Module 2 · The Learning Process · Lesson 1 of 4
Lesson 2.1How People Learn
Learning is a change in behavior as a result of experience. Two families of theory explain how that change happens.
Learning is a change in behavior as a result of experience (FI.I.B.K1). Learning theory is the body of principles that explains how people acquire skills, knowledge and attitudes. Modern theories grew out of two concepts: behaviorism and cognitive theory.
| Theory | Core idea | In aviation training |
|---|---|---|
| Classical conditioning | An association between a neutral stimulus and a natural one (Pavlov's dog and the metronome). | Rarely used directly. |
| Operant conditioning | An association between a behavior and its consequence. | Positive behavior earns a positive consequence. |
| Social learning (Bandura) | Learning by observation, in four stages: attention, retention, reproduction, motivation. | Learners copy what they see you do, good and bad. |
| Behaviorism | Behavior explained by observable responses to stimuli; rewards and punishment, "carrot and stick." | The instructor provides the reinforcement. Now used more to break bad habits. |
| Cognitive theory | Focuses on what goes on inside the mind: knowing, perceiving, problem solving, deciding. (Dewey, Piaget, Bloom, Bruner) | Learning is a change in how the learner thinks, understands or feels. |
| Information processing | The brain works like a computer: encode, store and retrieve. | The basis for how memory is taught (Module 3). |
| Constructivism | Learners actively build knowledge by matching new information to what they already know. | The basis for HOTS, problem-based learning and scenario-based training. |
A few names come up on the test. John Dewey introduced reflective thought. Jean Piaget described the tension between assimilation (old ideas meeting new situations) and accommodation (changing the old ideas). Jerome Bruner advocated learning from the known to the unknown and the spiral curriculum, which revisits basic ideas in more sophisticated ways. Benjamin Bloom classified levels of thinking into his taxonomy.
Higher order thinking and scenarios
Higher order thinking skills (HOTS) are the top three levels of Bloom's taxonomy: analysis, synthesis and evaluation. In aviation they're called aeronautical decision-making (ADM). A common thread in accidents is the absence of these skills, so they're taught from the first lesson, from simple to complex and concrete to abstract, using real problems.
Scenario-based training (SBT) sits at the heart of HOTS. It uses a structured script of real-world scenarios to meet training objectives in an operational environment, and the learner should plan and lead the scenarios after the first flight or two (FI.I.B.K8). The evaluator will want to see you apply these theories to real ground and flight lessons (FI.I.B.S1).
Which theory is it?
InteractiveMatch the description to the theory.
The instructor praises every well-flown pattern so the learner keeps flying them that way.
The learner relates the new heading indicator to the magnetic compass she already understands and builds her own picture of how it works.
A learner watches the instructor brief and fly a go-around, remembers it, reproduces it, and does it because she wants to fly like him.
A model that compares the brain to a computer that encodes, stores and retrieves information.
Characteristics of learning
Learning is purposeful
Each learner has goals, and learns from anything that furthers them. Relate new learning to the learner's goals.
Learning is a result of experience
The instructor can't learn for the learner. Physical skills need doing; judgment needs realistic problems.
Learning is multifaceted
Verbal, conceptual, perceptual, emotional and problem-solving learning happen at once, including incidental attitudes about aviation.
Learning is an active process
Learners don't soak up knowledge like a sponge. Being present when it was taught doesn't mean they learned it.
Learning styles are preferences, not limits: right brain (spatial, intuitive) or left brain (verbal, analytical), holistic (top-down) or serialistic (bottom-up, step by step), and visual, auditory or kinesthetic. The handbook notes the science is debated; use styles to adjust your presentation, not to label a learner.
Module 2 · The Learning Process · Lesson 2 of 4
Lesson 2.2Perception and Insight
All learning comes from perceptions. Insight is grouping them into meaningful wholes.
Perceptions reach the brain through the five senses. Learning is fastest when more than one sense is involved. Most learning comes through sight, and sight and hearing together account for about 88 percent of all perception.
Perception is more than receiving stimuli; it is giving meaning to them. A beginner is overwhelmed by stimuli and focuses on meaningless things, so the instructor directs the learner's perceptions to what matters.
Factors that affect perception
- PPhysical organism. The apparatus for sensing the world: pilots need to see, hear, feel and respond.
- GGoals and values. Every perception is colored by beliefs and values. Things valued are pursued.
- SSelf-concept. A powerful determinant. A negative self-concept builds psychological barriers that keep the learner from perceiving.
- TTime and opportunity. Proper sequence and time. Stall recovery can't be perceived until normal flight is familiar.
- EElement of threat. Fear narrows the perceptual field to the threatening object.
Threat narrows the perceptual field
InteractiveThe handbook's example: during her first steep turns Beverly fixes on the altimeter and ignores the outside references. The circle is illustrative, not a measurement.
Which factor is at work?
InteractivePick the factor that affects this learner's perception.
A learner who sees himself as "not a natural pilot" stops trying new techniques after one bad landing.
A learner with a head cold can't hear the radio well or feel the airplane through the controls.
A first-time learner tries a stall but can't make sense of the recovery because she hasn't yet learned normal flight.
A learner who values safety above all notices every hint of weather risk in the briefing.
Warned that one more bad landing means a call to the chief pilot, the learner sees only the runway numbers.
