It’s an unfortunate truth that not all driving teachers are created equal. Due to differing personalities some instructors are more prone to stress, while others might think they are helping a young driver when their approach can discourage and even hinder learning of a beginner driver. Here at A-Grade Driving School we’ve put together a list of strategies to equip parents and other non-professional instructors when conducting driving lessons.
These tips and strategies are based on the insights and wealth of experience our professional driving instructors possess when conducting driving lessons throughout the Brisbane area. We hope they help to make the time spent behind the wheel as productive as possible and a positive learning experience for everyone involved.
Tips and strategies to implement during the lesson:
– Stay calm. If you are stressed, anxious or uptight, it’s going to affect the learner driver and impact on the way they behave on the roads. When stressed, a drivers’ concentration is lowered and as a result they are more prone to making mistakes.
– Be positive. Aim to look at the positives of situations to encourage the driver. This assists with building confidence. If any faults need addressing they should follow the formula of: praise—constructive criticism—praise. This training method is one of the best for positive reinforcement while still communicating to the learner any areas that need work.
– Give any instructions and directions to the driver well in advance, in a clear and specific way so they have time to prepare for the manoeuvre.
– Do not contradict techniques given by a professional driving instructor. Even if you disagree with the techniques, professional instructors know what the licensing department are looking during practical driving test, and base their lessons around this.
– Ask questions to determine what the learner is ‘seeing,’ to gauge whether they have noticed something that may develop into a hazard. – What seems obvious to you may not be obvious for the learner.
– Encourage the habit of Mirror Check – Indicate – Manoeuvre when making any turns or changing lanes. Throughout the drive remind the learner to check speedometer regularly.
Tips and strategies to communicate after the lesson:
– After each drive review the major learning points and road conditions that formed the lesson. Where did you go? Did the weather play a part in the drive? What were the conditions on the road? What challenges were there? Remember to stay positive.
– If there are several faults to address, start with the issues that pose a higher risk, and leave the other issues for later or another time to avoid discouraging the learner.
– Before the next lesson review again the major issues from the previous lesson, and highlight the importance of working on these issues.
These are just a few tips to assist instructors in running a smooth driving lesson that is a positive learning experience for all. Often though, particularly at the very early stage of learning to drive, beginner drivers benefit from professional instructor who is equipped with the knowledge to lay the foundations for good driving habits. To book one of our professional driving lessons from the team here at A Grade Driving School give us a call today on 1300 885 585.