Andrewsfield Aviation

Teaching & Learning

Andrewsfield Aviation Ltd 2019

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INTRODUCTION
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__ THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR
__ A trainer is a person who teaches a particular skill or type of
__ behaviour through sustained practice and instruction'. Flight
__ instructors are clearly trainers and their aim is to give students
good instruction and sufficient practice so that they can fly the
__ aircraft proficiently and safely. People usually remember
__ their teachers from school or elsewhere often with a great deal
of clarity. This is particularly true in flying instruction and most if
__ not all pilots will remember who taught them to fly. They will
__ recall the attributes of the instructor and more often than not
__ will base their future flying on that of their instructor. Being a
flying instructor is therefore extremely rewarding but it also
__ carries with it great responsibility.
__ To student PPL pilots, their flight instructor is one of the
__ most important people in the world at this phase of their lives.
They expect you to have a thorough knowledge of the subject
__ and a sincere desire to help them. They expect you to be
__ capable of teaching everything necessary for them to become
proficient aviators. They trust that flight instructors will not only
consider safety in the day-to-day progress of the course but in
their ability to judge when they will be competent for solo
operations or movement to another phase. They expect a lot
and they have every right to do so.

The responsibilities of a flight instructor are therefore large but

w h a t a b o u t t h e r e w a r d s ? L e a v i n g a s i d e f i n a n c i a l

considerations, instructing offers opportunities for much

greater recompense. For example, the personal satisfaction
received when a slow student shows unexpected progress or
when your efforts cause a blank look to change into an
enlightened expression and the satisfaction of seeing someone
who couldn't fly an aircraft before they met you becoming a
confident and competent pilot.
This guide is not meant as a text book for the Flight Instructors
Course (FIC) although it will be useful to trainee instructors
undergoing such instruction. Rather it is designed to be a
resource for FI(A) to revise the basic knowledge and skills
associated with PPL flight instruction, assist in
standardisation and help prepare them for their periodic
assessments of competence.
At least every six years, instructors are required to pass an
Assessment of Competence (AOC) with a Flight Instructor
Examiner [FIE(A)]. During the AOC, the FIE(A) will assess the
instructor's skills and competencies on the ground and in the
air. The schedule for the AOC is shown in Table 1.
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Table 1: AMC1 FCL.920 Instructor competencies and assessment
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COMPETENCE PERFORMANCE KNOWLEDGE
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Prepare resources (a) ensures adequate facilities; (a) understand objectives;
(b) available tools;
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(b) prepares briefing material;
(c) manages available tools. (c) competency-based training methods. __
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Create a climate (a) establishes credentials, (a) barriers to learning;
conducive to role models appropriate behaviour; (b) learning styles. __
learning (b) clarifies roles; __
(b) learning styles.
(c) states objectives; __
(d) ascertains and supports trainees needs.
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Present knowledge (a) communicates clearly; teaching methods. __
(b) creates and sustains realism;
(c) looks for training opportunities.
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Integrate TEM or makes TEM or CRM links with HF, TEM or CRM. __
CRM technical training.
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Manage time to allocates time appropriate to syllabus time allocation. __
achieve training achieving competency objective.
objectives __
Facilitate learning (a) encourages trainee participation; (a) facilitation;
(b) shows motivating, patient, confident (b) how to give constructive feedback;
and assertive manner; (c) how to encourage trainees to ask
(c) conducts one-to-one coaching; questions and seek advice;
(d) encourages mutual support.

Assesses trainee (a) assesses and encourages trainee (a) observation techniques;
performance self-assessment of performance (b) methods for recording observations.
against competency standards;
(b) makes assessment decision and
provide clear feedback;
(c) observes CRM behaviour.

Monitor and (a) compares individual outcomes to (a) learning styles;

review progress defined objectives; (b) strategies for training adaptation
(b) identifies individual differences in to meet individual needs.
learning rates;
(c) applies appropriate corrective action.

Evaluate training (a) elicits feedback from trainees; (a) elicits feedback from trainees;
sessions (b) tracks training session processes (a) competency unit and associated
against competence criteria; elements;
(c) keeps appropriate records. (b) performance criteria.

Report outcome reports accurately using only observed (a) phase training objectives;
actions and events. (b) individual versus systemic weaknesses.
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PART 1 __
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TEACHING AND LEARNING __
This part outlines and discusses the various methods and __
techniques that have proved to be effective for use in the __
flying training environment.
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THE LEARNING PROCESS __
The Teaching and Learning syllabus in the Manual is laid out in __
the same order as it appears in AMC FCL.930.FI for ease of
reference and this is the primary difference between this version If you tell me, I will listen, __
of the handbook and Issue 1.
If you show me, I will see, __
There are many books on the subject of Teaching and Learning
If you let me experience, I will learn. __
which cover this complex subject and which should be consulted
for greater depth on some of the individual topics which are
__
necessarily covered in headline detail only in this guide. __
Part One of this guide describes some of the basic instructional Lau-Tzu (c550 BC) mystic
- philosopher __
techniques in accordance with the Teaching and Learning of ancient China.
syllabus that apply to: Lau-Tzu was one of the first philosophers __
to create an active learning philosophy __
Theoretical knowledge training
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Pre-flight briefing
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In-flight instruction
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Post flight briefing and debriefing
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Student assessment and evaluation
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By using these techniques you will make learning easier for __
your students as you help them to meet the required flight
test standards __

MOTIVATION
The factor that has perhaps the greatest influence on learning is
motivation, the force that causes a person to move towards a goal.

Motivations may be subtle and difficult to identify or they may be

obvious. Negative motivations are those which may engender
fear and be accepted by the student as threats. They are not
characteristically as effective in promoting learning as positive
motivations. Positive motivations are provided by the promise or
achievement of rewards. These rewards may be personal or
social; they may involve financial gain; satisfaction of a person's
sense of self-worth (self-concept) or public recognition. The flight
instructor can use some of these to advantage, for example, the
creation of a sense of achievement which, in turn contributes
positively to an individual's self-concept.
PPL instructors need to understand the individual motivation
of their students. These can be as varied as somebody who is just
thrilled by the concept of vertical flight and is eager to acquire the
skills necessary to achieve this, a person who wants to save time
travelling or commuting to work and who plans to use the
aircraft actively in the realm of his business to people seeking to
become commercial pilots. In these disparate cases,
the individual motivation may be different and lead to differences
in learning styles. In all cases, motivation may affect the student's
rate of progress. If for example, the business person begins to
form the opinion that it will be difficult to acquire the necessary
skills in the time available, then his or her motivation may suffer as
a result. The flight instructor needs to be aware of this and if
necessary vary instruction to maintain interest and to highlight its
relevance to the goal.
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__ PERCEPTION AND Insight involves the grouping of perceptions into a meaningful
whole. Implicit in this is an understanding of how the
__
__ UNDERSTANDING
knowledge is to be used (relevance); how one factor affects
another and the interrelationship among the various sections of
__ Perception is the basis of all learning. Items of information, knowledge that have been taught. Evoking these is the flight
called perceptions (sometimes called percepts) may be instructor's principal responsibility.
__ directed to the brain by any one or a combination of the senses.
__ The senses are the routes into the human brain. In the
__ classroom the ears and eyes are the dominant routes but the
kinaesthetic sense of feel can be used too, notably when using
__ training aids and of course in the air when all of these senses
__ will be used.
__ Routes or channels for information entering the brain can be
described using the VARK acronym:
__ Visual (See It)
__ Aural (Hear/Say It)
__ Reading and Writing (It)
__ Kinaesthetic (Do It)
__ These channels for assimilating information will vary in
__ effectiveness. For some people visual stimuli are very
__ powerful and may well be the dominant route into the brain, for
others reading and writing or perhaps the aural route will be the
__ strongest. In practice a mixture of channels will be used. The
resultant mix can be said to be the individual's learning Note: Although not strictly relevant here, it is worth noting that,
preference. The most productive instructional output will be perhaps surprisingly, the auditory channel to the brain is the
achieved if instructional content is delivered in accordance with quickest route. However, it is also likely that it will be the first
the student's individual learning preference. It is therefore one to be shed in conditions of high workload and stress. This
helpful if the instructor can establish what this is this at an early can happen in classroom settings but is more likely to be
stage. One way of doing this is to ask the person who may well noticed in high workload or stressful situations in flight.
know what works best for them. However, it's worth
monitoring this at first because an individual may actually think
that their preference is different from that which it actually is.

Among the most important factors which affect students'

perceptions are:

• Their physical organism (e.g. is their perceptual apparatus

working in the environment?)
• Their needs and requirements (e.g. could be as simple as
basic needs such as food and water but also the student's
sense of self-esteem)
• Their goals and values (e.g. motivation)
• Their self-concept (e.g. does it fit in with how they see
themselves?)
• The time and opportunity for perception (e.g. making
effective use of instructional time both in the air and on These channels also vary depending on whether learning is
the ground) acquiring knowledge or skills based. Given that flying
instruction is a combination of the two, it is worth noting the
• The element of threat (e.g. fear, not just of physical difference in perception when the learning task is purely skills
danger but also failure to make progress) based. Again the proportions are purely illustrative but they do
highlight to the instructor the potential variation in the
perceptive channels depending on the the type of learning.
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MEMORY AND ITS APPLICATION Here are some suggestions you can follow to arouse interest and __
make the student ready to learn:
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Memory is the major factor in learning. It constitutes
essentially all of the learning classified as 'knowledge' and has a • Start lessons with an ATTENTION-GETTING opening. For __
basic effect on the retention of motor skills. The following are examples of opening sentences that are effective, listen __
five significant principles which are generally accepted as carefully to the start of documentary films or interviews
having a direct application to remembering and consequently to on television. Writers spend a great deal of time __
learning: developing the exact words to tune you in. __
• State SPECIFICALLY WHAT is required during the lesson __
• Praise stimulates remembering. Responses which give a and how you intend to prove that the student has the
pleasurable return tend to be repeated. The absence of knowledge or can master the skill at the end of the lesson. __
praise or recognition tends to discourage one and Make all your statements student-centred. __
negative responses or lack of acceptance from the
instructor tends to make recall less likely.
• Tell students the PURPOSE of the lesson and stress the __
BENEFIT from the new knowledge or skill. Try to give
• Recall is promoted by association. Pieces of information more than one reason for learning, just in case the
__
or actions that are associated with something to be student doesn’t fully accept the first reason. __
learned tend to facilitate their later recall by the student.
Unique or disassociated facts tend to be forgotten unless
• Specify WHERE the lesson fits into the overall picture, __
and relate the lessons to past experiences that the
they are of particular interest to the student. __
students may have had. This statement provides a link
• Favourable attitudes aid retention. We learn and with something students have learned before and allows __
remember only what we wish to. Without motivation them to build on that knowledge or skill. As an example, if __
there is little chance for recall. The most effective you were giving instruction on how to level out from the
motivations are those based on positive or rewarding climb to a student with an aeroplane pilot licence, you
__
objectives. could point out that the sequence of control movements __
is the same as in an aeroplane. This concept is closely
• Learning with all our senses is most effective. Although
we generally receive what we learn through the eyes and related to the RELATIONSHIP learning factor.
ears, other senses also contribute to most perceptions.
W h e n s e v e r a l s e n s e s r e s p o n d t o g e t h e r f u l l e r
• If the new material is dependent on students having
mastered previous lessons, confirm that the required
understanding and greater chance of recall is achieved. level has been attained before proceeding with the new
material. Conduct a review and, if necessary, clear up any
• Meaningful repetition aids recall. Each repetition gives
the student an opportunity to gain a clearer and more misunderstandings by briefly re-teaching the major
accurate perception of the subject to be learned but points.
repetition alone does not guarantee retention. Practice • Plan for reviews of lesson material. Students start to
gives an opportunity for learning but does not deliver it in forget the moment they leave the instructional
its own right. Theorists believe that three to four environment. The greatest rate of forgetting occurs
repetitions provide the maximum effect, after which the during the first 24 to 48 hours after the material has been
rate of learning and probability of retention fall off rapidly. learned. Ohio State University has carried out extensive
This is consistent with the learning curve illustrated in research in this area and has designed a recommended
Table 1 on page 8. schedule of when reviews should be done. Refer to
Figures 1 & 2 and the notes below each diagram.

Figure 1: Curve of remembering

100 --
90 --
80 --
% of remembering

70 -- X
60 --
50 --
40 --
30 --
20 --
10 --
0 --

Days since initial training

Figure 1
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__ Notes: Statistics are based on an average cross section of HABITS AND TRANSFER
__ students.
Learning by developing perceptions and combining them into
__ The curve is very steep initially: within 2 days
insights is a process of forming performance habits and
students will remember less than 70% of what
__ they learned. transferring the habits performed in one task to the
performance of more complicated subsequent tasks. For
__ At the end of the month, without reviews, example the application of forward cyclic when collective pitch
__ students will remember only approximately 40% is applied to maintain an accelerative attitude. The influence of
__ of the lesson material. these small habits in the subsequent task, in this case, applying
forward cyclic when increasing collective pitch during the
__ recovery to the climb following an autorotation is called a
Figure 2: Curve of remembering
__ 1-2 days 7 days 28 days
'transfer'.
__ 100 --
Transfer is generally considered to be either positive or
90 -- negative. The application of aft cyclic when entering
__ 80 --
% of remembering

70 -- X autorotation to prevent the nose dropping would be an example

X X
__ 60 --
50 --
of a positive transfer while lowering the collective lever when
practising an engine-off landing in the hover would be an
__ 40 --
30 --
example of a negative transfer where the student has applied a
__ 20 --
10 --
Represents a review
to bring student back procedure which has worked in other flight situations.
0 -- up to 100%
__ The syllabus of flight instruction must be arranged to take
__ Figure 2
Days since initial training maximum advantage of positive transfer by introducing new
manoeuvres in an order and manner which permit the lessons
__ learned up till then to be applied in the new exercise.
Notes:
__ Habit patterns are probably the most important factor in
• To maintain at least a 70% level, a review should be learning to control the aircraftr, for example, the correct use
conducted within 2 days.
of the sequences such as: Attitude-Power-Trim when levelling
• After the material is learned a second time the curve off from the climb or Select-Hold-Adjust to overcome flapback
flattens out somewhat, but after 7 days the student is when accelerating. It is therefore the responsibility of the
back down to the 70% level. instructor to insist on correct procedures from the outset.

• Another review at 7 days and the curve really flattens. The

student will be above 70% retention until approximately
day 28.
A review at this time will generally cause long-lasting
•
retention of lesson material.
The amount of time required for reviews reduces each
• time a review is conducted.

Example:

• Initial training: 50 minutes

• 1st review (at 2 days): 15 minutes

• 2nd review (at 7 days): 10 minutes

• 3rd review (at 28 days): 5 minutes
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OBSTACLES TO LEARNING __
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Students may fail to make progress or learn for reasons other
than failing to understand the instruction imparted or the rules __
of memory and forgetting. It could be that there are other __
barriers or obstacles that are preventing the student from
concentrating upon the task in hand and assimilating the
__
instruction. A number of obstacles that are commonly found in __
flying instruction are set out below:
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• A feeling of unfair treatment - Students who believe that
their instruction is inadequate or that efforts are not being __
conscientiously considered and evaluated do not learn __
well and their motivation will also suffer.
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• Impatience to proceed to more interesting operations -
Impatience is a greater deterrent to learning pilot skills __
than is generally recognised. The instructor can do a __
great deal to help here by explaining how the student is
progressing in terms of the syllabus of instruction and
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norms and why certain skills have to be mastered in a __
given order before progressing to the next lesson. If
students can see that there is a plan with clear goals and
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milestones that are achievable and understand the __
underlying reason, their impatient feelings give way to
eager anticipation and involvement. Of course there can
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be other factors that can cause frustration and impatience
such as a prolonged spell of non-flying weather, aircraft
and/or instructor unavailability which may have to be
managed.
• Worry or lack of interest. Worry and/or lack of interest has
a detrimental effect on learning. It can be difficult to deal
with and can stem from a variety of causes such as other
barriers. It could be external factors such as family or
financial worries and in some cases inadequacies on the
part of the instructor or the course. In the latter case the
b e s t s o l u t i o n i s p r e v e n t i o n r a t h e r t h a n c u r e .

Discouragement and emotional upsets are rare when

students feel that nothing is being withheld from them or
being neglected in their training.
• Physical discomfort, illness or fatigue. Students who are
not completely at ease and whose attention is diverted by
discomfort caused by their surroundings or illness cannot
learn at a normal rate and flight instructors have to
monitor this closely. In the case of fatigue this is
particularly important as it is an insidious condition.

