Aviation Instuctor's Handbook

[jxdrl]

So I've started some studying to start on my way to becoming an instructor and am reading this book. I started it a few months ago, before I finished my Commercial, but it is a little difficult to get through.

I have the habit of studying for my next rating (usually to get the written accomplished early) when I am close to finishing my current one (Instrument during Private, Commercial during Instrument, etc.) but that's not really important.

I have found this book to be very repetitive and wrought with acronyms and abbreviations. Now, I know this is common practice in aviation but rather annoying to see, for example, "collaborative assessment (LCG)" on page 8-11 with no explanation or even need for this acronym. I know this is "Learner-Centered Grading" from previous reading and am familiar with most acronyms from forum readings and being involved in the industry for the last few years.

I know some will say that this is an outdated resource and I'm sure it is with the teaching concepts. I can also tell that they quickly added on new information at the end of chapters with regard to the new standards and technology.

But it is the official FAA resource...

How does everyone else feel about this? Instructors?

I'm not worried about the tests and am going to watch some Jeppesen DVDs for another perspective but this book could stand to be consolidated and updated IMO (an initialism thrown in for good measure).

 

[poadeleted20]

I think we instructors pretty much agree that it is not well-written, but the concepts in it are extremely important for successful instruction. My personal feelings towards that book have mellowed some over the years -- when I first read it, I thought it was junk, but after 37 years as a flight instructor, more and more of it makes absolute sense. The problem is getting from the very stilted FAA writing style to practical application of those concepts. That's one reason I recommend that prospective CFI's try to take a "Teaching 101" course from the Education Department at their local college.

 

[jxdrl]

I think we instructors pretty much agree that it is not well-written, but the concepts in it are extremely important for successful instruction. My personal feelings towards that book have mellowed some over the years -- when I first read it, I thought it was junk, but after 37 years as a flight instructor, more and more of it makes absolute sense. The problem is getting from the very stilted FAA writing style to practical application of those concepts. That's one reason I recommend that prospective CFI's try to take a "Teaching 101" course from the Education Department at their local college.

I already understand that the concepts in it are worthwhile. That's one step in the right direction. I did notice that I've found many of the concepts when I've encountered good training so the book isn't terribly bad, just it's delivery.

Education and teaching are an art.

 

[dmccormack]

I'm very happy Ron said "Teaching 101" and not "Education 101" course!

As Jacques Barzun said in Teacher in America, "Education is the dullest of subjects and I wish to say as little about it as possible..."

He preferred teaching, as it was -- to him -- an art form.

The Aviation Instructor's Handbook attempts to distill an art into testable parts.

Sure, it helps to re-calibrate on some important points, but the single most important rule in teaching is to know your student, and help him teach him/herself.

As Barzun also said: "The truth is, when all is said and done, one does not teach a subject, one teaches a student how to learn it."

 

[Tristar]

I agree with Ron. It's difficult to understand where all of that applies to real instructing. Truth be told, the checkride on instructing theory based on that book's concepts is very brief. When you start instructing one of the first concepts you'll experience is primacy which is an example of what you'll read in that book. The book itself, granted, is very dry and seems to be a primer for psychology students but just like with anything you've read up to this point...take what you like, leave what you don't for the real world, and remember what you can for the checkride.

 

[ScottJ]

Yep, unless you are already a Teacher and learned this information in college it can be a tough one. I have found the best way to learn this type of material is in a group session, ground school.

Better yet, invite a local teacher or college professor to come and be the guest speaker for a session. The goal is to learn the material, not just pass the FAA Knowledge Test.

 

[kwoody7]

I had the FAA-H-8083-9 1999 Aviation Instructor's Handbook. It was not very good. I think it replaced the "Red Book" used in the past. I read it and it seemed pretty badly written for a teacher's handbook. There is a newer version on the FAA website and it is a lot better. FAA-H-8083-9A 2008 is much better. It also contains better coverage of CRM, student critiques and a better flow to the more rote memory stuff.

I took the FOI and the Advanced Ground Instructor test and went to the FSDO and had those added to my certificate. Now when I go for the CFI Oral the Ground Instructor verifies that I passed the FOI. In other words there should be no "What you missed on the FOI". I hope.

