Elements of Effective Teaching in a Professional Environment

• Helping learners — make each lesson a pleasurable experience to maintain motivation, without sacrificing standards
• Providing adequate instruction — analyze the learner's personality, thinking, and ability, and adapt your methods
• Training to established standards of performance — the tasks within each Area of Operation of the applicable ACS
• Emphasizing the positive — positive instruction results in positive learning
• Minimizing learner frustration

(AIH ch. 8)

No. The idea that people need to be led to learning by making it easy is a fallacy (AIH ch. 8). Learners might initially be drawn to less difficult tasks, but they ultimately devote more effort to activities that bring rewards, and they experience satisfaction from doing a good job or meeting the challenge of a difficult task.

The use of standards, and measurement against standards, is key to helping learners. Meeting a standard holds its own satisfaction — people want to feel capable and are proud of achieving difficult goals.

Learning should also be interesting: knowing the objective of each period of instruction gives meaning to the lesson. Not knowing the objectives leads to confusion, disinterest, and uneasiness.

Slow progress from discouragement or lack of confidence — assign more easily attained goals. Separate a complex task into discrete elements and let the learner become good at each. The handbook's example: begin S-turns with headings only, then introduce altitude control, drift correction, and coordination one at a time, raising difficulty as confidence and ability grow. A learner needing more time requires tact, keen perception, and delicate handling — but too much help and encouragement can itself produce a feeling of incompetence (AIH ch. 8).

Fast learners create the opposite problem: they make few mistakes, may assume correcting errors is unimportant, and become overconfident, which leads to faulty performance. Constantly raise the standard of performance for each lesson, demanding greater effort.

The limit on both: deficiencies should not be invented solely for the learner's benefit — unfair criticism immediately destroys a learner's confidence in the instructor.

On a first lesson, emphasizing the positive means presenting the preflight to familiarize the learner with the aircraft and its components, flying a perfectly normal flight to a nearby airport and back, and afterward pointing out the ease of the trip compared with other transportation and that no critical incidents were encountered or expected.

Contrast that with the negative approach: preflight taught because "emergencies caused by improper preflight are often disastrous," taxi taught because "if you go too fast you lose directional control," stalls introduced because "this is how so many people lose their lives in airplanes." These make a new learner wonder whether learning to fly is a good idea (AIH ch. 8).

This does not mean omitting stalls or emergency procedures. It means introducing emergency procedures after the learner has an acquaintance with normal operations, so they are less likely to be discouraging or frightening or to inhibit learning through fear.

Seven practices (AIH ch. 8):

• Motivate learners — more is gained from wanting to learn than from being forced to
• Keep learners informed — insecurity comes from not knowing what is expected; give an overview of the course, keep them posted on progress, give adequate notice of exams and assignments
• Approach learners as individuals — teaching to an "average personality" fits no one
• Give credit when due — but praise given too freely becomes valueless
• Criticize constructively — identify mistakes and explain how to correct them; errors that aren't identified get perpetuated through faulty practice
• Be consistent — if the same thing is acceptable one day and unacceptable the next, the learner becomes confused
• Admit errors — honestly acknowledging mistakes wins respect; learners sense a cover-up or bluff quickly

A lesson plan used as part of an organized curriculum also helps: since most pilots don't want to be learners, the ability to see an end in sight reduces frustration and increases motivation.

Flight instructors carry the additional responsibility of evaluating learner pilots and deciding when they are ready to solo, and their job is to "mold" the learner into a safe pilot who takes a professional approach to flying (AIH ch. 8).

That includes:

• Being current and proficient in the aircraft used
• Teaching pilots to remain focused on safety of flight and use risk mitigation
• Providing an understanding of why pilots are trained to standards, how those standards are set, and that meeting the standard provides a limited margin of safety

Other flight instructor responsibilities appear in 14 CFR part 61 and FAA advisory circulars.

14 CFR 61.195 limits the holder of a flight instructor certificate:

• No more than 8 hours of flight training in any 24-consecutive-hour period (61.195(a))
• You may not conduct flight training in an aircraft unless you hold a flight instructor certificate with the applicable category and class rating and a pilot certificate with the applicable category and class rating (61.195(b))
• You may not instruct in an aircraft requiring a type rating unless you hold that type rating on your pilot certificate (61.195(e))
• You may not give training for a certificate or rating in a multiengine airplane, helicopter, or powered-lift unless you have at least 5 flight hours of PIC time in that specific make and model (61.195(f))
• Endorsement limitations (61.195(d)) — every solo endorsement turns on a finding you personally make, but the finding is different for each:
  • Solo flight (d)(1) — given the required training and determined the student is prepared to conduct the flight safely under known circumstances
  • Solo cross-country (d)(2) — determined the student's flight preparation, planning, equipment, and proposed procedures are adequate for the proposed flight under the existing conditions
  • Solo in Class B / at an airport in Class B (d)(3) — given ground and flight training in that airspace or at that airport and determined the student is proficient to operate the aircraft safely

Same verb, three materially different findings — the examiner will check that you don't blur them.