• Fear, anxiety or timidity. Student anxiety will limit the

student's ability to absorb instruction. Flight Instructors
are responsible for providing a safe and comfortable
learning environment for their students. Those
instructors who remain calm and professional in their
demeanour will provide the necessary quiet reassurance
to their students through their competence and the
obvious priority that they place on flight safety. If the
instructor appears to be tense and excitable in the
aircraft then this will communicate itself rapidly to the
already anxious student.
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__ INCENTIVES TO LEARNING LEARNING METHODS
__
Learning to fly should be an enjoyable experience. By making People learn through meaningful instruction which builds
__ each lesson a pleasurable experience for the student, the flight patterns of relationship in the student's consciousness. Rote
__ instructor can maintain a high level of motivation in the student. learning on the other hand is superficial and is not easily
__ This does not mean that things must be made easy for the
student nor that the instructor should sacrifice his standards of
retained, whereas meaningful learning goes deep because it
involves principles and concepts in the student's own
__ performance to please the student. Students experience great experience.
__ deal of satisfaction from accomplishing a learning task well or People learn when there is a reason for remembering. A desire
by meeting the challenge of a difficult task.
__ People are not always attracted to things that are pleasant and to remember increases the chances of remembering. The
flight instructor can help the student find and understand this
__ easy. They are more likely to devote more effort to things desire.
__ which bring rewards such as self-enhancement and personal Good study habits promote learning and the student must be
satisfaction. People want to feel capable and they are proud of
__ difficult achievements. A good flight instructor helps the encouraged to study for meaning and not to learn by rote.
__ student to attain these goals by using alternative presentations Short periods of review are beneficial and recitations and
and methods to impart instruction so that the students do not quizzes can help.
__ feel that they are simply following in the steps of others. Of the above frequent opportunities for practice is probably the
__ Here are some suggestions you can follow to arouse interest best method of them all.
__ and make the student ready to learn:
__ Start lessons with an ATTENTION-GETTING opening. For
__ examples of opening sentences that are effective, listen
carefully to the start of documentary films or interviews on
__ television. Writers spend a great deal of time developing the
exact words to capture the imagination and stimulate interest.

State SPECIFICALLY WHAT is required during the lesson and

how you intend to prove that the student has the knowledge or
can master the skill at the end of the lesson. Make all your
statements student-centred.
Tell students the PURPOSE of the lesson and stress the
BENEFIT from the new knowledge or skill. Try to give more
than one reason for learning, just in case the student doesn't
fully accept the first reason.

Specify WHERE the lesson fits into the overall picture, and
relate the lessons to past experiences that the students may
have had. This statement provides a link with something
students have learned before and allows them to build on that
knowledge or skill. As an example, if you were giving instruction
on how to level out from the climb to a student with an
aeroplane pilot licence, you could point out that the sequence of
control movements is the same as in an aeroplane. This
concept is closely related to the RELATIONSHIP learning
factor.
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RATES OF LEARNING Slumps or plateaus in the rate of learning, as depicted in Figure __
4, are more likely to occur as the student advances to more __
Learning proceeds rapidly at first when a new task is complicated operations, such as hovering or transitions. Often
introduced, then slows as a reasonable degree of proficiency is the reason is that a student has failed to master one basic __
achieved. When plotted on a graph, this decrease in the rate of element of the operation, and this leads to the appearance of __
learning is shown as a levelling of the ascending curve that deficiency in the performance of later elements. Improvement
represents progress. An exaggerated ideal curve is shown in usually becomes normal again when this one basic element is
__
Figure 3 below. mastered. You can accelerate improvement by careful fault __
analysis and by concentrating instruction on that one phase of
The rate of progress in learning is affected by so many outside
the operation concerned.
__
influences that it is not often predictable. The rate of learning is
affected by such things as: Without competent instruction, students will probably not
__
understand why they aren't improving and will become __
• Diversions
discouraged. This discouragement tends to prolong the __
plateau. During such periods of discouragement, you should
step in to isolate and correct the situation and to provide special __
• Flagging or lacking motivation
incentives until normal progress is resumed. __
• Emotional disturbances Reversals sometimes occur, during which a student's __
performance becomes worse with continued practice.
• Upset training schedule
Generally such reversals are due to a faulty habit pattern
__
• Weather involving one of the basic elements of the manoeuvre or __
operation involved. This faulty habit causes your student to
• Equipment breakdown practise an erroneous performance repeatedly, until correction
__
becomes very difficult. You must not accept such errors and __
• Unavoidable absences misunderstandings as normal plateaux in the learning process. __
They must be corrected before progress can resume.
During advanced stages of learning, the rate of progress can be
very slow.
Example: An acrobat who can perform a routine to a
level of 9.6 continually practises to improve the
performance. Raising the score up to 9.8 or 10 requires
extensive additional training and practice. The same is
true for flying; students may be nearly ready for a skill
test at an early stage but during the additional required
training to reach the required standard will only show
slight, slow improvement.
Reversals in the rate of learning could also take place if you
were to place too much emphasis on a single phase, element or
manoeuvre, particularly to the detriment of other evolutions.
Fig 3 - The Ideal Learning Curve Fig 4 - A typical Learning Curve
Many PPL students cannot attend regularly for reasons of
cost or other commitments. In such cases much time will be
Although it would be convenient if the rate of learning could be spent in recapping previous instruction and progress can be
consistent and predictable as shown in Figure 3, it is not always somewhat laborious. This may not however be as aresult of the
so. Students may progress rapidly for a period, and then student reaching a plateau of learning. Instead itis more likely
suddenly progress more slowly or even regress for a time. Such to be due to the curve of remembering (see Memory and its
variations are to be expected and may represent a period of Application) from which we note that at the end of a month,
training during which the student is perfecting the application of without reviews, students will remember only approximately
the new skill. The correlation of the new skill with the other 40% of the lesson material.
learning tasks may not yet be obvious. It is the flight instructor's
responsibility to detect them as soon as possible and to try to
eliminate their causes by redirecting your instruction to level
them out as much as possible.
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__ Instructors may be discouraged to discover that a well-planned FAST STARTERS. Fast starters are usually students with
__ lesson does not teach all students with equal effectiveness. previous exposure to flight training who quickly grasp the initial
This is normal. Students seldom learn at the same rate. air exercises. You should not omit anything from the briefing.
__ Differences in rates of learning are based on differences in Watch for signs of weakness when new work is introduced.
__ intelligence, background, experience, interest, desire to learn, This type of student usually slows down to the level of the
and many other psychological, emotional, and physical factors. others shortly after going solo. A high degree of proficiency
__ Instructors have to acknowledge that students are different and throughout the course should not be anticipated unless the
__ that this fact dictates how much can be taught at what rate, and student has above-average ability.
when. Some student characteristics that may give rise to
__ differences in the rate of learning are covered below:
__ NERVOUS OR UNDER CONFIDENT. Nervousness or under
IMMATURE. You must not be too harsh with students who
appear immature. You will find that within a short time in the
__ confidence in a student is a trait that may or may not disappear.
flying training environment, the students will more than likely
__ Instruction may be too rapid and material may not be absorbed.
attain a greater degree of maturity. Your attitude is of prime
Repeating the fundamentals and ensuring mastery will often
__ alleviate this condition. You must ensure that this type of
importance in setting an example. You must encourage and
help these students mature into the role of a responsible pilot
__ student receives deserved praise whenever possible. Harsh
whenever possible.
rebukes should be avoided. Patience is very necessary when
__ dealing with a student of this nature. The student must be
__ aware that you are trying to help. Nervous students may be so
__ apprehensive that they may not be suitable for pilot training.
You should avoid manoeuvres involving extreme aircraft
__ attitudes, unless they are essential to the lesson being taught.
__ Take the time to build the student up to exercises involving
extreme aircraft attitudes.
__
OVERCONFIDENT OR CONCEITED. You must first ensure
that this type of student has the ability to match the confidence
and, if so, set more difficult tasks that require greater accuracy.
More criticism of imperfections is advisable. If the student has
little ability, a frank conversation may be required.

FORGETFUL OF INSTRUCTION. At the beginning of training,

students may forget previous instruction. Students with this
problem require a great deal of patience and probably need
more review than the average student. Extra time spent in
briefing and debriefing and more study on the student's part
should be rewarding for all concerned.

INCONSISTENT. Many students, at one time or another

throughout the course, appear to lack consistency in flying
proficiency. There are many reasons for this, and you must try
to find the one that fits a particular student. You must look at
yourself and your attitude towards the student. Most of us have
good days and bad days, but when a student shows large
fluctuations in proficiency the instructor must look closely at the
teaching activities. A change in approach or even a change of
instructors may be called for.

SLOW STARTERS. Slow starters are students who find

difficulty doing more than one thing at a time. Again, patience is
mandatory. Progress may be slow, but encouragement will
help.
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THE TEACHING PROCESS __
ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE anything, to inspire a student to learn. If outside responsibilities, __
interests or worries are weighing heavily, if schedules are
__
TEACHING overcrowded, or if personal problems seem insoluble, then the
student will be unable to develop the interest to learn. (see __
Read the seven learning factors listed below carefully and
Incentives to Learning for suggestions on how to achieve this)
determine to what degree they apply to you as you learn new __
skills and knowledge. If they apply to you, they will also apply to PRIMACY: Present new knowledge or skills correctly the first
your students. Attempt to associate a single word that is used
__
time. (Teach it right the first time.)
to represent the entire learning factor.
When students are presented with new knowledge or skills,
__
Relationship is covered under Teaching from the Known to the the first impression they receive is almost unshakeable. This __
Unknown later in the guide. means that what you teach must be correct the first time. __
These factors are frequently referred to as Thorndike's Laws of Students may forget the details of lessons, but they will retain
an overall image of the skill or knowledge for a long time. __
Learning after E. L. Thorndike (1874 -1949), a pioneer of
educational psychology. His laws are universally accepted and Frequently you will be required to perform manoeuvres in the __
aircraft before a student has had the necessary background
apply to all kinds of learning. Since Thorndike set down his
training. You must perform those manoeuvres correctly or the
__
original four laws, three more have been added: the law of
primacy, the law of intensity and the law of recency. student may imitate any errors you make. __
For example, before the exercise on Confined Areas, you and __
your student may be required to land in a Confined area. Any
• READINESS: Ensure students are mentally, physically
poor example shown at this time would have to be 'unlearned'
__
and emotionally ready to learn.
when the exercise came up in a subsequent lesson. __
• PRIMACY: Present new knowledge or skills correctly the
first time. (Teach it right the first time - see Memory and its Suggestions: __
Application)
• Rehearse lessons to become thoroughly proficient at the
• RELATIONSHIP: Present lessons in the logical sequence skill or in answering questions related to the subject.
of known to unknown, simple to complex, easy to difficult.
(Note: Relationship is covered under Teaching from the • Attempt to give a perfect demonstration of the
Known to the Unknown later in the Guide.) manoeuvres to be learned in the next lesson. If students
read or study exercise material without experiencing the
• EXERCISE: Ensure students are engaged in meaningful
actual exercise, they may form an incorrect mental image.
activity.
• INTENSITY: Use dramatic, realistic or unexpected things, • I fp r a c t i c a b l e , s t a r t e a c hl e s s o n w i t h a p e r f e c t
demonstration. Sometimes it may be better to avoid
as they are best remembered.
talking during this demonstration to allow maximum
• EFFECT: Ensure students gain a feeling of satisfaction concentration on doing the skill perfectly.
from having taken part in a lesson. (see Memory and its
Application) • While the student is performing an exercise, supervise the
• RECENCY: Summarise and practise the important points actions very closely. Stop the student as soon as any
at the end of each lesson, as the last things learned and performance error is noticed, and teach the correct
practised will be remembered the longest method. Close supervision means that you NEVER allow a
student to make an error during the initial stages of
The learning factors listed above are useful 'tools' when they training. Think of how you would go about training a
are applied correctly. The question, of course, is: 'How do these student to defuse a live bomb.
learning factors apply to flight instruction?' This question will be
answered by reviewing and discussing each of the learning EXERCISE: Ensure students are engaged in meaningful
factors that offer specific suggestions on what you can do to activity.
utilise these 'tools' in your instruction. Meaningful mental or physical activity is essential if learning is
to occur. During flight training this is achieved through correct
READINESS: Ensure students are mentally, physically and practice or repetition. Students learn by applying what they
emotionally ready to learn. have been told or what has been demonstrated. As learning
continues or is strengthened by additional practice, your
To learn, a person must be ready to do so. An effective training syllabus should make provision for this practice time.
instructor understands this necessity and does the utmost to You must ensure that the practice is directed towards a specific
provide well-conceived motivation. If a student has a strong goal. Oral questions, hypothetical problems, dual review, or
purpose, a clear objective and a sound reason for learning solo practice are all methods of providing mental or physical
something, progress will be much better than if motivation activity.
were lacking. Under certain circumstances you can do little, if
__
__ If students are able to answer questions involving the words Suggestions:
__ 'how' and 'why', it usually means that they have a good • Show enthusiasm and sincerity for the subject you are
understanding of the subject. For you as a flight instructor, teaching.
__ these two words are probably the most important in your
__ vocabulary. Study Table 1 opposite and note both the instructor • Attempt to employ a wide range of speech variation in
rate, volume and pitch to keep students attentive.
and student activities for each level of learning. Should you
__ attempt to employ the application level of learning without • Use appropriate and effective gestures while explaining
__ having covered the understanding level, students will probably major points. The lesson will seem to 'come alive', and the

__ encounter much more difficulty than if they had mastered points made will make a greater impression on your
previous levels. student.
__
Suggestions: • Use avariety of training aids to appeal to as many senses
__ • Unless you are testing to see what students have learned,
as possible. Each aid must relate directly to the subject
__ avoid questions that are prefixed by the word 'what'. Give matter being taught.

__ students the facts, figures and necessary knowledge,

then ask 'how' and 'why' questions to develop their EFFECT: Ensure that students gain a feeling of satisfaction
__ understanding of the new knowledge.
from having taken part in the lesson.
__ • Once you have told students a fact, avoid repeating
Learning is strengthened when accompanied by a pleasant or
__ yourself. Instead, have them relate the facts back to you.
satisfying feeling. Students will learn and remember more
This strengthens their learning and confirms their
__ knowledge of the required material.
under these conditions than when feelings of defeat,
frustration, anger or futility are developed. If you were to
__ • Give students challenging problems that fit the level of demonstrate a 'wingover' type manoeuvre during the first air
__ learning, and provide only enough assistance to keep exercise, students would likely feel some inferiority, if not
them on track. When students are able to solve the actual fear. The experience would be negative. They might
__ problems alone, they have demonstrated adequate even give up flying at that stage. This example is rather obvious,
knowledge and ability. but you need to consider how your actions could produce
feelings of frustration or anger. For example, you ask a student
• Test students' knowledge and abilities frequently. This
reinforces learning and builds confidence. However, to perform a manoeuvre and then you immediately emphasise
all the errors the student made. Your identification of each error
before testing you must be reasonably certain that
students can answer the questions or perform the skills; may be very accurate, but how would the student feel about it?
otherwise they may become frustrated. Testing will also If the objective were to make the student feel defeated, then
identify areas in which students have weaknesses, thus you would probably succeed. It is better to point out the
allowing you to re teach these subjects to the required positive aspects of a student's performance first and then
discuss the major errors that were committed and finish with
standard.
suggestions for improvement.
Whatever the learning situation, it should contain elements that
INTENSITY: Use dramatic, realistic or unexpected things, as affect your student positively and give feelings of satisfaction.
they are best remembered. Each learning experience does not have to be entirely
Students learn more from dramatic or exciting experiences successful, nor do students have to master each lesson
than from boring ones. It is a well-known fact that a student's completely. However, a student's chance of success will be
'look out' while flying will improve considerably after a first increased with a sense of accomplishment and a pleasant
experience with a near miss. There is no suggestion here that learning experience.
you provide your student with a near miss, but you should Involve students in the lesson by developing some of the new
attempt to make your students' learning experiences exciting material with them. This can be done by asking students
by being excited yourself and perhaps using appropriate
questions related to the subject and allowing students to
opportunities you can to introduce unexpected things to your contribute knowledge and ideas.
students.
Throughout your lessons, obtain feedback from students by
The INTENSITY learning factor implies that students will learn asking questions, observing the performance of a skill, and
more from real experiences than from substitutes. Instructors watching for facial expressions that show a lack of
will have to use their imagination to develop vivid experiences understanding. You must respond to any feedback by
for dramatic or realistic effects. answering questions and providing help and correction where
needed.
 __
Suggestions: Suggestions: __
• Show students how to improve, and offer praise when • Plan for a pre-flight briefing immediately before the air __
improvement occurs. exercise, and review the main points by questioning. This
may sound like the READINESS and EXERCISE learning
__
• Backup all your statements with reasons. Whenever you
tell students something, give the reason behind it. For factors. However, recency deals with the timing of the __
example, you say to a student, 'This aircraft has two practice. __
static vents, one on each side of the fuselage.' This is a • Ensure that students receive athorough summary of the __
fact, but if students do not know the reason for the two important points towards the end of each lesson.
vents, they will probably pass it off as unimportant and __
• After each sequence within an exercise or class
forget. Remember, if a student understands the concept presentation, ask questions on the material or summarise __
or theory, details may be forgotten but the overall concept
will remain, and when an aircraft with only one vent is
the 'need to know' material. __
encountered more attention may be given to instrument • Conduct a test as the final part of your lesson. __
readings while making a cross-wind approach. • At intervals throughout the course, conduct review __
• When a student encounters difficulty in mastering an sessions in which no new material is taught, but
objective, find a means of allowing some degree of reinforcement of previously learned material is obtained. __
success. For example, the lesson is steep turns. Rather • Attempt to finish each lesson with a practice of the most __
than having students attempt the entire manoeuvre, try important parts of the lesson. This applies to solo lessons __
having them practise the entry. When no difficulty is as well as dual exercises. Remember, students practise
experienced with the entry, add the next stage, then knowledge by answering questions and they practise
__
continue until the entire manoeuvre is completed. Should skills by doing. __
difficulty still occur, back up a step and attempt medium
• An important skill for a flight instructor is the ability to ask __
turns rather than causing too much frustration. good questions orally. Good oral questions satisfy all the
Sometimes instructors make the mistake of continuing to
identified learning factors. The next section of this guide
__
have students attempt a manoeuvre when performance is
will deal exclusively with oral questions.
deteriorating. It is better to quit at that point and go back to
something the student can do well.

