Aviation Instructor's Handbook (FAA-H-8083-9)
Chapter 3: The Learning Process
Introduction
The First Flight
When Beverly (learner) enthusiastically presents herself for her first day of flight instruction, Bill, her flight instructor, decides
to spend some time in the classroom. Beverly knows a lot of facts about flying and shares her knowledge with Bill, but when he asks
questions to test her understanding of the facts, she cannot answer them. During their first flight, Bill discovers Beverly has mastered
a few basic skills but her performance is awkward, as if she were working from a list of memorized steps.
In the early stages of flight training, Beverly focuses all her attention on performing each skill. If Bill asks her a question or to
perform two tasks at once, she loses her place and needs to restart. As she flies, she makes errors. When she catches herself making
an error she becomes visibly frustrated. Then sometimes she does not notice an error and keeps moving ahead as if nothing we re
amiss. Since she is a beginner, Bill is patient.
The Check Ride
Months later, Bill is helping Beverly prepare for her practical test. Remembering her first days of instruction, Bill feels as if he were
working with a different person. The breadth and depth of her classroom knowledge has grown. Beverly does not simply reitera te
facts—she applies her knowledge to solve the problems Bill gives her. In addition to meeting all the elements listed in the Airmen
Certification Standards (ACS), she also knows about her local environment, such as the nuances of local weather patterns.
In the aircraft, once awkward and tentative actions are now performed with a steady hand and confidence. Skills she struggled to learn
in the past have become second nature. When asked to do several things simultaneously, she performs well. When Bill interrupts her,
she mentally bookmarks where she is, contends with the interruption and then returns to the task at hand. She still makes errors, but
they are small ones that she notices and corrects right away. She still gets frustrated when she makes an error, but she takes a deep
breath, and continues on her way. She makes flying look easy and Bill is confident that tomorrow’s meeting with the evaluator will go
well.
Analysis of the First Flight and Check Ride
Between Beverly’s first day of training and the day before her practical test, she has undergone some remarkable changes:
1. She has developed a collection of memorized facts into an in-depth understanding of how to fly and
learned to apply this knowledge to problem-solving and decision-making.
2. Skills once performed awkwardly and deliberately are now performed smoothly and efficiently.
3. She comfortably performs several tasks at once, deals with distractions and interruptions, and maintains
her focus in demanding situations. Knowledge and skills are now orchestrated.
4. She still makes errors, but they are less frequent, smaller in magnitude, and she quickly identifies and
corrects them.
5. Her motivation and enthusiasm remain as high as they were on the first day of training.
6. She displays proficiency in all areas now: those at which she naturally excels as well as those she struggled
to master in the past.
7. She deals with psychological obstacles, such as frustration, that initially got in the way of her learning.
8. She recognizes the importance of regular study and practice.
This scenario illustrates the goal of an aviation instructor: to teach each learner in such a way that he or she will become a competent
pilot or aviation maintenance technician (AMT). In order to take a pilot or AMT from memorized facts to higher levels of knowledge
and skill that include the ability to exercise judgment and solve problems, an instructor needs to know how people learn. Designed as
a basic guide in applied educational psychology, this chapter addresses how people learn.
What is Learning?
Learning can be defined in many ways:
⦁ A change in the behavior of the learner as a result of experience. The behavior can be physical and overt, or
it can be intellectual or attitudinal.
⦁ The process by which experience brings about a relatively permanent change in behavior.
⦁ The change in behavior that results from experience and practice.
⦁ Gaining knowledge or skills, or developing a behavior, through study, instruction, or experience.
⦁ The process of acquiring knowledge or skill through study, experience, or teaching. It depends on
experience and leads to long-term changes in behavior potential. Behavior potential describes the
possible behavior of an individual (not actual behavior) in a given situation in order to achieve a goal.
⦁ A relatively permanent change in cognition, resulting from experience and directly influencing behavior.
The effective instructor understands the subject being taught, the learner, the learning process, and the interrelationships that exist. An
effective instructor also realizes learning is a complex procedure and assists each learner in reaching the desired outcomes while
helping build self-esteem and confidence. [Figure 3-1]
Figure 3-1. An effective instructor understands the characteristics of learning and assists accordingly.
The Framework for Learning
Research into how people learn gained momentum with the Swiss scientist and psychologist Jean Piaget, who studied the intellectual
development of children in the early twentieth century. His studies influenced others to research not only how people learn, but also
the best ways to teach them, leading eventually to the establishment of the field of educational psychology.
