Getting Your Technicals Right - comprehensive, appropriate and accurate,

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Hi, I'm Sarah Hart, Director of Drive Heart, and I'm joined by the other director, Julie.
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Hello.
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Hello, Julie.
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So this is Teaching and Learning Two.
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And what we're going to look at now is was technical information comprehensive, appropriate, and accurate?
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So we're going to cover one to six points, starting, of course, with number one.
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And the first thing is what might trigger a conversation about something technical in your lesson?
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So it could be a number of things.
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It could be that something simple, like your student has asked a question.
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It might be something that's happened that triggers a conversation.
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Or it might simply be an opportunity that you have spotted as the instructor where you feel that your student would benefit from and get some learning.
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So if your student has asked you a question, you first of all need to decide whether it's something you could do on the move.
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Can you answer that question straightforward and simply on the move?
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And if you can, then obviously that's what you'll do.
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But if it's a little more complex, then you're going to have to think about pulling over and unpacking it.
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But as always, make sure that you acknowledge the question and tell your student that you will be dealing with it and answering it when you get the opportunity.
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It might be an event that's happened, and this is very often the case, where something has happened with the student and it's clear that they are unsure or there is some lack of clarity about the technical rules, regulations, or whatever.
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So, for example, a good example, I think, is the flashing amber light at a pelican crossing.
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And it quite often happens that the flashing light is flashing amber, and there's no one on the crossing, and there's no one looking like they're about to dash across the crossing, and the student waits.
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So that is a good example of an event that has happened that has caused a little bit of confusion.
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So that's something that you'd need to unpack with them.
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Now, in my opinion, mostly you're going to have to pull up and unpack that one because it goes into a little bit of depth, so you'll need to pull up and stop on that one.
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And maybe an opportunity has arisen.
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For example, a blues and twos coming up behind you, and you're at a red traffic light, or you're observing that situation from afar.
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Doesn't matter.
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You know, what are the rules about going through a red light?
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If there's a blues and twos behind you, what should you do?
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What you should you not do.
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So that's where an opportunity might arise for you to get some learning, even if it's not even related to your lesson subject of the day.
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So the second thing we're going to talk about is when you're discussing something technical, always make sure that you find out first of all what your student does and doesn't know.
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Because it might be that they've got more knowledge than you think, in which case you need to start from the playing field that they're on already.
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Or it might be the other way around that they absolutely know nothing, and it's not a great thing if you then assume that they have some knowledge beforehand.
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The third thing we're going to talk about is the precision and accuracy of the information that you're imparting to your student.
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It's really important that you know your stuff with technical.
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So that that might be anything really from the highway code, the law, how it relates to you as the PDI and the driver, anything about road signs and markings.
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I mean, there's a whole host of things that you need to know as an instructor.
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So make sure that you are precise and accurate with your information.
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There's nothing worse than as an instructor giving information to a student that's wrong.
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So if we just relate that back to uh the flashing amber for a second, what kind of examples have you seen when it's been done well and not well?
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Uh on the flashing amber?
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Yeah, so I've seen plenty.
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So the the crossing is completely clear.
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We've we've been approaching it with a red, a red light.
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The light then goes to flashing amber.
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There's no one around, and the the learner just sits and waits.
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And of course the guys behind are getting a little bit furious by this point.
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But at that point, the the student needs to make progress.
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The other thing might be that it's flashing amber and they start to go even though there's still somebody on the crossing.
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So it can go either way.
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So the kind of examples that we've seen PDIs, how they've dealt with that well or not so well.
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Yeah, so it might be that somebody who's dealt with it not so well has pulled over and started to explain it, but you can tell that the learner doesn't really grip or grasp what the instructor's saying.
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Because it's not just about the flashing amber, it's about assessing everything that's happening around the crossing.
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You know, is there somebody hurtling towards the crossing who is obviously going to throw themselves out on the crossing?
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But, you know, it's about how the student reacts because if they hesitate when it's clear, but someone's standing waiting, as they should, and they're not going to cross, but the student then hesitates, that's then almost encouraging the pedestrian to step out and cross.
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And they're saying, Well, if I'd gone, but that lady crossed, she stepped out.
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Well, she only stepped out because you were hesitating.
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So sometimes it's quite a fine, fine balance and a fine line.
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So some of the examples I I've seen are where a PDI clearly hasn't known what to say in relation to the flashing amber because they have been unclear of the technical point themselves.
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Yes.
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And I think it's classically at the the at the moment that the question is raised by the student, should I go or should I stop?
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And you see that look of panic on a PDI's face because they're not sure.
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Yep.
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And I think that that is the point at which you really you need to grasp just how critical it is that you do the revision on your technicals, isn't it?
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Uh and technicals isn't anything mist mysterious, it really is about understanding the highway code, understanding your traffic lights, understanding crossings, so that you are able to give that immediate and precise response, isn't it?
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Yes, and it's the same sort of thing we have with a crossing point.
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You know, do I have priority if there's somebody standing waiting?