• Avoid ridicule or sarcasm. You may feel that it might take

the place of humour. However, students seldom have the
same feeling, especially if they are the butt of the remark.

• Arrange each lesson so that when a student does

something correctly there is a reward. This reward can be
in the form of sincere, honest praise. You ask a student to
complete a walk pre-flight inspection on a specific
aircraft for which you have a component such as a nut
placed on the ground under the engine. Your student
notices the offending part and brings this to your attention
and is praised for this. If a thorough inspection is not
completed, you have an excellent teaching point to
emphasise why careful inspections must be done.

RECENCY: Summarise and practise the important points at the

end of each lesson, as things learned and practised last will be
remembered longest.
All things being equal, the things learned last are best
remembered. Conversely, the longer students are removed
from a new fact or even an understanding, the more difficulty
they will have remembering it. The need for reviews was
stated earlier, and a full circle has been completed: review new
material, etc.
__
__ By comparison, construction of a course training plan for a
PLANNING OF INSTRUCTIONAL smaller training organisation or a short course will be relatively
__
__ ACTIVITY
straightforward. This does not mean however, that the
This Guide has quite a lot to say about the need for properly process can be ignored. As flying instructors gain in
__ structured lessons stressing how important thorough experience, they will usually hold more senior positions in
organisations and assume greater responsibility for the
__ preparation is to successful delivery and ultimately to the planning and management of instructional activity. However,
effectiveness of the learning that takes place. However, even
__ well-planned lessons in the classroom or aircraft won't be the management of the training programme and planning of
instruction is a shared responsibility and all PPL flying
__ effective unless they take place within the context of a well- instructors will be required to develop these skills to a greater or
planned delivery system. Instructional activity has to be
__ resourced and managed to be effective. Lessons have to take lesser degree. In a small training organisation employing a
__ place in a logical sequence, and facilities have to be available to single PPL instructor, it is quite likely that the instructor
will be responsible for planning instructional activity or play a
__ provide the learning environment. In a large and busy ATO, the large part in the process.
management of this will be the responsibility of a training
__ operations team probably reporting directly to the Head of
__ Training. It will be necessary to coordinate the flying
programme with the ground instructional programme to
__ include the availability of classrooms, teaching aids and
__ instructors. Due consideration must be paid to the physical
__ needs of both classroom and flight instructors and their
students when planning the instructional activity. In a teaching
__ establishment where instruction is full-time, then a training
__ programme and timetable will be necessary. Detailed
discussion of how to construct a training programme and
__ timetable is outside the scope of this guide. Complex courses
may call for detailed design by a training analyst but the basic
principles (much simplified) are:

• Obtain the approved course syllabus and learning

objectives from the appropriate authority then break this
down into sections with individual lessons identified in
each block of instruction. Naturally, this task is made
much easier if lesson plans have already been developed
for the course.

• Assign realistic timings to each lesson. In the case of air

exercises, ensure that adequate time is allowed for pre-
flight instructional tasks including planning and briefing,
getting to the aircraft and carrying out the necessary pre-
flight inspection. Realistic timings must be allowed to get
airborne and position the aircraft for the lesson. Similarly
sufficient time must be allowed to shut-down the aircraft,
carry out a post flight walk round, return to the operations
room, complete paperwork, debrief the student and
complete the post flight assessment and report. Training
organisations will naturally wish to compress these
timings for business reasons but flying instructors should
insist on adequate time for the activities to be completed
quickly and efficiently but not rushed.

• When the 'block' programme of instruction has been

assembled (a spreadsheet application can be very useful
in speeding up the process particularly when the
inevitable changes have to be made), a timetable can be
constructed by arranging the lessons in a logical
sequence taking account of available resources. Don't
forget to allow sufficient time for administrative activity
and it is sensible to include some spare or 'float' time to
allow for the weather and other operational delays.
 __
TEACHING METHODS Novice instructors are frequently apprehensive about trying __
developmental teaching. Experience has shown that students
DEVELOPMENTAL TEACHING OR consistently surprise instructors if given the chance to
__
TEACHING BY QUESTIONING participate actively in the learning process. The disadvantage of __
lecturing during preparatory instruction is that students are
Developmental teaching is based upon a student-centred frequently told material that they already know, or that they
__
philosophy of teaching that requires you to reason with reasonably can be expected to deduce on their own. The best __
students to have them meet predetermined objectives. By teaching occurs when students are led to a point from which
using the students' background knowledge, you ask questions they can systematically direct their own reasoning to the __
that lead the students to determine the next step in a solution of a problem. The secret of effective learning is to keep __
procedure, the logical application of a principle, or the final students mentally active in the learning process. With
solution to a problem. The rate of progress in developing the developmental teaching students are forced to think. __
more complex ideas of the lesson is governed by the students'
This method is ideally suited to ground instruction and pre and __
perception and comprehension. Questions should be asked to
post flight debriefing. Good questioning technique is the
r e v i e w p r e v i o u s l y l e a r n e d m a t e r i a l . T h e p r o c e s s o f
cornerstone of developmental teaching and techniques for oral
__
developmental teaching begins when students are required to
reason out, and make suggestions, with respect to new
questioning and handling student answers are covered in depth __
later in the Guide in the section entitled Training Programme
material. Development - Student Participation and Practice
__
Developmental teaching has been used throughout the years by __
all good teachers. Because of the requirement for every student
to participate, developmental teaching is effective with small
__
groups and with individual students. It can be used at any level of __
student knowledge, provided that you know or determine the
appropriate level and proceed accordingly. Depending upon the __
subject matter, some lessons can be entirely 'developmental'. __
More frequently, however, there will be a combination of
teaching by explanation (where it may be more efficient to __
explain certain material) and developmental teaching (where
crucial areas of the subject matter can be reasoned with your
students). In almost every lesson, some developmental
teaching is appropriate and desirable.

The main advantage of developmental teaching is that it

promotes efficient student learning because it satisfied all the
basic aspects of learning. Since students participate in
meaningful activity, they are forced to think about the material
b e i n g l e a r n e d , a s q u e s t i o n s a r e a n s w e r e d v e r b a l l y .

C o n s e q u e n t l y , i n t e r e s t i s m a i n t a i n e d , a s e n s e o f

accomplishment is gained, and effective learning takes place.

You receive constant feedback and frequent confirmation of
the students' progress.
Careful planning for developmental teaching is critical because
you must formulate appropriate questions that demand
reasoning on the part of your students. The standard
questioning techniques must be observed, and student
responses must be handled with tact and discretion. In addition
to being a master of the subject material, you must be flexible in
your approach. You must permit adequate discussion, yet
exercise sufficient control to move towards the lesson
objectives. Frequent summaries are necessary to consolidate
the material as the lesson progresses.
__
__ THE DEMONSTRATION PERFORMANCE METHOD TEACHING FROM THE 'KNOWN'
__ The Demonstration - Performance method of flight instruction TO THE 'UNKNOWN'
__ (sometimes called the Demonstration Method) is widely
accepted as the preferred method for in-flight instruction. It is Thorndike's Law of RELATIONSHIP states that lessons
__ discussed in some detail as part of the FLIGHT: AIRBORNE should be presented : In the logical sequence of known to
__ INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES section. unknown, simple to complex, easy to difficult.

__ This method of instruction has five components This particular learning factor emphasises the necessity for your
student to understand relationships between new and old facts,
__ • Explanation
or between ideas and skills, if learning is to take place. During
• Demonstration flight training, students must understand not only why they are
__ learning a particular exercise, but how that exercise combines
• Student Performance
__ with previous ones and where it fits into the overall syllabus.
• Instructor Supervision Giving students the relationship at the start of the lesson
__ provides preparation for learning. Continuing the process
• Evaluation
__ throughout the lesson helps to maintain the desire to learn.

__ • known to unknown

__ THE TELLING AND DOING TECHNIQUE • easy to difficult

• concrete to abstract
__
Another technique that can be used is the telling and doing • simple to complex
__ technique which can be summarised as follows:
• familiar to unfamiliar.
__ 1. Instructor tells - instructor does
Always review basic knowledge before proceeding to the
__ 2. Student tells - instructor does
unknown. For example, when teaching students to multiply
__ 3. Student tells - student does with a circular slide rule, the first example should be as simple
as 2 × 2. The reason is that students already know the answer
4. Student does - instructor evaluates
and are able to follow the manipulation of the slide rule. In the
The difference between this technique and the Demonstration- next problem or example, a change of one factor (2 × 4) allows
Performance method is that the student is involved in the students to build on knowledge already gained. The process is
second demonstration by the instructor (student tells - instructor continued until students have mastered all the required
does) and thus cannot adopt a passive role. This strategy could knowledge and skills necessary to solve real problems.
be useful to confirm that students know and understand exactly Present new material in stages, confirming that students have
what is required from them when it is their turn to perform the mastered one stage before proceeding to the next. The length
manoeuvre. This method requires high-order communication of time for each stage would depend on the complexity of the
skills from students at a time when they may find it is all that they
material covered.
can do to fly the manoeuvre accurately.
Reinforce students' learning of new facts or ideas by frequently
summarising the major points of your lesson.
Use examples and comparisons to show how the new material
being learned is really not much different from that already
known by your students. The examples you use may be real or
imaginary, as the main purpose of an example is to paint a
verbal picture so students can visualise relationships between
the new material and things that have happened before. This is
called using 'verbal aids' for your instruction.
 __
USE OF LESSON PLANS In this case, the items that will need further development are __
the long briefing objectives and the air exercise and the flight
__
The lesson plan is an essential tool for the flight instructor. instructor would need to prepare his board layout in advance
There are many formats available and they will differ depending and rehearse it as necessary. However, It is likely that __
on the type of instruction being undertaken. For a large class, instructors will have their own board plans and notes already __
covering a major theoretical knowledge topic, it is probable that available from their own notes taken during their FIC training or
a fairly complex and detailed plan will be involved. In contrast, perhaps using a standard set of lesson plans included in the
__
for a one-to-one revision session, the requirement to produce a ATO Manual. Whatever method is used, it is essential that __
formal lesson plan will be greatly reduced. flight instructors prepare their briefings thoroughly and the __
lesson plan is the tried and tested way of doing this.
Learning objectives are written so that they are exact,
For the air exercise, an aide memoire in card form is the usual
__
observable and measurable and are composed of the
Performance Standard that has to be achieved, the conditions method of ensuring that the lesson sequence is followed. So __
under which it has to be achieved and the standard that must be that flight instructors maintain situational awareness at all times __
attained. For flying lessons, the objectives will form part of the and monitor what their students are doing, such aide memoires
pre-flight briefing, the conditions are normally standard, for should contain the minimum amount of detail necessary to __
example, by day under VFR and the standard that has to be prompt the instructor and maintain the pace of the lesson. For __
obtained is ultimately that of the PPL(H)/LAPL(H) Skill Test. this reason in some quarters, these kneeboard sized aides are
called 'pace notes'. As experience is gained, they can largely
__
These objectives should be noted down together with the __
be dispensed with but it is still important that the airborne
standard and to be achieved and the conditions. Enabling
lesson and sequence is planned or reviewed for each flight to
objectives that will have to be covered in order to meet the main __
take account of different factors, e.g. the student's ability and
objective(s) must also be included as they will also need to be
progress, the wind and weather conditions and the TEM special __
covered in the lesson or briefing.
considerations for them. __
A simple lesson plan from which the briefing could be
developed further is shown below. The contents have been __
drawn up using the details provided in Part 2 of the Guide for
Exercise 16.
 __
__
TRAINING PHILOSOPHIES __
THE VALUE OF A STRUCTURED INTEGRATION OF THEORETICAL __
(APPROVED) COURSE OF KNOWLEDGE AND FLIGHT __
__
TRAINING INSTRUCTION
Courses offered a part of the curriculum of ATOs and DTOs are An approved course of training for the EASA PPL(A) comprises __
required to be structured. This means that ground and flight at least 100 hours of theoretical knowledge instruction. The __
instruction is systematic and can be presented in a logical training should cover aspects related to non-technical skills in
sequence which will help the student to make progress. It will an integrated manner. The theoretical knowledge instruction __
also assist the flight instructor to prepare lessons properly and provided by the ATO should include a certain element of formal __
classroom work but may include also such facilities as
teaching will be more effective as a result.
interactive video, slide or tape presentation, computer-based
__
The structured course is equally valuable to those learners who training and other media distance learning courses. __
cannot take advantage of regularly paced instruction for
whatever reason because their progress (or lack of) will be The arrangement of flying lessons set out in, for example, the __
Part FCL PPL(A) syllabus set out in Part 2 is progressive and
easier to measure from the standpoint of the performance
although lessons do not always have to be carried out in the
__
standard that they should be at in contrast to their actual
standard. Remedial action can then be instigated to restore exact order of the exercise numbers, they broadly follow one __
their position within the training taxonomy. another in sequence. The reason for this is that each exercise __
consists of training and enabling objectives which build on the
knowledge and skills of gained during earlier exercises. In turn, __
THE IMPORTANCE OF A these rely on underpinning theoretical knowledge to __
PLANNED SYLLABUS understand and make sense of the briefing which the student
needs to understand the flying briefing and make progress in
__
In the same way as it is valuable to have a structured course, it is
the air where time is so precious.
equally important to have a planned syllabus of instruction
which enables the flying instruction to be correctly sequenced. The laid down theoretical knowledge for the PPL(A) is found
in the training manual
Arguably, it would be difficult to have a structured course
without a planned syllabus.

With a planned syllabus, any training gaps are readily

identifiable to the student and instructor and it is easier to
measure progress. This can help motivate the student where
progress is apparent or highlight areas of weakness if this is not
the case. This is particularly important where a student's
attendance is irregular for any reason.

Another advantage of a planned syllabus is that it allows the

operations staff and the instructor to plan ahead and book slots
in the flying programme appropriate to the student's progress.

