Module 4.

Session 2. Keeping Safe

Action/Remedial action/Job-Sharing

Here we will consider some simple routines that are useful to keep lessons on track.

The basic method is the ‘Ask-Support-Develop-Assess’ routine - ASDA.

The ASDA method in its most basic form can be either instructor or learner driver centred.

We have developed ADSA as a base routine because it is easy to learn in the limited timescale available in UK driving instructor training. We do not have the luxury of time that they enjoy for example, in Norway, where the basic course for qualification is at done at a specialist university and takes three years.

This session also stresses the importance of what we describe as ‘Job Sharing’, an essential part of all training, ensuring that the learner fully understands what is required from them and what the instructors role and input will be.  We often refer to this as shared responsibility.

Job-Sharing or shared responsibility should be a natural part of all training. Sadly however, this is often a key area of weakness for may instructors and an area that is severely lacking in many experienced instructor’s approach and a major factor to an unsatisfactory mark on either a part 3 test or standards check.

Job-Sharing is an area where many an instructor falters during Part-Three and Standards Checks where one of the assessment criteria is ‘Did the trainer ensure that the pupil fully understood how the responsibility for risk would be shared?’ Because of this we need to consider it an integral training requirement.

Teaching the Routines

It is important for you to understand that you can control the learning process by following set ‘routines’ or ‘patterns’ when fixing errors.

Routines (or models) are fundamental to all teaching* whether in a teacher centred or learner-centred session.

*The exception would be a pure ‘discovery learning’ (experiential learning) session – but even here, structure can help improve the learning.

Following a structured routine will keep the lesson focused and minimise the risk of making further errors.

The ‘Ask-Support-Develop-Assess’ (ASDA) routine is a useful starting point for learning about structured error correction.

It is important for you to recognise that there are no ‘one size fits all’ models for training and that this basic model can, and must, be flexible. It is also important for you to understand that the use of a routine itself does not necessarily mean that a good lesson will be delivered – all the skills learned in the course are important.

The ‘Ask-Support-Develop-Assess’ routine

ASDA - ‘Ask-Support-Develop-Assess’ defines four stages of training, namely…

• Ask: Do a little exploration to discover the ‘problem issue’ or proposed learning goals. This exploration will sometimes include, or be the result of, a practical assessment, quiz or test. During this phase the appropriate lesson goals can be determined.

• Support: This will start with a discussion of how the goals can be achieved and might include an explanation, a briefing and/or a demonstration followed by some degree of assistance during initial practise if assistance is required.

• Develop: If assistance has been given this is a ‘weaning off’ process with reduced instruction prompting or questioning. It will be preceded by a ‘Job-Sharing’ discussion (this could be either whilst parked or, if safe to do so, on the move).

• Assess: This is an unassisted drive which provides information for further exploration or development. This would be preceded by ‘Job Sharing’ information.

The routine is a simple, effective method to help ensure an appropriate level of instruction by instructors.

A bit like ‘Mirrors, Signal, Position, Speed, Look, all of the aspects will be considered but not necessarily implemented, however, in the same way as the MSPSL routine will start with mirrors 99% of the time, this routine will always start with ‘Ask’.

Whatever lesson you are teaching teaching, you will start off in one of the following ‘Ask’ situations – this determines the training goal:

• When teaching new subjects, students will start by finding out what the learner already knows.

• When a lack of understanding leads to an error, you would ask questions to determine where the gap in knowledge is.

• For one-off errors where you suspect that the learner’s understanding is OK you would use Q&A on the move to validate their theory.

• If an error has occurred due to the learner becoming over-stressed, the student will need to reduce the task demand.

Whatever the starting point is, the next step will always be the same – consideration of which of the elements, Support, Develop & Assess, is the starting point for further action.

Example:

A learner driver cuts a right-hand corner turning into a minor road from a major road.

Having seen the corner cut you decide to pull up and Ask about the issue.

During the discussion you discover that the learner had never really understood why it was important to keep left and was unsure about when to start steering and where to look.

In discussion with the learner the following goals were agreed:

• To better understand why it is important to keep left.

• To find the appropriate steering point for different widths of road.

• To learn and practise the best method for observation and steering.

The lesson then moves to the Support phase.

You would give a short explanation using a diagram and to help the learner to understand why keeping left is important and how to observe and steer. Then you and the learner driver would agree a ‘practical plan’ in which the learner will drive around four corners where you would help with prompts.

Once the learner driver had turned 4 corners you would ask the learner to stop on the left.

When stopped would have a brief discussion with the learner driver and agree to do a further four corners with no direct prompts but you would ask a few questions on route – this is the Develop phase.

After the four corners are completed you would explain to the learner driver that, if the learner is happy, they will continue with another four corners, this time without any input from you relating to the specific achievement goals – this final step is the Assess phase.

Job-Sharing or Shared Responsibility

‘Job-Sharing’ simply means making sure that both instructor and learner know what their respective roles and responsibilities are at any given point in a driving lesson. During your in car sessions you will also do a lot of this with your instructor.  This way you will both understand what is going on and about to happen.

