Since beammeup hasn't posted in a while he's possibly stopped reading this long thread - but here's another suggestion anyway.
I find that navigational problems with students often come down to a personal lack of confidence, rather than a deficiency in his/her technique. From time to time I've sat quietly while a student flies bang over the correct checkpoint at exactly the right time for that leg, fails to see it, starts to panic after another minute or two, then sails on into the unknown, becoming increasingly stressed as the seconds go by. It's one thing having an instructor there to "rescue" the situation - another when the student is flying solo and "fear of failure" is blinding the student to the big navigational picture. I find the student often subsequently blames his/her technique, presuming they are off track, rather than their failure to look around and confirm position in an increasingly stressful situation.
To help rectify this I fly dual with the student on some longish legs (say 30-40nm), ideally in uncrowded/uncontrolled airspace, wherein the end waypoint is very hard to miss - unmistakeable towns, lakes, or "catching features" etc. I get him/her to set course initially from overhead a point close to, but not at the departure airfield, and to fly the leg(s) as precisely as possible with compass/DI and watch, accounting for forecast winds. En route I have the student pay regular, brief attention to those basic instruments, while mostly maintaining a good look out for aircraft, but NOT to pay attention to ground features until within a few minutes of the end of the leg with its readily indentifiable checkpoint. Invariably, of course, we fly right over it, at precisely the right time.
This excercise, repeated a few times, becomes a real confidence-builder for the student in the basic procedure of watch/map/ground, and as their stress level reduces they become delighted how often the chart now "aligns itself" with the real world!! Secure in the knowledge of how accurately they can navigate by DR alone, their abilities are enhanced further by the addtional techniques mentioned in previous posts.
[ 15 January 2002: Message edited by: buzzfly ]</p>