Characteristics of Effective Critiques
The instructor, acting as a critic, must make sure that each of his/her critiques contain the following characteristics:

• Objective
o Critiques should not reflect on personal bias towards the student
o Pre-formed opinions of the student can interfere with the critique, i.e. thinking the student is lazy

• Flexible

o The critique should fit the lesson and the student

o Usually, no two critiques are the same • Acceptable

o Students must be willing to accept what the instructor has to say before accepting criticism from them

• Comprehensive
o Critiques need not cover everything in detail or be long-winded, but should cover all that needs to be covered

• Constructive

o A critique is useless unless the student can learn from it
o Critiques should identify strong and weak areas, and provide suggestions for improvement

• Organized

o Critiques should follow a logical pattern so as to not bewilder the student • Thoughtful

o Instructors should respect their students while critiquing, and never belittle the student or their performance

• Specific
o Students need to know specific points of detail to profit from a critique o Use of abstractions and generalizations should be avoided

Methods of Critique

• Instructor/Student Critique (Classroom setting)
• Student-led critique
• Small group critique
• Student critiquing another student
• Self-critique
• Written Critique

  Methods of Evaluation

  • Oral Quizzes
  • Written Tests
  • Performance Tests (Practical)

    Types of Questions to Avoid

• Puzzle – Students must first decode the question’s various parts before answering
• Oversize – Generalizing something very complicated
• Toss-up – Questions with no specific answer
• Bewilderment – The question leaves the student more confused than before they heard it!
• Trick question – Trick questions only HURT learning, and the student may lose trust in their

  instructor

• Irrelevant – Questions unrelated to the lesson lose focus

Characteristics of a Good Test

• Reliability – a test must be consistent in its results
• Validity – a test must measure what it is supposed to measure
• Usability – a test must be easy to administer
• Objectivity – a test must not allow the grader to have bias (e.g. some written tests)
• Comprehensiveness – a test must test the scope of what is intended to be tested (variety of

  questions)

• Discrimination – a test must distinguish between different levels of understanding between

  students (i.e. students with better understanding score higher; tests include questions of varying difficulty)

Responsibilities of All Aviation Instructors
There are four main responsibilities of an instructor. They are:

• Helping students learn
o Learning should be enjoyable – not necessarily easy
o Learning should be interesting – this can be achieved by letting objectives be known o Learning to fly should allow for experimentation and exploration
o Learning should be tailored/suited to each individual student
o Students should be led to performance meeting the PTS, and taught the

responsibilities of safe flying accordingly and in a timely fashion • Providing adequate instruction

o An instructor should correctly analyze the student’s personality, thought pattern, and ability (Get to know your students!)

o An instructor is always acting as a practical psychologist • Demanding adequate standards of Performance

o Instructors must analyze their performance as well as their students
o Allowing a student to get by with a substandard performance is not providing

competent instruction; it reflects poorly on you as well as your student • Emphasizing the Positive

o Show your students the positive aspects of aviation before emphasizing negative aspects

o This is greatly related to instilling fear into your students – a scared student does not learn well

Additional Flight Instructor Responsibilities
• Evaluation of Student Piloting Ability

o Not only should you determine whether a student can perform a maneuver, you should evaluate how well a maneuver is done

o Students should always be informed of progress in ability
o Students should be allowed to make a mistake themselves (don’t always take the controls from them)

• Pilot Supervision

o Instructors have the responsibility for approving solo flight and supervising it • Practical Test Recommendations

o Flight instructors are responsible for signing off students prepared for a practical test and who have demonstrated the required knowledge and maneuvers to at least the standards of the PTS

o An instructor must have flown 3 hours with a student within the past 60 days in preparation for the practical to sign a student off

• Flight Instructor Endorsements
o Endorsements for solo flight should only be given when a student has shown the

level of competence and responsibility to handle any emergencies that may arise on a solo flight
o AC 61-65 lists most endorsements an instructor can give, such as: BFR’s, IPC’s, high performance, complex, and tailwheel signoffs
o Records of each endorsement must be kept by an instructor for 3 years

• Additional Training and Endorsements o BFR’s every 24 months

o Wings Program
o AC 61-98 outlines a sample transition program to a different airplane

o An instructor holds great responsibility for the future passengers of any pilot he/she checks out in an aircraft

• Pilot Proficiency
o AC 61-91 outlines the Wings Program

Important Personal Characteristics (Professionalism)
No single definition can define professionalism. It must be remembered that the instructor is the primary representative of aviation, at all levels of training. Professionalism encompasses:

• Providing a service
• Extended periods of training and preparation
• Performance based on study/research
• Ability to logically reason
• Ability to make good decisions
• A code of ethics

Some of the traits common to good instructors are (use the acronym “SADSALI”):

Sincerity
o A good instructor is straightforward and honest

Acceptance of the Student
o Personal bias has no place in the cockpit
o Instructors must accept students’ faults and weaknesses
o Students deserve respect, just like you
o Students and instructors are working towards a common goal

Demeanor
o An instructor’s behavior should be disciplined and predictable o Erratic behavior or changing attitudes should not be displayed

Safety Practices and Accident Prevention
o Safety practices emphasized by an instructor have a lasting effect on students o Observance of all rules and regulations is important to pass on to students

Personal Appearance and Habits
o Instructors must have a professional look o Personal hygiene

Proper Language
o Emphasize KNOWN to UNKNOWN, especially since students often pick up words,

concepts, or acronyms that are new to them during flight training
o Jargon should be avoided
o Use of profanity/crude language can cause students to lose respect for an instructor

Self-Improvement
o A good instructor is never satisfied or complacent with their current qualifications

Minimize Student Frustration Motivate Students
Keep Students Informed Approach Students As Individuals Give Credit When Due

Criticize Constructively Be Consistent
Admit Errors MIKECCC? / MIACCCE?

Developing Objectives and Standards for a Course of Training
An objective is a goal of what should be accomplished by a course of training. Standards are closely tied to the objective. Early in training, standards should be set lower than the applicable PTS as students’ skills take time to progress. Before the completion of the course objective, performance of a student should at least meet the applicable PTS. The FAR’s also outline what safe pilots everywhere should practice.

Building Blocks of Learning Theory
The building blocks theory of learning states that an overall objective should be broken down into smaller, more manageable chunks of learning. For instance, before a student can complete their first solo, they have to learn several different levels of tasks, each building on each other, before they can finally solo an airplane:

Requirements for Developing a Training Syllabus
Instructors need a practical guide to developing skills in their students in a concise, logical flow. Syllabi help to eliminate wasted training and student frustration while advancing student skills faster. Elements of a training syllabus usually include:

• Stage or Block of Training
• Objectives
• Content
• Completion Standards

Purpose and Characteristics of a Lesson Plan
Lesson plans outline the content, equipment, actions, and schedule pertinent to a period of instructional activity. It should be noted that lesson plans act as a guide, so they need to be easily adapted to a particular student or learning style. Lesson plans should be updated periodically to reflect changes that may make a lesson better. Lesson plans should have the following characteristics:

• • Unity
  • Content
  • Scope
  • Practicality
  • Flexibility
  • Relation to Course of Training

Instructional Steps

The most common headings of a lesson plan include:

• Objective
• Content
• Schedule
• Equipment
• Instructor’s Actions
• Student’s Actions
• Completion Standards