It's a simple mantra. Goals, Reality. Options, Way Forward. As I work to become more comfortable with Clent Centred Learning as opposed to the old ways of simply teaching people to drive I find this is the first challenge of any driving lesson. Setting the goals using the GROW model.
Client Centred Learning (CCL) relies on the fact that the pupil is highly intelligent and self-aware, has a great deal of enthusiasm for their driving lessons and takes time to consider their learning in between their weekly sessions. Unfortunately, I find this to rarely be the case. I find that goal setting is very instructor-led in my lessons. The CCL textbooks are full of highly fictitious conversations between instructor and pupil where the pupil has a lot of input and can recall exactly what the areas in need of improvement. what to aim for and how to get there. I find only a small percentage of pupils are able to engage with the instructor at this level. How can I change this and coax more involvement from the pupil?
I usually start by asking 'OK so what did we do last week?' The response is rarely like it is in the textbooks. Sometimes the pupil can't remember at all and when they do remember things it's usually a list of specific events that happened during the drive, nothing about the overall plan or what the goals were on the last lesson. I keep notes on lessons so I can tell the pupils what we did and what sort of challenges they faced. This seems a far cry from the ideal expected on the standards check. As I come to the goal-setting phase I find pupils tend to clam up and rather than face an awkward silence I will suggest goals based on my notes and the pupil will agree. It does count as an agreed goal based on the pupil's needs but more input from the pupil would be preferable.
The Reality stage of the process must be handled diplomatically with pupils who deny anything is wrong and don't like to admit their weaknesses. I use real examples of previous Safety Critical Incidents to reinforce that improvements need to be made in a certain area. Sometimes a pupil will think that the instructor is holding them back if a new topic is not introduced for the lesson so a balance needs to be struck between reinforcing previous learning and the pupil's desire to make progress. I tend to use the Spiral method of teaching where new topics are introduced before old ones have been completely mastered. This gives more variety to practice in lessons and prevents boredom and frustration from setting in.
Options is easily the most confusing part of the GROW model. To be honest there aren't that many options available in driver training. We could revisit the previous driving area and agree to a talk-through or prompted practice. We could look at a diagram or a video but the pupil would be hard-pressed to find any options other than these. Options-type questions seen in the textbooks seem to be nonsensical in the context of a real lesson and would have the pupil looking at the instructor like they didn't know what was going on. In other fields, there may be a range of strategies available but we are limited in driving instruction.
Way Forward usually has one option. Drive the car and practice. just about every pupil says this. As driving is a practical skill you can only really learn it by doing it. The level of support needs to be agreed and sometimes the pupil will suggest returning to an area driven on a previous lesson. Some pupils will watch a video or two at home and bring what they learned with them but these are a minority.
I will continue to work to implement the GROW model into every lesson I do but I doubt it will ever reach the textbook standard. Perhaps with a few pupils but certainly not the majority. A lot of people like the lessons to be instructor-led and actively reject taking responsibility for where their training is going. 'Whatever you say mate, you're the instructor' is a common reply to my questions. 'I would feel better if we didn't discuss what we were going to do first and we just went and did it' said a particularly nervous pupil. Sometimes being client-centred just means instructing them. Plenty of work for me to do on this during my driving lessons Nottingham area.
Comments
Post a Comment