Feedback for development and learning; is essential for your client, as opposed to fault-focused feedback, which generally is demoralising and test focused.
This method could act as a structure for giving goal-focused feedback: Assessment, Feedback, Development.
Avoid talking about going for a general drive and see what happens as this will take you down the route of fault-focused feedback.
Assessment
Develop a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed) goal initially, so that you are clear about what you are assessing. The purpose of the assessment is to help establish how the goal could be achieved.
Set up the assessment so that the customer can drive for no more than 10 minutes. Agree the route you are going to be driving on and the level of support the client will need during the assessment. You could agree a topic and the aim of the assessment is for the client to drive the route as best as they possibly can independently,
You will need to manage the risk. You should not use the core competencies of Fault identification, analysis, and remedial action on this drive. Just manage the risk.
Feedback
Once the drive is concluded, pull up at the side of the road and start the feedback by referring to the original Goal that was agreed. Clients naturally want to start talking about their faults, ask them to focus first on the positives.
Avoid going straight into the negative, it is not effective or helpful for someone’s learning, but it is often the way that people are used to. It is your job to manage the conversation. The conversation might go like this:
Q: What went well during that meeting traffic exercise?
A: I tried to put the routine into practice.
Q: Give me more detail.
A: I was scanning well ahead and using my mirrors. This then gave me more time to plan and make a decision.
Q: What else went well?
A: I also slowed down by easing off the gas.
Q: Anything else that you were pleased about?
A: My slow speed manoeuvring in small gaps.
Q: What specifically made you pleased about this aspect?
A: I controlled the speed and steering.
There will be some customers who will not respond as well as the above example. It is though more motivational for clients and reinforces their learning if you are able to highlight the positives.
If they say, ‘I don’t know,’ you can prompt them and be specific and choose to discuss, something you know went well.
Once you have explored all the positives, move onto the areas of improvement by asking, ‘What didn’t go so well?’ To which the client might say, ‘Well, I could have stopped earlier, and it would not have been such a tight squeeze with the blue van.
You can also ask, ‘What would you do differently next time?’ or ‘What do you want to improve next time?’
The idea is that the feedback session is client-centred, which means that you are eliciting the feedback from the customer and not giving your own personal opinion until after you have finished or until they ask for it but even then, probe their thinking.
Development
Agree an action plan – where does the client need to do to achieve their goal? You might need to re-define the goal at this point and again agree the route and the level of support.
You might decide to have some focused development on a specific area. For example, focusing on the hold back position.
You could give a demonstration on how you approach meeting traffic. You could do this in silence just asking the pupil to watch; or you could talk yourself through as you are doing this. The demonstration you give must be focused on the hold back position – showing how to improve the hold back position and not anything else.
Then let the client have another go, with just the focus on the hold back position, you continue to manage the risk.
Evaluation
The most important part of this process – Assessment, Feedback, Development – is that you the PDI/ADI reflect and evaluate how YOU got on. Consider, what did you do well? What did you not do so well? What would you do to improve? And then produce an Action Plan for your own development.
If you are interested in learnning and developing more skills, you will find my Part 3 & Standards Check Workshops an excellent place for your own improvement and development.
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