Which sequence correctly lists the four steps of the teaching process?

Attention, motivation, overview, and conclusion

Explanation, demonstration, performance, and evaluation

Introduction, development, review, and critique

A performance-based objective is made up of which three elements?

Description of the skill or behavior, conditions, and criteria

Attention, motivation, and overview

Objective, schedule, and equipment

What should an instructor avoid doing in the conclusion of a lesson?

Retracing the important elements of the lesson

Relating the main points back to the objective

Reviewing material to improve retention

When planning a guided discussion, how should lead-off questions usually begin?

With how or why, to start a discussion

With who or what, to check factual recall

With a yes or no choice, to keep answers short

With a choice between two answers, to narrow the topic

In the demonstration-performance method, which two phases occur at the same time?

Learner performance and instructor supervision

According to the handbook, what is a major shortcoming of commercial test preparation materials?

They cannot be used for FAA knowledge tests

They require the instructor to be present for every session

They are too difficult for most learner applicants

Which type of delivery does the handbook recommend for a good teaching lecture?

Speaking extemporaneously from a mental or written outline

Reading the material word for word from a script

Delivering the material entirely from memory

Playing a recorded presentation and taking questions afterward

FAA-H-8083-9B, Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Teaching Process

How instructors prepare, present, apply, and assess lessons, write training objectives, and choose delivery methods and instructional aids.

Read the chapter in the FAA PDF Go to the quiz

Chapter summary

The teaching process organizes the material an instructor wishes to teach so that the learner can understand it. It consists of four steps: preparation, presentation, application, and assessment, and the sequence stays the same regardless of the delivery method. The handbook identifies four essential skills of good teachers: people skills, subject matter expertise, assessment skills, and management skills. It also reminds aviation instructors that they are shaping an aviation citizen who makes safety the first priority, exercises good judgment, manages risk, and is accountable for his or her actions.

Preparation begins with objectives and standards. Aviation training uses performance-based objectives, which state the skill or behavior, the conditions, and the criteria in measurable terms, and decision-based objectives, which use dynamic scenarios to develop judgment, risk management, and aeronautical decision-making (ADM). The Airman Certification Standards (ACS) supply specific performance objectives, but certification tests cover only the most critical tasks, so professional instructors should not limit their objectives to the minimum published requirements. Successful instructors teach not only how, but also why and when.

A lesson is traditionally organized into an introduction, development, and conclusion. The introduction contains attention, motivation, and an overview. Development is the main part of the lesson and may be arranged past to present, simple to complex, known to unknown, or most frequently used to least used. The conclusion retraces the important elements and relates them to the objective without introducing new ideas. Instructors then choose among delivery methods: lecture, discussion, guided discussion, problem-based learning, cooperative or group learning, demonstration-performance, drill and practice, and e-learning, usually combining several in one lesson.

Problem-based learning presents real-world problems with no single solution and builds higher order thinking skills (HOTS). Its forms include scenario-based training, collaborative problem solving, and the case study. The demonstration-performance method, built on the principle that people learn by doing, has five phases: explanation, demonstration, learner performance, instructor supervision, and evaluation. In the application step the learner uses the presented material, and the instructor corrects faulty habits early. In the assessment step the instructor reviews the lesson and has learners show how well the objectives were met.

Instructional aids support, supplement, or reinforce what is being taught; they are not self-supporting. Good aids are simple, focused on key points, visible and audible to everyone, and never a distracting gimmick or a crutch. Computer-assisted learning lets learners progress at their own pace, but the computer cannot tell when a learner is struggling, so monitoring remains the instructor's responsibility. Test preparation materials emphasize rote learning, the lowest level of learning, and should supplement instructor-led training rather than stand alone.

Main topics

The four steps of the teaching process: preparation, presentation, application, and assessment
Essential teaching skills and the instructor's code of ethics
Course of training, curriculum, syllabus, and lesson plan
Performance-based and decision-based training objectives
Lesson organization: introduction, development, and conclusion
Lecture, discussion, and guided discussion methods
Problem-based learning, scenario-based training, and case studies
Cooperative learning and the demonstration-performance method
E-learning and computer-assisted learning
Selecting and using instructional aids, including test preparation material

Key terms

Teaching process: The organization of material so the learner can understand it, carried out in four steps: preparation, presentation, application, and assessment.
Syllabus: A summary or outline of a course of study, usually containing multiple lessons, with a description of each lesson including objectives and completion standards.
Lesson plan: A detailed plan for conducting a specific lesson, including objectives, organization of material, teaching aids, instructor and learner actions, and evaluation criteria and completion standards.
Performance-based objective: A measurable, reasonable statement of the desired learner performance made up of three elements: a description of the skill or behavior, the conditions, and the criteria.
Decision-based objective: A training objective that uses dynamic, meaningful scenarios to develop pilot judgment, risk management, and aeronautical decision-making skills.
Criteria: The standards that measure accomplishment of an objective, defined so there is no question whether the performance meets the objective.
Content validity: The quality of a test item in which a maneuver or procedure closely mimics what is required in actual flying.
Criterion validity: The quality of a test in which the completion standards reflect acceptable standards in actual operations.
Teaching lecture: An oral presentation planned and delivered so that it allows some learner participation and directs learners toward the desired learning outcomes.
Guided discussion: An instructor-controlled discussion, built on prepared questions, used to draw out what learners know and confirm they have correctly received and interpreted the material.
Problem-based learning (PBL): A learning environment in which lessons involve learners with problems encountered in real life and ask them to find real-world solutions.
Scenario-based training (SBT): A method that uses a highly structured script of real-world experiences to address training objectives in an operational environment.
Demonstration-performance method: A method based on the principle that people learn by doing, with five phases: explanation, demonstration, learner performance, instructor supervision, and evaluation.
Computer-assisted learning (CAL): Use of a personal computer with multimedia software as a training device that responds differently depending on learner input.
Instructional aid: A device that assists the instructor in the teaching-learning process; it is not self-supporting but supports, supplements, or reinforces what is being taught.
Mock-up: A three-dimensional or specialized working model used for study, training, or testing in place of a real object that is too costly, too dangerous, or impossible to obtain.

Revision quiz

10 questions. Pick an answer to see whether it is right and why.

Answered 0 of 10

1.Which sequence correctly lists the four steps of the teaching process?
2.A performance-based objective is made up of which three elements?
3.An instructor opens a lesson by giving learners specific reasons why the content is important to them, such as an example of someone who applied it. Which element of the lesson introduction is this?
4.An instructor begins a lesson on heading indicators by discussing the magnetic compass before describing gyroscopic indicators. Which pattern of development is being used?
5.What should an instructor avoid doing in the conclusion of a lesson?
6.When planning a guided discussion, how should lead-off questions usually begin?
7.A flight instructor gives learners an NTSB accident description with the probable cause removed, has them suggest possible reasons, and then shares the NTSB determination. Which method is this?
8.In the demonstration-performance method, which two phases occur at the same time?
9.According to the handbook, what is a major shortcoming of commercial test preparation materials?
10.Which type of delivery does the handbook recommend for a good teaching lecture?

This page is a study aid written from Aviation Instructor's Handbook (FAA-H-8083-9B), Chapter 5. The handbook is the authoritative source; read the full chapter in the official FAA PDF.

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