Responsibility For Risk

Transcription

1 The Ultimate Guide to The Standards Check 1 SmartDriving 5. Responsibility For Risk

2 The Ultimate Guide to The Standards Check Responsibility For Risk Introduction

3 5. Responsibility For Risk 3 The second section of the Standards Check assessment form is headed Risk Management. The first criterion in the Risk Management section of the examiner s form is: Did the trainer ensure that the pupil fully understood how the responsibility for risk would be shared? Ultimately, as an ADI you are responsible for the safety of your learner and of other road users at all times during your driving lessons, however, this does not mean that you are responsible for driving the car this responsibility rests with the learner. Responsibility for risk means that you have to do everything reasonably possible to ensure a safe learning environment for the most part this will be managed by the way that the lesson is planned and the way that instruction and other information is delivered, but in an extreme situation an instructor might have to intervene physically bay taking control of the vehicle. From a training perspective you have a responsibility to develop the learner s awareness of risk and their ability to manage it. In this chapter I explore the concept of Job-Sharing. The job of risk management is shared between the instructor and learner with each party understanding what their share of the job is at any given time during the lesson. This chapter explores: Starting to share risk control early Three key reasons for Job Sharing The Learner s Job - Traditional... The Learner s Job - Modern... The examiner SmartDriving 2015

4 5. Responsibility For Risk 4 The concept of Job-Sharing is one of the single most effective ways to ensure that your learners remain motivated and that you always provide a correct and appropriate level of instruction. The method works for both absolute beginners and advanced drivers alike. The advice given in this chapter about Job Sharing and sharing responsibility for risk is not designed to help you to tick the boxes on the Standards Check assessment form; it s designed to help you to deliver a positive, motivating learning experience on every single lesson that you give. SmartDriving 2015

5 The Ultimate Guide to The Standards Check Responsibility For Risk Starting To Share Risk Control Early

6 5. Responsibility For Risk 6 Starting to share risk control early I ve already mentioned that as an instructor you are ultimately responsible for everything that happens during a lesson, however this is not the same thing as taking complete control. Some instructors feel that, if a new driver who has only recently passed the driving test, has an accident it must somehow be their fault (i.e., the instructor s fault). But of course, this is not the case. You have no control over what your customers do after they have left you. Drivers have to take responsibility for their own choices and decisions and it s an important part of your job, perhaps the most important part, to ensure that your customers understand that concept and are able to take it on board when they are in the driving seat. The starting point for sharing responsibility is ensuring that learners understand the concept of risk generally, and particular risks that are present in any given situation. These risks can range from basics of say, failing to check mirrors, to more complex risks such as driving while tired or intoxicated. If you think of responsibility, the responsibility for operating the controls, implementing routines, dealing with other road users, managing state, etcetera, as a job you will probably agree that in most driving lessons the job of responsibility initially rests primarily with the instructor and is passed on to the client. In other words, during the process of learning the job of taking responsibility is shared. Hence Job-Sharing. The Job-Sharing will go on until the learner reaches a safe driving standard; but then the instructor must let go... But if you wait until near to test-time to give the learner the lion s share of the responsibility, you will have missed a valuable opportunity to allow your learner to practise (and practice) the self-evaluation skills that will keep him/her safe after passing the test. Often it s said that the real learning only starts after a driver passes the driving test but how much learning happens when a new driver hits a tree? SmartDriving 2015

7 5. Responsibility For Risk 7 Sadly, young dead drivers don t get a second chance to gain experience. We can t stop new drivers hitting trees, but we might be able to reduce the chances of this happening by helping learners to understand the concept of choice and consequence from day one and we do this by allowing them to take responsibility for some of the driving risks. With all of this in mind your learners need to be taking some responsibility for risk from day one. But they need to be clearly aware of what they are responsible for. SmartDriving 2015

8 The Ultimate Guide to The Standards Check Responsibility For Risk Three Key Reasons For Job Sharing

9 5. Responsibility For Risk 9 Three key reasons for Job Sharing Whether you are taking a client-centred approach to training or a traditional teacher-led approach there are three key reasons why learners need to know exactly what they are responsible for. The three reasons are: Safety Clear session goals Motivation It s easy to assume that, because a topic has been discussed at the start of a lesson or explained in a remedial briefing, the learner will know what happens next and what they are responsible for. But over the years I ve witnessed literally hundreds of driving lessons (from the back seat) where a conversation or briefing has ended with Drive on when you are ready rather than So the plan is Job Sharing for safety Whether your lessons are instructor-led or client-centred, the responsibility for safety will be shared. The degree to which responsibility is shared will vary from instructor takes full responsibility to instructor will monitor the situation and only intervene in the event of critical risk. In a client-centred lesson, on a well-planned route, the responsibility for safety will rest primarily with the learner unless they have specifically requested a full talk-through or similar approach. However, even if/when there is a tacit agreement that this is the pattern that lessons will follow it s important to check that the learner understands exactly and specifically what areas of risk they are responsible for; this information needs to be made clear at the start of each lesson (before the car moves) and at specific points within the lesson, for example, after a new topic has been explained. SmartDriving 2015

