Aviation Instructor's Handbook (FAA-H-8083-9)  Chapter 5: The Teaching Process  Introduction  What is Teaching?  Process  Essential Teaching Skills  People Skills  5-1  Bob, an aviation maintenance instructor, arrives thirty minutes before a scheduled class to prepare for the lesson he plans to present  that day. A quick visual scan tells him the classroom has good lighting, the desks are in order, and the room presents a neat overall  appearance. He places his lecture notes on the podium, checking to make sure they are all there and in the correct order. Then, he  turns on the computer to ensure the components are working correctly. A quick run of his visual presentation reassures him this  portion of his lecture is ready. Next, he counts the handouts he plans to distribute to the class. By now, learners are beginning to filter  into the classroom. With his preparations complete, Bob is free to greet the learners, chat with them socially, or answer any questions  they might have about the previous class.  Today’s class is Bob’s introductory lecture on aircraft weight and balance. Using a software program, he has created a presentation  featuring examples of safety problems caused by out-of-balance aircraft. He uses these images to introduce the class to the importance  of aircraft weight and balance in safe flying. Then, Bob teaches the class how to compute weight and balance for a generic aircraft.  To reinforce the lecture, Bob divides the class into small groups and distributes handouts which contain sample weight and balance  problems. Working as a group, the learners solve the first weight and balance problem. During this time, Bob and the learners freely  discuss how to figure weight and balance for that particular aircraft. Once the problem is solved, Bob reiterates the steps used to  calculate weight and balance. Now Bob assigns another problem to the learners to be solved independently in class. After each  learner completes this assignment, Bob is confident they will be able to successfully complete the remaining three weight and balance  problems as homework for the next class.  By using a combination of teaching methods and instructional aids, Bob achieves his instructional objective, which is for the learners  to compute weight and balance. In order to present this lesson, Bob has taken the theoretical information presented in previous  chapters—concepts and principles pertinent to human behavior, how people learn, and effective communication—into the classroom.  He has turned this knowledge into practical methodology for teaching purposes. Drawing on previously discussed theoretical  knowledge, this chapter discusses specific recommendations on how to teach aviation learners.  Teaching is to instruct or train. Teachers often complete some type of formal training, have specialized knowledge, have been  certified or validated in some way, and adhere to a set of standards of performance. Defining a “good instructor” has proven more  elusive, but in  The Essence of Good Teaching  (1985), psychologist Stanford C. Ericksen wrote “good teachers select and organize  worthwhile course material, lead learners to encode and integrate this material in memorable form, ensure competence in the  procedures and methods of a discipline, sustain intellectual curiosity, and promote how to learn independently.”$_{ }$ The teaching process organizes the material an instructor wishes to teach in such a way that the learner can understand  it. The  teaching process consists of four steps: preparation, presentation, application, and assessment. Regardless of the teaching or training  delivery method used, the overall sequence remains the same. Much research has been devoted to trying to discover what makes an  effective instructor. This research has revealed that effective instructors come in many forms, but they know how to process four  essential teaching steps mentioned above.  [Figure 5-1]  The remainder of this chapter explores the qualities of effective teachers and the methods used for preparing, presenting applying, and  assessing lesson material and covers various delivery methods in depth.  Four essential skills good teachers have include:  Effective instructors relate well to people. Effective communication, discussed in Chapter 4, underlies people skills. It is important  for instructors to remember:  4. Management skills  3. Assessment skills  2. Subject matter expertise  1. People skills 