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MSA GB CONFERENCE 2023 CONFERENCE 2023: In-depth CPD, DVSA updates and tips from top trainers – plus an emotional farewell to Chairman Peter Harvey The decision to switch the MSA Conference online from an in-person event may have disappointed many members – but that didn’t stop the day from delivering some superb advice, CPD and insights from a host of expert speakers from the driver training community. Here we capture some of the highlights of the day, including an emotional send-off for the long-serving MSA GB National Chairman, Peter Harvey Conference session: Confident Drivers, by Kev and Tracey Field And breathe! It’s all about the vagus nerve An excellent presentation to conference by Kev and Tracey Field of Confident Drivers gave everyone food for thought on helping their pupils control their nerves – particularly on the driving test. Everyone gets nervous, and driving tests are often cited as the most nerve-wracking task many people have to tackle, so it’s no surprise that many outstanding candidates crumple on the big day. So how best can ADIs help their pupils take their L-test in their stride? Breathing exercises are one way to calm the nerves and reduce stress. As Kev and Tracey explained, it is all about controlling the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve, also known as the vagal nerves, are the main nerves of your parasympathetic nervous system, which controls specific body functions such as your digestion, heart rate and immune system. It is closely linked to our flight or fight response – our physiological reaction to an event that is perceived as stressful or frightening. The perception of threat activates the sympathetic nervous system and triggers an acute stress response that prepares the body to fight or flee. When learners find themselves overwhelmed by nerves, breathing exercises can help. Deep breaths, taken in through the nose and released slowly the same way, can take the mind away from the nervous situation and give them something else to focus on, creating a calming experience. The calming element of any breathe isn’t the intake; it’s exhaling, which should be slow and focused. Breathing out through pursed lips helps. Kev and Tracey also discussed box breathing, counting breathing and shape breathing. Overall, improving the pupil’s mindfulness was also important. Give your pupils something else to think about – the roads around them, the noises they hear, giving them something different to focus on – can also make a huge difference. • Kev and Tracey Field offer training courses for both ADIs, so they can help ease pupils’ nerves, and drivers who struggle with their confidence. Find out more at: https://www. confidentdrivers. co.uk 20 NEWSLINK n APRIL 2023
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com Conference session: TSO, by Lucy Mackay, TSO Partnership Manager TSO Partnership Manager LUCY MACKAY took MSA GB Conference delegates through the publisher’s products, chief among which are those bibles of the road, the Highway Code and Driving - The Essential Skills. It’s Safe Driving for Life website regularly tops million visitors a month. It carries three blogs a month of road safety issues and is open to contributions from ADIs and driver training groups. The blog is there for everyone to share their case studies and best practice – anything that develops greater understanding of safer driving. Lucy was particularly keen to encourage ADI to engage with the Ready2Pass campaign, which was proving highly successful in helping learners understand the levels needed to pass their L-test. Over 80 per cent of ADIs who had engaged with the campaign have rated it positively, while 45 per cent had said it had helped them convince pupils to defer their test to a later date. Lucy was also keen to promote the new theory test app. Packed with CGI hazard perception clips and questions taken from the official theory tests, it was the best way for learners to access up-to-date information and guidance to boost their theory knowledge. YOU CAN WATCH THE ENTIRE CONFERENCE AND LISTEN TO OUR EXPERT SPEAKERS HERE Conference session: Communication, by Graham Hooper, Tri-Coaching Partnership Maintaining good communication with your pupils, with a particular emphasis on understanding the type of dialogue and learning that made the greatest impact with them, was a vital component in the ADI’s toolbox, said Graham Hooper of Tri-Coaching Partnership. Everyone absorbs learning in a different way. Some people are visual learners, some auditory and others learn kinaesthetically – by touch and feel. The acronym grouping them is VAK, and it is important to understand which of these works best for your pupil. Visual learners understand and remember things by sight, picturing what they learn in their head. Auditory learners hear and listen, understanding and remembering things they have heard. The final group – kinaesthetic learners – need a multi-sensory learning environment for deep learning as they learn through ‘doing’. A kinaesthetic learner is someone who needs to be actively engaged in their learning, using movement, testing and trial and error to retain and recall information. Which one is applicable to each of your pupils? It’s important to find out. The pupil’s personal preference for learning should dictate your teaching. Kinaesthetic learners will find repetition of manoeuvres helpful, for example, while auditory learners need things explained in clear, simple language. Visual learners work best if you show them a situation and ask them to visualise themselves in it, such as taking them to a roundabout and showing them how other road users handle it. Look for ‘tells’ that reveal the pupil’s mood. Body language reveals much of how we feel – as he pointed out, if you ever want to see an example of body language giving away secrets, watch former US president Bill Clinton’s interview in which he protested his innocence of an affair with Monica Lewinksy. “His words said he had never had a relationship with her, but his body language said something very different.” Facial expressions, the eyes and speech volume all offer clues to what the pupil is thinking and responding to a situation. It was important not to get stuck on your own agenda and ignoring the feelings of the pupil. Park the lesson plan if their body language suggests the pupil is struggling with other issues. NEWSLINK n APRIL 2023 21
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