Course Development, Lesson Plans, and Classroom Training Techniques

The teaching process is preparation, presentation, application, and assessment (AIH ch. 5). The sequence is the same regardless of the delivery method used, and every well-developed lesson falls logically into these four steps.

One naming caution, because evaluators quote both: chapter 7 words the fourth step as review and evaluation (AIH ch. 7) while chapter 5 calls it assessment (AIH ch. 5). Same step, two labels. Use either, but don't be thrown when the evaluator uses the one you didn't.

The four essential skills of an effective instructor:

• People skills — relating to people, active listening, respectful interaction, noticing when learners aren't following, providing motivation, challenging learners intellectually while supporting their efforts
• Subject matter expertise — being a genuine SME, plus a sincere interest in learning and professional growth
• Assessment skills — learning is a measurable change in behavior, and measuring it is a distinct skill
• Management skills — plan, organize, lead, supervise; time management and supervision of the learner

(AIH ch. 5)

• Course of training — a complete series of studies leading to a specific goal: a graduation certificate, a certificate or rating
• Curriculum — for pilot training, the courses for the various certificates and ratings
• Syllabus — a summary or outline of an individual course of study containing multiple lessons; in aviation, a step-by-step, building block progression of learning with provisions for regular review and assessments at prescribed stages. It contains each lesson's description, objectives, and completion standards
• Lesson plan — a detailed plan for how a single instructional period will be conducted: objectives, organization of material, teaching aids, instructor and learner actions, and evaluation criteria and completion standards

(AIH ch. 5)

• Description of the skill or behavior — the desired outcome as a change in knowledge, skill, or attitude, stated in concrete, measurable terms. Avoid "knowledge of..." and "awareness of..."; prefer "able to select from a list of..." or "able to repeat the steps to..."
• Conditions — the rules for demonstrating the skill: equipment, tools, reference material, limiting parameters
• Criteria — the standards that measure accomplishment, defined so precisely there can be no question whether performance met the objective

Worked example from the AIH: "Using appropriate charts, a prepared flight log, and training aircraft, navigate from point A to point B while maintaining standard hemispheric altitudes," arriving within 5 minutes of planned time and holding en route altitude within 200 feet (AIH ch. 5).

Decision-based training objectives rely on a more dynamic training environment, are ideally suited to scenario-based training, and teach critical thinking skills such as risk management and ADM (AIH ch. 5).

Performance-based objectives define exactly what is done and how during each lesson. As the learner progresses to higher levels of performance and understanding, shift the training focus to decision-based objectives. They do not replace maneuver training — maneuvers requiring repetition are still taught in concentrated settings, then integrated into realistic, dynamic flight situations.

The reason: improper pilot decisions cause a significant percentage of all accidents and the majority of fatal accidents.

ACS documents supply the instructor with specific performance objectives based on the standards for issuance of a certificate or rating (AIH ch. 5). Test items should be both:

• Content valid — the maneuver or procedure closely mimics what is required in actual flying
• Criterion valid — the completion standards reflect acceptable standards in actual flight

Two cautions. The ACS is limited to the most critical job tasks — certification tests do not represent an entire training syllabus. And the ACS is a testing document, not a teaching document (AIH ch. 8): your lesson completion standards should gradually reach or exceed ACS tolerances well before checkride prep.

The traditional lesson plan organizes material into introduction, development, and conclusion (AIH ch. 5):

• Introduction — three elements: attention (a story, a video clip, a question — related to the subject), motivation (specific reasons the content matters, which is the law of readiness), and overview (a clear, concise statement of the objective and key ideas — a road map)
• Development — the main part; show relationships among the main points using one of four patterns:
  • Past to present
  • Simple to complex
  • Known to unknown
  • Most frequently used to least used
• Conclusion — retraces the important elements and relates them to the objective. Never introduce new ideas in the conclusion — they only confuse

An effective instructor normally uses a combination of training delivery methods in a typical lesson (AIH ch. 5):

• Lecture — best for conveying a general understanding, background information, or many ideas in a short time; adaptable to large groups. But it gives no precise measure of understanding and does not build motor skills. Varieties: illustrated talk, briefing, formal lecture, and the teaching lecture (favored in aviation, allows participation)
• Discussion — a short lecture that supplies basic knowledge, followed by instructor-learner and learner-learner discussion
• Guided discussion — instructor-led, aimed at drawing out the knowledge of the learner; works in the classroom and in preflight and postflight briefings
• Cooperative or group learning — small heterogeneous groups working to maximize understanding
• Demonstration-performance — for mastery of mental or physical skills requiring practice; people learn by doing
• Drill and practice — based on the law of exercise
• Problem-based learning, including scenario-based training, collaborative problem-solving, and the case study method
• E-learning / computer-assisted learning

Explanation, demonstration, learner performance, instructor supervision, and evaluation (AIH ch. 5). Learner performance and instructor supervision are separate actions that occur at the same time.

