The instructor's workplace

Watch the two videos below, 'The in-car environment' and 'The instructor's seating position', then read the notes and complete the project.

Workplace notes:

The most important aspect of any workplace is SAFETY. This is especially the case when your 'classroom' weighs a ton and hurtles along at speeds up to 70 mph!

The safety of road users, including your customer and yourself, must never be jeopardised during training. The ideal way to achieve this would be to do all the training in an off-road environment - but if we did this, our pupils would not learn the skills needed to cope with everyday roads and traffic.

With the points above in mind you need to balance the level of danger to match the pupil's skill at all time when determining safe training routes.

Some instructors keep the car safe by using lots of instruction and taking control by pressing the dual brake or grabbing the steering wheel - this might keep the car safe, but what effect do you think it will have on confidence and learning?

Your task is to adjust the workplace (both in the car and on training routes) to help your pupils to acquire the skills that will enable them to take and accept responsibility for their actions - they won't achieve this if you take the responsibility away from them all the time!

But how can we reconcile the need for safety at all times with the learner’s need to use his initiative and to learn through trial and error? 

The project below is a good starting point for your Part-Thee journey.

You will no doubt have had some experience sitting in the front passenger seat over the years, but now you need to prepare for 'the instructor's seat'. Driving school cars don't have front passenger seats - at least during their hours of business!

It's important to remember that when you are in the front seat, you are working.

Next: Step 3 - Checklist...