Lesson Planning - Is Your Lesson Meeting Student Needs?

Transcript link

Your lesson plan meets the real world, and the real world wins. We sit down as a training team to talk through what examiners actually want to see in SC1 lesson planning, especially for a standards check or ADI Part 3, and how to stay calm and purposeful when the drive doesn’t follow your original plan. If you’ve ever wondered how to prove your lesson plan is pupil-focused while still reacting to what’s happening on the road, this conversation is built for you. 

We dig into the skill that separates a rigid script from professional instruction: adapting the lesson in a way that still moves the learner toward clear, agreed-upon learning goals. Using practical driving examples, we talk about what to do when a meeting traffic session gets derailed because mirror discipline drops off, and how changing the environment or lowering the difficulty can free up mental capacity without abandoning the objective. We also cover when the right move is to reset goals completely, because honesty and clarity matter more than pretending the original plan still fits. 

Another thread is reading the learner, not just the road. We talk about the telltale signs of stress in the car, when to pull over and have a chat, and how your level of support should flex throughout the lesson. We also highlight the core principle behind strong driving lesson planning: it must be based on what the student needs, negotiated with them, and matched to a suitable practice area. 

If you’re preparing for a standards check, improving your instructional coaching, or refining your driving instructor lesson planning process, hit subscribe, share this with another instructor, and leave a review so more people can find it. What’s the hardest moment to adapt your plan without losing the learning?

Drive Hart = No 1 Sponsors of Drive.Zone
Drive Hart Limited - Gov. Registered Instructor Training Company - Actively Supporting Parents Teac

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

Meet The Hosts And Focus

Speaker 2 0:00

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.

Why Lesson Planning Matters

Speaker 2 0:19

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?

Linking Adaptation To Learning Goals

Speaker 0:30

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 2 0:47

Okay, 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 1 1:07

So would it be useful, Cass, to have a practical example of that? Yes,

Mirror Discipline Vs Meeting Traffic

Speaker 1 1:12

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 2 1:29

Yeah, 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 2 1:51

That 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,

Reading Stress And Pulling Over

Speaker 2 2:16

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 2 2:20 Speaker 2:41

Yeah, it was good to have an example of when and how.

Speaker 1 2:45

The 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 1 3:01

So is that another example that might be worth teasing out, Sarah?

Speaker 2 3:04

Yeah, 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 2 3:32

Then 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 1 3:54

And 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.

Negotiating Goals And Student Needs

Speaker 1 4:12

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 1 4:36

But 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 2 5:14

And 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 1 5:31

So any other questions, lesson planning relate.

Speaker 1 5:34

It has four sub-competencies that are assessed

Speaker 1 5:34

1. did the trainer identify the pubipls learning goasl and needs?

Speaker 1 5:34

2. was the agreed lesson structure appropirate for the pupils experience and ability ?

Speaker 1 5:34

3. Were the practice areas suitable

Speaker 1 5:34

4. Was the lesson plan adapted when apprpriate to help the student work towards their learning goals

Speaker 1 5:34

So we've talked a little bit about adapting. Any of the other aspects, Sarah?

Speaker 2 5:42

No, 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 1 6:04

And 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 2 6:24

Do you want to cover anything esle on lesson planning?

Speaker 1 6:33 Speaker 2 6:37

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 2 6:42

Yeah, that's been really good. Um, I don't have any other questions. Great.

Wrap Up And How To Reach Us

Speaker 2 6:45

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 1 6:52

The email is admin at driveheart.com. Or you can phone us or WhatsApp as on 07919-488-360. Thank you.

Speaker 2 7:02

Thank you for listening .