Endorsement wording and the full list live in AC 61-65 Appendix A, and are covered in detail under Area II Task K.

Pilot supervision is by far the most important flight instructor responsibility — you are the only person in a position to determine that a learner is ready for solo operations (AIH ch. 9).

• Before the solo endorsement, require the learner to demonstrate consistent ability to perform all of the fundamental maneuvers. Generally the determination is made when you have observed the learner from preflight through engine shutdown performing consistently without need of instructor assistance, and it should be a joint decision between learner and instructor (AIH ch. 8)
• During the first solo, be present to answer questions and resolve issues. Consider time of day for traffic congestion, winds, sun angle, and reflection. If possible have a portable radio so you can terminate the operation if you see a situation developing — but keep transmissions to a minimum and do not talk to the learner on short final
• Immediately after, debrief while the flight is vividly etched in the learner's memory

Requiring full-stop landings on the first solo gives you the opportunity to stop the flight if necessary.

The aviation instructor has the added responsibility of molding an aviation citizen. The AIH's code says you are teaching a pilot or technician who should (AIH ch. 5):

1. Make safety the number one priority
2. Develop and exercise good judgment in making decisions
3. Recognize and manage risk effectively
4. Be accountable for his or her actions
5. Act with responsibility and courtesy
6. Adhere to prudent operating practices and personal operating parameters
7. Adhere to applicable laws and regulations

And a pilot who should: seek proficiency in control of the aircraft, use flight deck technology safely and appropriately, be confident in a wide variety of flight situations, and be respectful of the privilege of flight.

These concepts also appear in the Flight Instructors Model Code of Conduct (FIMCC) and the Aviator's Model Code of Conduct, whose seven sections are general responsibilities of aviators, passengers and people on the surface, training and proficiency, security, environmental issues, use of technology, and advancement and promotion of general aviation.

• Sincerity — be straightforward and honest at all times. Attempting to hide inadequacy behind a smokescreen of unrelated instruction makes it impossible to command respect. Any facade of pretentiousness, real or presumed, causes the learner to lose confidence
• Acceptance of the learner — accept learners as they are, faults and all. Under no circumstance do anything which implies degrading the learner. Criticizing a learner who does not learn rapidly is like a doctor reprimanding a patient who doesn't get well as fast as predicted
• Personal appearance and habits — neat, clean, appropriately dressed. Common courtesy is perhaps the most important habit; personal cleanliness matters because you work in close proximity, and little annoyances become serious distractions
• Demeanor — avoid erratic movements, distracting speech habits, and capricious mood changes. Develop a calm, thoughtful, and disciplined demeanor. Avoid contradictory directions, reacting differently to identical errors at different times, demanding unreasonable performance, unfair criticism, and an overbearing manner or air of flippancy
• Proper language — profanity and obscene language lead to distrust or, at best, a lack of complete confidence

(AIH ch. 8)

Be thoroughly familiar with the functions, characteristics, and proper use of all flight instruments, avionics, and other aircraft systems being used for training — especially important given the variety of GPS units and glass panel displays (AIH ch. 8).

Maintain familiarity with current pilot training techniques and certification requirements through periodicals and technical publications, personal contact with FAA inspectors and DPEs, and flight instructor clinics such as the FAASTeam/SAFE Flight Instructor Open Forums.

The handbook is blunt about the alternative: continued use of outmoded instructional procedures, or preparing learners using obsolete certification requirements, usually involves rationalization — a defense mechanism, not a decision.

Maintain a current library: regulations pertinent to pilot qualification and certification, the AIM, the ACS/PTS, and pilot training manuals.

The AIH's sources (AIH ch. 8):

• Government — FAA seminars and safety programs; regulations, ACs, ADs, orders, and notices from faa.gov; the Pilot Proficiency Awards Program; the Gold Seal Flight Instructor Certificate, whose requirements are listed in AC 61-65; and Flight Instructor Refresher Courses (FIRCs) conducted by FAA-approved providers under AC 61-83, which satisfy the training requirements for renewal of a flight instructor certificate
• Educational and training institutions — community colleges, technical schools, universities
• Commercial organizations — training materials and complete ground and flight programs; specialty courses in mountain flying, spin training, upset prevention and recovery, and tailwheel qualification. Adding category and class ratings also increases knowledge and experience
• Industry organizations — SAFE, NAFI, PAMA and their local chapters, publications, and training programs

The underlying commitment: continuous, lifelong learning. Successful instructors do not become complacent or satisfied with their own qualifications.

