Flight Training - July 2015 - 49

INSTRUCTOR REPORT

A mind-altering experience
Find the core concept in any aviation subject
» By Rod Machado

DURING THE MID-1970S, many
young people had mind-altering
experiences inspired by smoke
from tiny crumpled cigarettes. Mine was smoke-free. It
occurred while teaching a lesson
on VOR navigation to private
pilot students. All I did was mention the word "radial" before the
word "course." The result? It was
as if each student had an Etch-aSketch mind that had just been
vigorously shaken. They were
confused. What kind of demonic
power does a word have that it
can apparently turn nav knowledge into nonsense as it enters a
student's noggin?
Fortunately, there were no
demons in the classroom that
day, but there was a valuable
lesson to be learned there. My
assumption was that by presenting information-regardless of
how it was presented-students
would learn. Sometimes that's
true, but it's not a guarantee that
students would learn quickly or
even efficiently.
Before my instructional epiphany, my strategy was to discuss
VOR radials first, then talk about
how pilots track to VOR stations
on reciprocal (course) headings
to those radials. This requires
students to hold two abstract
concepts in their noggins at the
same time (radials "from" and
courses "to" a station). Since the
core objective of the lesson was
to teach how to navigate to and
from a VOR station, there was
no reason to discuss radials until
much later in the lesson.
That's when I began approaching every lesson by asking
myself: How can I teach the core
concepts quickly? My assump-

tion was that if the core concepts
were taught quickly, then my
presentation had greater focus
and contained fewer distractions.
Of course, additional information could be incorporated into
any lesson once its core concepts
were understood.
The core concept of VOR
navigation involves navigating
to and/or from a VOR station
using the omni display's needle
and ambiguity indicator. This
requires pilots to use their course
selector to choose any one of the
360 courses available to them.

This principle applies to teaching anything. For instance, the
core concept associated with
understanding cloud clearance
and visibility minimums involves
the rate and speed at which
aircraft use a particular class
of airspace. The core concept
associated with understanding
meteorology involves knowledge
of how uneven heat distribution
across the Earth's surface results
in common weather phenomena.
Every lesson has core concepts.
Your job as a teacher is to find
a way to present them without

WHAT KIND OF DEMONIC POWER DOES A WORD
HAVE THAT IT CAN APPARENTLY TURN NAV
KNOWLEDGE INTO NONSENSE AS IT ENTERS
A STUDENT'S NOGGIN?
To teach this concept quickly,
it's best to speak in terms of
VOR courses (e.g., a 274-degree
course to and from the station)
and avoid discussing VOR radials
until the latter part of the
lesson. Trying to understand
how to navigate to a VOR station
on something that radiates from
it (a radial) while using reciprocal headings is like eating a
snow cone too fast-it hurts the
brain.
Presenting the core concepts
quickly allows me to teach any
topic more efficiently. In the case
of VOR navigation, I could teach
the concept in 10 minutes to any
motivated listener. (Just to be
clear here, there's much more to
VOR navigation than just core
concepts. That's why a thorough
lesson on VOR navigation might
take an hour.)

confusing your students. Thereafter, you can use these concepts
as the foundation for higher
knowledge to be added later in
the lesson.
The next time you're asked to
teach a lesson, ask yourself: How
can I teach its core concepts
quickly? Then teach at any rate
that pleases you. At least you'll
have identified and eliminated
ideas that could prevent your
students from grasping the lesson's core concepts. And, as a
precaution to ensure efficient
learning, advise your students
to avoid shaking their heads
too vigorously as they leave the
classroom.
Rod Machado is a flight instructor,
author, educator, and speaker.
Check out his CFI affiliate program
(www.rodmachado.com).

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