Driving With Your Head in the Clouds

Do you remember the days of drivers’ education? I remember sitting in the drivers seat for the first time and praying to God I would recall each step before cranking the car. In my mind, I was saying lock the doors, buckle my belt, check my mirrors, and adjust the seat. Now, I was ready to start the engine; however, the checklist seemed to continue on and on. Next, switching the car into reverse and placing the right arm onto the passenger seat as you gently eased of the brake. Once I finally pulled out of the parking space, my mind would churned with all the regulations I needed to follow in order to pass the drivers education course. Now fourteen years later, I drive with my head in the clouds. Driving has become innate in my daily task. Some mornings I drive into the school parking lot and I think did I drive to school this morning. Driving at fifteen years old the task of driving can seem quite complex; however, the drivers’ education course reminds me of our readings. The course is constructed with essentials steps that need to be followed, so that safety and regulations are the first priority. These essential steps could be evaluated as a task analysis. A task analysis contains actions that are to be performed in a particular order. Depending on the individual, the task analysis may need to be diluted according to the individual’s learning needs. In addition to the task analysis driving could incorporate procedural knowledge from the cognitive task analysis. Procedural knowledge ensures the individual on how to follow through with each task. Procedural knowledge is what allows driving to become innate. The process of driving with practice encourages drivers to become more confident in the steps. As we become more confident with the steps, procedural knowledge also permits drivers to perform more than one complex task at a time. The next time you are in the car ask yourself, “Is your head in the clouds?”