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Graham Hooper – Were the practice areas suitable?

Driving Instructor Trainer Blog for Driving Instructors

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Were the practice areas suitable?

This can be extremely challenging especially if you are delivering a lesson from a test centre location for your part 3 or standards check. You do though have the opportunity to drive away from the test centre giving a demonstration of what you are requiring the client to learn.

You should ensure that the routes that you will be using are relevant and helpful for your client to achieve their learning outcomes (GOAL). This means it is not necessary to choose a topic ie; Roundabouts but to look for transferable skills, for example, speed on approach to junctions to enable effective observations before deciding to go.

The route should provide some challenges but without taking them completely out of their comfort zones and also outside their competence levels. Foe example:

  • There should be a range of opportunities that will address the learning outcomes.
  • You should set up challenges that will allow you to manage the risk.

Be careful you don’t take both you and your client outside their competence zone and you spend the whole lesson, just surviving and exposing the client to unnecessary risks they can not manage. This is a fine art and you need to know your area well so that if you need to you can change the route to reduce the risk. This of course works both ways if its too easy you must adapt the route to provide more challenges.

Before taking a part 3 or standards check plan your route, and be aware of different times of days and roadworks.

In my next blog I will look at, was the lesson plan adapted, when appropriate, to help the pupil work towards their learning goals.

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