Role Play, ORDIT and the DVSA

We recently wrote a blog about Role Play and how it has been misunderstood. If you are considering becoming an ORDIT registered trainer - or are already one and are due another inspection - then you may want to consider some of the following points when demonstrating your skills to an examiner.

• The role play must be able to simulate the learning outcomes of the PDI/ADI. Therefore, it is essential that the goals are agreed and satisfy the needs of the client - you must demonstrate this to your examiner and use the role play to meet the learning outcomes.
• Consideration should be given to how your client learns best - a simple question 'how do you learn best' or 'what is the best way for you to learn how to do this' works well because you can then tailor your role play to the client.
• It is essential that you know your subject material - the examiner will not be impressed if you are demonstrating the six point check moving away from the side of the road - there is no mention of the six point check in ‘Driving - the essential skills’.
• You must behave in a professional manner at all times and so, if you are role-playing someone with an inappropriate attitude, it is essential that you define when you are in and out of role.
• Once you have briefed your client on the purpose of the role play, it is a good idea that you ask them to repeat back to you what is going to happen – it is easy to have a misunderstanding from the outset when you are creating a word picture.
• You must decide how to communicate while in role while maintaining the word picture throughout. A good way to do this while in role is simply to ask questions that draws the PDI attention to your behaviour if they don't seem to be aware, such as 'is this the right speed' 'am I in the correct position' 'is this the right gear'.
• It is essential that the beginning and end of the role play is clearly defined in the word picture. Remember, that both you and/or the trainee can end the role play if the learning outcomes are not being met. You should agree before moving off how long (5 mins) or how many attempts (4 junctions) you are going to stay in role for. Short repeatable routes really help manage role play effectively.
• The skill of role play lies in you maintaining your role while scanning and planning for the environment as well as being aware of what your client is doing because you will need to give feedback on their performance and remember what they were doing at a specific moment in time. This is one of the main reasons for not staying in role for too long - no one is going to remember specific situations well enough.
• Verbalising your faults is an effective way of managing risk so that no faults are committed that are illegal or endanger other road users; and it is an excellent tool for portraying poor attitudes or personality types. This type of verbalisation helps to stop the PDI being overloaded and helps you maintain safe practices while in role. You may also have situations that arise in role that you can use to your advantage in helping them achieve their learning outcome, you can use verbalisation to draw the PDI's attention to whatever is happening outside for example 'I am not sure what that red car on the right is doing
• Your fault simulation should match the PDI’s level of ability and you should again consider whether your role play meeting the learning outcomes - this is possibly the most essential thing that you need to keep in your head during role play - is this activity meeting the learning outcomes?
• You then have to consider how you will react when your PDI gives correct information / instruction / feedback and how you will demonstrate improvement so that they know they are on the right track.
• Feedback is the key to development when using role play. You need to remember the details of the exercise while you were in role so you can give accurate and supportive feedback when out of role – this ensures the PDI develops useful skills. Remember that your PDI will copy your style and that you should be able to both elicit feedback and give positive feedback in a structured format.

If you want to develop these skills in role play then our Train the Trainer courses are an effective platform to either learn these skills or hone them. If you feel your role play and understanding of how to deliver a great lesson are up to scratch; and you have the skills that make a great trainer but are unsure of some aspects of ORDIT, then our ORDIT course would be the right course for you. You may want to consider both courses.
You can find all the details of the Train the Trainer and ORDIT courses by following this link .

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