Learning Theory
Learning theory is a body of principles advocated by psychologists and educators to explain how people acquire skills, knowledge,
and attitudes. Primary learning theories include classical and operant conditioning and social learning. [Figure 3-2]
Figure 3-2. Learning theories of psychology include classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social learning.
Classical conditioning is learning based on an association made between a neutral environmental stimulus and a natural stimulus. For
example, the Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov discovered that a dog could be trained to associate the sound of a beating metronome
with being fed. Pavlov would start the metronome before presenting the dog with food. Over time, the dog learned to associate the
unique sound with receiving food and, as a result, the dog would physically respond to only the sound of the metronome. Today, this
experiment is commonly referred to as Pavlov’s Dog.
Operant conditioning is very similar to classical conditioning in which forming associations is the fundamental tool of learning.
However, in operant conditioning, the association is made between behavior and the consequences of that behavior. In this learning
method, a positive behavior creates a positive consequence; a negative behavior creates a negative consequence. The learner then
makes an association between behaviors and consequences and then predicts that future behaviors will result in similar consequences.
Social learning is simply learning by observation. Psychologist Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory suggests, basically, that we
all learn from each other. Learning occurs by observing the actions of those around us, imitating those actions, and finally modeling
those actions ourselves that others around us may then observe, effectively perpetuating the learning process through continued social
interactions. Bandura's theory states that there are four stages associated to social learning:
1. Attention—the ability of the observer to pay attention to others around him or her in order to learn.
2. Retention—the ability to remember an observed behavior to later repeat that behavior.
3. Reproduction—the act of producing a previously observed behavior. This may require additional skills
beyond what was initially observed.
4. Motivation—the reason to reproduce an observed behavior.
Various branches of learning theory are used in formal training programs to improve and accelerate the learning process. Key
concepts such as desired learning outcomes, objectives of the training, and depth of training also apply. When properly integrated,
learning principles can be useful to aviation instructors and developers of instructional programs for both pilots and AMTs.
Many psychologists and educators have attempted to explain how people learn. While variations abound, modern learning theorie s
grew out of two concepts of how people learn: behaviorism and cognitive theory.
Behaviorism
Behaviorism explains animal and human behavior entirely in terms of observable and measurable responses to stimuli. Behaviorism
was introduced in the twentieth century and its followers believed all human behavior is conditioned more or less by events in the
environment. Thus, human behavior can be predicted based on past rewards and punishments. Classic behaviorist theory in education
stressed a system of rewards and punishment or the “carrot and stick” approach to learning. In modern education circles, behaviorism
stresses the importance of having a particular form of behavior positively reinforced by someone (other than the learner) who shapes
or controls what is learned. In aviation training, the instructor provides the reinforcement.
Today, behaviorism is now used more to break unwanted behaviors, such as smoking, than in teaching. The popularity of behaviorism
has waned due to research that indicates learning is a much more complex process than a response to stimuli. Humans, far from being
passive products of experience, are always actively interacting with the environment.
Cognitive Theory
Cognitive theory focuses on what is going on inside the mind. It is more concerned with cognition (the process of thinking an d
learning)—knowing, perceiving, problem-solving, decision-making, awareness, and related intellectual activities —than with stimulus
and response. Learning is not just a change in behavior; it is a change in the way a learner thinks, understands, or feels. Theories
based on cognition are concerned with the mental events of the learner. Much of the recent psychological thinking and
experimentation in education includes some facets of the cognitive theory.
Theories of cognitive learning were established by psychologists and educators such as John Dewey, Jean Piaget, Benjamin Bloom,
and Jerome Bruner. [Figure 3-3] There have been many interpretations of the research data dealing with cognitive theories. This has
led to many different models for learning as well as some associated catch phrases.
Figure 3-3. Psychologists and educators who established the theories of cognitive learning.
For example, educator, psychologist, and philosopher, John Dewey introduced the concept “reflective thought.” Dewey believed
learning improves to the degree that it arises out of the process of reflection. Over the years, terminology describing reflection has
spawned a host of synonyms, such as “critical thinking,” “problem-solving,” and “higher level thought.”
For Dewey, the concept of reflective thought carried deep meaning. He saw reflection as a process that moves a learner from one
experience into the next with deeper understanding of its relationships with and connections to other experiences and ideas. Thus,
reflection leads the learner from the unclear to the clear.
Jean Piaget, who spent 50 years studying how children develop intellectually, became a major figure in the school of cognitiv e
thought. His research led him to conclude there is always tension between assimilation (old ideas meeting new situations) and
accommodation (changing the old ideas to meet the new situations). The resolution of this tension results in intellectual growth. Thus,
humans develop cognitive skills through active interaction with the world (a basic premise of scenario-based training (SBT),
discussed later in this chapter).