10 5. Responsibility For Risk 10 Example of safety-related Job Sharing at the start: So we have agreed that in this lesson you will take responsibility for all aspects of emerging at junctions and I will only intervene if I think you are not dealing with an emerging situation safely; if I have to intervene we will stop and discuss the situation to help you correct any issues that arise. Job Sharing to establish clear session goals I talked about learning goals in Chapter One when I covered the initial criterion of Did the trainer identify the pupil s learning goals and needs? The same principles apply when summarising a training conversation and setting out a what next? plan for the next five/ten minutes of the lesson. Example of session-goals Job Sharing after an error: After a discussion (while parked) about a right-corner-cut an instructor might summarise by checking that his/her understanding of the discussion matches that of the learner. OK John, so you have recognised why it s better to keep well to the left as you enter the new road and how you can achieve this by slowing down on approach. We are going to do five more turns around this block. For the first two turns I will advise you about your speed and judging the speed of approaching vehicles, then for the next three you have chosen to have a go without any input from me is that correct? In this example the job of taking responsibility for risk has been agreed in the preceding discussion (so the learner should already know) but is now reiterated in the instructor s summary so that there is no room for doubt. Summarising the what next will help to focus the learner s attention clearly, but it also offers an opportunity for the learner to say But I thought or SmartDriving 2015

11 5. Responsibility For Risk 11 Yes, but can you also in the event that you haven t got it right or if something else springs to mind as a result of the summary. Job Sharing for motivation If you want to charge top lesson prices and give a great lesson experience its essential that your customers feel that they are achieving learning progress in every lesson; this sense of achievement will fuel their motivation. If responsibility for risk is not clearly defined there is a real chance that sooner or later (or often!) the learner will be expecting instructor input at a time when the instructor is expecting the learner to go it alone. In these situations vital seconds will be lost at 30 mph the car will cover almost 28 metres in two seconds. Plenty of time for things to go wrong! And when things go wrong the sense of achievement will often be zapped, undoing any hard work that preceded the situation. If this happens near the end of a lesson learners will often take a sense of failure away with them - and guess what they ll talk to their friends about! Of course, things will go wrong from time to time during lessons as they do in normal driving. But the point here is that by ensuring there is a clearly defined division of labour with regard to responsibility for risk, the chance of unnecessary errors will be minimised (i.e., errors caused by the teaching process). At the risk of repeating myself (again!) clearly defined means that you have agreed and summarised the specific responsibilities immediately before any practise or remedial drive. SmartDriving 2015

12 The Ultimate Guide to The Standards Check Responsibility For Risk The Learner s Job: Traditional...

13 5. Responsibility For Risk 13 The Learner s Job: Traditional... If you have followed the plot of this chapter so far you will have got the simple core message of: Keep your learners fully informed of their task at all times. But you might be left wondering how learners can take responsibility for most, if not all, of the time; after all they are only learners... The traditional approach to driving instruction follows a model of: I ll find out what you know. I ll explain things to you. I ll allow you to practise with full control from me (full talkthrough). (Guided practise) I ll allow you to practise with less input from me. (Prompted practise) I ll allow you to have a go on your own. In this model the instructor would offer Job-Sharing information at each point of the process ensuring that the learner knows what is going to happen next. The form of words used might be different to my suggestions below, but the principle is the same whichever words you use. At each point the learner has a responsibility (highlighted in italics below): I ll find out what you know. Job Sharing statement: I m going to spend a couple of minutes asking you a few questions to find out a bit more about your current knowledge about this subject, all you need to do is dig around in your memory! I ll explain things to you. Job Sharing statement: Great, so you know XYZ. Now I m going to SmartDriving 2015

14 5. Responsibility For Risk 14 explain a few things to help you build on that. Listen carefully, but stop me to ask questions if there is anything you are unsure about. I ll allow you to practise with full control from me. (Full talk-through/ Guided practise) Job Sharing statement: OK, now it s time to practise. I ll tell you everything you need to do. Your job is simply to listen carefully and do the things I tell you. I ll allow you to practise with less input from me. (Prompted practise) Job Sharing statement: Now that you are getting the idea, it s time for you to do a little more for yourself. For the next X minutes I will prompt you with the odd comment and some questions. I want you to do as much as you can for yourself but listen for my input. If I think you can do things without help I ll keep quiet. If you are unsure about whether you should be making a decision for yourself, or about what to do, just ask me. Are you happy with that? I ll allow you to have a go on your own. Job Sharing statement: OK, you are doing so well with this that I think you can do it without my assistance. For the next couple of times I want you to drive without any input from me... But remember that although I will be sitting quietly, I m still here to help. Just ask if you are not sure about anything - happy with that? If all instructors were to communicate the Job-Sharing information in this way there would be fewer confused learners! However, remember that this is an example of Job-Sharing based on an old model for training. This old model has served us well over the years and there are many instructors who will say if it ain t broke don t fix it. But if everyone had followed this maxim our evolutionary process would have been very different and we would probably still be living in caves! The problem with this model is that learners only start to practise taking responsibility for risk towards the end of their training or towards the