There is a lot to learn and this needs to be planned and

integrated with the flying instruction. For example, the student
should have completed the theoretical knowledge syllabus for
Navigation a short time (Law of Recency) before embarking on
the navigation phase of the course. Similarly, during the earlier
lessons, if a student had not covered some of the aspects of
Principles of Flight, then it is likely that time will be
wasted in briefing prior to flying the sortie at best or, at worst,
the student won't understand the instruction and fail to make
progress. For this reason, the Theoretical Knowledge syllabus
should be integrated with the flying syllabus to the maximum
extent possible.
__
__
__ TECHNIQUES OF
__
__ APPLIED INSTRUCTION
__ The following techniques, if applied in a conscientious manner, PREPARE THE CLASSROOM/TEACHING AREA
__ will help the flight instructor to give effective instruction. BEFORE THE LESSON
Because most flight instructors also carry out some, if not all, of
__ Reason: The class must be arranged for best student learning. If
the ground school training, references to classroom -type
__ instruction are included in this summary. The techniques of students cannot see all the aids, they may miss a point. Lesson
preparation appears more professional if no time is wasted
__ instruction, questioning techniques, lesson planning, etc., are
organising aids or rearranging seating.
equally applicable for providing large group instruction or for air
__ instruction on a one to one basis, individual preparatory ground
__ instruction, or pre flight briefings.
PREPARE/CHECKTRAINING DEVICES/AIDS
__ To present a lesson in a professional manner, you must prepare
BEFORE THE LESSON
in advance and proceed as follows:
__ Reason: This avoids embarrassment should an item not work,
__ or should any chart, slide or graph be shown in the wrong order.

__ PREPARE A LESSON PLAN

__ Reason: A lesson plan acts as a guide and keeps you on track PREPARE YOUR STUDENTS FOR LEARNING
__ during your presentation. It also ensures that important points Reason: If students are to learn, they must be physically,
are covered and not neglected because of poor memory. mentally and emotionally ready to do so.
__
What to include: Headings of main points; sufficient notes to How to do it:
jog memory on talking points; specific questions and answers
to confirm student learning; visual aid instructions (including a • Tell students specifically what is required of them during
chalkboard plan); a well-thought-out opening and closing the lesson and what they will be able to do at the end of
statement; estimates of the amount of time to be spent on each the lesson.
major idea or item; a visual aids plan; any other point that you
• Tell students why they should take part in the lesson and
feel will help to get the lesson across.
how the new skill or knowledge will benefit them. Give as
What to avoid: Writing material out in full detail (this promotes many advantages as you possibly can for having students
reading of the material while you are in front of the class); using learn, as they may not agree with some of your reasons.
single space format (this does not allow for revision of the notes
Give students an overall picture of the lesson, and show
the next time the lesson is to be given); writing in longhand, •
them how it fits into the entire course. Attempt to relate
unless you are able to read your notes at a distance of 1 metre.
the new material to some past and/or future experience
(This makes you appear not to know your material because you
of your students.
have to look closely at your lesson plan rather than just glance at
it to jog your memory.) The length of time required to prepare students for
• learning depends primarily on their background
knowledge and the complexity of the material. As a
g e n e r a l g u i d e , t h e a m o u n t o f t i m e n e e d e d i s

approximately 10% of the lesson.

 __
START THE PRESENTATION OF NEW IDENTIFY AND EMPHASISE MAJOR POINTS __
MATERIAL AT THE STUDENTS’ LEVEL OF FOR THE STUDENTS __
UNDERSTANDING Reason: During any presentation there is a mixture of ‘need to __
Reason: If you begin your presentation at a level your students do know’ material, which is extremely important, and ‘nice to __
not understand, there will be confusion and time wasted. Little or know’ material, which may or may not have to be remembered
no learning will take place. for a long period of time. __
How to determine the students’ level of understanding: How to identify and emphasise points for your students: __
• P r e p a r e a v i s u a l a i d o f t h e m a i n p o i n t s ;
__
• Before the instruction starts, conduct a Threshold __
Knowledge Test to determine what your student knows approximately75% of learning comes from vision,
or doesn’t know. A Threshold Knowledge Test is simply
whereas only about 13% comes from hearing. The visual __
aid may be a heading on a chalkboard, chart, or projected
some form of examination, written or oral, of sufficient
image.
__
length to inform you as to the actual level of knowledge. •
Have students write the main points down in their note __
• During the course of instruction have periodic reviews. books, or provide notes that include these main points. __
• Conduct a review of previous lessons before you start •
each lesson. The review should consist of a series of
Make a verbal statement to the students, such as: ‘This __
particular point is very important: remember it.’
questions. If your students answer correctly, proceed. If
•
__
they do not, re-teach. Prepare an orientation board (chalk board or sheet of
paper) that identifies the major points for a lesson.
__
Check with other instructors for the strengths and
• weaknesses of your students, and arrange your material Students can refer to this board throughout the lesson, __
and this helps their thoughts to be guided to a specific
to fit the students’ needs. __
area.
• Raise the volume of your voice and reduce the rate of __
PROCEED AT THE RATE OF STUDENT delivery while stating an important point, to add
COMPREHENSION emphasis.
• Besides emphasising the main points, you should also
Reason: If you get ahead of your students during the
emphasise safety and the points that are easily forgotten
presentation, you are in the same position as if you started
or difficult to remember.
above their level.
How to ensure that you are proceeding at the required rate: • Provide emphasis according to relative importance. The
most important things get a greater amount of emphasis.

• Arrange your material in stages. Stop at the end of each • Emphasise points by giving verbal examples (real or
stage and ask specific questions on the material you have imaginary); by comparisons (similarity to, or difference
just covered. If your students answer correctly, proceed. from, known facts); and, perhaps most importantly, by
If they do not, re-teach. The length of time for a stage giving reasons for each point you make. Students tend to
depends on the complexity of the material being remember better if they understand the reasons behind
presented, but a good general rule is 8 to 12 minutes. every point they must learn.

Write out in full a number of well-thought-out questions. Repeat the point frequently by using summaries, or have
• •
Put these questions on your lesson plan and make sure your students repeat the point by answering your
they are asked during the presentation. The feedback you questions.
get from these answers will determine whether or not Conduct periodic reviews of the ‘need-to-know’ material.
your students understand. •
Have the students complete a home assignment of the
Observe your students closely for facial expressions that • important points of a lesson.
• could indicate that they do not understand a particular
Have students record, in note form, the major ideas or
point. If students say they understand, ask them a
• items that you feel must be emphasised. By having them
question to make sure.
write ideas down you are using another sense, so
Encourage students to ask questions on points that they learning may be reinforced.
• do not fully understand.
Use a variety of training aids to appeal to several senses
Provide for lots of practice of basic skills before you go on • (touch, feel, etc.).
• to the more complex parts.
Do not emphasise ‘nice-to-know’ material.
• Orphan
__
__ GIVE CLEAR EXPLANATIONS AND
__ DEMONSTRATIONS
__ Reason: If students do not understand an explanation, you will Guidelines:
have to re-teach by rephrasing or by going over the material a
__ • Plan the lesson first, and then select the type of visual
second time. The same applies to a sloppy or inaccurate
__ demonstration.
support that helps students learn the material. DO NOT
select a visual aid and then try to build a lesson around it.
__ Suggestions for ensuring that your explanations and Just because the aid looks impressive, it does not mean it
__ demonstrations are clear: will fill the need, the need being to help your students
learn the ‘must-know’ information.
__ • Start verbal explanations by referring to something
already known by your students. Association of ideas Plan to use a visual display of all major points that are
__ •
makes it easier to follow your explanation. covered during your lesson. Simple wording on the
__ whiteboard is usually better than repeating the main
• Use words and phrases that are commonly used. Avoid points over and over again.
__ showing off your command of the English language by
__ using such phrases as: ‘Elaborate on the fundamental Make your aids simple and clear. Eliminate all
• unnecessary data. Avoid the tendency to produce ornate,
ramifications of hylampherism’. Instead, ask (‘What
__ happens when the lever is lifted?’) detailed artwork.
__ Attempt to reduce complex material and ideas to a Manufacture aids that can be seen by all the students.
• • Before you use it, put the aid in the position in which it is
__ simple, easy to understand form. The best way to do this
is to start with something your students know about and to be used. Go to the position of the student farthest
__ build on that knowledge in small steps. away, and ensure that you can see the aid clearly.
__ If you are required to demonstrate something, make sure Use a variety of colours to add interest, but make sure you
__ • you can do it correctly before you show the students. • keep associated parts or ideas or a repeating idea in the
same colour. In this way, you help your students to follow
Make sure all students can see even the smallest points
your presentation more easily.
• of a demonstration; if necessary, gather them around
you.
• If you are doing a simultaneous demonstration and When an aid is not in use, cover it up or remove it from sight. It
explanation, break the demonstration down into small can act as a distraction for your students if it is there but not
steps and explain each step thoroughly, giving reasons, being used.
examples and comparisons.
• If the aid includes written words, have someone check for
USE VISUAL AIDS AND USE THEM EFFECTIVELY correct spelling and grammar. You would be surprised
how many times misspelled words are displayed for
Reason: Approximately 75% of all learning comes through
students.
sight.
Sources of ideas: • If possible, stand well away from the aid and use a
pointer, so that you do not obstruct the view of any
student.
• graphic artists or personnel associated with the •
production of visual aids If you are using charts it is sometimes advisable to have
two copies, one labelled and one unlabelled. The
• other instructors, who can often give spark to an idea unlabelled one can be used later to test student
• commercial displays in newspapers, magazines, knowledge. Alternatively, a duplicate work sheet of the
television and stores chart can be given to each student to fill in or label.
finally, your own imagination, which (if you give it full rein)
• Consider: Will the aid help the student learn better, easier, or
is an excellent source of ideas for aids.
faster? You should ‘show them as well as tell them’.
Types of visual support:

• actual equipment
• mock-ups, charts, diagrams, pictures or models

• DVDs, films, video tape and cassette recordings

• sometimes, people.
 __
VARY THE RATE, VOLUME AND PITCH OF YOUR PROVIDE FOR MAXIMUM STUDENT ACTIVITY __
VOICE WHEN DELIVERING THE LESSON DURING THE LESSON __
Reason: Any form of variety adds to student interest. Speaking Reason: Students learn more easily if they are actively __
in a dull manner will generally put students to sleep, or at least engaged in the learning situation.
allow their minds to wander off the subject.
__
Consider:
__
Consider:
• When learning a theory subject, students’ practice of that __
• Speak at a fast rate while presenting ‘nice to know’ theory is usually in the form of answering questions.
__
E n s u r et h a t y o u a s k q u e s t i o n s t h r o u g h o u t t h e
material. This produces the effect of observable
enthusiasm, and enthusiasm is contagious. presentation. __
• Speak at a slow rate when identifying‘ must know’ • Use sound questioning technique, as outlined in the __
information. This allows students to separate the ‘need to section ‘Oral Questions’.
__
know’ from the ‘nice to know’ material and in most cases Distribute your questions evenly among all the students,
adds emphasis to the points being made. •
to avoid having a few answer all the questions.
__
Adjust the volume of your voice to the conditions under Make your questions thought provoking and challenging.
__
• •
which you are instructing. If there is background noise
Avoid questions that require a simple YES or NO answer,
__
you must raise the volume of your voice so that all the •
students can hear what you are saying. unless you immediately follow up with a ‘why’ or ‘how’ __
question. __
Generally you will have very little control over the pitch of
• your voice, but adjusting the volume and varying the rate Always have enough information in the stem of your
__
• question to guide the students’ thoughts towards a
of delivery will often help to vary the pitch to some extent.
particular area. Avoid general or ambiguous questions, __
such as ‘What goes up the cylinder of an engine?’ You __
OBTAIN FEED BACK FROM STUDENTS BY may not get the answer you are looking for.

LOOKING AT THEM (EYE CONTACT) Meaningful activity while learning a skill is normally a
• combination of answering questions and practising the
Reason: It gives students the feeling that you are interested in
various steps of the skill. Arrange to have students
them and allows you to determine whether or not they involved in the practice as soon as possible after the start
understand what you are presenting.
of the lesson. If possible, build into the first part of the
Consider: lesson a ‘hands on’ opportunity for your students. This
increases their interest and in most cases will give them a
• Look directly at the students, but do not stare at any positive desire to learn more.
particular individual for too long at a time. If students avert
their eyes it means you have stared too long and possibly Always supervise student practice very closely; do not
allow them to make mistakes from which they could
caused some embarrassment—look elsewhere. •
begin to learn bad habits. If you do, you will have to
• Make your eye contact impartial. Do not favour any reteach them. The phrase ‘practice makes perfect’ is only
individual student or group of students; include them all in true if the person practising receives close guidance and
your presentations. supervision. REMEMBER, ONLY CORRECT PRACTICE
MAKES PERFECT.
When students are able to perform a task with a
reasonable degree of proficiency, introduce some
• competition (speed or ability) or a variation of the
skill—but only when they have almost mastered the basic
skill.
__
__ GROUP LECTURES
__ The techniques described above will work equally well for
__ group instruction. In particular, group instruction calls for
developmental teaching using oral questioning techniques.
__ These are covered in depth in the section entitled STUDENT
__ PARTICIPATION AND PRACTICE later on in the Guide. It is
normal for a group lecture to be instructor led and while student
__ participation and discussion is generally to be welcomed it can
__ be
taken.
harder to control leading to timings going awry unless care is

__
__ INDIVIDUAL BRIEFINGS
__ Individual briefings lie at the heart of aircraft flying
instruction. It is rare to get large or even medium sized groups
__ together for classroom work so the theoretical knowledge
__ lessons required may be given in a very small group or a one-to-
__ one setting.
__ Ineffective
the photograph below the instructor and student are making
use of a computer during a one-to-one pre-flight
__ briefing. Use of this sort of display, speeds up briefings and can
__ provide high quality graphics with the ability to integrate video
and other media seamlessly. There are some disadvantages as
__ it can be harder to get the student to help build up the picture
__ using question and answer technique than it would be if using a
whiteboard.

STUDENT PARTICIPATION OR
DISCUSSION
Properly managed, student discussion is very fruitful. It is an
excellent way in which to explore certain topics and get the
students involved and thinking about the subject. Careful
preparation is needed by the instructor to identify a set of
questions that will support the planned training objectives for
the session so that he can 'seed' the discussion as necessary.
It may be necessary to circulate some of the questions
beforehand so that the learners can do some preparation in
advance. For a discussion, the instructor should arrange for the
classroom to be set out in seminar style and nominate a student
to act as chairperson. The instructor can then take a backseat
to observe and join in for time to time if necessary to clarify or
correct a point.
 __
FLIGHT: AIRBORNE __
__
INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES
__
THE FLIGHT OR COCKPIT ENVIRONMENT
As your student gains proficiency, you may look for minor errors
__
The in-flight exercise is the culmination of all ground training and correct them in the same manner. Remember, though, that __
and preparation. To achieve maximum effectiveness, it must be learning to fly proficiently takes time and you should __
flown immediately after the pre-flight briefing, and to avoid concentrate on the major points first. Many of the minor errors
confusion it should be flown as briefed. The following is a guide will be corrected as your student corrects the major faults. Also, __
to the conduct of a training flight. Variations may be necessary remember to acknowledge good performance.
to suit individual student requirements.
__
If practicable, conclude the air exercise with a perfect
There should never be any doubt as to who has control of the demonstration of the manoeuvre to be learned on the next __
Aircraft The procedure for giving and taking control is: lesson. This will help your student to fully understand the home __
study for the next exercise and will also provide a positive
When you, as pilot in command, wish to give control to your mental picture about what will be taking place during the next __
student, say clearly 'Follow me'. Teach your student to take
control only when ready and to always say 'I have control'. You
flight. Of course, you would not give a demonstration of new __
material if the next lesson were to be a review or a repeat of a
do not relinquish control until you hear this phrase. Formalise
lesson. __
this portion of the evolution by saying 'You Have Control'.
When you want to take control, do so positively using the same While safety in the classroom cannot be ignored, it is benign by __
procedure in reverse. comparison with the flight environment which is potentially __
hazardous. As well as imparting instruction, the instructor is
As pilot in command, you have the final authority. Your request
to give or take control should not be questioned but acted on as
responsible for all aspects of flight safety, maintaining __
situational awareness at all times and acting as a role model for
quickly as possible by your students. the students on which they will base their own flying both while
__
When the student has control, you must not 'ride' the controls. undergoing training and in the years to come. It is therefore __
Your student may feel that you are taking control, and this could vital that slavish attention is paid to cockpit discipline, checks,
lead to a dangerous situation. Additionally, you may rob your lookout and the handover control at all times. For example, it is
student of the feeling of accomplishing the manoeuvre not sufficient for instructors to simply glance at the instruments
independently. This is particularly difficult during critical to check that everything is working as it should be and move on
manoeuvres, such as simulated engine off landings to the to the next item, they must draw the student's attention to the
ground, when there is little time available to the instructor to fact that the necessary checks have been completed in
correct errors. For low intervention time exercises such as this, accordance with the checklist or standard operating
the instructor's hands and feet should be very near to the procedures. It is not simply sufficient to ensure all the safety
controls at all times. Before entering the manoeuvre the flight requirements of the flight have been met, it is necessary to
instructor should confirm the procedure for closing the throttle show overtly by example how this has been achieved.
and any other points. Instructors must therefore maintain a great deal of spare
capacity at all times and be able to divide their attention so that
For most new exercises you should first review the main points due attention is given to the cockpit environment, the conduct
of the manoeuvre and then give a perfect demonstration. The of the flight and at the same time be able to impart instruction
review must be short. Include such items as airspeeds, power confidently and clearly as well as monitoring their student's
settings, altitudes, etc. Usually you can obtain this information performance at all times. This is not an easy task.
from your student. Your demonstration should be a complete
manoeuvre and should set the standard you want your student When planning the instructional flight, instructors have to take
to ultimately achieve. into account and mitigate the threats posed by the airborne
environment and be prepared to trap any errors that occur
In the case of a complex manoeuvre, after the perfect quickly. A momentary lapse in in situational awareness,
demonstration, demonstrate a small portion of the manoeuvre, possibly caused by concentrating on student performance or
giving a brief explanation either before, during or after the correcting an error could result in an airspace infringement,
demonstration. Have your student attempt this small portion. failing to notice other traffic, or even loss of control. It is
Watch closely for any major error. If you observe a major error, therefore important to pay sufficient attention not just to what
take control immediately and explain to your student what was is to be taught during the lesson but how and where the air
done incorrectly, then demonstrate as soon as possible what to exercise will be conducted. The necessary spare capacity can
do to correct the error. Allow practice of that small portion be built into the instructional flight by careful planning and
before proceeding to the next portion. Continue the process of preparation and choice of exercise location.
demonstration, explanation and practice with close supervision
of each step or portion, until your student has completed the
entire manoeuvre. Then, allow continued practice, slowly
withdrawing your guidance and assistance.
__
__
__ THE DEMONSTRATION–PERFORMANCE
__ METHOD OF TEACHING
__ This technique which is the basis of in-flight instruction was You will find that different instructors will approach the teaching

