It seems I just don't understand the subject because it would appear that with the " Right " lesson plan notes you can launch into being a real competent instructor right out of the box, so to speak.
I am of the opinion that the experience level requirements are far to low for new instructors...and my personal observations are that the quality of pilots that are churned out are an indication of poor instruction in many cases...
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And for sure I am seen as the Anti-Christ by a lot of instructors in Canada and quite frankly I don't really give a dam what you think.
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The most difficult thing about flying is knowing when to say no.
After over a half a century of flying I can not remember even one trip that I refused to do that resulted in someone getting killed because of my decision not to fly.
Charlie and Pugster. I have to say that it is SHOCKING for me to read your posts. All the $h!t disturbers must be away on holidays! Thank you.
In regards to this whole thread... the reason I posted it is because I'm sitting at 250 hours and no prospects of a flying job. I have done some teaching in my past (non aviation) and believe me, I know what you're saying! The reason I want a few lesson plans is because I haven't started the instructor training. I don't know if I really want to do it. I was told that notes take up a large portion of time in regards to obtaining the license so I want to see: 1. what "notes" look like. At best I have no intention of going to a school until after the new year, but I may want to start on the notes ahead of time. 2. How much information would you need to put into "stalls" for example. What did someone else put in that I haven't thought of.
I understand that each person will have their own way of doing things but "I" believe it wouldn't hurt to look at a couple peoples ideas and draw from them something that will work for me.
Anyway, THANK YOU all for the posts. I want to wish you and yours a Very Merry Christmas!
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Every war when it comes, or before it comes, is represented not as a war but as an act of self-defense against a homicidal maniac. George Orwell
Disclaimer: The above post was not meant to offend anyone.
I know everyone says "you have to build you own so you learn what you are talking about", which is BS. All they are are a reminder of what you have to teach for that lesson. I think the best thing in the world would be if lesson plans were made by the CFI for each school and each instructor got a copy. Sort of like an OPS Manual that keeps everyone marching in the same direction. You could go flying with any instructor or do a ground with any instructor at a school and you'd not notice almost any difference.
The above makes way too much sense and is way to easy, therefore it will never be implemented
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The most difficult thing about flying is knowing when to say no.
After over a half a century of flying I can not remember even one trip that I refused to do that resulted in someone getting killed because of my decision not to fly.
There's nothing wrong with using someone else's lesson plans as a template for your own. I give my instructor candidates my lesson plans to work from. I let them use them as is, or modify them, or ignore them altogether.
As for me, when I instruct I usually found it difficult to just teach directly off of someone elses lesson plans so I have to make up my own (gives me a better idea of how a lesson will flow). PM me with your e-mail if you'd like and I'll send you my PGI notes.
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I'm just two girls short of a threesome.
FWIW: when you're starting out instructing, lesson plans are
important to you as an instructor because they help you
structure something you haven't done very much before.
A time goes on, like training wheels on your first bicycle,
they become less and less important to you.
But as you get more experience, they are still helpful because
they make sure that you don't forget to mention anything
important.
This is the biggest thing that worries me as an instructor:
what did I forget to cover?
After you've been flying for a while, a lot of stuff becomes
really obvious to you, that you wouldn't even mention. Like
walking. Left foot, right foot.
But they won't be obvious to a newbie.
There are an awful lot of important details in aviation. The
student might not remember them all after he's finished, but
you sure as heck should try to teach them, IMHO.
P.S. I have only given a couple thousand hours of dual
instruction - there are plenty of people here who have
done a lot more than that!
pm me your email and ill give you acouple of my better ones. as for what info has to be in them. for your rating anyway you have to cover everything in the flight instructor guide . lesson plans will give you an idea as to how to set up the lessons but the FIG will tell you what to put go download the pdf from the transport website.
My opinions didn't mean any disrespect to the Legends out there, that actually make the real difference in shaping the next generation pilots.
There are pilots out there (like yourself) with tonnes of real-world experience, whom actually does most of the core work in putting solid core skills into the next generation young pilots. People like these are so good at what they do, can spot a hard landing coming before the student turns final. Now whether these abilities are inherited through blood line, or just raw hard time experience, I am in no position to question.
As for the way the Training System is structured by the governing body, I am also in no position nor the experience to comment on. All I know is, when an experience pilot like yourself speaks, it is time for me to listen... in your case, I read. Then soak in as much as I can, and implement those information as I see fit, whenever I can. I have no doubt at all to your abilities to teach, as I once had the honor of flying with someone with similar experience and style. Heck, from what I read from your posts, you remind me of him. What I learnt from him, play a large role in my endless journey of trying to become a safe and skill pilot.
