todinlaw

I think its a combination of show, tell and communicate, getting the point across is the challenge Can I make a plug for the PCA National training program, MORPCA is doing a program July 10 at Putnam park FYI. Details at morpca.org

Terry L

Larry mentionedthat our region (RTR) lacks continuing education for instructors but I disagree. Many instructors ride with each other on a regular basis and Larry himself is in high demand. OTOH, I would like to see something more formal, with outside help. I raised with our CI last year the fact that people like Dennis Macchio (Bertil Roos) are available to clubs (for a fee) to instruct for a day or weekend, and we could combine this with one of our advanced days. Others of our group have hired unaffiliated skilled race drivers for coaching, and those guys would probably welcome the chance to work with a group of instructors. When we learn only from each other, we can unknowingly perpetuate the same errors forever.

Larry Herman

It is true that in RTR plenty of instructors ride with each other, and it is encouraged, but there is nothing formalized. Maybe we should change our occasional advanced lapping day to an instructor only day, where we can get lots of track time, alternate drivers and passengers and have a learning agenda. That would be a good next step.

onefastviking

Having been DE chair many years ago we did the pro driver/coach thing which really was quite limited in the helping the group.
More was actually learned by visiting other regions programs and implementing many little processes over time which have evolved into a much better overall DE/Instructor program. I would like to see more cross region visits to help see what works in each area and then see collectively what we all can come up with.

onefastviking

We do some neat things with different roleplaying scenarios that you would probably be very interested to see.

Veloce Raptor

+2 to both of Viking's posts.

Larry Herman

I've heard that you've done some interesting role-playing scenarios!

Veloce Raptor

Dude, both of those girls were 18.....honest.

kurt M

I hate recomending "search" but now that search is back you might want to look. A few years ago there were some threads that had a lot of still good points.

Check with Potomac's CI as well. Many if not most of the good ideas mentioned so far with regards to instructor training and continued training are in place in Potomac. 1 or 2 instructor only event days a year with training for existing and future instructors, ongoing mentoring, feedback from the students, daily meetings attended by all with good info in each and the like. Instructors are incuraged to ride with each other with no red tape involved and to ride from time to time with students in the solo groups.

New 0.0 students hone your instructing skills, advanced students hone your car and track reading skills. All are worth your best effort.
Nothing like seeing the light go on. You can feel it in the car when it all clicks.

kurt M

Only counts when it is each not cumulative.

Veloce Raptor

Yeah, when I first got this assignment (last December), I used search and found some good stuff, thanks.

mrbill_fl

One thing I use to see a lot of, was newbie racers coming into teach for cheap track time. many didn't have the talent yet, nor the attitude to instruct. -don't see it as much lately....

The other problem area is reciprocal instructor status, between different DE run organizations.. Once someone is given this label/ status, almost all orgs will honor that... Some orgs need instructors more than others, and have lower standards as a result... (most DE orgs ARE for profit)

-Only one guy comes to mind, he crashed out hard at a nasa race... and it seems quit driving after that... so it worked out in the end..

Brian P

Oh, and for the original question... I've had very, very few bad instructors. By and large, a bad instructor to me is someone who doesn't offer feedback. I.e., he sits there completely quiet (or maybe says one or two useless phrases - i.e., "be smoother" without offering ideas on how to be smoother)

As you get more advanced, you should hopefully be offering ideas to your instructor on what you want to work on if you already have something in mind. Otherwise, let him know that you have nothing specific and you are just looking for any weak areas that he can spot.

NJcroc

Being able to drive at the right pace is the first qualification of a good instructor; you should not be asked that until you get to that point

While I do feel that the teaching part is something we all need to continue to learn and practice. Some people are better at it than others, some people teach green students well, some teach advanced well

Another thing is newbie instructors are MUCH better at being helpful to their student than many of the people who have been doing it a long time. They tend to stay in the car longer, help with regular driving day items and truly want to help.

Larry Herman

Like anything else, repetition leads to boredom. A some point, most of the highly experienced instructors who want to continue to teach look for new challenges. That's why I prefer to work with the more advanced drivers even though there are more butt-clenching moments.