__ covered briefly in Teaching Methods earlier in the Guide. To

recap, it consists of the five elements which are covered in
of this skill differently. The following represents a suggested
approach that appears to work best for most instructors.
__ more detail in this section:
• On the flight before the exercise on ‘practice forced
__ • Explanation
landings’ (PFL’s) give a perfect demonstration of a PFL. It
__ • Demonstration may be better not to talk during this demonstration, since
__ • Student performance you want it to be as perfect as possible to set the standard
for the future performance. There is another advantage of
__ • Instructor supervision
giving a perfect demonstration before the forced landing
__ • Evaluation. exercise. Your students will be able to form a clearer
mental picture when studying the flight guide, because
__ they have seen the actual manoeuvre.
EXPLANATION AND DEMONSTRATION
__ • The next step would be for you to give a full detailed
__ The explanation and demonstration may be done at the same explanation of a practice forced landing. During this
time, or the demonstration given first followed by an explanation you would use all the instructional techniques
__ explanation, or vice versa. The type of skill you are required to described previously. You must give reasons for what is
__ teach might determine the best approach. expected, draw comparisons with things already known,
__ Consider the following. You are teaching a student how to do a and give examples to clarify points. This explanation
forced landing. Here are your options: should be given on the ground; use visual aids to assist
__ student learning.
• Demonstrate a forced approach and simultaneously give • When in the air, give a demonstration, but also include
an explanation of what you are doing and why you are important parts of the explanation. Usually asking
doing it. students questions about what you are doing or should do
will give them an opportunity to prove that they know the
• Complete the demonstration with no explanation and
then give a detailed explanation of what you have done. procedure, although they have not yet flown it.

Give an explanation of what you intend to do and then do • After completing the practice forced landing approach,
• a n d w h i l e c l i m b i n g f o r a l t i t u d e , c l e a r u p a n y
it.
misunderstandings the students may have and ask
questions.
• The demonstration and explanation portion of the
demonstration–performance method is now complete,
and you should proceed to the next part, which is the
student performance and instructor supervision.
 __
STUDENT PERFORMANCE AND INSTRUCTOR RULES FOR USING THE DEMONSTRATION __
SUPERVISION PERFORMANCE METHOD __
Student performance and instructor supervision are always Give a perfect demonstration or, if this is not practicable, show __
carried out concurrently during the initial stages of training. A the finished product. Example: When teaching map __
student should not be allowed to make a major error at this preparation, show a map with a cross country trip all marked
time. Your supervision must be close enough to detect the start out: students will see the standard expected in preparing their
__
of an error, and you must correct the student at that point. own maps. __
The student should be allowed to perform the task in small Give a step by step explanation of the required task. Use __
segments, with you providing close supervision of each reasons, examples and comparisons to make the explanation
__
segment. clear.
Referring to our example of the practice forced landing, Have students imitate a step of the skill while you provide close
__
consider the following suggestion of how to divide the task into supervision. For example, have students practise the entry to a __
segments: steep turn until it is correctly done, before you go on to the next
__
On the student's first attempt: step.
__
Continue until the student has imitated each step.
You, the instructor:
Provide student practice, with assistance as necessary.
__
select the field, making sure that it is within easy autorotational
Ensure that the amount of time allotted for student practice
__
range
perform all in-flight checks, including LOOKOUT.
equals or exceeds the amount of time for the demonstration, __
The student flies the aircraft and concentrates on making
explanation, and student performance under very close __
supervision. Students should take as much time to practise as
the field. you take to teach. __
If the student makes a major error, you take control and place Overall rule: while you are demonstrating and explaining, your __
the aircraft in the correct position, then give the student student listens and observes. While your student is performing,
control and continue the approach. (Try to ensure that the you listen and observe. NEVER ask the student to perform
student makes the field on the first attempt, even if you have to while you are explaining.
help all the way through.)
Complete the exercise with an evaluation (final check-up) in
On subsequent attempts, depending on the degree of success which students have the opportunity to prove what they can do.
of the previous attempt, add more items for the student to carry
NEVER just explain and demonstrate a skill or procedure for
out.
students. ALWAYS have students perform the skill to ensure
Continue the process until you feel the student can fly the that the skill or procedure is done properly. STICK WITH THEM
complete manoeuvre alone. You have now completed the UNTIL THE SKILL IS DONE CORRECTLY. For example, a
student performance and instructor supervision portion of this student is about to proceed on a solo cross country trip and asks
method, and you should now proceed to the evaluation. you how to fill in the navigation log. Explaining how to do it,
even with a demonstration, is no guarantee of student success.
EVALUATION
Have students tell you how to do it or, better still, have them
The evaluation portion of the demonstration method is where
make a practice log entry before departure.
students get an opportunity to prove that they can do the
manoeuvre without assistance.
For the practice forced landing you should tell students that you
will be simulating an engine failure and that they are to carry out
the entire procedure, including all checks and lookout.

While the student is performing this manoeuvre you must

refrain from making any comments. Offer no assistance
whatsoever even grunts or head nods. You must, however,
observe the entire manoeuvre very carefully, so that you can
analyse any errors that the student may make and debrief
accordingly.
NOTE: Of course, you would interrupt the student's
performance if safety were to become a factor.
Success or failure during the evaluation stage of the lesson will
determine whether you carry on with the next exercise or
repeat the lesson.
__
__ POST-FLIGHT AND IN-FLIGHT JUDGEMENT
__ AND DECISION MAKING
__
Review with the student each exercise undertaken during the
__ flight. In the case of a dual flight, the debriefing should include
__ strengths and weaknesses and suggestions to improve
performance. An outline of the next training session should be
__ given, along with study assignments.
__ This should follow all flights, dual and solo. Points should
__ include:
__
__ • the student's own assessment of the flight and
performance
__
• your assessment of the student's performance.
__
• This should include both the strong and weak points,
__ and advice on how to correct any errors.
__ • answering any questions the student may have
__ • assigning study subjects where appropriate.
__
__ Note: Debriefings should always be conducted in private and in
__ a manner mindful of the sensitivities of the student.
When the debriefing is complete a record of the flight should be
made in the form set out in the Approved Training
Organisation's Manual and the taxonomy completed. Such
records form an essential record of student progress and must
be completed accurately and in sufficient detail.
 __
__
STUDENT EVALUATION AND TESTING __
__
ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE
__
In order to monitor students' progress with the aim of providing temptation to be more lenient during post-flight debriefs
__
direction and raising the level of performance, periodic and write-ups. This must be resisted as it does nobody __
objective assessments must be made. These assessments any favours in the long term and could even be a safety
can be entered into the student's records. It is important that
__
issue. Students have a right to expect an honest
such assessments are objective and that assessments are appraisal of their ability and progress. Experience would __
made against a defined standard or rubric. Not all ATOs will show that far from taking their business elsewhere they __
have a grading system in their Manuals but if there is one it are likely to remain with an ATO or DTO where
should be used as it will provide examples of student instructors have this ethos.
__
performance against which a grade could be awarded.
• Personal contrast. This error is found to be where the
__
Typically an assessment based on Above Average, Average
and Low Average might be made. An overview of these grades
instructor tends to downgrade the student in areas where __
his personal performance excels and to upgrade the
over a period of time will provide the instructor, Chief Flying student where he feels he is less skilful.
__
Instructor and the Head of Training with an idea of whether the __
student is making satisfactory progress or whether another • Logical Error. This error results from a tendency on the
training strategy or one-to-one appraisal would be appropriate. part of the instructor to see a similarity in unrelated skills __
and to rate them alike. An example of this is where an
There is inevitably a degree of subjectivity when assessing skill __
instructor may tie together two items such as ability to
based performance rather than examination results so it is maintain heading and ability to maintain altitude. When a __
worth considering some of the common errors that can be
made and which persistently occur in all subjective rating
high performance is observed in one, the instructor rates __
highly in the other.
systems. When the instructor understands these errors, it
helps to reduce their effect. • Error of narrow criteria.This is the error caused by an
instructor grading his immediate students relative to each
• Halo Error. This error is described as a tendency, on the
other bracket off (e.g. a flight instructor has three
part of the instructor, to judge individual skills based on a
students and will see one as above average, one as an
general mental attitude toward the individual. In other average, and one below average). Actually, they may be
words, the instructor's opinion of individuals such as
above or below average with respect to normal
speech, mannerisms, personality and demeanour does
standards.
affect ratings.
• Central tendency. This error is commonly referred to as
the tendency to centralise assessments and scores. It is
the tendency to group ratings in a narrow range in the
centre of whatever scoring scale is being used. The type
THE FUNCTION OF PROGRESS TESTS
of scale in use, e.g. a descriptive scale such as below
average, average, and above average or a numerical scale Evaluation is one of the fundamental principles of the teaching
e.g. a score of one to five, has no bearing on this error. process described earlier in the Guide. The evaluation of a
The reason for this is error seems to be the reluctance on student's progress is a continuing process carried on
the part of the instructor to use the extreme ends of a throughout each piece of instruction. Similarly, demonstration
rating scale, since the use of average normally requires no of piloting ability is one of the basic elements of flight
further comment or qualification. instruction. It is a method of confirming that the instructional
objectives have been met. It is reassuring for the students to
• Leniency. This error is the tendency for the instructor to
know that they are making progress and it is useful for the
mark too high on whatever scale there are using.
instructor who will be confident in their ability to move on to the
Generally, the tendency is to the high side; however,
next stage of instruction.
there are some who tend to mark on the low side. This
inclination among some instructors has been recognised For students who are failing to make the required progress,
for some time and students are generally aware of it revision can be arranged and any mistakes and errors that have
perhaps referring to them as 'hard' or 'easy' graders. This crept into their flying can be analysed and corrected. How this
area is more prevalent where the results must be made is done is covered later in this section.
known to the student and in cases where the student and
instructor are relatively more acquainted. If, for example,
the student is a valued client then there could be a
__
__ RECALL OF KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION OF KNOWLEDGE INTO
__ Each of the theories of forgetting implies that when a person UNDERSTANDING
forgets something, it is not actually lost, it is simply unavailable
__ Students acquire knowledge from a mix of their learning
for recall. The flight instructor's challenge is how to make sure
__ experiences and the effort that they put into learning them.
that the student's learning is readily available for recall.
Ultimately, facts have to be learned and the skills acquired by a
__ In addition to the five principles covered under Memory and Its dint of hard work and application. This stage of knowledge
__ Application earlier in the Guide, there is a considerable amount acquisition is reached by Rote learning. Rote is the ability to
of research to show that the students who are most actively recall facts and information that have been learned but without
__ engaged in the learning process have a much higher retention having anything other than a superficial understanding of their
__ thereby supporting the contention that active learning is importance.
superior to listening which has be a continual theme throughout
__ the Guide.
The next level is reached as the students begin to develop an
understanding of the importance and relevance of the facts and
__ There are other practical things instructors can do to assist their information that they have at their disposal. At the point at
__ students to retain knowledge. The use of mnemonics is an which they comprehend or grasp the nature or meaning of
__ example. The chief value in Mnemonics is that they allow something they can be said to have developed understanding
items to be recalled in a particular order which can be or comprehension.
__ particularly helpful. For example the well-known 'ANDS'
__ acronym for East/West compass acceleration errors and UNOS DEVELOPMENT OF UNDERSTANDING INTO
for North/South turning errors:
__ ACTIONS
Accelerate Undershoot
__ The next levels of learning occur when the student is able to
North North deploy a particular bit of knowledge or a skill that has been
__ learned because the relevance and use of it is now understood
Decelerate Overshoot
__ and the student can apply it successfully to a task. This is the
South South
point at which students are said to have turned their
Chaining is a way of remembering ordered and unordered lists understanding into actions or application. Further progress up
and consists of creating a story in which each word or idea that the taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain comes as the students
needs to be remembered cues the next list. are able to correlate their understanding of what they have
A useful way of ensuring that knowledge and skills are retained learned, understood and applied with their previous or
is through the formation of good habits in aviation. If the subsequent training. They will be able to synthesise their
instructor uses a particular technique to remember a sequence learning by putting different parts together to form a new and
of last-minute checks in the cockpit just to confirm that all integrated whole. This represents the fifth of the six levels of
switch selections have been made and that the instrument the cognitive hierarchy developed by Benjamin Bloom in the
readings are correct for take-off and, importantly he does this mid-1900s which is known as Bloom's Taxonomy of the
consistently and without variation before every flight, then his Cognitive Domain or Learning in Action.
student is likely to imitate this and bring it into his or her own
practice. This is a good example of habit formation. Providing NEED TO EVALUATE THE RATE OF PROGRESS
always that the habits are representative of good airmanship,
The final stage of Bloom's taxonomy is that of Evaluation and
this would be a very positive and repeatable way for the student
to recall knowledge.
occurs when the students above are able to evaluate the
importance of the information they have acquired. As flying
Instructors can do much to help students by sharing their own students, they would be expected to evaluate the importance
methods with them and explaining the limitations of short-term of the information for a pilot. They would be able to make
memory and the benefits of regular paced study rather than last judgements about the merits of the ideas, methods or materials
minute 'cramming' for exams which may be effective but the being discussed.
retention will not be there in the long term
__
__ ANALYSIS OF STUDENT ERRORS The necessity for analysing weaknesses is readily apparent.
__ This leads into the third element: specific suggestions for
When discussing a student's faults, always take control so that improvement. Whenever you are critiquing a student, consider
__ your student may devote full attention to the instruction. the following. If you are unable to suggest a remedy for
__ overcoming the weakness, your student does not have that
ESTABLISH THE REASONS FOR ERRORS weakness. Positive suggestions are mandatory for improving
__ future performance. However, you should limit your critique to
In some cases you may ask the student to analyse the errors in
__ a particular sequence; usually this will happen during the later the identification of a maximum of three weaknesses with
suggested remedies. Attempting to correct all the weaknesses
__ stages of training. If a student indicates problems on a solo that a student may have at one time could result in your student
__ flight, it may be possible to analyse the problems from the
student's description of actions and the aircrafts response. not being able to correct any weaknesses. During actual flight
__ The correct technique can then be reviewed and practised on instruction you should attempt to pinpoint a single major
weakness before considering the next. Improvement in a
__ the next flight. Sometimes, however, students may not be able student's performance takes time. An expert will not appear
to identify or describe a problem clearly enough for a good
__ ground analysis to be made. You should then fly the exercise on overnight. More will be learned if a definite improvement in
performance is experienced each time the student takes part in
__ the next dual flight, where you can analyse the performance a lesson.
__ and correct any faults. The process of fault analysis can be
summarised as follows: Effective fault analysis always strives for maximum objectivity.
__ • Recognise the fault You should never allow personal bias to affect the grading or
__ • Correct the fault analysis of any particular flight. Objectivity should be
considered in both student personality and flying techniques.
__ • Prevent reoccurrence At times, personality conflicts occur, but as aprofessional
__ Fault analysis is necessary at all levels of flight training. The instructor you will hold these to a minimum. In the area of flight
technique, you may become dogmatic and accept only one way
__ ability to debrief effectively does more to separate the to accomplish a manoeuvre. Always keep in mind that there are
successful instructor from the poor one than does above
average flying ability. You must realise that the sole purpose of many techniques that accomplish the same manoeuvre
fault analysis is to improve future student performance. A valid correctly.
critique contains three essential elements: You must be consistent in your analysis. Always attach the
same importance to an error, provided the circumstances
1. Strengths
remain the same. Without a consistent set of rules, you will be
2. Weaknesses considered arbitrary or accused of playing favourites.
3. Specific suggestions for improvement. Honesty is the best policy for critiquing. The situation where
Without each of these elements, fault analysis is ineffective. you may attempt to motivate aweak student by giving better
grades than deserved jeopardises the effectiveness of your
Strengths are analysed to give a feeling of satisfaction and to
instruction. Students must know exactly where they stand and
show that you recognise what students can do well. If you are
be given specific suggestions for their improvement. This is the
unable to identify strengths, it will be difficult for students to
sole purpose of faults analysis.
believe that your identification of weaknesses is accurate.
Positive reinforcement of a student's strengths will frequently
do more for the student than any number of remedial
suggestions on your part.
 __
TACKLE MAJOR FAULTS FIRST, THE NEED FOR CLEAR CONCISE __
MINOR FAULTS SECOND COMMUNICATION __
The recommended format to follow when conducting fault Effective communication between flight instructor and student __
analysis is: is essential or instruction will be ineffective. The in-flight __
When in the air: environment poses additional requirements given the added
distractions of aircraft and intercom noise, the sensations of __
• identify major strengths flight possibly accompanied by feelings of apprehension, __
• pinpoint amajor weakness anxiety and physical discomfort, e.g. feeling too hot and air
sickness. Due allowance must be made for these and
__
• suggest aremedy to correct that major weakness
communication adjusted accordingly. __
Communication is a three-stage rather than two-stage process. __
On the ground: For example, if an instructor wishes to impart an instruction or
convey some information to students then this has to be
__
• identify major strengths
transmitted by the instructor in the first place.
Secondly the __
• identify amaximum of three major weaknesses
students have to receive the instruction or information. __
• suggest remedies to correct the major weaknesses. However, even if these two stages have been successful, it
NOTE: One way to think of a major weakness is: 'What item, if does not necessarily mean that the students have extracted the __
corrected now, would result in the correction of the greatest exact meaning intended by the instructor. Different word or __
number of other faults?' As student performance improves, the tones or even mishearing may mean that the students'
interpretation of what the instructor intended to tell them has
__
weaknesses that originally were considered minor ones now
become the only weaknesses. All weaknesses will be dealt been lost or distorted. A third stage is therefore needed to __
check that the students understanding of the meaning is the
with, but in order; the most important ones first.
same as the instructor intended. This can best be achieved by
__
AVOIDANCE OF OVER CRITICISM the instructor posing a question to check understanding. This __
could be done by asking the student to describe briefly how
Do not be overly critical of minor faults during early stages. A they would go about the manoeuvre or procedure that was the
useful method of doing this is to pick one thing that you would subject of the initial communication. This need not be a
like your student to continue doing as a result of what you have protracted process but it should be possible to quickly ascertain
seen during today's flight and one thing that you would like whether or not the communication has been successful
them to stop doing immediately. It is possible to increase the thereby avoiding situations where the student says… “But I
number in both categories but this technique will be more thought you wanted me to turn on to a southerly heading when
effective if you choose a very low number so that students can I reached …”
readily understand what has to be done to improve and sustain
Communication is likely to be more effective if it is kept short
their performance and, most importantly, develop a strategy to
using simple words and uncomplicated short sentences. This
address them. The more items in the list the harder this will be
is even more important in the air.
and will eventually lead to confusion
 __
__
TRAINING PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT __
LESSON PLANNING __
The starting point for lesson planning is the course aim and
__
objectives closely followed by the syllabus. The latter so that __
the lesson can be put into context. With these documents to __
hand, the instructor can begin the task of planning the lesson in
outline to start with. If the course is a tried and tested one like, __
say the PPL(H), then the syllabus is already well defined. If this __
is a course already offered by the ATO, then details will be
available already be available. The details will include the
__
course training plan consisting of all the necessary documents __
to run the course including a model timetable.
__
If this is the first presentation of the course by the ATO/DTO
then there is a great deal to do. An early and quite laborious task
__
that has to be undertaken first of all is to translate the syllabus __
for the course into blocks of instruction showing the availability __
of resource. The next stage is to confirm the training objectives
and prepare an outline timetable for the course. When this has __
been done and the details of each lesson objectives are known, __
work can begin on preparing the lesson plans.
__
__
PREPARATION
The preparation of lesson pans is covered in several places in
this Guide and will not be repeated here.

