Yeah, probably just need to get up in the air.
The lesson plan creation process is a lot of paperwork, it can be a bit monotonous, and I had a hard time getting started with it. I had to get into the flow of looking at an area of operation or task, outlining the important points, adding in anecdotes and illustrations and whatever special emphasis I wanted...and building a lesson from that. My first few turned into 12 page papers and I realized I needed to work on brevity
Yes yes yes, this.
I think the whole way we go about suggesting people study for the CFI is woefully inadequate. When I asked (And I asked a lot!) the most common answer was either "study everything." or "write a set of lesson plans for private and a set for comm.".
I now disagree.
Here's what I think you need to know:
- You will (
should) be tested (
only) on the elements of the tasks contained within the CFI PTS.
- There is a tremendous overlap between the commercial and private PTSes, and the CFI PTS 'fills in the gaps'
- Every piece of knowledge you will need to know for the CFI practical test will branch off from the elements in the CFI PTS
- Every piece of knowledge you require is contained in the 'References' list for each element
So here's what I think you need to do:
-
For each task in each Area of Operations in the PTS, including the FOI AO,
create a new document, then sit down with
all the reference material listed and write up a
summary of what you'd like to convey. Make sure every element listed is adequately covered, along with anything you would particularly like to emphasize. You do NOT need to include details here—just a summary of bullet points, in your own words and in your own structure. These 'anchor' your discussion, but you'll be presenting the material from your own knowledge and experience. If you're less-than-completely familiar with the material, this is a good time to read it again thoroughly. Put this material together as if you were going to be teaching from it. You are.
-
Think of ways to describe these things in simple terms that anyone can relate to, where possible, using your own experience and knowledge, and use that to refine your bullet points.
-
Make another pass at each 'Task' document and consider the ways that you might turn the 'lecture' into a scenario-based discussion, or otherwise use a realistic situation to frame the dialog and keep the student involved. Emphasize planning, decision-making and judgement. Once again, you only need enough of a framework to speak from or use as a basis. For example:
runway incursion avoidance/airport surface operations:
(Grab a taxi diagram of ORD, plot a complex taxi route from the GA ramp and stick it in your document. Make notes, such as):
- Roleplay ground control issuing taxi instructions to student.
- Emphasize: have airport diagram, write down clearances
- What if?
- Determine how to proceed with an airport diagram
- What if?
- Brief hotspots
- What if?
- Progressive taxi / getting help
- ... etc
- Read back of hold short instructions, runway assignments, runway crossing instructions.
- What to do if you get confused
- Signage enroute
- Airport surface markings encountered (And have examples, or cite sections of the PHAK/AIM to reference so that you can go directly there)
- Operation: Lights On
- After landing
- Parallel runways
- Landing on
- Crossing
- Holding short of approaches to
- LAHSO operations
- Not required to accept: 'Unable';
- Must comply if accepted
- ALD
- ... etc.
-
Go back through and add a 'motivation' snippet for each task relevant to the rationale behind learning the task, with a nod to the constraints of the FOI. "How can I make this task resonate? How can I supplement this information and make it sing? How can I present this so that I demonstrate an attitude which will encourage sound judgement from the start?"
-
Make a final pass to put things into the FAA-recommended lesson-plan format, including supplemental materials, printouts from FAA (or other) sources, training aids, anecdotes, things that make it -your- lesson and not someone else's lesson. (While tempering that with the adage that 'an unfamiliar instructor with the requisite subject matter expertise should be able to teach from your lesson plan'...)
That's how I recommend you approach writing your lesson plans. Not only will you have material to teach from for any lesson that arises, you will also reinforce the mental structure you want to use to teach the material, and very likely reinforce your understanding of the material itself. It can be refined later, of course, as experience changes your outlook.
Once you've made a pass at your lesson plans, try teaching from them. That is: print them out or reference them on a computer, but try to only glimpse (recall "glance" versus "stare") at the material to remind yourself of where you are and where you want to go next, and let your experience do the talking. I mean, you're going to teach this stuff, after all! If you find yourself rattling on for too long, practice reeling that back in—as you would with a student—or if you don't feel that you've wandered, consider that the bullet point that led you to that is too broad, vague or unfocused.
Try it on camera. Try it on people. Teach your little brother how to navigate. Teach the guy you met online a few years ago about basic aerodynamics over skype. You may be surprised at how willing random people are to learn something new about something interesting. Refine your bullet points ('elements') until everything flows naturally from them.
Anyway, boy that was long. Sorry for all that!
~Fox
