FUNDAMENTALS OF INSTRUCTION

(STUDY GIUDE)

1. THE LEARNING PROCESS


CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNING

¡P Learning can be defined as a change in behavior as a result of experience.


THE LAWS OF LEARNING
¡P The LAW of INTENSITY states that a vivid, dramatic, or an exciting experience teaches more than a routine or boring experience.

¡P The LAW of INTENSITY implies that a student will learn more from the real thing than from a substitute.

PERCEPTION AND INSIGHT
¡P Self-concept, or self-image, has a great influence of the total perceptual process.
¡P Fear or the element of threat narrows the student¡¦s perceptual field. The resulting anxiety may limit a person¡¦s ability to learn from perceptions.
¡P Instruction speeds the learning process by teaching the relationship of perceptions and they occur, thus promoting the development of insights by students.

FORGETTING AND RETENTION
¡P The Theory of Disuse states that a person forgets those things, which are not used.

TRANSFER OF LEARNING
¡P The BUILDING-BLOCK technique of instruction is very effective because each simple task is performed acceptable and correctly before the next learning task is introduced.

LEVELS OF LEARNING
¡P The lowest level of learning, ROTE LEARNING, is the ability to repeat back what one has been taught without necessarily understanding or being able to apply what has been learned.

LEARNING SKILLS AND THE LEARNING CURVE
¡P A LEARNING PLATEAU is the normal and temporary leveling-off of an individual¡¦s learning rate.

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
¡P The greatest single barrier to effective communication is the lack of a common core of experience between the communicator and the receiver.

INSTRUCTOR PROFEEIONALISM
¡P Students will quickly become apathetic when they recognize that the flight instructor is inadequately prepared

2. TEACHING METHODS.

LECTURE METHOD
¡P The lecture is used primarily for introducing students to new subject material; summarizing ideas; showing relationships between theory and practice; and, reemphasizing main points.
¡P Errors in grammar and use of vulgarisms detract from an instructor¡¦s dignity and reflect upon the intelligence of the students.
¡P The distinguishing characteristic of an informal lecture is the active student participation.

GUIDED DISCUSSION METHOD
¡P In the guided discussion, learning is produced through the skillful use of questions.

DEMONSTRATION/PERFORMANCE METHOD

¡P The telling and doing technique of instruction is basically the demonstration/performance method of instruction. This consists of performing several steps in proper order. The order is:
¡P Instructor tells ¡V instructor does
¡P Student tells ¡V instructor does
¡P Student tells - student does
¡P Student does ¡V instructor evaluates

INTEGRATED METHOD OF FLIGHT INSTRUCTION
¡P The primary objective of the integrated flight instruction is to form the habit of patterns for the observance of the reliance on flight instruments.

3. BARRIERS TO LEARNING.

SELF-CONCEPT

¡P Negative self-concept contributes most to a student¡¦s failure to remain receptive to new experiences and creates a tendency to reject additional training.

DEFENSE MECHANISMS

¡P Although defense mechanisms can serve a useful purpose, they can also be a hindrance to learning because they involve some self-deception and distortion of reality.
¡P When a person cannot accept the real reason for his or her own behavior, rationalization permits the substitution of excuses for reasons. Rationalization is a subconscious technique for justifying actions that otherwise would be unacceptable.

THE OVERCONFIDENT OR IMPATIENT STUDENT
¡P The apt student makes few mistakes and may assume that the correction of these mistakes or errors is unimportant. This overconfidence can soon result in faulty performance.
¡P For apt students, the good instructor will constantly raise the standard of performance for each lesson, demanding a greater effort.

4. HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND EFFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION.

MOTIVATION
¡P Negative motivations are those which cause a student to react with fear and/or anxiety.
¡P Negative motivations in the form of reproof and threats should be avoided with all but the most overconfident and impulsive students.
¡P An instructor can most effectively maintain a high level of student motivation by making each lesson a pleasurable experience.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
¡P Effective communication has taken place when, and only when, the receiver reacts with understanding and changes their behavior accordingly.

5. PLANNING INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITY.

COURSE DEVELOPMENT
¡P First you must determine the overall objectives and standards of the course.

ORGANIZATION OF THE MATERIAL
¡P From known to unknown (i.e., building on a student¡¦s previous experiences or knowledge.)

LESSON PLAN
¡P A lesson plan should be prepared in writing for each instructional period, regardless of the instructor¡¦s experience.
¡P Lesson plans help the instructors keep a constant check on their own activity, as well as that of their students.

6. CRITIQUE AND EVALUATION.

THE INSTRUCTOR¡¦S CRITIQUE
¡P To enhance a student¡¦s acceptance of further instruction, the instructor should keep the student informed of the progress made.
¡P A critique should always be conducted immediately after the student¡¦s performance, while the details are easy to recall.
¡P An effective critique is flexible enough to satisfy the requirements of the moment.
¡P Telling students that their work is unsatisfactory with no explanation will most likely result in the student becoming frustrated.

ORAL QUIZZING
¡P Proper quizzing by the instructor can identify points that need more emphasis.

TYPES OF WRITTEN TEST QUESTIONS
¡P The chief disadvantage of the true-false test is that it creates the greatest probability of guessing since the student always has a 50% chance of guessing correctly.
¡P When multiple choice items are intended to measure achievement at a higher level of learning, some or all of the alternatives should be acceptable, but one should be clearly better than the others.
¡P Matching reduces the probability of guessing correct responses compared to a series of multiple choice items covering the same material.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD TEST
¡P A written test that has reliability yields consistent results.