training lacks relevance. One of the main advantages of joining this franchise is that you can rest assured that we truly understand the difference between these approaches to learning. This is why we remain successful despite the recent threats to the business and economy from Brexit and Covid. Our customers understand what we provide for them, and now, having read this blog, so do you.
To summarise, the experience that our customers have with BIG TOM matters. Keeping training safe, enjoyable and positive is not some theoretically fanciful notion; it is the bedrock of our training. And because we are all human with our flaws and strengths, when you look at the image above, the circles will be skewed accordingly. What I am attempting to ensure, though, is a balance. BIG TOM driving instructors need to be able to perform with all three factors in mind. I perfectly understand and accept that it would be unreasonable to expect any instructor, myself included, to have the perfect equal proportions of all of them, but it is important to recognise that it is our duty to serve our pupil rather than our pupil serve our expectations.
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