The Transportation Training Road Map to Success

Michael Henley

University of West Georgia

 Introduction

The Transportation Training Road Map to Success is a game designed to assist

struggling aspiring and veteran school bus drivers with honing their behind-the-wheel skills and

knowledge of departmental procedures. The idea of this game is to ensure that our school bus

drivers are continuing to transport our students to and from their destinations safely and in a

frame of mind ready to learn. Due to the recent construction at our facility, we no longer have a

training classroom. Our classroom had an open door policy that allowed school bus drivers to get

information they needed to assist them on their buses. Our bulletin boards contained a plethora of

relevant information about railroad crossings, student unloading, and much more. Unfortunately,

our classroom has transitioned to a conference room with little room for any posters and training

material.

Luckily, Aurasma has helped us overcome our training classroom and facility

construction dilemma. Aurasma is an augmented reality application that allows things in your

everyday environment to come to life. I have taken items from our training classroom and

incorporated them into a training road map that is accessible by Aurasma. The road map has

various stops that explain a certain concept or procedure practiced in our department using

video, audio, or images. The road map is designed to keep our students safe and our school bus

drivers up to par with policies and procedures. The game is self-contained and drivers are

welcome to partake at their convenience after signing on the log. The Transportation Training

Road Map to Success augmented reality game counts towards the drivers annual evaluation

score, which is tabulated in the professional development section of Professional Keys

Effectiveness System (PKES). The road map is a combination of experiences; drivers/trainees

will explore the road map, complete Edivate transportation professional development trainings,

and complete over-the-road skills.

Engagement

Upon entering the training turned conference room, bus drivers are welcomed by a driver

trainer. Driver trainers are state certified by the Georgia Department of Education and have a

wealth of knowledge in the field of pupil transportation. A driver trainee approached us with

concerns about a few of the procedures she was going to be tested on in the coming days. She

was extremely eager to become a school bus driver but she struggled to understand railroad

crossing, emergency stop, and student unloading procedures. We came to this conclusion

following an over-the-road observation. In the engagement stage, learners mentally focus on an

object, situation, or event. The engagement activity introduces a new problem that students have

to solve (Bybee, 2009, p. 2). We introduced her to Aurasma, encouraged her to download it on

her smart phone, and allowed her to use the poster (road map) to learn some of the concepts.

Exploration

Once the trainee followed the road map, she was eager to test her skills out again. She

felt as if the video Auras enabled her to better understand the concepts. The exploration stage

when students have time in which they can explore their knowledge and skills. This phase may

require students to recognize new situations, learn new tasks, technologies, and procedures

(Bybee, 2009, p. 6). The road map is designed for drivers and trainees to discover new skills

and rediscover old skills they may have forgotten or may not use on a daily basis. Following the

completion of the road map for this particular trainee, she was taken over-the-road by one of

our state certified trainers and allowed to explore her skills behind-the-wheel of the bus to see if
she felt comfortable with what she learned. She performed up to par and was ready to take her

commercial drivers license test.

Explanation

The explanation phase is when the act or process in which concepts, processes, or skills

become plain, comprehensible, and clear (Bybee, 2009, p. 7). The driver trainers require

trainees to observe the process first. Trainees are then able to drive; they are required to narrate

everything theyre doing when they are behind-the-wheel. This is how the driver trainers assess

the trainees ability to accurately perform a task. My department has come to the realization that

making trainees narrate the procedures while simultaneously doing them allows them to grasp

the concept better. The video Auras not only show trainees how to properly explain the

procedure, but they also teach trainees the procedure. When trainees are able to fully explain a

procedure to the driver trainer while driving, it means that they have learned the procedure.

Elaboration

The elaboration stage is when elaboration activities provide further time and experiences

that contribute to learning (Bybee, 2009, p. 7). Our department is active in professional

development opportunities. We encourage our office staff and bus drivers to participate so we

can carry out our mission. We use a professional development company called Edivate, which

allows us to upload various training courses that include tests. This particular site allows learners

to apply their learning to various professional development trainings that help boost their annual

evaluation score. This site logs the participants scores and progress for their supervisors to

access. It is another avenue to assure that the Aurasma road map is providing the necessary

training so our drivers can have the tools they need to be successful on the road. The Edivate
courses will typically come after the Aurasma road map simply because the skills learned in

the game will allow them to excel and pass the required quizzes.

Evaluation

Evaluation takes place when Students receive feedback on the adequacy of their

explanations and abilities (Bybee, 2009, p. 8). Participants are expected to be proficient at the

skills included within the Transportation Training Road Map to Success game. These are skills

that our participants use on a daily basis. Our goal as a transportation department is to safely

transport students to and from their destinations in a frame of mind ready to learn so it is

imperative that we give our drivers the tools they need to fulfill our mission. Drivers are

evaluated based on their mid-year performance check ride, which is an over-the-road evaluation,

to make sure they are properly executing procedures included within the game. If they are

assessed as needs development or they have a preventable accident, they are encouraged to

utilize the Aurasma Road Map so they will be prepared for another evaluation and various

obstacles presented while driving over-the-road. Their mid-year performance evaluation is

included within their annual performance evaluation on the Professional Keys Effectiveness

System (PKES). If drivers are rated as needs development or ineffective, they are turned over to

my department for further retraining before they can continue transporting students. This is the

phase in which teachers administer tests to determine each students level of understanding and

their skills and abilities (Bybee, 2009, p. 8). In one of the previous examples, a driver trainee

was struggling to grasp a few concepts. Her experiences were included in each of the five

instructional design models. The trainee was given her commercial drivers license test and

passed; she is officially a school bus driver! This is the ultimate evaluation tool since it is a test

given by government contractors.

 Game Walkthrough

1. Download Aurasma from Google Play or the App Store

2. Find the Transportation Training Road Map to Success game in the transportation office

3. Open the Aurasma app from your device

4. Follow the road map starting at the Start Here trigger image

5. Place the camera over the trigger images to learn about each procedure

6. Use your knowledge in the field/over-the-road/during your CDL test

7. Be prepared for your mid-year and/or annual performance evaluation/assessment or

commercial drivers license test/assessment

 References

Bybee, R. W. (2009). The BSCS 5E instructional model and 21st century skills. Colorado
xxxxxSprings, CO: BSCS.