15 The Ultimate Guide to The Standards Check Responsibility For Risk The Learner s Job: Modern...

16 5. Responsibility For Risk 16 end of any practise session. A guesstimate would be that this limits their responsibility practise time to around 30% of the overall training time. The Learner s Job: Modern... Modern client-centred models use many, if not all, of the old skills - but the decision about which skill an instructor chooses to use will be primarily driven by the learner - not by a predetermined model that is imposed on the learner by the instructor. There is also another layer in the job-share process in modern training. This is the sharing layer that effectively asks What are we going to do, and, how and where are we going to do it. In a sense, this means that learners are taking responsibility for designing their own learning experience, a starting point for managing risk - but it s clearly not quite as straightforward as that. Most training will follow a structured syllabus (modified as appropriate for each learner) and that is the context upon which the learning decisions will be made. The process might be something like: A recap discussion about previous learning (from earlier in the session, from a previous session or from somewhere else). A discussion about a logical next step (for example: You ve mastered left turns, what do you think comes next? ) A discussion about how the next step might be achieved and how it relates to prior and future learning. Practise based on the learning plan that has been determined jointly between instructor and learner. The Job-Sharing information takes the form of discussion during the planning phase of the lesson and in a summary before any practice. See the examples on the next page.

17 5. Responsibility For Risk 17 A recap discussion about previous learning (from earlier in the session, from a previous session or from somewhere else). Job Sharing statement: Let s start by discussing what we did last week. or What would be a good starting point for today s lesson? A discussion about a logical next step (for example: You ve mastered left turns, what do you think comes next? ) Job Sharing statement: Given that you have successfully achieved XYZ, what do you feel the next step should be? A discussion about how the next step might be achieved and how it relates to prior and future learning. Job Sharing statement: That s great, so now we need to determine some goals and how you can achieve them. (At this point you might use something like the GROW model to develop ideas) Practise based on the learning plan that has been determined jointly between instructor and learner. Job Sharing statement: OK, so let me check. We ve agreed that you will do two right turns with my help and then if you are feeling confident, you ll do a couple without input from me. But that you will let me know if you feel uncertain at any point or if you want to change the plan. This last element is essential before any practice (just as in the old model) to ensure that the learner has a clear idea of what is about to happen - and should contain as much detail as necessary, for example You have asked me to talk you through the manoeuvre. You will perhaps note that the main difference between the old and new training models is that the instructor made all the decisions about what was going to happen in the old model. When this happens, vital opportunities

18 5. Responsibility For Risk 18 for practising taking responsibility are missed. With a more inclusive model the learner effectively has responsibility from the start - responsibility for their learning and the actions and consequences that result from this. By taking this approach your customers will have far more practise (as mentioned earlier) at self-evaluation... The skill that will keep them alive when they are driving alone after passing the test.

19 The Ultimate Guide to The Standards Check Responsibility For Risk The Examiner

20 5. Responsibility For Risk 20 The Examiner An important point to remember on the day of your Standards Check appointment is that examiners are not psychic! The information below applies to many aspects of your Standards Check lesson, but is particularly important with regard to risk-management. This is a quote from the examiner s guidelines: Under test conditions there are no circumstances in which an ADI can assume that the issue of risk management has been dealt with. Even if the ADI and the pupil have had discussions about risk before the observed lesson, they must show that they are actively managing the issue for assessment purposes. If you are delivering an interactive, client-centred, lesson the information quoted above should not be an issue, simply because there will normally be several situations within a lesson where you will be explaining what happens next, or as one of my ADI customers described it to me Stating the bleeding obvious but remember, what s obvious to you might not be obvious to the learner; or to the examiner! The Examiner s assessment The DVSA guidelines state that following points are among the indicators that an instructor is communicating the responsibility for risk effectively: asking the pupil what is meant by risk asking the pupil what sorts of issues create risk, such as the use of alcohol or drugs explaining clearly what is expected of the pupil and what the pupil can reasonably expect of the ADI checking that the pupil understands what is required of them when there is a change of plan or when they are asked to repeat an exercise

21 The Ultimate Guide to The Standards Check Responsibility For Risk Action Point

22 5. Responsibility For Risk 22 Taking action on this chapter Over the next week focus on how well you keep your customers informed about their level of responsibility for risk. Do your learners understand specific and general risk factors relating to any given lesson? Do you discuss this before moving off at the start of the lesson? Is the learner 100% clear about how responsibility for risk will be shared when a new topic is tackled for the first time? Do you include a summary of responsibility for risk after every remedial discussion, before practise? Are there any avoidable errors that can be attributed to a lack of clear communication about roles and risk?