EXPLANATION AND
DEMONSTRATION
The Explanation and Demonstration elements of the
Demonstration - Performance method of flying instruction is
covered in depth in an earlier chapter.
__
__ STUDENT PARTICIPATION
__
AND PRACTICE
__
__ When you present a lesson you have many techniques and aids NOTE: A drawback of using oral questions to evaluate learning
at your disposal. One aid that can be used to stimulate learning is that only random sampling of a class is obtained, since only
__ and can be effectively applied to satisfy all seven learning one student answers each question. This drawback can be
__ factors is oral questioning. overcome by the use of some sort of student response system
by the instructor. On a one-to-one basis, as in pre-flight and post
__ The actual technique of questioning is a difficult one and is flight briefings, the issue mentioned above is not a problem.
normally one of the most neglected areas of instruction. Good
__ oral questioning requires the ability to think quickly and easily If oral questions are to serve the purposes stated in paragraph
__ while facing a class or individual student, to shift and change as 3, you must be mindful of the following desirable qualities of

__ thoughts progress, and to phrase questions in clear and simple

terms. You must always be mindful of the technique to follow
good questions when composing or preparing to use them.

EASILY UNDERSTOOD. Questions should be stated in

__ when handling student questions and answers.
simple straightforward language. They should be brief, yet
__ First, questions can be used to PROMOTE MENTAL ACTIVITY. complete enough that students have no doubt as to the
__ You can state a fact and provide visual or verbal support to back meaning of the question.
it up, but the surest way for students to remember is to work it
__ out for themselves. Whenever you can use an oral question to COMPOSED OF COMMON WORDS. Questions should be
designed to measure knowledge of a subject, not use of
__ make your students think and reason out the fact, you should language. The use of high-sounding words may give you a
take advantage of the situation. Example: As students work
__ towards an objective it is often necessary for them to recall
chance to display your vocabulary but adds nothing to
instruction. Remember, if students do not know the meaning of
__ pertinent data or knowledge learned previously. A well worded the words they will not be able to answer the question. Always
__ oral question could provide the required information, thus
promoting mental activity.
keep your vocabulary within the grasp of your student.

THOUGHT-PROVOKING. Questions should not be so easy

A second purpose of oral questions is to AROUSE AND
that the answer is obvious to all students. Students should be
MAINTAIN STUDENT INTEREST. Merely making a statement
challenged to apply their knowledge. You should avoid using
will often result in a 'so what' attitude, but asking questions
makes students feel they are participating and contributing to
questions where your student has a 50/50 chance of being
correct. Examples of these are the YES/NO and TRUE/FALSE
the lesson and thereby arouses interest. You can maintain this
interest throughout the lesson by the continuous development
type, unless these questions immediately are followed by a
of facts and ideas. Remember: Telling is NOT teaching. 'why' or 'how' type question.

Another purpose of oral questions is to GUIDE THOUGHT. By

using questions you can lead students to think through to a
logical solution. Questions can direct students' thinking
through a definite sequence or to particular objectives. During
discussions you can use questions to guide your students'
thoughts back to the objective if they seem to be far afield. An
experienced instructor can guide students through an entire
lesson by asking the right questions at the right time.
A final purpose of oral questions is to EVALUATE LEARNING for
the benefit of both instructor and student. Oral questions may
be used after each stage of a lesson to ensure that students are
following before you proceed to the next stage. At the end of
the lesson, such questions confirm that students have attained
the objectives for that particular lesson.
 __
HANDLING STUDENT ANSWERS __
ABOUT THE MAJOR TEACHING POINTS OF THE LESSON. LISTEN TO THE ANSWER. Often an instructor, after naming a
__
Questions must be built around the main teaching points of the student to answer a question, will immediately begin to think __
lessons. They must be asked at the proper time so that these about phrasing the next question and will not be listening to the __
points are emphasised. Your students may be confused if answer; the instructor may say 'Right' to an incorrect answer.
questions are asked in a haphazard fashion. The purpose for This could lead to student confusion. You should always listen
__
which a question is intended may be lost. To ensure mental to the answer. __
participation by all students, the following procedure is used:
CONFIRM THE CORRECT RESPONSE. Student answers __
ASK THE QUESTION. You should state the question, applying must be evaluated carefully so as to leave no doubt as to what is
the qualities of a good question. To do this you must have the
__
the correct answer.
question in mind before asking it. If questions are being used to
Aside from always confirming correct answers, there are
__
evaluate learning or to confirm attainment of objectives, you
certain techniques you must be aware of when handling __
should prepare them beforehand and write them in your lesson
plan. It is often a good idea for beginning instructors to write out
student answers. __
ALL questions until they are accustomed to thinking on their DISCOURAGE GROUP ANSWERS. When students answer __
feet. as a group it is difficult to determine who supplied correct or
incorrect answers. This may lead to student confusion. When __
PAUSE. After asking the question, you should pause for
approximately 1 to 5 seconds (depending on the complexity of
you are given a new class, establish early that you do not want __
group answers but will call upon a student by name to answer.
the question) to allow all students to think it over and formulate
You may, however, want to use group answers at times to
__
an answer. During the pause you should look over the class,
being careful not to 'telegraph' who you are going to call upon to
increase class enthusiasm. __
provide the answer. DO NOT MAKE A HABIT OF REPEATING ANSWERS. This __
becomes monotonous to students when you always repeat the
NAME THE STUDENT. A problem you continuously have to __
answer. If the answer provided is not correct or needs
face is selecting the student to answer the question. Some
clarification, pass the question on to another student. If the
effort should be made to fit the question to the individual, students do not answer loudly enough for all the class to hear,
because students will vary in ability and you have to recognise
have them speak more loudly and repeat the answer.
and provide for these differences. Therefore, you should
consider giving the more difficult questions to the most GIVE CREDIT FOR GOOD ANSWERS. This is especially true
advanced students. You also have to ensure that everyone in for the weak or shy student. When you are using oral questions
the class is called upon to provide answers with reasonable to develop points from the class, do not reject answers that
frequency. A number of systems commonly used to ensure pertain to the subject although they may not be exactly what
this have serious drawbacks. For example, if members of a you are after. Give praise and try using a newly phrased
class are called on according to seating arrangement or question to bring out your point. If you receive a completely
alphabetical order, it becomes quite easy for students to incorrect answer, don't embarrass your student by saying
determine when they will be named to answer; thus the lazy 'Wrong!' Diplomatically state that the answer is not what you
students will not give serious thought to any question until it is wanted, comment on the degree of correctness and ask a
getting close to their turn to answer. Possibly the most practical supplemental question or refer the question to another
approach is to call upon students in a random order, then student.
indicate by a check mark on a seating plan card each time a
student is asked a question. To get a broader sampling of
learning and to maintain interest, you should periodically call
upon other class members to confirm the answer made by the
first student asked.
__
__ HANDLING STUDENT QUESTIONS The Kirkpatrick Model considers the effectiveness of training
across four levels:
__ NEVER discourage a genuine question pertaining to the lesson.
Level 1: Reaction
__ There is an old saying: 'For every student who asks a question
there are six others who wanted to ask it'. Usually students ask The degree to which participants find the training
__ questions because you have not given a clear explanation of the favourable, engaging and relevant to their jobs
__ point or fact being queried. Some techniques to follow regarding Level 2: Learning
student questions are:
__ The degree to which participants acquire the intended
ENCOURAGE QUESTIONS. Let the class know early in the knowledge, skills, attitude, confidence and commitment
__ lesson that you encourage questions at any time if the students based on their participation in the training
__ are not clear on points being taught. If it will not interfere with the Level 3: Behaviour
__ presentation of the lesson, it is usually best to allow questions The degree to which participants apply what they learned
immediately any point arises rather than waiting for a break in the during training when they are back on the job
__ lesson to solicit questions. If you wait for questions, the point of
Level 4: Results
__ concern may have slipped their minds.
The degree to which targeted outcomes occur as a result of
PASS QUESTIONS TO OTHER STUDENTS. Occasionally pass
__ a student question to other members of the class. This will create
the training and the support and accountability package

__ interest and get class participation. Do not over use this From a practical standpoint, the model can be implemented in
two ways, internally and externally. Internally, the training
__ technique, as the students may get the impression that you don't
organisation establishes the effectiveness of its own training by
know the answer and are fishing for help. Above all, never use
__ this technique for any question to which you do not know the
monitoring the results of internal testing, quizzes and
questionnaires. The organisation will seek and gather
__ answer. information from its students on all four of Kirkpatrick's levels.
REJECT QUESTIONS NOT RELATED TO THE LESSON. Quite
__ Armed with this information it will be able to make changes to
its training programme addressing any weaknesses or areas for
often students will ask a question totally unrelated to the lesson.
__ Politely reject the question, being careful not to offend the improvement identified by its customers (the students). This
student, and then say that it is a question you would prefer to process which is one of continuous improvement, is known as
discuss after class. INTERNAL VALIDATION.

DO NOT BLUFF. No matter how knowledgeable you are of your As its name suggests, EXTERNAL VALIDATION takes place
away from the ATO or DTO. The most obvious example of
subject, there will be times when you will be asked a legitimate
external evaluation at work is that of oversight by the National
question and will not have an answer. If you do not know the Aviation Authority (NAA). When skill and proficiency checks are
answer, say so do not bluff. Tell the class you will find the carried out, even if they are done by a flight examiner employed
answer. Ensure you do, and then inform the individual who by the training organisation, they are being carried out on behalf
asked, as well as the rest of the class. of the NAA and therefore this is external evaluation in the form
ENSURE THAT ALL THE CLASS HEARS THE QUESTION. of confirmation that the candidate has reached or maintained
When a question is asked, check that all members of the class the standard required to exercise the privileges of his or her
licence. Other external validation checks are carried out on the
have heard it. When you answer the question, answer to the
class and not only to the individual asking it. If a long, detailed training programme by NAAs. Where an ATO is training
candidates for another organisation, for example, an aircraft
answer is necessary, the remainder of the class may lose operating company, then examiners and heads of training from
interest and 'tune out' if you get into a conversation with one that company should be involved in the external validation
student. (evaluation) of the effectiveness of the training and the training
programme provided by the ATO as they will be able to
EVALUATION comment on Level 3 and especially Level 4 of the model.

