Hi, I'm Sarah Hart, Director of Drive Heart. And we're joined today by the other director, Judith Layton. Hello. And also one of our PDIs, Cass. Hello. Hi there, guys. So what we're going to concentrate on talking about today for a few minutes is one of the elements on the SC1, which is lesson planning.
So for those of you coming up to a standards check or a part three, lesson planning is quite a big part of it all. So Cass, do you have any particular questions at all about lesson planning?
Yeah, so I was looking at the competencies, and you've got was the lesson plan adapted when appropriate to help the pupil work towards their learning goals? So how would you link the adaption to the pupil and their goals? And their original goals.
Speaker 2Okay, that's a great question. So there's a many reasons and ways to adapt a lesson. So that's the first thing to say. And it might be that if something has gone really awry and really wrong, then perhaps the adaption won't actually link to the original goals. But the way you get over that is you'd reset your goals.
Speaker 1So would it be useful, Cass, to have a practical example of that? Yes,
please. Yeah, so I think if somebody set off to do a meeting traffic session and they're looking at clearance and holdback and things like that, and during the session something happens or you you notice that the mirror discipline is dropping off. Can you pick that one up, Sarah?
Speaker 2Yeah, of course. So if it's a mirror discipline issue, obviously you're going to spot it, say it and deal with it. So that might mean just changing the focus or the emphasis of the lesson slightly away from meeting traffic, and maybe just reset the goal slightly so that you're looking at getting those mirrors checked at the right time for the right reasons.
Speaker 2That having been said, it doesn't mean that you have to drop completely the meeting traffic. So it might be that you need to move to a slightly easier training area so that the level of difficulty for the meeting traffic is slightly reduced, because that might give them some extra space in their head to get the mirror checks done. So you don't necessarily have to move completely away from your original goals. It might be in addition to your original goals,
but if it's something that requires you to stop the current plan/goal, then you might have to stop your original plan discuss the issue and reset the plan and goals with the student: An example your plan was to work on roundabouts, but whilst setting off your hill start presents a number of issues (with observations, control etc) you may need to stop, discuss and agree to change your plan and focus on hill starts, which may require you to go off the planned practice area, does that assist:
Speaker 2Speaker
Yeah, it was good to have an example of when and how.
Speaker 1The other thing to remember is of course, if if you're adapting the plan for a different reason, it's not a fault that's occurred, but you're adapting the plan because the student's reaction to your lesson, you know, if they're starting to really struggle.
Speaker 1So is that another example that might be worth teasing out, Sarah?
Speaker 2Yeah, 100%. So if you've got a a student, you've set your lesson plan, you've set the goals which have been agreed by the student, and you get a sense or you can feel that the student is really struggling. And Cass, you've you've been in a car, you you do know that what that feels like, don't you? Yeah, you can definitely feel it. Yeah, exactly. So the student's starting to grip the wheels, they've got the white knuckle look, or they're starting to breathe in a funny way, or they're making noises. We just get a general sense that things aren't right.
Speaker 2Then at that point, you'd need to probably pull over, stop and have a chat with them. And it could be for a number of reasons. It might be, you know, that they're feeling unwell. Well, obviously, you can't crack on with a lesson if they're if they're really not well, but it might just be the level of stress that they're feeling because of the subject, the location, the traffic. Oh, the level of support, the level of support
Speaker 1And it's really it's really important to know that adapting the plan isn't just responding to an identified fault, but it can changing response by the student or changing circumstances. In this case, the example is that the student obviously is exhibiting signs of struggling or stress. And it's it's worth taking that time out.
looking at the examiner's guide, it in the section on lesson planning, where it discusses the suitability of your practice area with exmaples where your planned area is stretching the student, but they start to struggle, then sometimes you need to adapt your plan because it might be too challenging and you need to either up the level of support or, as Sarah said, actually find an area where it's not quite so as challenging.
Speaker 1But make sure if your having to respond and adapt your plan that that you don't set off with a plan to do something different the student doesn't understand or agree to. It's really important. We set goals, but that implicitly implies that you've had a discussion about what the plan is you're going to do. So you understand what the concerns the student has, and you're negotiating you know a new plan, and then you're setting those goals with that. Now, if it's responding to them being concerned about something like roundabouts or meeting traffic in a busy town centre, it's really important that you get to the root of that through a discussion, isn't it?
Speaker 2And also I would say, you know, through a lesson, you're constantly doing minor adaptations and adjustments; in a 2 hour lesson you're constantly changing your level of support depending on what is needed by the student and you need to aim to make this change in support as seamless as possible.
Speaker 1So any other questions, lesson planning relate.
Speaker 1It has four sub-competencies that are assessed
Speaker 11. did the trainer identify the pubipls learning goasl and needs?
Speaker 12. was the agreed lesson structure appropirate for the pupils experience and ability ?
Speaker 13. Were the practice areas suitable
Speaker 14. Was the lesson plan adapted when apprpriate to help the student work towards their learning goals
Speaker 1So we've talked a little bit about adapting. Any of the other aspects, Sarah?
Speaker 2No, I don't think we've got any other questions, but we're looking at identifying the goals, you know, of the student. What does the student actually need? So it's absolutely no point in you going out in any lesson, forget whether it's an exam or not, but there's no point in you going out and teaching a lesson just because you like to teach that subject. It's obviously got to be what the student actually needs. And the discussion on those needs is a conversation, which has to be kept real, so goals have meaning for the student and plan set fully understood and agreed before you set off.
Speaker 1And I think the examiner's guidance makes it really clear that you should focus on the student's needs and negotiate the plan and the goals with the student. So it's not about telling them that you're going to be doing a particular subject. And that's explicit in the way that the both the part three and the standards checks are marked.
Speaker 2Do you want to cover anything esle on lesson planning?
Speaker 1Speaker 2
I don't think so. Now you've got any other questions, Kat, or has that helped clarify a few bits and pieces for you?
Speaker 2Yeah, that's been really good. Um, I don't have any other questions. Great.
Okay, well, thanks for joining us guys today. And hopefully it's been of use. And uh reach out if we can if you're going to get in touch with us.
Speaker 1The email is admin at driveheart.com. Or you can phone us or WhatsApp as on 07919-488-360. Thank you.
Speaker 2Thank you for listening .