Briefings need to be short and to the point!

Before you start to ask what your pupil knows.

This should be done by way of RECAP questions, the nature of which will depend on the pupil you are dealing with. If that pupil has started with you from day one, then you should already know! However, in the Part 3 test, the examiner will be role-playing a learner you have not met before. Therefore, you first need to establish what skills or knowledge this pupil has that will help with the new lesson.

Going from the known to the unknown.

When we teach our pupils to drive, we follow a basic syllabus. This keeps the lessons simple and breaks learning to drive into building blocks, with each connecting to the next. For example, you would follow the controls lesson with moving off and stopping and then follow that with dealing with junctions. Approaching and Emerging could be linked; once each has been covered, progress to the crossroads and then to roundabouts. There are micro-lessons in between to perhaps develop car-handling skills like steering, braking, clutch control, and gear changes, but hopefully you get the gist of where I am coming from!

Having established our pupils' abilities and knowledge, we can keep our briefings brief and focus on the main points of the new skill they do not yet know.

Let us consider the briefing for emerging at T-junctions.

Staying with Part 3, we can ask a few recap questions about approaching junctions to establish that our pupil knows and has used the MSPSL routine. Understanding can be confirmed with some simple Q&A, either as part of the recap or during the brief. As part of the brief, you could say, "Last week, you were approaching junctions, so which mirrors and in what order did you check them for turning left? Why do we check the centre mirror first? How far from the junction do we check them? The same approach can be used for signal and positioning. Inform the pupil that the procedure is the same for emerging.

This approach makes the briefing more interactive, engages the learner and allows the instructor to discover the pupil's understanding. The instructor can then fill in any knowledge gaps and identify any areas where the pupil may be weak once they get moving. So they are determining how much help the pupil may need? The speed of approach, the look part of the MSPSL routine, and emerging will be new to the pupil, so this is the area the briefing should focus on! It is perhaps better to simply tell the pupil these differences rather than use Q&A, because they will probably not know. There are also time constraints within the Part 3 test of instructional ability, and you really need to get the car moving!

Constructing your briefings by learning scripts is all well and good, but you can come unstuck.

You must know the subject well, particularly the main points, which you will find in column A on the marking sheets. Your examiner on Part 3 is looking for these to be dealt with during the lesson, and the questions you ask may not receive the answers you are expecting. Any script in your head that you are running through will be thrown into disarray, and you will be left floundering for the next line.

Have good knowledge, and the brief will be structured, to the point and not too long!

Chris Deane ADI