Signing this recommendation imposes a serious responsibility. An instructor who recommends an applicant should require them to thoroughly demonstrate the knowledge and skill level required for that certificate or rating — a demonstration that should in no instance be less than the complete procedure prescribed in the applicable ACS/PTS (AIH ch. 9).

Mechanics — know these as two separate clocks, and don't let the handbook shorthand collapse them:

• AIH ch. 9 says your signature on FAA Form 8710-1 is valid for 60 days, as is the flight proficiency endorsement in the applicant's logbook or training record, and the two dates should be the same. Useful as a scheduling rule of thumb — but it is handbook guidance, not the regulation.
• The regulation is 61.39(a)(6)(i): the endorsement must certify the applicant received and logged training within the 2 calendar months preceding the month of application for the practical test. Calendar months, not days — count the way the reg counts.
• The 60-calendar-day limit in the regs is a different thing entirely: 61.43(f), credit for Areas of Operation already passed after a discontinued practical test. And under 61.39(g)–(h), all increments of a test must be finished within 2 calendar months after the month the test began, or the whole test is retaken. AC 61-65 §12.5 spells out that these limits only look like a conflict.

Practical upshot: an instructor who dates a recommendation and then counts 60 days forward can time a recommendation wrong. Work from the 2-calendar-month training window.

FAA inspectors and DPEs rely on your recommendation as evidence of qualification, as proof that deficient knowledge-test subject areas were reviewed, and as assurance that the applicant has had a thorough briefing on the ACS/PTS and its knowledge areas, maneuvers, and procedures.

The consequence: failing to ensure a learner meets the regulatory requirements before endorsing solo flight or an additional rating is a serious deficiency in performance, and the FAA may hold that instructor accountable. It is also a breach of faith with the learner.

An instructor advocates for safety by being proactive: safety is one of the most fundamental considerations in aviation training, and comprehensive regulations promote it, but even the strictest compliance with regulations may not guarantee safety, because rules address known or suspected conditions and some new combination of circumstances can always arise (AIH ch. 8).

The most powerful lever is example. Learners consider their instructor a role model whose habits they imitate, consciously or unconsciously, and your advocacy of safety practices means little if you don't demonstrate them consistently. The maintenance analogy applies directly to the flight deck: a learner who sees the instructor skip safety glasses around hazardous equipment won't wear them when the instructor is gone.

You can also partner with the FAASTeam, dedicated to improving the safety record through training, outreach, and education.

The ACS integrates risk management and safety throughout, and the PTS lists special emphasis items. Common items (AIH ch. 8):

1. Positive aircraft control
2. Procedures for positive exchange of flight controls
3. Stall and spin awareness
4. Collision avoidance
5. Wake turbulence, low-level wind turbulence, and wind shear avoidance
6. Runway incursion avoidance
7. Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT)
8. ADM and risk management
9. Checklist usage
10. Spatial disorientation
11. Temporary flight restrictions (TFRs)
12. Special use airspace (SUA)
13. Aviation security
14. Wire strike avoidance

FI.I.E.R1 names the risk directly. The failure modes in the handbook:

• Inadequate analysis of the learner — misreading a quiet, reserved learner as slow when the real need is self-confidence, so you drill flight fundamentals instead of building confidence, and the instruction produces no results (AIH ch. 8)
• Teaching the way you were taught — most new instructors adopt their own instructor's methods or the methods by which they learn best. The fact that you learned under a system does not mean the best and most efficient learning occurred; stay open-minded and seek other resources
• Physiological obstacles you dismiss — learners may react to unfamiliar noises, vibration, G-force, or an uncomfortable stomach. Do not ignore these, and never ridicule a learner affected by them. A sick learner is preoccupied and may not have the mental or physical capacity to learn
• Complacency about your own currency — an instructor flying an unfamiliar aircraft or avionics suite is a learner too, and change plus stress has risk consequences (AIH ch. 2)
• Letting the ACS become the ceiling — the ACS is a testing document, not a teaching document; do not focus on the minimum acceptable standards for passing the checkride (AIH ch. 9)

Because individuals learn through observing others, model safe and professional behavior and demonstrate good operational sense at all times (AIH ch. 9):

• Before the flight — discuss safety and the importance of a proper preflight and checklist use
• During flight — prioritize aviating, navigating, and communicating; instill aircraft control, "see and avoid," situational awareness, and workload management
• During landing — conduct stabilized approaches, maintain desired airspeed on final, demonstrate good judgment for go-arounds and for wake turbulence, traffic, and terrain avoidance; correct faulty approaches and landings; touch down on the centerline in the first third of the runway
• After the flight — review events and choices using ADM principles, and plan a remediation if trends indicate an inadequate skill, a hazardous attitude, or inadequate knowledge of risk mitigation