Good Luck

 

[jxdrl]

I had the FAA-H-8083-9 1999 Aviation Instructor's Handbook. It was not very good. I think it replaced the "Red Book" used in the past. I read it and it seemed pretty badly written for a teacher's handbook. There is a newer version on the FAA website and it is a lot better. FAA-H-8083-9A 2008 is much better. It also contains better coverage of CRM, student critiques and a better flow to the more rote memory stuff.

I took the FOI and the Advanced Ground Instructor test and went to the FSDO and had those added to my certificate. Now when I go for the CFI Oral the Ground Instructor verifies that I passed the FOI. In other words there should be no "What you missed on the FOI". I hope.

Good Luck

I am planning on doing the same thing - getting my AGI before the CFI ride. Hopefully, this will shorten the oral a bit or maybe it will backfire when they say I should already be a decent teacher since I am a ground instructor. Oh well... It takes experience to teach so I need to start somewhere.

 

[dmccormack]

Hopefully, this will shorten the oral a bit or maybe it will backfire when they say I should already be a decent teacher since I am a ground instructor. Oh well... It takes experience to teach so I need to start somewhere.

Say those words, and I guarantee a long, arduous oral exam.

A good teacher is aware there is more to learn.

A great teacher knows she will never know enough.

 

[jxdrl]

Say those words, and I guarantee a long, arduous oral exam.

A good teacher is aware there is more to learn.

A great teacher knows she will never know enough.

Oh I understand that. I am but a young grasshopper. I don't plan on digging a hole.

 

[kwoody7]

Also consider that during the entire oral and check ride the applicant must demonstrate instructional knowledge and ability to instruct. The PTS states this several times. I have been told that the examiner may dwell on the FOI or refer to it generally through out the test. I must also say that teaching ground students is a very good way to prepare for the CFI oral. Your results may vary. It helps me get my pace and delivery together. I'm still a ways out from the check ride. >$$

 

[EdFred]

Bah. They, the FAA overanalyzes and is way too complex in how they approach instruction. I showed the FOI to 2 or 3 different teachers, and they all agreed - it is pretty much crap.

Teaching is like sales, you've got to relate to your customer/student more than anything. If you can't connect with them, you are going to have a difficult time teaching, well, anything. Make sure you can relate flying concepts to something the student already understands. Make it enjoyable, make it memorable, and make them wanting more. The FOI makes a great firestarter once your checkride is done, and that's about all I consider it good for. Of course it also helped I had already been instructing martial arts and golf prior to picking up that pile of dung. Had I used the FOI, I would have been about as great of a teacher as Ben Stein's character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

 

[Ted]

I'm not a big fan of the FOI, but for your CFI exam, that's what they'll be looking for.

Ed's right - to get people interested and hooked, you need to make it a fun and memorable experience that they'll want more of. My instructor was great at those things for me, and as a result, I guess I fly a little bit (over 400 hrs this year so far) and think this flying thing is pretty cool. I was a hard sell, too. I hated planes and wanted nothing to do with them.

Just remember - you're always learning. My students teach me a lot. My new student yesterday (who now has 2 hours) said she obviously had a lot left to learn. I said "At a hair under 1000 hours, I have a lot to learn, too, so you're in good company." That made her feel good.

 

[jmcsherry]

Ed is right only to the extent that he reminds us to connect with the student. Much of how that is accomplished is described in the Handbook. Yes, the writing is stilted and formal; it is aimed at professional instructors, not fifth-graders who are reluctant to read anything more demanding than the Sunday funnies. I first saw the older "Red Book" as a veteran of thirty years as a classroom teacher, curriculum writer, and supervisor of student teachers. Much of what I found there described the same sound principles that I had learned as a student teacher, and honed through years of practice. A newly minted CFI will probably go through the same progression.
Aside from the hard truth that those very Laws and Principles will be tested in your oral portion, there are indeed some useful concepts to be found in the Instructors Handbook. If one has no prior experience in guiding someone else's learning a new topic, an awareness of things like Primacy and Recency will be helpful.
The newer version was what I used the first time I trained a CFI, and it is better than the older one, without doubt. But the principles are the same (gee, is that because human learning is the same?).

The notion of getting some practice as a ground instructor is one that sounds like a good idea. I have not had an opportunity to test it out with any CFI candidates yet, since little Part 61 outfits often do not have formal ground school classes with group instruction. But I'd say, give it a try if the chance arises.