Evaluation is a specialised subject and detailed consideration of it PPL flight instructors will therefore find themselves
is beyond the scope of this Guide. Nevertheless, flying involved in evaluation of the training programme. Often this is
instructors have to be equipped with a basic knowledge of how simply limited to asking for feedback from students in a form
training programmes are evaluated so that they can contribute to that can be posted on social media. While there is nothing
the process. wrong with this, it is hardly the disciplined approach advocated
by Kilpatrick and while it might do much for the popularity of the
The Kirkpatrick Model is the worldwide standard for evaluating training organisation - which is not a bad thing in itself - it is less
the effectiveness of training and was developed by Dr Donald
likely to achieve the critical appraisal necessary for
Kirkpatrick, Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin improvement. Professional PPL flight instructors might
and past president of the American Society for Training and consider seeking further training on how to get the most of the
Development (ASTD). He first published his Four-Level Training
evaluation process as a tool to improve the effectiveness of
Evaluation Model in 1959, in the US Training and Development
their training programmes.
Journal . The model was updated in 1975 and again in 1994 in his
best-known work, Evaluating Training Programs. The value of
any type of training, formal or informal is considered and it applies
equally to flying training.
 __
__
HUMAN PERFORMANCE AND LIMITATIONS __
__
RELEVANT TO FLIGHT INSTRUCTION __
Human factors have a very profound effect on the performance other aircraft and situations. This is another example of
__
of a student PPL pilot. They can basically be divided into Thorndike's Laws of Primacy and Exercise at work. __
Physiological and Psychological Factors. Of the two, Different perspectives of the ground seen from the air __
psychological factors will be constantly present while can cause visual illusions which could be a barrier to
physiological ones tend to be transient in nature. They are of learning if they are not discussed with the student. __
huge importance but once identified, they can usually be dealt
• Vestibular Illusions. These can be powerful and need to __
with and strategy or method devised to keep them in check.
For this reason, more space is devoted to the psychological
be understood particularly before instrument flying. __
factors in this Guide • Aircraft Noise. If students are uncomfortable during __
flight, then they will be unable to absorb instruction. Also
excessive noise can damage hearing and instructors __
PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTORS must discuss hearing loss and how to prevent it with their __
students. Clearly students will be in difficulties in a short
In order to absorb instruction and make the learning process
time if they have to struggle to catch what their instructor
__
work, students must not be distracted by their physical
environment. Clearly, if someone is feeling unwell they will not is telling them or they are having difficulty hearing what is __
being said on the radio.
feel up to studying, their concentration is likely to be affected __
and it is probable that their performance will be adversely • Vibration. Vibration too can cause health issues and
__
affected. In this case the remedial action is evident and the students must know what is normal for a particular
student should take time off to rest and recover from minor aircraft. __
ailments such as a heavy cold. In any cases of doubt, medical
• Anthropometry. Students are likely to come in all shapes
assistance should be sought and if there is any doubt about the
and sizes. It is important that they adopt the correct
illness, the advice of an authorised medical examiner (AME)
posture while flying and that seats (including restraints)
must be sought. Flight instructors should look out for the
and pedals are correctly adjusted so that they can reach
welfare of their students and be able to offer the correct advice.
the controls while seated comfortably and correctly.
Apart from the everyday risks of spreading germs to other Back pain is common in aircraft can be exacerbated
people which is socially most undesirable, the flying by poor posture and vibration. A student suffering from
environment poses additional risks. It is an alien environment back pain will not be able to concentrate on the task in
for the human body and flying instructors should take every hand.
opportunity to cover aeromedical aspects of flight with their
• Medication. Only medication approved by an AME
students, possibly including them routinely in pre-flight TEM
should be taken. Over the counter medicines may cause
and briefings. drowsiness and should not be used unless specific advice
Some particular physiological considerations which the has been obtained. In some cases, the real issue may be
instructor has to monitor and brief student on are shown in the that the medication is being taken to treat a minor ailment
list below: such as a headache or cold. In such cases the question of

• Altitude Effects. Air pressure and barotrauma; lack of whether the student should be flying at all is the crucial
oxygen - hypoxia and its effect on night vision. one to ask. Again instruction and example falls to the
Instructors need to be on the alert for signs of barotrauma instructor.
(notably pain from the ears and sinus pain typically in the • Alcohol and Drugs. The rules for flying after imbibing
descent) particularly during autorotations. alcohol are more stringent than for motoring in many
• Eyesight. It is important to understand the limitations of European countries. The only safe advice is not to fly for
human vision in order to carry out effective lookout. 24 hours after drinking and even then if the drinking
Although the students may have covered this subject in concerned was heavy, then traces of alcohol will still be in
their theoretical knowledge training, they are unlikely to the blood after 24 hours. Indeed, even after as long as 72

have completed the course before their first training hours have elapsed following a consumption of alcohol,
flight. Instructors should therefore devote sufficient time traces have been found in the endolymph contained in the
to ensuring that the correct techniques are known and semi-circular canals of the ear. The dilution caused by the
understood. Many pilots have poor visual scan alcohol can lead to disorientation. Clearly, there is no
techniques. If the correct technique is taught in the first place for recreational or other non-prescription drugs in
place then it will become a habit and transfer positively to aviation.
__
__ • Lack of awareness - radio calls or checklists that go
unanswered
__
__ • Diminished motor skills - sloppy flying, writing that trails
off into nothing as weather reports or clearances are
__ written down
__ • Obvious tiredness - drooping head, staring or half-closed

__ eyes

__ • Diminished vision - difficulty in focusing

__ • Slow reactions
• Short-term memory problems - unable to remember a
__ clearance long enough to repeat it or write it down
__ accurately
__ • Channelled concentration fixation on a single, possibly
unimportant issue to the neglect of others and failure to
__ maintain an overview of the flight
__ • Easily distracted by trivial problems or the other extreme
__ either of which coul indicate fatigue
__ • Poor instrument flying - difficulty in focusing on one
instrument, fixation on one instrument to the detriment of
__ scan, drifting in and out oif sleep
__
• Increased mistakes -poor judgement and poor decisions
__ or even no decisions at all

• Abnormal moods - mood swings, depressed, periodically

elated and energetic, diminished standards
All of the above focus on the student but, the aircraftr flight
instructors also at risk. Flying instruction is a demanding
profession. Often working hours are long and the breaks
between briefings and flights short or non-existent. Nutritional
opportunities can be equally few and far between so in the flight
instructors commendable care for his or her students there is a
possibility that they will neglect their own circumstances. So
here again, the solution must be one of setting a good example
and taking care of oneself too!

The IMSAFE acronym is a useful tool to assess your fitness

before every flight in the same way as you assess your aircraft's
airworthiness.

PYSCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
While it is not necessary for a PPL flight instructor to be a
certified psychologist, it is helpful to learn how to analyse
student behaviour before and during each flying lesson. This
ability helps a flight instructor develop and use appropriate
techniques for instruction.
 __
BEHAVIOURAL ATTITUDES __
__
You are likely to be discouraged when you discover that a well DEGREES OF EMOTION __
planned lesson does not teach all students with equal
effectiveness. Usually, however, you soon see that this is
For our purposes, we will divide the various levels of emotion __
natural. One manifestation of the difference among students is
into three categories: __
that they seldom learn at the same rate. Differences in rates of MILD EMOTION: This is the everyday type of emotion such as a
learning are based on differences in intelligence, background, small amount of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with our jobs, our
__
experience, interest, desire to learn, and countless personal lives, or with other people. Mild emotions affect __
psychological, emotional, and physical factors. You must motivation. __
recognise that students are different. You must recognise that
this fact dictates how much you can teach, at what rate, and
STRONG EMOTION: This degree of emotion is not felt very __
often in everyday life, but it causes most of our emotional
when. problems in flying training. Strong emotions cause a large __
amount of tension in an individual, and no one can live or work __
normally with prolonged tension. However, strong emotion can
PERSONALITY DIFFERENCES
be coped with.
__
ATTITUDE: Students have their own personal attitudes and
DISRUPTIVE EMOTION: These are very severe, deep rooted
__
methods of thinking. Thinking patterns and reactions to the
various philosophies and types of training must be reconciled.
emotional tensions that disrupt logical action and clear thinking. __
Persons suffering disruptive emotions usually require the
The instructor must consider whether the attitude is caused by
assistance of a psychiatrist. However, these problems occur so
__
hereditary or environmental factors. The root of attitude
problems may sometimes be found in the general attitude of
rarely that you need only be aware that they exist. __
the school staff. __
INTEREST: People sense ideas and activities that possess __
special values, uses or attractions for them. Three general
categories of interest are the vocational, educational, and
avocational. The interests of students in different aspects of
flying will differ. Efforts should be made to take advantage of
these, and to channel students into different areas as needed.

EMOTIONS
Emotions play an important part in the training of a student. You
must know the kinds of emotions and the techniques needed
to control them. Most of us think of emotion as overpowering
feelings such as passion, hatred, or grief. These are not typical
of the entire range of emotions. Everything we do, or with
which we come in contact, is coloured by some emotional
feeling. Emotions vary from mildly pleasant or unpleasant
feelings, all the way up to feelings so intense that physical and
mental activity is paralysed. All of us experience a wide variety
of emotions every day. Rarely do they bother us or interfere
with our ability or willingness to do our job. However, students
in flight training are in an abnormal emotional condition.
Students are in unfamiliar situations where accelerated
pressures are experienced over a long period of time. The
learning situation tends to intensify the students’ emotional
problems more than we would expect in everyday life. You
cannot ignore this problem but must learn how to recognise
and overcome it.
__
__ THE EFFECT OF STRONG EMOTIONAL
__ TENSION
__ A person cannot tolerate strong emotional tension over any
length of time. It causes extreme nervousness, irritability, and
__ an inability to relax. It interferes with normal eating and sleeping
__ habits and makes the subject generally miserable. Everyone,
__ either consciously or subconsciously, tries to relieve prolonged
emotional tension.
__
The effect of emotional tension on learning depends on the
__ method chosen by the student for relieving it. If the problem is
__ attacked directly, and solved, then learning is enhanced. For
example, students may have strong feelings of frustration or
__ worry due to deficiency in one phase of the flight-training
__ program. If they work harder, study more, and receive extra
instruction, progress will probably become satisfactory and
__ tension will disappear. On the other hand, if the real problem is
__ avoided, an escape mechanism may be used to reduce tension
__ and learning will suffer.

__
USE OF EMOTIONAL ESCAPE MECHANISMS
__
Students in flight training will often use the following escape
__ mechanisms. Occasional use of escape mechanisms is normal
__ in everyone, but their over use indicates strong emotional
problems. You, therefore, must learn to identify the symptoms
that indicate that a student is using escape mechanisms.

• PROJECTION: transferring the blame from oneself to

someone or something else.
• RATIONALISATION: finding a believable excuse for one’s
actions or failure; trying to justify unjustifiable behaviour

• RESIGNATION: becoming resigned to the situation;

giving up
FLIGHT: physically or mentally removing oneself from the
•
tension-producing situation.
AGGRESSION: taking one’s tension out on someone else
•
by becoming belligerent or argumentative.

A student’s over use of one or more of the escape

mechanisms, along with other symptoms, may indicate an
emotional problem. You should not wait until emotional tension
becomes extreme before taking corrective action.
__
__
__ HUMAN INFORMATION
__ PROCESSING
__ Human information processing theory uses the analogy of a
computer system to describe the working of the brain. The
__ model created visualises the brain processing incoming
__ information in the same way as the central processor does in a
__ computer. The information is collected by the senses,
perceived, stored and transported to the Central Decision
__ Maker. The Central Decision Maker takes care of our thinking.
__ It can only deal with one thing at a time and therefore has to
tackle things serially before generating the required action.
__ This fundamental process of conscious decision making is also
__ called cognition. The way in which this model of the brain
copes with sensory overload caused by the Central Decision
__ Maker's limitation of only being able to do one thing at a time is
__ because many of the other demands do not need conscious
__ decision making and can be controlled by motor programme or
skills.
__ Knowledge of this process is useful to the flight instructor it will
__ explain certain things about the way in which we learn. If
__ students are concentrating hard on a task other stimuli will be
ignored because the Central Decision Maker is fully occupied
__ with the cognitive task in hand. Other things will go unnoticed.
This can lead to a situation called inattentional blindness. Where
other sometimes quite obvious things are just not seen.
Instructors need to remember this in high workload situations
both for themselves and the safety of the aircraft and crew but
also when imparting instruction.
It is also useful to understand the limitations of the short-term
memory which can only hold 7 ± 2 pieces of information. This is
important to realise when giving instructions to students and
wondering why they cannot retain it. There are ways in which
this capacity can be increased by 'chunking' pieces of
information. Remembered in this way it is possible to make
room for one or two additional pieces of information.
 __
• Simulator Training. Simulators are particularly effective in __
DEVELOPMENT OF JUDGEMENT training decision making skills as high workload and high
__
AND DECISION MAKING stress scenarios with poor or conflicting information can
__
easily be created in complete safety. It is recognised that
As early as possible in their training, pilots should be made
aware of the characteristics and limitations of human decision
simulators are not readily accessible during PPL(H) __
training but they represent a highly effective training
making. Flight instructors should emphasise the importance of resource which could be used if available. For multi
__
maintaining Situational Awareness, of prioritising responses to engine and/or multi crew operations, use of simulators is __
undesired aircraft states (1. Aviate -> 2. Navigate -> 3. the norm for scenario based training.
Communicate), and of contingency planning (What if
__
• Decision Making Training. As early as possible in their
something goes wrong during this flight?).
t r a i n i n g , p i l o t s s h o u l d b e m a d e a w a r e o f t h e
__
The following strategies can improve decision making. Training characteristics and limitations of human decision making. __
pilots using these solutions will allow them to make better
decisions. Teaching them at the beginning of a pilot's training
Instructors should emphasise the importance of __
maintaining Situational Awareness at all times and of
and practising them regularly throughout the course will create prioritising responses to undesired aircraft states and __
a strong and almost unshakeable impression which will stay e m e r g e n c e s . ( 1 . A v i a t e - > 2 . N a v i g a t e - > 3 .
__
with pilots for the rest of their lives (Thorndike's Laws of Communicate).
Primacy and Exercise). __
• Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). If students are __
introduced to clear and concise SOPs from the start of __
their training and the instructor sets an example by
following them rigorously thereby preventing any conflict T r a i n i n g L e a f l e t H E 4
__
in the minds of the student of the don't do as I do, do as I
produced by the then EHEST __
say variety, the use of SOPs will become ingrained and
become a form of Rule-based behaviour which is known
and available free of charge on __
line is an excellent starting
to be less error prone than Knowledge-based behaviour.
point for Decision Making
• Pre-Flight Planning. It is known that planning conducted training and an invaluable
prior to a flight in a low-stress environment can enable resource for PPL flight
pilots to produce a safe strategy for the flight, selecting instructors.
safe routes, establishing decision points for each flight
phase and employing collaborative decision making with
other agencies so that a sound plan is made which in turn • Decision Making Aids. Decision aids are easy to
will reduce the workload when airborne. Teaching remember lists intended to support the decision maker
students to carry out thorough pre-flight planning is a key and to avoid errors. They are particularly beneficial in the
case of critical and stressful situations. If they are to be of
part of the flight instructor's job and it will normally be
done well. However, particularly during flights early in use in the future, pilots need to use them as a matter of
the syllabus there can be missed learning opportunities course. Flight instructors could, for example teach the
FADEC model in scenarios or situations occurring during
when instructors don't share their own strategies with
students because of time pressures or the fear of training for example: lost procedure during navigation
overloading the student early in in the course. training or dealing with an emergencies that do not call for
an immediate landing
• Single Pilot Crew Resource Management (SRM) Training.
SRM training is a form of Crew Resource Management
for single pilot operations. It helps pilots to maintain
situational awareness by managing the flight and
navigation tasks and to enhance the social skills needed
to communicate and interact with, for example, the
instructor and ATC and passengers in the future.

