LESSON PLANNING 2.

STRUCTURE

Was the agreed lesson structure appropriate for the pupil's experience and ability?

What do we mean by 
Lesson Structure?

The Lesson needs to have a clear purpose to it. 
It needs to have been agreed between the pupil and the instructor.
And it must be at a level that is appropriate for the pupil's abilities or is building further on those abilities.


Think about something as simple as putting on a pair of laced up shoes.

You wouldn't tie the shoe laces first and then try and put the shoes on would you?

Once the laces are tied up it would make it extremely hard if not impossible to put the shoes on.

So you ensure the laces are untied first, open the mouth of the foot entrance, slide in your foot, and then tie up the laces.

By having a structure to how you are going to put the shoes on before you attempt to do it makes the task in hand a lot easier to achieve.

This structure is no different to that which we do for our pupils.


Picking up a pupil for their very first lesson who has never driven a car before, and ask them to jump in and drive you both to a safe place would probably scare the hell out of your pupil and probably not be achievable without lots of interactions from you if at all, to keep things safe.

So you drive them to a safe location first and work on things bit by bit by creating a lesson structure.

The structure has to have a defined purpose that your pupil understands.

The Lesson structure will generally be set up in the same manner as your SMART framework as discussed in the previous Goals and Needs section.

As you lessons progress the tasks for the lessons structure will work from simple - more complex and the learning will become more challenging as your pupil gains their skills and things become easy for them to achieve. If they become too easy to achieve they will become bored and unmotivated.


When we talk about the Lesson Structure being agreed, we mean that the instructor will work with the pupil to work out how the goals will be achieved.
This needs to be discussed with the pupil rather than imposing the lesson structure on the pupil.

As previously mentioned though, the instructors experience and skill will have to have an influence when discussing the structure.



Example.

INSTRUCTOR
"So the goals we've set up for today are to deal with larger volumes of pedestrians around a town centre are you happy with that?"

PUPIL
"Yes"

INSTRUCTOR
"So it's midday, what do you think we might come across today"

PUPIL
"Well, people might be having their lunch break from work so might be out grabbing some lunch"

INSTRUCTOR
"Yes, that's true, so based on that, what might we need to be a little bit more aware of?"

PUPIL
"They might be in a rush and not paying attention"

INSTRUCTOR
"Exactly! So what would be a good thing to consider while we drive through the town centre"

PUPIL
"I suppose if we stay a little slower so we could stop quickly if we need to. That would make things safer for us and the pedestrians".

INSTRUCTOR
"Are there any other things you may need to consider driving through a town centre?"

PUPIL
"Hmmm, I not quite sure"

INSTRUCTOR
"What type of road structure might be in place around a Town centre?"

PUPIL
"I'm Not quite sure what you mean by road structure"

INSTRUCTOR
"OK, Thanks for being honest there. Well in town centres it is quite common to find One Way streets to allow traffic to flow through the Town Centre more easily. So we may find that we have them to deal with as well. Are you comfortable with dealing with them?"

PUPIL
"Oh yes, we dealt with them the other day when we were near the Seafront. They had a One Way system running there as well"

INSTRUCTOR
"OK that's good that you are ok with them.
So is there any help you want from me with dealing with the possibility of larger volumes of pedestrians or the Town Centre roads themselves"

PUPIL
"If you could remind me to keep my speed slow if I'm not, that would be really helpful, but also mention if I am going too slow"

INSTRUCTOR
"OK, I can do that. Is there anything else you would want help with?"

PUPIL
"No, I don't think so. I'm comfortable with clutch control and checking around me where necessary.
I suppose it will be similar to some of the tight residential roads that we have driven, and the possibility of pedestrians coming out in between parked cars".

INSTRUCTOR
"Yes that's a really good example of things you have done before that carry similar conditions, If you go with the same form of defensive driving in the
Town Centre as you do on tight residential roads you'll be in the correct frame of mind to deal with them, Well done."
Are you happy to continue on?"

PUPIL
"Yes let's do this"

2-Way conversation

By having this 2 Way conversation, the Instructor has engaged with the pupil.
The pupil understands what the structure of the lesson is.
They understand there may be a larger volume of pedestrians around than they usually deal with which will involve possibly slower speeds,
more awareness around the car, and the possibility of having a good awareness of road signs and road markings if any One Way streets come up during the journey.
They are aware that the Instructor may notify them of their speed if they are going too fast or slow.
They are happy to take care of everything else.

Both Instructor and Pupil are aware of their own roles.
By engaging your pupil, you are creating an integral part of learning and building the skill of your pupil to be able to reflect on what they have done in the past and what might be required of them moving forward thus building their responsibility.

In the example above, it is clear to see that the pupil has had to make decisions as to "WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN" this is all part of building their independence in decision making which will prepare them for future scenarios of the same situations.


The Pupil's Experience and Ability

If you are creating proper LESSON STRUCTURES, then they should fit the experience and ability of your pupil.

It may be that your learner will have the abilities to be capable of carrying out the goal of the lesson structure but not the experience to deal with it confidently. 
Based on their learning style it may be necessary for you to demonstrate how to achieve the goal they are trying to achieve before they have a go.
It may be that you'll need to give a full brief of what it required, or by showing the method by means of video, visual training aids or whatever best suits your pupil. It may just be a case that as their instructor you know they are capable of carrying out the task and just let them have a go at it and see how things progress.

You are best suited to make these decisions by knowing how your pupil best learns.



When we talk about experience and ability, their ability does not just cover how good or bad they may be at something,
it also links with their mental and physical ability. 
Are they physically and mentally "Fit"

Do they have a cold?
Are they feeling under the weather?
Are they tired?
Have they had some bad news recently?
Have they just come out of a relationship?
Are they on any medication?
Have they consumed alcohol or drugs recently?
Have they had an disagreement with someone just before the lesson?


This list is far from exhausted, but will be some of the more common factor that could effect hugely the outcome of the lesson structure.
It is therefore important that for each lesson you ask your pupil how they are today.

They may answer with "fine"
but as the lesson progresses, things might not be going as well as they usually do.
You may find out part way through the lesson that they are yawning or but looking at their body language you may see that they are not their usual self and may not be as focused or look like they have something on their mind.

Obviously, if your pupil does not want to divulge information to you about their private life, that is fine, it is by all account their private life.

But if you sense something is not quite the "usual" you may re-question them about how they are feeling.

How do Instructors grow at becoming confident at ensuring they are supplying well structured lessons?

1. Be sure to reflect on your own instructing methods.
2. Ensure that you feel that the lesson was planned out with your pupil and agreed to.
3. Ensure that there is a good balance between linking the practical side of the lesson with the theory side of driving.
4. Ensure that you ensure the lesson has a clear and concise structure to it that is understood by both parties.
5. Ensure that the lesson has a good balance of the pupil's experience and current ability.
6. Ensure that if the lesson needs adapting based on the pupil mental or physical state, that it is adapted.

The 17 Competencies (2)

Competency 1
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Competency 3
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Competency 4
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Competency 5
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Competency 6
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Competency 7
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Competency 8
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Competency 9
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Competency 10
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Competency 11
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Competency 12
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Competency 13
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Competency 14
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Competency 15
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Competency 16
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Competency 17
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