Teachers make a difference!
We have all heard that teachers make a difference; however, for those who teach driver education the difference could be between a student driving safely or dangerously. Much of a student's attitude about driving is developed while riding in a motor vehicle with his or her parents over the first few years of life. A teacher's attitude about driving safely and responsibly can help ingrain good driving habits in a student.
Besides helping students developing a good attitude about driving, teachers also need to be knowledgeable about safe driving techniques and practices.
Current and future driver education teachers should become very familiar with the Curriculum and Administrative Guide for Driver Education in Virginia 2001: With Freedom Comes Great Responsibility developed by the Virginia Department of Education in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Within this guide is information driver education teachers will find as comprehensive, informative, and necessary to comply with state mandated instruction in driver education.
Sections in the Guide include:
Driver Education Standards of Learning
Curriculum Scope and Sequence
Program Administration
Special Needs Populations
Curriculum Scope and Sequence
Modules for Driver Education in Virginia including:
Virginia Driver Responsibilities: Licensing Responsibilities
Virginia Driver Responsibilities: Preparing to Operate a Vehicle
Basic Maneuvering Tasks: Low Risk Environment
Basic Maneuvering Tasks: Moderate Risk Driving Environment
Information Processing: Moderate Risk Driving Environment
Information Processing: Complex Risk Environments
Driver Performance: Personal Factors
Driver Responsibilities: Adverse Conditions
Driver Responsibilities: Vehicle Functions
Driver Responsibilities: Making Informed Choices
Laboratory Instruction: Behind-the-Wheel and In-Car Observation
Driver education teachers must receive special training prior to teaching students to drive. That training includes at least the following:
TEACHER LICENSURE REGULATIONS
In accordance with Virginia Licensure Regulations for School Personnel prospective driver educators should demonstrate proficiency in grammar, usage, and mechanics in their integration in writing. The teacher competencies are based on a strong knowledge of instructional content and laboratory experience. The program provides prospective driver educators with opportunities to demonstrate both skill and knowledge to accommodate individual differences among learners. Teachers should adapt instruction to environmental constraints, plan for the teaching process, manage in-car scheduling, implement the juvenile licensing process, assess student achievement, utilize emerging technology, and evaluate the teaching/learning process. The driver education endorsement program is based on the conceptual framework reflected in the Driver Education Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools, and the Curriculum and Administrative Guide for Driver Education in Virginia. Teachers supplement the framework with traffic safety resources that facilitate student acquisition of knowledge, attitudes, critical thinking, and motor skill development to become safe, responsible members of the highway transportation system.
An applicant for public or nonpublic driver education teaching credentials shall meet the following requirements:
Hold a valid Virginia teaching license with a six-semester hour endorsement in driver education from an approved teacher preparation program. Traffic safety education courses taken out-of-state will be evaluated by a Virginia Department of Education licensure analyst as to their comparable content. The required courses include:
Foundation of Traffic Safety (three semester hours)
Principles and Methodologies of Classroom and In-car Instruction, which includes a minimum of 20 hours of actual behind-the-wheel, supervised teaching experience (three semester hours).
TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS
Public or nonpublic driver education teachers shall meet the following requirements:
Hold a valid Virginia driver’s license. Teachers with valid out-of-state driver’s licenses must provide the Department of Education with a copy of their driving record at the beginning of the school year, and when they receive a moving violation.
Have a broad background of driving experiences (two years minimum) in cities, rural roads and\par highways.
Possess sound physical, mental, and emotional qualities.
Have a satisfactory driving record. Driver education teachers set an example of what they expect of their students by demonstrating skills, knowledge, and attitudes of a safe driver.
School divisions should develop written policies concerning initial or continued employment of classroom and in-car teachers who receive demerit points on their driving record. Teachers who have their license suspended or\revoked, or who receive a Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) arrest or conviction, shall be immediately removed from any classroom or laboratory driver education teaching assignment.
PARAPROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING
Personnel selected to be trained as paraprofessionals in public or nonpublic driver education programs shall meet the following qualifications:
Must be at least 21 years of age
Must have a high school diploma or equivalent
Must possess sound physical and mental health
Must hold a current/valid Virginia driver’s license
Must have a three year driving record upon which the Department of Motor Vehicles has taken no corrective action immediately prior to approval as a teaching paraprofessional
Must have at least four years of driving experience.
It is also suggested that when selecting paraprofessionals, administrators consider the candidate’s background in the area of traffic safety (or related areas such as school bus driver, retired civilian or military police officer) as part of the criteria. The training of paraprofessionals may be conducted by personnel who are licensed and endorsed in driver education. Training programs may include 96 clock-hours of instruction or college or university courses. The applicant who chooses the paraprofessional training program consisting of 96 clock hours must successfully complete:
Basic traffic safety principles – 48 hours
Methods of teaching in-car instruction – 48 hours.
Additional hours are required to teach multiple-car range or simulation. The applicant who chooses to take the two college or university endorsement courses must successfully complete:
Foundation of Traffic Safety (three semester hours)
Principles and Methodologies of Classroom and In-car Instruction, which includes a minimum of 20 hours of actual behind-the-wheel, supervised teaching experience (three semester hours).
Upon completion of the training, the school administrator must submit to the Department of Education the school division’s certificate of completion that includes the paraprofessional instructor’s full name, driver’s license number, date of completion, and number of hours of training. The paraprofessional shall receive a minimum of eight hours of driver education in-service training at least every two years.
PARAPROFESSIONALS TEACHING THE LABORATORY PHASE
Paraprofessionals, when conducting laboratory instruction, shall be supervised by a licensed, endorsed driver education teacher or administrator. A driver education teacher or administrator with an endorsement in driver education may supervise no more than three paraprofessionals. Approved paraprofessionals may conduct in-car instruction, multiple-car range instruction, and simulation instruction for public, nonpublic, and commercial schools with state-approved programs. The validity and performance records of the paraprofessional driver education instructor shall be reviewed annually by the school division. If the instructor has failed to meet the requirements or has in any way disqualified him/herself as a paraprofessional driver educator, the school division should immediately notify the Department of Education.
On the Home Page are links to various sites of interest to driver education teachers. If you are interested, please click Home Page and check them out!