But I have to admit, the current structure of the training system in Canada, gave me my initial chance of hope. I, like countless many other, was once those "low-time, and inexperienced" pilot, trying to teach other people how to fly. I entered the flight training field only because I couldn't afford the Multi-IFR at the time. The Instructor License was my only chance at getting a job doing what I enjoy. Unexpectedly, I ended up in it for almost 8 years, after I discovered how much I enjoy doing it.
If I read your posts correctly, I would interpret it as you disagree with the system of having low-time, inexperienced pilots teaching new pilots how to fly. Once again, when you speak (type), I will not hesitate to listen (read). What you say makes perfect sense...!
But knowing my background now, hope you can understand why I morally cannot agree with you totally, for I am one of those borned out of the same "miss-structured" system that you spoke of. And if I dare go one step further, I would say I am not the only one.
Therefore, please forgive me if I have inadvertantly insinuated that only good instructors uses notes. That was not what I meant. No, having the "Right" lesson plans does NOT launch us into being a super-instructor. But it does gives us a "fighting chance" in learning how to be at least a semi-competent one.
By the end of my teaching career, I too have abandoned my notes many years before that, for I have pretty well learnt how to adapt to different students' needs, and adjusted my training styles and briefings as I saw fit. After all, there were only a few instructional techniques to remember, and I had almost 8 years to memorize them...! (grin)
Wacko...
I believe when you start your Instructor Rating ground school with your Class I, part of it is to build your first teaching notes. Seeing other's notes is one thing, but it usually doesn't mean theirs are good ones.
When I was learning spin initially, for the longest time I had trouble understanding the concept that the aircraft is actually "stalled" while in a spin, and to recover it requires first to "unstall" it. I've watched the Kings Video with aweosme animations, and my instructor pulled out all the models and toys airplanes that he could get his hands on, but to no success in clearing this peanut brain of mine.
Then a new instructor joined the school, and being a newby on the block, he was somewhat free most of the time, and hung out a lot at the school trying to drum up students for himself. I've heard rumors that he wasn't a very "top notch" instructor being that he supposedly had some kind of ego problem that they spoke of. And I had the fortune of running into him by the coffee machine one day, and (I forgot how) we started discussing about Spin. All he did was drawing an awesome 3-D sketch on the back of a used booking sheet, the concept of Spin never haunted me again ever since! Just because of how he drew his sketch of how ONE wing was "stalled" while in a Spin...
I guess what I am trying to say is, if you get a computer whiz like Pugster to show you his highly computerized notes, it may work fine for you if you are as "geeky" as Pugster (just a freindly joke Pug), but if you are like that young instructor that I mentioned that was very good with his sketching on paper, Pugster's notes may seem awesome to have, but eventually may prove non-effective for you.
In the process of building your first instructing notes, your Class I will show you how to build it using the ever-so-important (ooohh, aahh) Instructional Techniques.
In the process, you will learn not only what to include and what to avoid in your lesson plans, but why.
You'll be asked to prepare a classroom ready for teaching, while Pugster would pull out his laptop and projector, you might just simply reach for the model airplane or borrow the cumulonimbus cloud poster from the flight service station.
While Pugster would run through his Power Point slides adjusting his projector to fit perfectly on the while wall, you may instead pre-twist one of the model airplane's fuselage in preparation of demonstrating the consequence of using ailerons and rudder together while recovering from a high-speed spiral dive.
While Pugster shows his students using an Adobe Flash animation why they are learning what they are learning today, you may decide to just simply look your students in the eye and tell them, "if you let your speed exceed that little red line in a dive, your wings will fall off, and you will die!"
While Pugster give his students a little computerize quiz at the beginning of each lesson to determine their level of understanding, you may decide just simply to ask a few strategical questions. You may throw in a few extra questions along the way to make sure you are not getting too far ahead of your students.
Pugster might use flashing red screens on his computerized presentation to emphasize vital points, but you may decide just simply to smash your little Lego airplane on the ground to demonstrate what would happen if a spin is not recovered in time.
While Pugster may have backup Macromedia Director movie in case his Flash animation doesn't get the point across, you may just simply pull out a sketch that you photo-copied out of book, where you can scribble Coard line and Air Flows trying to explain what AOA is.
Pugster may have an awesome animation made in 3-D Studio Max, you may just simply run a short video clip of a Cumulonimbus life cycle that someone uploaded onto YouTube.
While Pugster have music with his presentation to keep his students from falling asleep, you may decide to simply raise your voice or throwing a marker pen at the dozer.
Pugster may use retina scan to detect his student's interest level and switch presentation accordingly, but you may decide to simply look them in the eye and see whether they are red and wet, or bright and round.