If you think of responsibility, the responsibility for operating the controls, implementing routines, dealing with other road users and everything else that constitutes the driving task, as a job, the job of responsibility usually starts with the instructor and is passed on to the learner*. This ‘job’ is transferred from instructor to learner gradually over a period of time. For this process to run smoothly, both parties must be fully aware of their own respective jobs (tasks and responsibilities) at any given time.

*Even in pure coaching the coach/facilitator would ultimately have a responsibility for safety in a moving motor vehicle.

In every lesson the 'job' of responsibility is shared to some degree. The instructor has responsibility for some aspects of the driving task, while the learner is responsible for other aspects.

To make job-sharing work effectively, the instructor must keep the learner driver fully informed of what he/she is trying to achieve at any given point as the training moves from lesson to lesson, and perhaps more importantly, from minute to minute within each lesson.

Introduction to Lesson Frames

What’s the ‘frame’?

The term ‘Lesson Frame’ describes a process where the main topic of a training session is carried through everything else that happens in that training period. The time period might be a 20 minute focussed session within a lesson, or the whole of the lesson.

Imagine that you are due to teach bay parking to a learner driver in their next training session. It is unlikely that you will be teaching this manoeuvre outside their front door and therefore you could be driving around for fifteen minutes before starting to teach or practise the manoeuvre.

How do you use those 15 minutes, what do you talk about?

The chances are that you probably recap stuff from the previous session and then work with whatever comes up – but given that the main lesson topic for your session is the bay park what else could you be discussing?

Memory

One of the ways in which our memories function is by ‘association’.

We remember things better and therefore have the potential to learn more quickly when new material is linked (associated) to existing knowledge (this works at an unconscious level and does a lot to drive our emotional response to new information).

Another way that we remember things is through repetition – the more times we are exposed to information, the more likely we are to remember it.

Simply ‘remembering stuff’ does not give learner drivers the deep understanding required for safe driving. However, recognising that the same skills are used in different driving contexts can help to develop this understanding.  And this is where ‘lesson frames’ come in.

When training sessions are specifically ‘framed’ they help learners to make connections and to maintain focussed attention while offering association and repetition of ideas – and basic framing is simple and easy to introduce into driving lessons.

Bay parking example of ‘framing’

Going back to the bay parking example (BP). What can we do to start the teaching (and theme) process from the moment that the learner gets into the car? Or alternatively to continue the learning after the BP practise has been completed?

Here are few examples…

Action: The learner moves off with good observation.

Feedback: Instructor relates the observation to today’s topic of the BP.

“I notice you looked all around before moving off – well done. As you know today we are doing the bay park, during that exercise a good awareness of what is happening all around is essential.”

Action: The learner stalls when moving off.

Feedback: Instructor discusses how clutch control is a vital part of the BP.

“We need to practice your clutch-control a little before doing the bay park. When manoeuvring in a tight space it’s essential to operate the clutch smoothly.”

Action: The learner makes a good decision in a meeting situation. Feedback: Instructor explains how that decision making skill is the same as that used when considering other traffic during the BP.

“Well done, that’s exactly the way you need to make the decision to wait or proceed if another vehicle approaches during the BP.”

Getting the idea?

Information is generated by the learner driver's actions and also by the opportunities for discussion that the route and/or actions of others present. You then ‘consider that through the ‘frame’ of the main topic – in this case the BP. When this information is linked to specifically targeted tasks during the lesson it will help the learner to remember the relevant information more easily

Finally - Gifts

You may experience a situation where something random happens during a lesson as if it had been planned in advance, for example, a driver opens a door when you are discussing adequate clearance, a car comes through a red light when you are talking about observation before moving off at lights, etc.

I refer to these as ‘gifts’.

‘Gifts’ are often really useful in helping learners to recognise that your words and advice reflect the real world and are not just a ‘load of theory for passing the test’ - these ‘gifts’ can make your job a lot easier.

If you become skilled at ensuring that all training has an underlying frame, you will find that ‘gifts’ start to become more frequent and relevant (especially if you are working on well-planned routes). This is because as lessons become better focussed awareness of relevant information becomes heightened.

Reference points - be aware

The following discusses the concept of using reference points in teaching. It is included here because reference points are often taught as a fundamental basic of skill development or remedial action.

You will see that while reference points may sometimes be useful they are usually unnecessary – and in some situations might be considered to be positively dangerous.

Remember that reference points are very individual, what works for one person does not necessarily work for another. A seating position, a drivers size and shape, all have an effect on reference positions.

I find it is better to allow a learner driver to develop their own reference points as they progress through their lessons. This way they are personal to them and assist them better.  More on reference points will be explored during your in car sessions.

Summary

ASDA is a useful routine approach to Part-Three lesson development and remedial action.

During Part-Three and in ‘real-world’ teaching the application of the routine can vary depending upon need.

Job-Sharing is the name we give to the task of keeping the learner fully informed about what is happening in the lesson, what is expected of them and what they can expect of their instructor. We often refer to this as shared responsibility.

The concept of ‘Lesson Themes’ provides a useful way for students to keep focussed on the main subject during Part-Three.

Be careful about the way you teach reference points.