• Threat and Error Management (TEM) Training. TEM is

covered in some detail in the next section. It is a useful
and effective way of developing judgement and
enhancing decision making skills.
__
__
__ THREAT AND ERROR MANAGEMENT
__ THREAT AND ERROR MANAGEMENT (TEM)
__ DEFINITIONS
ACAS RA/TA;
__ TEM is an operational concept applied to the conduct of a flight
that is more than the traditional role of airmanship, as it provides
Un-forecast bird activity;
__ for a structured and pro-active approach for pilots to use in
Laser attacks;
__ identifying and managing threats and errors that may affect the
safety of the flight. The International Civil Aviation Organization Sloping landing areas;
__ (ICAO) and EASA Part FCL require that Human Factors and
__ Threat and Error Management (TEM) be introduced into all pilot • Latent: Lastly, some threats may not be directly obvious
training. to, or observable by, flight crews immersed in flight
__ operations, and may need to be uncovered by safety
There are three basic components in the TEM model,
__ from the perspective of flight crews: analysis. These are considered latent threats and may
__ THREATS. Threats are defined as events or errors that occur include organisational weaknesses and the psychological
state of the pilot:
__ beyond the influence of the flight crew, increase operational
complexity and which must be managed to maintain the
__ margins of safety. During typical flight operations, flight crews Organisational culture/changes;

__ have to manage various contextual complexities. The TEM Documentation error;

__ model considers 3 types of threats, anticipated, unanticipated

and latent which all have the potential to negatively affect flight
Equipment design issues;
Operational pressures/ delays;
__ operations by reducing margins of safety.
Optical illusions;
__
Fatigue / rostering;
• Anticipated: Some threats can be anticipated, since they
are expected or known to the flight crew: Complacency;
Over or under confidence;
Thunderstorms / wind shear and other forecast
inclement weather; Lack of recency/ proficiency

Congested airport / heliport;

ERRORS. Errors are defined actions or inactions by the flight
Obstacles/Wires;
crew that lead to deviations from organisational or flight crew
Complex ATC clearances; intentions or expectations. Unmanaged or mismanaged errors
Out of wind approaches/landings; frequently lead to undesired aircraft states. Errors in the
operational context thus tend to reduce the margins of safety
Air temperature/DA extremes;
and increase the probability of adverse events.
Mass and balance;
UNDESIRED AIRCRAFT STATES (UAS). Undesired aircraft
states are flight crew-induced aircraft position or speed
• Unanticipated: Some threats can occur unexpectedly,
deviations, misapplication of flight controls, or incorrect
suddenly and without warning. In this case, flight crews
systems configuration, associated with a reduction in margins
must apply skills and knowledge acquired through
of safety. Undesired aircraft states that result from ineffective
training and experience:
threat or error management may lead to compromising
In-flight aircraft malfunction; situations and reduce margins of safety in flight operations.
Often considered at the cusp of becoming an incident or
Automation - anomalies /over reliance;
accident, undesired aircraft states must be managed by flight
Un-forecast weather: crews.
ATC re-routing / error / non-standard phraseology
navigation aid un-serviceability;
Ground handling errors;

Wires;
 __
TEACHING THREAT MANAGEMENT __
Instructors should stress that threats (and errors) are a part of A good technique to teach the student to recognise these __
everyday aviation operations that must be managed through all threats is to: __
the phases of flight:
• Prompt (what is the threat) __
• Pre flight: As part of the airmanship element of the • Question (how could it be mitigated)? __
briefing, time should be spent identifying possible • Direct (do this) __
threats and errors associated with the flight in order to
• Physical intervention if necessary (take control) __
plan and develop countermeasures. For example a
possible threat in the circuit is other aircraft which could • Post flight: Reconsider what threats, errors and/or UAS __
lead to a mid air collision. Possible errors that could lead were encountered during the flight. Ask the student how
to this UAS are: spending too much time with 'head in' well they were managed and what could be done __
not looking out, looking out in the wrong area, not differently to improve the management of similar threats
a n d e r r o r s o n f u t u r e f l i g h t s t o a s s i s t w i t h t h e
__
scanning properly, not listening out on the radio. Counter-
measures could be to develop a crew strategy for development of improved TEM strategies.
__
lookout, adopting a scan technique taking into account __
climbing/descending/turning, listening out on the RT for TEACHING ERROR MANAGEMENT __
other traffic calling ATC for traffic information etc).
The acknowledgement that errors will occur has changed __
• In flight: Brief on the planned procedures before take- the emphasis in aviation operations to error recognition
off and prior to commencing each significant flight and management rather than just error prevention. Rather
__
sequence including anticipated threats and counter- than just pointing out errors to the student as they occur, __
measures in briefings. Prioritise tasks and manage instructors should show how to minimise the chances of
workload to avoid being overloaded (e.g. use checklists);
__
errors happening, and then if they do happen, recognise
I d e n t i f y a n y U A S t o t h e s t u d e n t a n d m a n a g e
the fact and implement strategies to manage them. __
a c c o r d i n g l y . R e c o v e r a i r c r a f t t o s a f e f l i g h t
Instructors must afford the student the opportunity to
configuration safety margins before dealing with other
recognise a committed error rather than intervening as soon as
problems. they see an error committed, they must wait (if time allows) to
Unanticipated threats are most likely in flight. These see if the error is identified by the trainee. If it is not, the
threats are generally managed by applying skills and instructor should then analyse why the error happened, why it
knowledge acquired through training and flight was not recognised and how to prevent future occurrences.
experience. Typically, a practice engine failure or
Mitigators that are in place such as checklists, SOPs and
simulated system failure are methods of training a pilot
aviation rules must be applied and complied with. Whether a
to manage unexpected threats. Knowledge and checklist is used from memory or read, they are provided to
repetition prepare a trainee to manage such events
enhance safety (by helping reduce errors) and instructors must
should they occur for real in flight.
continually stress their importance and accept no deviations to
Instructors should develop training scenarios, 'what if' its application and terminology.
questions or examples that will address the different
categories of threats and thereby develop the trainee’s
ability to detect and respond appropriately to threats .

During flight training the instructor must identify

unanticipated threats such as incorrect ATC instructions,
traffic hazards or adverse weather and point them out
to the trainee should they fail to identify them. Then it
is important to question the trainee to see what steps
they could take to mitigate the threats, ensuring that
the action is completed in the time available.
__
__ TEACHING UNDESIRED AIRCRAFT STATE SPECIFIC HAZARDS INVOLVED IN SIMULATING
__ MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FAILURES AND MALFUNCTIONS IN
THE AIRCRAFT DURING FLIGHT
__ Unmanaged or mismanaged threats or errors may result in a
It should be the aim of all instructors to return an aircraft back to
UAS. Ideally, students should be taught to manage threats and
__ errors before a UAS develops. During flight training, instructors
the dispersal in the same state as they found it. In order to do
__ will be dealing with many undesired aircraft states as trainees
this they should use the principles of TEM described above to
assess the possible threats they could encounter during the
__ develop their flying skills.
flight. In the case of teaching emergency and abnormal
In this context, instructors have the dual role of practising TEM
__ procedures the students and their actions (or inactions) could
by ensuring that undesired aircraft states are managed and then be considered as a source of threat and appropriate mitigations
__ teaching trainees how to do the same. Because students may should be taken into account before and during flight before and
__ not have the manipulative and cognitive skills of a qualified pilot, during the flight.
they will often not meet specified flight tolerances or
__ procedures.
Flight instructors are required to have completed the Teaching
and Learning Syllabus laid out in Part 1 of this Guide. The
__ Some typical examples would be: syllabus includes the Specific Hazards involved in simulating
__ systems failures and malfunctions in aircraft during flight which
__ • hover taxiing too fast; lists the following items:
• too fast or slow on final approach; or
__ • Importance of touch drills
__ • inability to maintain altitude or heading during straight
• Situational awareness
and level flight.
__ • Adherence to correct procedures
__ Although such examples would be classified as UAS when
committed by a qualified pilot, they are not unusual events
__ during flight training. The difference is that the instructor should
be aware of the threats and errors and should not let an
undesired aircraft state develop into an undesired outcome (i.e.
an accident or incident).
A critical aspect that instructors must teach is the switch from
error management to UAS management. During the error
management phase, a pilot can become fixated on determining
the cause of an error and forget the old adage 'aviate, navigate,
communicate'.
 __
IMPORTANCE OF TOUCH DRILLS __
'Touch Drills' are used when an aircraft system is identified by __
touching (or being pointed to) without further action being __
taken. It is used to ensure that a pilot can in a timely manner
correctly identify and reach a relevant system control without __
actually manipulating it and therefore preventing inadvertent __
de-selection (or selection) of the system. Prior to any flight
where simulated emergency drills are to be performed it is
__
essential that the instructor or examiner establishes the __
student's understanding of how, and when touch drills, are to
be performed in the flight. The instructor/examiner should at all
__
times monitor the student's actions to ensure that they do not __
inadvertently activate, or deactivate a system. __
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
__
As the Instructor/Examiner is ultimately responsible for the
__
safety of the aircraft he should ensure that it is not placed in a __
dangerous situation. An ongoing assessment of potential __
hazards should be conducted of the immediate operating
environment to include: __
the proximity of obstacles (including the ground), __
other traffic (as avoiding action may not be possible), __
escape routes, __
the terrain over which is being operated (in case a landing
is required),
the weather (in particular the cloud base, wind velocity,
visibility and temperature).
aircraft operating limits.
During initial instruction and demonstrations the student will be
c o n c e n t r a t i n g o n d e a l i n g w i t h t h e e m e r g e n c y a n d

consequently his situational awareness may be compromised.

However as the training progresses, and during testing,
situational awareness will be assessed.

ADHERENCE TO CORRECT PROCEDURES

The FM or ATO training manual will often state the conditions or
techniques to be used for training which should be adhered to
for example:
Weight, Altitude, Temperature charts
MAUM to be used
Maximum speeds to be used

Training limitations
Minimum heights
Crew composition
Areas/ground to be used
 __
__
TRAINING ADMINISTRATION __
The importance of keeping good instructional records cannot __
be emphasised enough. Well-kept records will ensure that a
student's progress can be tracked and adjusted as necessary.
__
This becomes all the more important when the student flies __
irregularly or with more than one instructor so that they can be
reviewed and the instruction picked up seamlessly by the next
__
instructor. 'What did you do last time? Is a question that __
should not be asked in a reputable training establishment __
unless used as a light-hearted icebreaker because the flight
instructor should already be familiar with the student's training __
records and requirements and already have formulated a lesson __
plan before the briefing gets underway. This said, it is perfectly
permissible and good practice to ascertain from students any
__
areas that they wish to revise or repeat because of perceived __
weakness. __
Training records also provide a legal record of the student's
__
training and will be retained by the ATO or DTO for a specified
period. An ATO/DTO can be called upon to produce the records __
in the sorry event of an accident involving the student in years to __
come. It is a fact of life today that legal process invariably takes
place in the aftermath of a serious accident and the courts will
__
wish to be satisfied that all the required training for the licence __
took place and was delivered in accordance with the ATO's
manual and the rules and regulations appertaining at the time.

FLIGHT OR THEORETICAL
KNOWLEDGE INSTRUCTIONAL
RECORDS Filling in these forms requires some practice and training. The
report should contain all the timing and other detail such as
The required records will be set out in the ATO's Manual or as
aircraft type and registration, the date of the flight, what was
per a DTO's Verified Training Programme.
covered and details of the weather. The most important part is
A full set of records will include records of each flight the textual record of the flight. Completing this section calls for
undertaken. Normally these will be kept with all the other a succinct summary of the flight and the training given. How
paperwork for the student in a course record folder which may the student coped with the task; what was done well and what
also include personal and contact details, including next of kin; a needs further work or revision. It is useful to make reference to
copy of the student's medical certificate, theoretical basic qualities here. For example, Airmanship, Division of
knowledge training and exam results. It is helpful to include a Attention and Control Touch. In the General comments box
record of any student's pre-solo essential knowledge quiz shown on this form the instructor could include an assessment
results or similar together with copies of the required pre solo of the sortie using a guide issued by the organisation together
cross county authorisation certificates. with a recommendation for the next lesson.
The details of instructional flight reports vary from organisation It is good practice to copy any scores and assessments into a
t o o r g a n i s a t i o n t o s u i t i n d i v i d u a l p r e f e r e n c e s a n d
taxonomy at the front of the folder. The aim of this is to provide
circumstances. The mock-up of a typical flight report form a 'form at a glance' record that is useful to remind the student's
opposite contains most of the information that is likely to be own instructor of progress to date but is also very useful for a
needed to track student progress. new instructor and most helpful to Heads of Training so they
can identify students that are struggling and discuss remedial
action with the student's instructor. In the example shown
overleaf or Page 55, the amount of time allocated to each
lesson is broken down into 15 minute blocks. There are other
ways of doing this but it is a simple visual way of presenting the
student's progress through the syllabus.
 __
PILOT'S PERSONAL FLYING flight under the guidance of their instructor. In this way, the __
entries and addition can be checked against the flying record
__
LOG BOOK folder to ensure that they match. This can save much
__
It is a legal requirement for a pilots to record details of the flights frustrating work at the end of a course! It may be save time in
that they have made. The personal flying log book is often a the long run if entries are made in pencil initially and then 'inked' __
source of great pride to the student and instructors will need to over when the accuracy of each entry has been confirmed.
teach them how to complete it. Although completing it may
__
There is a wide selection of personal flying log books available
appear straightforward to the student, there are details that will from aviation equipment suppliers and bookshops and the
__
need explanation, for example, how flight time is recorded, layout varies among them. The ATO or DTO may have a __
what is meant by the holder's operating capacity and other preference but it is a good idea to check that the log book is
details that may not be apparent to the new aviator. The suitable for the type of flying that the student is likely to do in the
__
National Aviation Authority responsible for issuing the licence future. __
will check the entries in the log book to verify that the
requirements for issue of a PPL (H) or LAPL(H) have been
This example below is taken from Part FCL, __
fulfilled when checking the licence application. (The same The Personal flying record can be maintained electronically __
which offers advantages particularly in gathering data such as
applies to CPL(H) candidates undergoing instruction at ATO but
time on type or periodic summaries of flying hours. However, it
__
it is assumed that by this stage they will be familiar with the use
of their log book). is recommended that at least for the period of pre-licence __
It is very important therefore that all details are correct from the
training a physical log book is maintained so that students __
understands the procedure and process for recording flight
outset. It may be a good idea for the log book to be kept with
details.
__
students' flying records, at least initially, and filled in after each
__
__
__
__
__ THE FLIGHT OR GROUND
__
CURRICULUM
__ A course of training is a complete series of studies leading to
__ the attainment of a specific goal. This could be a course leading
__ toobjectives,
the award of a PPL(H). Such a course will have learning
a syllabus of instruction and course outline. The
__ theoretical knowledge requirements will be described in detail
__ together with the method of evaluation by exams. Similarly,
airborne instruction will be covered detail in accordance with
__ the Part FCL syllabus of flying exercises as set out in Part 2 of
__ this Guide.
__ It is likely that an ATO will be offering a range of courses which
__ might include: LAPL(H); PPL(H); Night Rating; additional Type
Ratings, FI ratings and CPL(H) courses. Each one of these
__ courses will be described in detail in the ATO Manual setting
__ out the syllabi for theoretical knowledge and flying exercise
training and how they will be covered in the course together
__ with the supporting learning objectives, syllabus of instruction
__ and course outline forming a course training package. Taken
together the associated course training packages for the
__ different courses on offer would be described as the ATO's
__ Curriculum which could be further broken down to describe the
__ flight or ground curriculums as required.
STUDY MATERIAL
It is usual for organisations to have a preferred list of text books,
study guides, leaflets, handouts and other supporting material
to support its curriculum. These are listed in the ATO Manual
and students should be directed to them for further reading and
study.
The material may differ from that which the FI(H) used in his or
her own training. If this is the case, then it is very important that
flight instructors make themselves fully conversant with the
material that the ATO references in its manual so that they
understand what sources their students are using. They can
then set study to assignments based on these sources for the
students can use in preparation for their next lesson and for
revision afterwards.
 __
__
A CHECKLIST FOR GOOD INSTRUCTION __
__
__
Each instructor should: __
1. Tell the students specifically what is required of them 11. Appear enthusiastic about the subject being taught. __
during the lesson and at the end of the lesson (the ‘what’ of
the introduction).
12. Use speech variation in rate, volume and pitch. __
13. Have students answer questions related to the objective(s) __
2. Identify the main teaching points for the student by: for the lesson during the presentation of new material.
(a) using visual support (i.e. whiteboard, orientation
__
14. Use correct questioning techniques.
board, or other visual aids) __
15. Use a variety of training aids to appeal to as many senses as
(b) verbally referring to the visual aids. possible whenever these aids help to achieve the __
3. Tell the student the purpose of the lesson and stress the
objective(s) of the lesson. __
advantages of the new knowledge or skill (the ‘why’ of the 16. Provide sufficient meaningful practice of the main points of __
introduction). the lesson so that students confidently achieve the
objective.
__
4. Tell students where the lesson fits into the overall picture. __
17. Allot time relative to the importance of the teaching point.
5. Relate the lesson to the student’s past and/or future
experiences (the ‘where’ of the introduction). 18. Identify and correct errors or mistakes made by the
__
6. Confirm that students are at the required level before
students at the time they occur, or as soon thereafter as __
practicable.
having them learn new material. __
7. Present the new material in stages. 19. Use clearly worded explanations.

8. Introduce each stage of the lesson and provide a link or 20. Deliver the lesson in a logical sequence.
bridge between stages. 21. Conduct periodic reviews of critical areas of the lesson.
9. Obtain student feedback throughout the lesson by: 22. Summarise the main points of each stage.
23. Evaluate level of student learning at the end of each stage.
(a) asking questions
24. Test students on the main points of the entire lesson
(b) observing student performance of a skill towards the end of the lesson.
(c) looking at students (watching for facial expressions) 25. Provide a final summary that links all stages to the
objective(s) of the lesson.
(d) taking student questions.

10. Respond to feedback by: 26. Re-motivate students by telling them how the new
knowledge or skill will benefit them.
(a) answering questions
27. Ensure they are well prepared for the programmed lesson
(b) stopping students from doing a step of a skill prior to meeting with student.
incorrectly
(c) reviewing material or steps

(d) asking questions

(e) correcting the student if an error has been made

(f) explaining why the student’s performance is

incorrect
(g) using verbal support

(h) re-teaching (if necessary)

(I) praising students for good work.