While Pugster may use an interactive module in his presentation to maintain student activity, you may simply decide to just ask some questions from time to time.
(Pugster, forgive me. No offense intended in my opinions)
So, simply put... you should make your own notes, it's fun, and you won't regret it. (smile)
Charlie, thanks for taking the trouble of explaining your thoughts on this subject.
I do not pigeon hole anyone here as to what exactly their skills, knowlege or experience is for the simple reason I have no idea who they are.
As to this:
If I read your posts correctly, I would interpret it as you disagree with the system of having low-time, inexperienced pilots teaching new pilots how to fly. Once again, when you speak (type), I will not hesitate to listen (read). What you say makes perfect sense...!
I am not against low time pilots becoming instructors, I do feel there are far to many who become instructors as a stepping stone hours wise to move into the airline sector of flying and they do not really have the desire to teach, thereby cheating their students.
The culture in flight training seems to be that instructing is a fast track into better jobs.
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The most difficult thing about flying is knowing when to say no.
After over a half a century of flying I can not remember even one trip that I refused to do that resulted in someone getting killed because of my decision not to fly.
Flight training in Canada is a joke under it's present rules and TC policies, but what do you expect when you see the morons TC has in flight training?
But for ass kissers in the flight instructing business it is utopia.
Lol i know an instructor who became a multi ifr instructor and his students failed ... one passed recently I think the plan would be a neat thing. Sure the Instructor can improvise if he thinks something fits the knowledge of the briefing and what not, but not just make his own. Many can teach but can't plan lol ... as interesting as it sounds it's true.
Someone already asked this, but I did not see an answer...where is your flight instructor that you have to go to AvCanada for answers.
I have seen flight schools with canned flight plans, particularily with sim and IFR training. Excellent plans but they were not implemented properly and the CFIs did not seem to understand their role in the flight school business.
One thing that would help in all this would be a training program for CFI's. As I understand it in Canada, there is little , if any training done to prepare someone for the operational roles, responsibilities etc. of a CFI.
The other issue is that many new instructors dont connect the dots, so to speak. The lesson plans all have to form one big plan that takes a student from start to finish. And many of the lessons can be practiced and inforced in the memory during times such as transitioning to the practice area and back. Instead, we have instructors, as one posted on a different thread, teaching things that are not on the curriculum but which they feel are important....
So. my advice, is get the big picture, break it down, and then plan....and finally, teach more, test less, and let the student fly. Seems instructors today want to spend a whole bunch of time "demonstrating" and then immediately "testing"
I cam getting off topic. good luck on your rating.
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Accident speculation:
Those that post don’t know. Those that know don’t post
I think it would be great to have a website where instructors new and old could exchange lesson plans. At the end of the day most instructors are trying to teach students to the best of their abilities. If that means using someone else’s plans or creating your own based on someone else's, go for it. I spent a lot of time creating power point presentations for all of the ground briefs. The process of creating the plans was very good for solidifying my own knowledge and ensuring that I could effectively relay the knowledge to my students. My thought was to use my laptop to present the plans but I ended up just printing them all out and keeping them in a binder. I found it a lot quicker to flip open the binder to deliver a lesson. Having the lessons on the computer made it nice for revising the lessons. Unfortunately I had a hard-drive crash and misplaced my backup and lost them all grrr. Luckily I had the print outs in the binder but I have never bothered to redo them on ppt. I did manage to find a couple of my first drafts that I would be happy to share. PM me with email and I'll send them.
Building a Lesson Plan is only a single piece of the Instructor Rating.
Demonstrating your knowlege thru the presentation of the lesson plan is usually what the Class 1 is looking for. Seldom does another's lesson plan work for you.
Why... because everyone has something new to learn on the course. Some people need the presentation experience. Most people, although they are a Commercial Pilot only ever studied enough for a multiple choice exam, and then their knowlege is long gone. Knowlege is supposed to be present at the commencement of the course but it is seldom there. And so this Instructor candidate writes a different lesson plan than the person who needs presentation skills.
Curriculum is another piece of the pie. That's my job.
Flight skills, are sorely lacking at the beginning. Partly because of flying on the right side of the aircraft. But again, people prepare for a flight test, and an instructor candidate has to be able to consistantly fly a broader range of flight skills in teaching and fly to a higher standard than a Commercial pilot candidate on a flight test.
It ends up becoming a unique course for each individual.
And isn't that part of what we all like on all our flight training courses.
Happy New Year!
I think the plan would be a neat thing. Sure the Instructor can improvise if he thinks something fits the knowledge of the briefing and what not, but not just make his own. Many can teach but can't plan lol ... as interesting as it sounds it's true.
