Top Mistakes New Driving Instructors Make and How to Avoid Them

 

To become a successful, skilled, and professional driving instructor, it’s essential to know your strengths and weaknesses and work on them. If you’re an aspiring instructor learning the ropes at a Driving Instructor Course like TLI41222, you will surely face many challenges and make many mistakes. While mistakes are a part of the learning process, it’s important to learn from them and avoid repeating them. Whether you’re planning to be a Driving Instructor in Sydney or looking to work in other cities, simply getting certified is not enough. You must understand the common pitfalls that can lead to failure and learn ways to avoid them. Here’s a list of the most common mistakes that new driving instructors make and how to avoid them. 

Overloading Learners with Information:

If you’re a new instructor, it’s natural to be excited to teach and try to impress the students with all the knowledge you have from the first lesson. In this excitement, you might try to give a lot of information to the students in a single lesson, thinking that it will help students learn more quickly. However, you must remember that too much information can be hard to process together. Rushing to learn all skills without having a good command of any of them can be dangerous for students. Instead, focus on teaching fewer skills in each session and asking students to repeat these skills and master them first before moving to another. 

Neglecting Individual Learning Styles: 

Each individual is different. As an instructor, you must understand that using the same teaching styles for all students may not always work. Some students may respond to a different teaching method tailored to their specific needs. Instructors should learn to adapt their teaching styles to suit the students’s needs instead of making the students adapt to their teaching styles. This will help students learn faster, understand better, and also develop trust and confidence in their instructors.

Lack of Patience: 

For learners, learning to drive is as distressing as it is exciting, leading them to make mistakes frequently. As instructors, you might get frustrated or annoyed at their repeated mistakes. But when the students notice their instructors getting frustrated with them, it can hurt their confidence and demotivate them. If you’re an aspiring driving instructor, you must cultivate essential virtues like patience, etc. Try to stay calm and patient. Also, appreciating small achievements and encouraging the students to progress quickly.

Skipping Lesson Planning: 

Consistency and clarity are the most basic and essential requirements for driving lessons. As an instructor, if your driving lessons are not planned and structured programs, they won’t have a clear direction or path. Not only will such chaotic and unstructured lessons confuse the students, but they will also leave gaps in the student’s training. As instructors, you should have a systematic and clear plan for every lesson in the course. It can help you be consistent in your teachings and ensure your students learn the best.

Ignoring Feedback: 

Feedback is a must for any kind of education, but especially in driving education. However, feedback does not imply the instructor’s observations and comments about the student’s performance only. Feedback works best when it's offered both ways. While instructors express their opinions easily and clearly, students should also have the same freedom. They should feel secure and confident about expressing their doubts, asking for help, and speaking about their concerns. As instructors, you should ask for feedback from the students regularly and try to have honest and open communication. 

Overlooking Road Safety: 

Just like new drivers, some new instructors also make the mistake of thinking of clearing the driving test as the ultimate goal. But, when it comes to driving education, safe and responsible driving is the biggest goal of all instructors. If you’re solely focused on teaching skills and imparting knowledge just for the sake of helping students clear the driving tests, you fail to prepare the drivers for the real challenges of driving on the road. Instead of concentrating only on teaching driving techniques, you should also try and instil safe driving habits and teach defensive driving techniques to the students. Teach them skills like hazard perception, quick decision-making, patience, good judgement, and road awareness that can help drivers to drive safely.

Poor Time Management: 

Driving instructors should have a detailed and structured plan for their driving lessons. This can help them manage their time better so that their students are not just well-prepared for the driving test but also road-ready when they’re done with their course. When teaching, it’s easy to lose track of time, especially when the student is having difficulties with one skill. However, instead of dedicating too much time to one skill, you should allocate equal time to all skills and maneuvers and try to solve the student’s questions and help them master them within the time frame.

Conclusion:

Driving instructors are just as likely to make mistakes as new drivers are. But learning from our mistakes and avoiding them can help you improve as an instructor and develop a strong base as a driving instructor. Joining a Driving Instructor Course like TLI41222 can help you learn the right tools and techniques to help your students become better drivers. However, simply honing your teaching skills is not enough. You must also develop values like patience, adaptability, observation and preparation skills and awareness. The above list of the top mistakes the new instructors usually make can help you develop strategies to avoid making the same mistakes and even improve your teaching abilities.

Are you an aspiring driving instructor looking to drive your career in the right direction? We at the Academy of Road Safety can help and support you in your journey to becoming a great driving instructor. Our comprehensive Driving Instructor Courses teach you how to become a confident, professional driving educator. Join us today and start your journey the right way!

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