Level 2 certificates awarded if you don't pass?

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Si
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Re: Level 2 certificates awarded if you don't pass?

Post by Si »

Just found out that we are not giving out L1 badges now...'cos we've run out and it's not worth getting new ones because the new system will soon kick in.

As for traffic levels - nope, I can't remember any thing on the L2 outcomes requiring them to actually encounter any...in which case you could pass L2 without ever having done a signal!

But in reality, our authority wouldn't let us train them in traffic free environments, and likewise, for accreditation you need to be close to L3 levels of traffic.
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pjclinch
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Re: Level 2 certificates awarded if you don't pass?

Post by pjclinch »

Vorpal wrote:I never had the chance to work any place really quiet. Even rural villages in Essex seem to have some day time traffic, and some have quite heavy school run traffic that begins as early as 2:15, so mums in oversized 'family' vehicles can jostle for the best parking places :roll: I guess they draw from a wide area, so there are more children who travel more than a mile to school.

In any case, all of my Bikeability students had the opportunity to interact with traffic. And several did not pass level 2 because they failed to understand those interactions!


While you'll fail if you don't interact properly with what you meet, you can react properly in a L2 context and be quite unprepared for L3. My point here is if someone presents for L3 and you say "have you passed L2?", and they show you a certificate guaranteeing they have passed an assessment of L2 outcomes (traffic optional), you're not necessarily much the wiser about can they deal with changing lanes in heavy traffic without an attack of the Screaming Abdabs.

I get some traffic where I teach, but I don't get continuous heavy traffic and what we get tends to be atypically slow and considerate (12+ kids in road-mender vests does tend to alter the environment).

Pete.
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Si
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Re: Level 2 certificates awarded if you don't pass?

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I should first admit to not having done L3 with kids, only adults, but my approach is to run through L2 first - make sure they know the obs, positions, sequences, HP, etc. Sometimes the L3 will end up being an L2 because, as you say, just having passed an L2 last year doesn't mean that you are still at that level or ready for the next level. If I think that they are ready for L3 then I'll start with pretty easy L3 stuff - if they are OK with that we then progress, if not then we stay with the easier stuff and get them confident there rather than scaring the doo-dahs off them in the big stuff. Likewise, I try to find out what they want from L3 first and try to tailor it to their needs - if they are never going to ride in one kind of location then I'll spend much less time on that and more on the stuff they will be riding. I appreciate that it's different with kids because you are having to do a one size fits all.

The other thing that you get sometimes is a kid who gained L2 in Yr5 or 6, then goes to the next school that only offers L2, so the kid does it again, and fails miserably....what are we to make of that? :lol:
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Re: Level 2 certificates awarded if you don't pass?

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IIRC you have to start L3 with L2, just as you start L2 with L1: first outcome is demonstrate previous level's outcomes...

I'll be doing (effectively) L3 soon (Cycling Scotland's "Essential Cycling Skills" is a compressed NS bijou course-ette for adults) and I'll actually start with L1, just to check everyone's basic bike handling. From descriptions I'm sure they'll be fine, but there's no harm in finding out, it'll probably just be a few minutes and actually a bit of fun.

Pete.
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Jen J
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Re: Level 2 certificates awarded if you don't pass?

Post by Jen J »

Sorry, only just re-found this forum, so a little late to the discussion, but...
The bikeability.dft.gov manual for Level 2 says "All participants will be assessed on each outcome and detailed feedback will be given at the end of the course. Those who achieve all of the outcomes will be awarded a Bikeability Level 2 badge"

So surely just attending is not the same as "acheiving all the outcomes"? That to me says they need to do the outcomes correctly.
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Si
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Re: Level 2 certificates awarded if you don't pass?

Post by Si »

We have a better idea of what we are doing now.

If you fail in L1 you get a L1 cert but no badge. The cert states on the back why you didn't get an L1.
If you pass L1 but fail in L2 you get a L1 badge and cert, plus a L2 cert which states on the rear why you didn't achieve an L2.
If you achieve all of the L2 outcomes then you get a L1 badge and cert, and an L2 badge and cert. The rear of both certs are left blank or say "Ln outcomes achieved" or words to that effect.

Problem is that the front of the certs say "congratulations" in big writing, whether you have passed or not. Plus the poor instructor has to sit there writing out reams of stuff on the back...if you've loads of kids that fail to get L2 and they all get loads of stuff wrong, you can be writing war and peace. Someone did suggest that we have stickers with the text on them and just stick the relevant stickers on, but that was thrown out as it was thought that kids might peel them off and claim to have passed!
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Re: Level 2 certificates awarded if you don't pass?

Post by Vorpal »

Si wrote:Problem is that the front of the certs say "congratulations" in big writing, whether you have passed or not. Plus the poor instructor has to sit there writing out reams of stuff on the back...if you've loads of kids that fail to get L2 and they all get loads of stuff wrong, you can be writing war and peace. Someone did suggest that we have stickers with the text on them and just stick the relevant stickers on, but that was thrown out as it was thought that kids might peel them off and claim to have passed!


When I was teaching Bikeability, I always tried to give as much specific feedback as I could, but I have to admit that writing it out it often amounted to more time than I was paid for. :(
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Re: Level 2 certificates awarded if you don't pass?

Post by pjclinch »

Si wrote:Problem is that the front of the certs say "congratulations" in big writing, whether you have passed or not. Plus the poor instructor has to sit there writing out reams of stuff on the back...if you've loads of kids that fail to get L2 and they all get loads of stuff wrong, you can be writing war and peace. Someone did suggest that we have stickers with the text on them and just stick the relevant stickers on, but that was thrown out as it was thought that kids might peel them off and claim to have passed!


I've noted the differences in the Scottish certs before now ("Completed the course" rather than "passed" and traffic-light tick boxes for the outcomes on the back), and I think it might be worth pressuring for something similar.

I've asked Cycling Scotland to consider an editable PDF marking sheet so I can do most of the final feedback by cut-and-paste from my ongoing notes made during the course. Most schools have decent colour printers so these could be printed off by the school, and they'd have a permanent record of how their charges had done.

Pete.
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