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Well, no, you have priority at a crossing point as a driver, but you wouldn't want to block it if there was a traffic queue, and certainly if somebody stepped out, you wouldn't want to continue.
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So there's lots of little nuances, but you've got to get your information correct.
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Okay, so just to summarise, we've covered point one, which is what kind of events can trigger the need for technical information.
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And we said there's a wide range.
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It can be an event, an issue, or a learning opportunity, or something happens, or a question gets raised.
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But check out prior knowledge, if it's appropriate, given what's happening, check out what the student's knowledge is.
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But if it's clear that they need input, that that should be done with precision and accuracy, uh, so it's not misleading.
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And probably this brings us to our fourth point, which is it has to be given timely at an appropriate time, doesn't it?
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Yes, again, so if you have the flashing amber situation in the middle of the city, for example, in Salisbury, you really aren't going to find anywhere to stop near the crossings, so you'll have to tag it and make sure that you make it clear to your learner that you are going to discuss it, but it's not appropriate right now.
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So we'll concentrate on what's happening ahead of us for now, and then we'll pull up in a safe place when we can.
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Sometimes something will happen and it might be that you're already you might already be at the side of the road, for example, if you see a situation developing with other drivers, well, you wouldn't then drive off and stop again.
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You're gonna unpack there and then.
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But um, that's for you is the the PDI, and that sort of relates to the structure of your lesson, making sure that you find somewhere safe to pull up and stop.
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Okay, which brings us on to our fifth point, and as always, with any kind of information to the student, really checking out that it's understood and received, isn't it?
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Yes, exactly.
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So again, we've touched on this in other podcasts, so make sure that when you're having a conversation with your student that they understand.
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And it might be about breaking down the subject a little bit to recap.
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So by breaking it down, what you're trying to do is avoid overloading the student with a whole load of information all at once.
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So don't be afraid to break it down.
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Go in bite-sized chunks, make sure that they understand each section so that you don't overload the student.
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And again, it's really important when you're introducing new technical information to somebody that you use very clear, concise, and accurate terms.
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And really just getting a feel for how the student reacts to that information.
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Sarah said, don't overload.
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Often it can not be a verbal reaction, it can be the way that the student is physically responding to the information you're giving them because they might find it challenging if it involves technical terms.
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I remember trying to explain coasting to a student and about engine breaking.
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And if they don't have any understanding of engine breaking, then there's no point assuming that they will understand what impact coasting will have had.
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So you have to resort to using different tools, diagrams, uh, sometimes using less technical language, isn't it?
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Yes, it might be about using an example that you can you know would fit well with a student.
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For example, I quite often use sporting analogies or you know, depending on what your student understands.
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But you know, also listen or watch for their body language because if they start withdrawing from you and not really responding, you've lost them at that point.
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So you need to rewind, re-engage them and make sure that they understand as you go.
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Finally, that brings us to our sixth point, which is we've talked about it before, is be flexible in trying to secure learning.
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So this is about using a variety of tools, methods, even changing your language to make it more accessible to the student.
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And where possible, link it to your learning goals.
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And if you've got any direction in your debrief, is try to link it through the unpacking through to the debrief, particularly if it's relevant for them to do some private practice on.
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So if it was an issue about, I don't know, coasting, it might be something that they want to be aware of in their private practice.
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Uh any any points on that?
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Yeah, no, exactly.
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Just just use what you've got, use your tools.
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Most of us instructors have a box full of tricks in the back of the car, which can be very helpful when you're trying to explain things or presenters or magnetic tools or whatever.
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And then exactly as Judy says, try and link it back to your goals if possible, and set them some homework, maybe set them onto the revision notes that we have at Driveheart, and just try and round it off positively.
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And I think just the final point on this, and it is about the student having responsibility for their learning.
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So it's really important not to just tell about technicals, but actually make it a two-way conversation where the student is encouraged to actually cross-check and ask questions and explore and check out the meaning of things.
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And that way they're taking responsibility for their learning and they're starting to own the unpacking, aren't they?
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Yeah, absolutely.
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And you know, when we we talked about prior knowledge as well, if the student already has prior knowledge of the subject that you're talking about, it doesn't mean they can't get any learning because you, if you're skillful as an instructor, will be able to get into a deeper level of questioning and different scenarios.
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So, you know, even though they might know it at the basic level, just dig a bit deeper, just you know, stretch them out a little bit.
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And I think just to conclude, as we said before in a couple of other podcasts, uh, when we were looking at problem solving, if you're delivering technical information as part of a problem solving exercise, absolutely fully engage the student in that.
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And as we said at the beginning of this podcast, is the first thing is check out what the student's prior knowledge is.
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Don't just assume by offloading a lot of technical information.
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Start from exploring just how much they do know about, for example, the example that we've given is the crossings and the amber light, and then expand and build on it so that the student doesn't feel belittled by having to be fed information.
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But you're imparting it adult to adult, aren't you?
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Yeah, exactly.
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And as always, remain positive and upbeat.
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Great.
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Okay, so hopefully that's been useful to you.
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Come back to us, of course, with any queries or questions.
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And thank you very much for listening.