For flight instruction the AIH collapses these to four phases — explanation, demonstration, learner performance with instructor supervision, and evaluation — and applies them through the telling-and-doing technique: instructor tells / instructor does, learner tells / instructor does, learner tells / learner does (AIH ch. 9, covered in Task I.E and the maneuver Tasks).

Planning (AIH ch. 5):

• Select an appropriate topic — learners must have knowledge to exchange; make assignments if needed
• State the specific lesson objective at the understanding level
• Conduct adequate research and earmark background reading
• Organize main and subordinate points logically — introduction, discussion, conclusion
• Plan at least one lead-off question for each desired learning outcome, usually beginning with how or why

Conducting it: open with a lead-off question, allow silence while learners think, rephrase if expressions look puzzled, use follow-up questions to steer, and give an interim summary after each learning outcome to tie ideas together and ease transitions. Close with a summary showing the relationships and practical application.

The AIH's contrast: ask "Why does an aircraft normally require a longer takeoff run at Denver than at New Orleans?" not "Would an aircraft require a longer run at Denver or New Orleans?" — the first starts a discussion of density, engine efficiency, and temperature; the second gets one word.

Integrated flight instruction teaches learners to perform maneuvers both by outside visual references and by reference to flight instruments, with instrument references used the first time each new maneuver is introduced (AIH ch. 9).

Benefits:

• Development of habit patterns — early habits of instrument cross-check, interpretation, and aircraft control; better landings from more precise airspeed control, better navigation and coordination
• Operating efficiency — correct power settings, climb speeds, and precise headings measurably increase performance
• Emergency capability — the ability to control the aircraft for limited periods if outside references are lost

Critical caveat you must state: impress on the learner that this does not prepare them for marginal weather or IMC. VFR flight into IMC is one of the most common causes of fatalities in NTSB data.

After overall training objectives are established, identify the blocks of learning that make up the total objective — like a pyramid, some blocks never appear on the surface but each is integral (AIH ch. 7).

Blocks should be fairly consistent in scope and represent units of learning that can be measured and evaluated, not a sequence of periods of instruction. Private pilot training divides into the knowledge and skills for solo, for solo cross-country, and for the certificate.

The payoff is a boost in self-confidence each time a block is completed — an overall goal like a certificate can otherwise seem unobtainable. And examine each block to ensure it is integral: extraneous blocks are expensive frills, especially in flight instruction.

Seven characteristics (AIH ch. 7):

• Unity — a unified segment with limited objectives stated as desired learning outcomes
• Content — new material, related to the previous lesson; a short review is usually necessary, particularly in flight training
• Scope — reasonable; too much causes confusion, too little is inefficient
• Practicality — planned for the conditions under which training is conducted; an airplane lesson differs from a classroom lesson
• Flexibility — blank space for add-on material
• Relation to course of training — the relation to course objectives should be clear to the learner
• Instructional steps — the four steps of the teaching process

A mental outline is not a lesson plan. It must be written, so another instructor could take it and conduct the same period of instruction, and so it can be analyzed for adequacy and completeness.

An adequate lesson plan, properly used (AIH ch. 7):

• Assures a wise selection of material and elimination of unimportant details
• Makes certain due consideration is given to each part of the lesson
• Aids presentation in a suitable sequence for efficient learning
• Provides an outline of the teaching procedure
• Relates the lesson to the objectives of the course of training
• Gives the inexperienced instructor confidence
• Promotes uniformity of instruction regardless of instructor or date

Developing one signifies that you have taught the lesson to yourself first. Four rules govern using it, and apply equally to commercially developed plans — acceptable (including for use by flight instructor applicants during their practical tests) though even well-designed preprinted plans may need modification:

1. Be familiar with it — study each step and know as much related information as possible
2. Use it as a guide — it prevents getting off track, omitting essential points, and introducing irrelevant material
3. Adapt it to the learner — a plan may need considerable modification in flight for deficiencies in knowledge or poor mastery of essential elements. In some cases the entire plan is abandoned in favor of review
4. Revise it periodically — for changes in aids, regulations, manuals, and texts

Traditional plan: the objective is "the learner will learn to control for wind drift." The instructor reviews heading, speed, bank, altitude, terrain, and wind, demonstrates, and the learner practices turns around a point or S-turns to a specified tolerance. At the end, the learner can perform the maneuver (AIH ch. 7).