Insight
Insight is the grouping of perceptions into meaningful wholes, such as understanding how rpm, power, airspeed and pitch attitude all affect each other. Creating insight is one of the instructor's major responsibilities. It almost always happens eventually, but instruction speeds it up by pointing out relationships as they occur.
- Point out the relationships as they occur.
- Provide a secure, nonthreatening environment.
- Help the learner build and keep a favorable self-concept.
Learning is a psychological process, not necessarily a logical one.
A learner who feels capable sees each new experience as a challenge. A learner who feels overwhelmed sees a threat, and stops perceiving.
Module 2 · The Learning Process · Lesson 3 of 4
Lesson 2.3The Laws of Learning
Thorndike's three laws, plus three added later, apply to all kinds of learning.
E. L. Thorndike formulated the laws of readiness, exercise and effect in the early 20th century. The laws of primacy, intensity and recency were added later. Together they spell REEPIR.
| Law | What it says | What the instructor does |
|---|---|---|
| Readiness | Basic needs met, a clear reason to learn, and the needed knowledge and skill. Learners set aside what they see no need for. | State clear objectives, introduce topics in logical order, leave the learner wanting the next one, and use teachable moments. |
| Exercise | Connections are strengthened with practice and weakened when practice stops. "Use it or lose it." | Practice within real-world context. |
| Effect | Behaviors with satisfying outcomes are repeated; unpleasant outcomes weaken the connection. | Create situations designed to promote success. Praise progress before discussing what to improve. |
| Primacy | What is learned first creates a strong, almost unshakable impression. | Teach it right the first time. |
| Intensity | Immediate, exciting or dramatic learning tied to a real situation teaches more than routine or boring experience. | Use realistic scenarios. |
| Recency | Things most recently learned are best remembered. | Summarize and re-emphasize key points at the end of a lesson. |
A teachable moment is a moment when a learner is especially responsive to being taught something, like deer crossing the runway on final, the perfect moment to stress being ready for a go-around. Recognizing and using them is one of the most important instructor skills. Readiness and effect are also your first defense against a lack of learner motivation (FI.I.B.R2).
Name the law
InteractiveWhich law of learning does each example rely on, or break?
Bill teaches landings on Beverly's first flight. She feels inferior and frustrated.
A learner taught to cross-control in the flare by an earlier instructor keeps doing it under pressure, months later.
Beginning learners ignore trim until they need their hands for other tasks, and then they suddenly want to learn it.
A learner who hasn't flown in four months has lost the feel for slow flight.
A realistic engine-failure scenario on a cross-country is remembered years later.
The instructor ends the ground lesson by restating the three key points on weight and balance.
Before the lesson, the instructor confirms the learner slept and ate, then explains why today's maneuver matters for the checkride.
After a debrief, the learner remembers the last thing said far better than the first.
Module 2 · The Learning Process · Lesson 4 of 4
Lesson 2.4Domains and Levels of Learning
What kind of learning is it, and how deep does it need to go?
Benjamin Bloom grouped learning into three domains: cognitive (thinking), affective (feeling) and psychomotor (doing). Each domain has levels.
| Domain | Covers | Levels (lowest first) |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitive | Knowledge and intellectual skills | Knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation (Bloom's taxonomy) |
| Affective | Feelings, values, attitudes, motivation | Awareness, response, value, organizing, integration |
| Psychomotor | Physical skills and coordination | Practical aviation levels: observation, imitation, practice, habit |
The four practical levels of learning
For aviation instruction, the handbook uses four practical levels: rote, understanding, application and correlation.
- Rote
Repeat what was taught without understanding it. Verbs: define, identify, label.Lowest - Understanding
Put concepts together and explain them. Verbs: describe, estimate, explain. - Application
Apply what was learned and perform it consistently. Verbs: determine, develop, solve. The level where instructors too often stop. - Correlation
Associate what was learned with other blocks of learning, past or future. The objective of aviation instruction.Objective
Stopping at application and moving on to unrelated tasks is piecemeal instruction, which is usually inefficient. In the cognitive domain, the top three Bloom levels are the HOTS:
- Analysis: break information into parts to draw conclusions. Verbs: differentiate, compare, prioritize.
- Synthesis: put parts together into a new whole. Verbs: create, design, plan, formulate.
- Evaluation: make judgments about the merit of ideas or performance.
In the psychomotor domain, the learner observes, imitates under supervision, practices (perhaps solo), and reaches habit when they can perform the skill in twice the time an expert takes.
Which domain, and which level?
InteractiveRead the objective or behavior.
"List the VFR weather minimums for Class E airspace below 10,000 feet MSL."
The learner now volunteers to run a risk assessment before every flight because she believes it matters.
A solo learner flies touch-and-goes to build proficiency, without the instructor aboard.
The learner designs her own plan for arriving at an unfamiliar nontowered airport in a gusty crosswind.
A learner watches the instructor demonstrate a soft-field takeoff.
After a flight, the learner judges whether her go/no-go decision was sound and why.
Correlation is the goal.
A learner who can fly a turn in isolation has reached application. A learner who uses the same turn skills to fly a clean traffic pattern has reached correlation.
Module 2 · The Learning Process · Knowledge Check
Knowledge CheckModule 2 Knowledge Check
10 questions in the style of the FOI knowledge test, each with the reason. Pass mark: 80% (8 of 10).