ADI Part 3 - PST 6 Phase 2

PST 6 Phase 2 Reverse Parking

As in all phase 2 pst's, the DSA classify your learner as trained for this pst.

You'll start this pst from wherever the phase 1 lesson ended. Your learner is now a completely different human being to the one you taught on phase 1. Any errors you fixed in phase 1 may reappear on phase 2. Don't make the error of thinking that you fixed those errors earlier, so they won't happen again.

You will complete the briefing wherever the car has stopped, unless the SE decides to drive, out of role, to a nearby area. This is quite rare though

This is the only subject at Phase 2 where a briefing will be required

Let's think, as always, where our learner is 'at' in their training . . .

The golden rule here is to listen carefully to the word picture the SE gives you. All of the phase 2 pst's are pitched at or around driving test standard. This means that your learner should have all the knowledge and skills of the pst subject already. Your job will be to assess their performance, and instruct where necessary.

Phase 2 is very much about assessing performance and developing good attitudes to road safety. You may find that one of the major problems you encounter is a bad attitude, even a 'couldn't care less' attitude to driving. Use all of the core competencies and your communication techniques to identify and deal with anything that crops up.

Never forget, safety overrides instruction. Never let your learner do anything dangerous, such as emerge from a junction without taking effective observations, or perform any manoeuvre in a dangerous area.

The Briefing

As in all phase 2 pst's, aim for a briefing of around 1 to 2 minutes maximum. If the briefing goes on a bit, the SE will more than likely prompt you to get on with it. Take the prompt!

It's usual for this pst for the SE to tell you that they've done this manoeuvre before, and simply need 'brushing up'. They may tell you that they have just failed a driving test due to an error in the reverse park, or that they have a driving test in the next few days and wish to get some practice.

If the SE says that they've done this before, then it's simply a case of checking their knowledge and getting on with some practice. The 'learner' may already have a system that they use to complete the manoeuvre. If so, let them quickly explain it to you and then allow them to use their system.

As I've said above, the learner should already have all the knowledge, so all you have to do is to use question and answers to check their understanding, then get the car moving so that the learner can practice.

In the less common scenario, of the SE telling you that they've never done this exercise before, you'll have to quickly give a briefing on reverse parking. Think about it . . . even though your learner is at or around test standard, you may still have to give a talk through for the first attempt, thus ensuring success. You'll have to judge this carefully.

Phase 2 is designed to test your skills in assessing more advanced learner drivers, and this is why the scenario of the SE never having done this exercise before is not very common. If it does crop up, make sure that the teaching is over with fairly quickly, and that you revert to assessing your learners performance as soon as possible.

Use the briefing to set the aims and objectives for the lesson. State the objectives positively, as it helps you to remember what the lesson actually is, and the learner knows exactly what to expect.

Use the very short briefing time to display all the sub skills by keeping control, and establishing the level of instruction. To keep things simple, your level of instruction should initially be very low. But you should be acutely aware of everything your learner does . . . or is about to do.

The Marking Sheet

The areas shown on the left side of the marking sheet are those directly relevant to this pst. Please be warned . . .

You need to have an excellent knowledge of the pst relevant knowledge areas, but you will not get a green card based on an in depth knowledge of these areas. That is NOT the main part of what you are being tested on. You are being tested on your skills as an instructor, the areas on the right side of the form - the Core competencies and Instructional Techniques.

For this pst, the relevant areas are:

• briefing on reverse parking
• co-ordination of controls
• observation
• accuracy

You will need to try to cover these areas in the briefing and on the move, but don't get hung up if any particular skill isn't mentioned or tested. If it doesn't arise, the SE will strike a line straight through it and ignore it for the purposes of assessing your performance.

The simple fact is that these are the basic 'common sense' areas that you'd cover with a learner on a lesson anyway, so they should present you with no great challenge.

Remember, the highest mark you can get for the pst relevant areas, on the left side of the sheet, is 'satisfactory'. Not 'good' or 'excellent', but 'satisfactory'.

Developmental phase

When the briefing is over, you'll get the lesson underway by instructing the SE to perform the exercise. Remember, the SE will be role playing a driver at or around driving test standard, so expect them to drive like it.

Think about your level of instruction . . . it's phase 2, so the SE will have been instructed in dealing with emerging before, so you shouldn't need to teach actively to start with. Look back at the sub skills pages of the site to check your understanding and knowledge.

You won't be giving a full talk through (see below), because it shouldn't be necessary. The idea of learning to drive is that the learner can do it all for themselves when they pass the test. They'll never get there if you spoon feed them what they should already know. Because your learner will have had experience of the pst subject, all you need to do is assess their ability and sort out any weak areas.