SBT plan: the learner plans an arrival at a specific nontowered airport, considering wind, arrival paths, airport information and communication, available runways, recommended traffic patterns, courses of action, and preparation for the unexpected. The learner makes the decisions with guidance as needed, followed by a discussion of what was done, why, the consequences, other courses of action, and how it applies to other airports. At the end, the learner can detail a safe arrival at any nontowered airport in a variety of wind conditions.

Pre-scenario planning must establish:

• Scenario destinations
• Desired learning outcomes
• Desired level of learner performance
• Possible inflight scenario changes

Any practical syllabus needs to be flexible and should be used primarily as a guide. Under 14 CFR part 61 the order of training can and should be altered to suit the learner's progress and special circumstances — previous experience, different rates of learning, weather, aircraft availability, scheduling (AIH ch. 7).

But when departing from the prescribed order, consider how the relationships between blocks of learning are affected. The handbook's example: a learner struggling with normal approaches and landings — delay short-field landings, and review slow flight instead. The learner gets a chance to do well and regain confidence, and it builds the skills needed for the landings.

Under part 141, each approved course must be conducted in accordance with an FAA-approved syllabus, and compliance is a condition for graduation — both instructor and learner should have a copy, and it should be referred to throughout the course.

Instructional aids are devices that assist the instructor — they are not self-supporting; they support, supplement, or reinforce what is being taught. (Training media is the broader term: the instructor's voice, printed text, video, flight training devices.)

Characteristics (AIH ch. 5): carefully selected; cover the key points and concepts; straightforward and factual so they're easy to remember and recall; and relatively simple — simple is generally best.

Reasons for use: they gain and hold attention (audio plus visual engages the two most important senses); they improve retention — study results range from a modest 10 to 15 percent increase up to 80 percent; they help solve language barrier problems; they clarify relationships between objects and concepts; and they save time.

Determine if and where aids are needed by (AIH ch. 5):

1. Clearly establishing the lesson objective
2. Gathering the necessary data
3. Organizing the material into an outline or lesson plan, including safety considerations
4. Selecting the ideas to be supported — concentrate aids on the key points

Aids are often appropriate when long technical descriptions are necessary, when a point is complex and hard to put into words, when you find yourself forming visual images, or when learners look puzzled.

Then: keep words on the aid to a minimum; avoid using the aid as a crutch; avoid distracting artwork; make sure aids can actually be seen and heard from the back of the room; check rough drafts for technical accuracy, terminology, grammar, spelling, balance, clarity, and simplicity.

Instructional aid types (AIH ch. 5):

• Marker boards

• Supplemental print material — photographs, drawings, charts, diagrams, graphs

• Enhanced training materials — syllabi with endorsement and recordkeeping provisions, and maneuvers guides that include the ACS as an integral part of the description

• Projected material, video, interactive systems, and computer-assisted learning

• Models, mock-ups, and cut-aways

• A model is a copy of a real object — enlarged, reduced, or same size; more effective if it works like the original and can be taken apart

• A mock-up is a three-dimensional working model made from real or synthetic materials, used in place of a real object that is too costly, too dangerous, or impossible to obtain

• A cut-away is built in sections and taken apart to reveal internal structure

A caution on test preparation material: its emphasis is on rote learning, the lowest level. Learners can pass a knowledge test yet show a lack of knowledge in oral questioning. Stress that these are supplements to instructor-led training, not stand-alone learning tools.

PBL is a learning environment where lessons involve learners with problems encountered in real life and ask them to find real-world solutions. It starts with a carefully constructed problem to which there is no single solution (AIH ch. 5).

Effective problems:

1. Relate to the real world so learners want to solve them
2. Require learners to make decisions
3. Are open-ended, not limited to one correct answer
4. Are connected to previously learned knowledge as well as new knowledge
5. Reflect the lesson objectives
6. Challenge learners to think critically

The three types of problem-based instruction are scenario-based training, collaborative problem-solving, and the case study — for which NTSB accident descriptions with the probable cause removed make excellent source material.

FI.I.C.R1 is a one-line risk element: selection of teaching method. The wrong method wastes the lesson. A lecture will not build a motor skill. Demonstration-performance is inefficient for background theory a whole class needs. Guided discussion collapses if learners have no knowledge to exchange.

E-learning specifics (AIH ch. 5): its limitations include lack of peer interaction and personal feedback, difficulty maintaining control of the learning situation, difficulty finding good programs for some subjects, expense, and insufficient instructor or learner experience with the software. The computer has no way of knowing when a learner is having difficulty — monitoring and oversight of progress always remains the instructor's responsibility.

The handbook's explicit warning: do not rely on a software program for traffic pattern and landing ground instruction and then expect the learner to demonstrate patterns and landings in the airplane. Studies show learners who use electronic media extensively are generally not as well trained as those who receive a balanced mix of e-learning, class, and one-on-one instruction (AIH ch. 9).