Lesson Themes - Introduction

All lessons, or learning sessions within lessons, have a specific topic or core subject - often referred to as the 'lesson theme'.

The DVSA have a heading called 'lesson theme' on their marking sheets. The lesson theme section of the sheet is designed to allow the examiner to record the things that were covered during the lesson - it is not a list of lessons that you will be expected to teach. For ADI Part-Three and Standards Checks you can choose any subject that you wish and are not limited by those listed on the examiner's form.

We use the term 'theming' to describe a process that can help you to tightly focus your lessons and keep them 'on theme' when something unexpected happens that is not directly relevant to the planned lesson. It's not unusual for unexpected errors to arise during lessons.

In this unit we discuss an example of a Zebra Crossing lesson where the driver makes what appears to be an 'unrelated' mistake at a junction. Our theming discussion demonstrates that the mistake is not actually 'unrelated' at all - all driving actions have related elements, speed, observation, routines and so on. You can use every opportunity that arises during lessons to help get the 'main theme' message across even when you are not working directly on the theme subject.

Next: The pedestrian crossing/safety lesson example...