The only time you may have to give a full talk through is on the first attempt if the SE tells you that they've never done this manoeuvre before. As I've said, this is unusual.

Contrary to many trainers views, you can under instruct at phase 2, if you are not careful. Don't fall for it, and make sure that your trainer gives you plenty of practice at this. What I mean is that once you've assessed the situation and discovered the root causes of your learners problems, don't just sit back and do nothing. If you need to instruct - instruct! But once the learner has improved, reduce your instruction. This usually happens quite quickly.

Remember what the lesson subject is and don't change it into a different lesson. You would receive a poor mark for control of the lesson if you allow this to happen.

You will use the core competencies throughout the entire lesson.

Have no fears about 'nit picking' - if you see a fault, identify it and sort it. Remember, bad habits become very strong habits if left to grow. This does not mean, under any circumstances, that you pull the learner over every few seconds to have 'a go' at them. You can deal with a lot of phase 2 faults on the move, using good communication skills and by exercising your control over the lesson and the learner, but please remember that your learner will usually be driving faster and you may need to pull them over.

If you anticipate a fault, deal with it before the SE makes it. Please ignore the nonsense so widely talked about that the SE will mark you badly for the Core Competencies, unless you allow them to make the errors for you to deal with. Would you do that with a real learner? NO! So don't do it with the SE. Remember, part 3 is a lesson. Simple as that. Much better to fix it when you suspect it's about to happen, rather than to wait for it to happen. To do so could be dangerous, unprofessional and simply downright bad instruction.

You'll probably have the time to complete the exercise 4 or 5 times during the main part of the lesson.

You need to spot the faults that caused them to 'fail the test' or whatever, and use the core competencies fully to sort them out.

The analysis stage at phase 2 becomes ever more important in a practical sense, as there could be several reasons for making any particular error. Usually, if there are several errors, it indicates a problem with approaching the hazard too fast or a problem with attitude.

Remember, if the learner keeps making the same errors over and over, even though you've mentioned them, consider that you may not have analysed it correctly and put the remedial action in place.

Practical Advice

The SE will have picked out a car nearby to perform the exercise. Always remember - the object of the 'lesson' is not to get the SE to reverse park perfectly. The SE is very unlikely to do this. The object of the lesson is to display the sub skills of good instruction, and to demonstrate how you'll try to get them to park correctly. Emphasis on the observations, control and all round safety are of far more importance than reverse parking perfectly.

It can be very hard to get the balance right between instructing and assessing. Only you can make the judgment call on the day. Whatever happens, keep the car safe. Be prepared to use verbal commands or use the dual controls at any time necessary.

Look for weaknesses in technique. When you see them, deal with them. Involve the learner using good question and answer. If there are several reasons why an error or series of errors were made, you'll need to delve deeply by asking the learner targeted questions to get to the answer.

Typical SE Errors

It really is impossible to define a list of the errors the SE will make, but think about the skill level of the learner that the SE will be role playing. The errors will be very similar to a learner at that level. You need to remain flexible in your approach and deal with errors in the way that you think best.

Again, it's impossible to prepare a 'script' or strict lesson plan, because the SE can take you down any 'route' he or she wishes, to test your instructional skills.

Typical errors would include

• no observation, or very little observation, before and during the exercise
• carrying out the exercise too quickly
• losing control of the vehicle
• failing to achieve reasonable accuracy
• co-ordination errors between steering and use of the foot controls
• the list goes on and on . . .

Phase 2 errors tend to be procedural errors and errors related to attitude . In other words, typical learner errors in using ms-psl correctly or in road positioning, and also in their attitudes to road safety and other road users in general.

Errors related to attitude can be the most difficult to sort out. But sort them out you must! You'll often find on phase 2 that the SE will drive at breakneck speeds up to junctions, and when you mention it, say "why? what am I doing wrong?"

Phase 2 is all about assessing weakness in procedural routines and fixing them, but it's also very much concerned with developing safe attitudes to driving.

At the end of phase 2 reverse parking exercise, the SE will give you directions to return to the test centre. The SE will drive back and will probably make errors for you to deal with on the way. Make sure that you seize every opportunity to display your skills in using the core competencies. Just because the reverse park is over, do not just sit back and relax. You are still an instructor, and you are still sat next to a learner driver.

Once you arrive back at the test centre, the SE will tell you that the test has ended. The SE will then usually disappear into their office to come to a final mark of your performance, whilst you wait for the verdict. Before you know it, the SE will be out to see you to tell you the result of the part 3 test.

ADIT team