An American psychologist who studied with Piaget, Jerome Bruner became interested in how intellectual development related to the
process of learning. His research led him to advocate learning from the known to the unknown, or from the concrete to the abstract,
because humans best learn when relating new knowledge to existing knowledge. He introduced and developed the concept of the
spiral curriculum, which revisits basic ideas repeatedly and builds on them in increasingly sophisticated ways as the learner matures
and develops.
Consider the opening scenario with Bill and Beverly. Bill might effectively use this theory with Beverly because she arrived at her
first class with a store of aviation facts. Building upon this knowledge, Bill can teach her how to keep the aircraft in straight and level
flight while he reinforces what she knows about basic aerodynamics via demonstration and discussion. Since aerodynamics is a
constant thread in the flight lessons, Bill is also able to employ the spiral curriculum concept in future lessons by repeatedly revisiting
the basic concepts and building upon them as Beverly’s skill and knowledge increase.
A group of educators led by Benjamin Bloom tried to classify the levels of thinking behaviors thought to be important in the
processes of learning. [Figure 3-4] They wanted to classify education goals and objectives based on the assumption that abilities can
be measured along a continuum from simple to complex. The result, which remains a popular framework for cognitive theory, was
Bloom’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain. The taxonomy (a classification system according to presumed relationships) comprises
six levels of intellectual behavior and progresses from the simplest to the most complex: knowledge, comprehension, application,
analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. For more detailed information about the taxonomy, see Domains of Learning.
Figure 3-4. Bloom’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain.
Continued research into cognitive theory has led to theories such as information processing and constructivism. This is the basis of
the organizing a lesson methods discussed in Chapter 5, The Teaching Process.
Information Processing Theory
Information processing theory uses a computer system as a model for human learning. The human brain processes incoming
information, stores and retrieves it and generates responses to the information. This involves a number of cognitive processes:
gathering and representing information (encoding), retaining of information, and retrieving the information when needed.
This learning system has limitations and needs to be operated properly. A computer gets input from a keyboard, mouse, etc., whereas
the human brain gets input from the senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. The amount of sensory input the brain receives
per second ranges from thousands to millions of bits of information according to various theories. Regardless of the number, that is a
lot of information for the brain to track and process.
One way the brain deals with all this information is to let many of the habitual and routine things go unnoticed. For example, a pilot
who uses the rudder when entering a turn is usually unaware of pressing the pedal, even though it involves moving a leg, exerting
pressure on the pedal, etc. The human unconscious takes charge, leaving conscious thought processes free to deal with issues that are
not habitual.
Since information processing theorists approach learning primarily through a study of memory, this learning concept is revisited
during the discussion of memory.
Constructivism
A derivative of cognitive theory, constructivism is a philosophy of learning that holds that learners do not acquire knowledge and
skills passively but actively build or construct them based on their experiences. As implied by its name, constructivism emphasizes
the constructing or building that goes on during the learning process. Therefore, it creates a learner-centered environment in which
they assume responsibility for their own learning.
According to constructivism, humans construct a unique mental image by combining preexisting information with the information
received from sense organs. Learning is the result of matching new information against this preexisting information and integrating it
into meaningful connections. In constructivist thinking, learners are given more latitude to become effective problem solvers ,
identifying and evaluating problems, as well as deciphering ways in which to transfer their learning to these problems, all of which
foster critical thinking skills. While the learner is at the center of the process, an experienced teacher is necessary to guide them
through the information jungle. Constructivism techniques are good for some types of learning, some situations, and some
individuals, but not all. This school of thought also encourages teaching learners how to use what are known as the higher order
thinking skills (HOTS) from Bloom’s Taxonomy and training based on problems or scenarios. Constructivism is the basis for several
of the training delivery methods covered in Chapter 5, The Teaching Process.
Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)
The constructivist theory of learning explains and supports the learning of HOTS, which is commonly called aeronautical decision-
making (ADM) in aviation. HOTS lie in the last three levels on Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning: analysis, synthesis, and evaluation
skills. Teaching the higher level thinking skills which are essential to judgment, decision-making, and critical thinking is important to
aviation because a common thread in aviation accidents is the absence of higher order thinking skills (see Appendix E).
HOTS are taught like other cognitive skills, from simple to complex and from concrete to abstract. To teach HOTS effectively
involves strategies and methods that include (1) using problem-based learning (PBL) instruction, (2) authentic problems, (3) real-
world problems, (4) learner-centered learning, (5) active learning, (6) cooperative learning, and (7) customized instruction to meet the
individual learner’s needs. These strategies engage the learner in some form of mental activity, have the learner examine that mental
activity and select the best solution, and challenge the learner to explore other ways to accomplish the task or the problem.
It should be remembered that critical thinking skills should be taught in the context of subject matter. Learners progress from simple
to complex; therefore, they need some information before they can think about a subject beyond rote learning. For example, knowing
that compliance with the weight and balance limits of any aircraft is critical to flight safety may not help an aviation learner interpret
weight and balance charts unless he or she also knows something about the concept of a center of gravity.
If the learner does not yet have much subject matter knowledge, they can draw on past experiences to gain entry into complex
concepts. For example, most learners probably played on a seesaw during their childhood. Thus, they have a basic experience of how
weight and balance works around a center of gravity.
Additionally, HOTS should be emphasized throughout a program of study for best results. For aviation, this means HOTS should be
taught in the initial pilot training program and in every subsequent pilot training program. Instructors need to teach the cognitive skills
used in problem-solving until these techniques become automated and transferable to new situations or problems. Cognitive research
has shown the learning of HOTS is not a change in observable behavior but the construction of meaning from experience.
Scenario-Based Training (SBT)
At the heart of HOTS lies scenario-based training (SBT) which is an example of the PBL instructional method and facilitates the
enhancement of learning and the development and transference of thinking skills. SBT provides more realistic decision-making
opportunities because it presents tasks in an operational environment; it correlates new information with previous knowledge, and
introduces new information in a realistic context.
SBT is a training system that uses a structured script of “real-world” scenarios to address flight-training objectives in an operational
environment. Such training can include initial training, transition training, upgrade training, recurrent training, and special training.
The instructor should adapt the scenarios to the aircraft, its specific flight characteristics and the likely flight environment, and should
always require the learner to make real-time decisions in a realistic setting. The scenarios should always be planned and led by the
learner (with the exception of the first flight or two or until the learner has developed the necessary skills).
SBT not only meets the challenge of teaching aeronautical knowledge to the application level of learning, but also enables th e
instructor to teach the underlying HOTS needed to improve ADM. The best use of scenarios draws the learner into formulating
possible solutions, evaluating the possible solutions, deciding on a solution, judging the appropriateness of that decision and finally,
reflecting on the mental process used in solving the problem. It causes the learner to consider whether the decision led to the best
possible outcome and challenges the learner to consider other solutions.
SBT scenarios help learners better understand the decisions they have to make and also helps focus the learner on the decisions and
consequences involved. It is being used to train people in everything from emergency response to hotel management. The strength of
SBT lies in helping the learner gain a deeper understanding of the information and in the learner improving his or her ability to recall
the information. This goal is reached when the material is presented as an authentic problem in a situated environment that allows the
learner to “make meaning” of the information based on his or her past experience and personal interpretation.
SBT has become one of the primary methods to teach today’s aviation learners how to make good aeronautical decisions which in
turn enhances the safety of all aviation related activities. For information on how to create an SBT lesson, refer to Chapter 5, The
Teaching Process, and for how to incorporate SBT into a training syllabus, refer to Chapter 7, Planning Instructional Activity.
Perceptions
Initially, all learning comes from perceptions, which are directed to the brain by one or more of the five senses: sight, hearing, touch,
smell, and taste. Psychologists have also found that learning occurs most rapidly when information is received through more than one
sense. [Figure 3-5]
Figure 3-5. Most learning occurs through sight, but the combination of sight and hearing accounts for about 88 percent of all
perception.
Perception involves more than the reception of stimuli from the five senses; it also involves a person giving meaning to sensations.
People base their actions on the way they believe things to be. The experienced AMT, for example, perceives an engine malfunction
quite differently than does an inexperienced learner. This occurs because the beginning aviation learner is overwhelmed by stimuli
and often focuses on meaningless things, thus missing key information. It is important for the instructor to direct trainee’s perceptions
initially so that the learner detects and perceives relevant information.
Real meaning comes only from within a person, even though the perceptions, which evoke these meanings, result from external
stimuli. The meanings, which are derived from perceptions, are influenced not only by the individual’s experience, but also by many
other factors. Knowledge of the factors that affect the perceptual process is very important to the aviation instructor because
perceptions are the basis of all learning.
Factors that Affect Perception
Both internal and external factors affect an individual’s ability to perceive:
⦁ Physical organism
⦁ Goals and values
⦁ Self-concept
⦁ Time and opportunity
⦁ Element of threat