Application of the Lesson
Application is student use of the instructor’s presented material. If it is a classroom presentation, the student may be asked to explain the new material. If it is a new flight maneuver, the student may be asked to perform the maneuver that has just been demonstrated. In most instructional situations, the instructor’s explanation and demonstration activities are alternated with student performance efforts. Usually the instructor has to interrupt the student’s efforts for corrections and further demonstrations. This is necessary because it is very important that each student perform the maneuver or operation the right way the first few times to establish a good habit. Faulty habits are difficult to correct and must be addressed as soon as possible. Flight instructors in particular must be aware of this problem since students often do a lot of their practice without an instructor. Only after reasonable competence has been demonstrated should the student be allowed to practice certain maneuvers on solo flights. Periodic review and assessment by the instructor is necessary to ensure that the student has not acquired any bad habits.
As the student becomes proficient with the fundamentals of flight and aircraft maneuvers or maintenance procedures, the instructor should increasingly emphasize ADM as a means of applying what has been previously learned. For example, the flight student may be asked to plan for the arrival at a specific non-towered airport. The planning should take into consideration the wind conditions, arrival paths, communication procedures, available runways, recommended traffic patterns, and courses of action in the event the unexpected occurs. Upon arrival at the airport the student makes decisions (with guidance and feedback as necessary) to safely enter and fly the traffic pattern.
Assessment of the Lesson
Before the end of the instructional period, the instructor should review what has been covered during the lesson and require the students to demonstrate how well the lesson objectives have been met. Review and assessment are integral parts of each classroom, and/or flight lesson. The instructor’s assessment may be informal and recorded only for the instructor’s own use in planning the next lesson for the students, or it may be formal. More often, the assessment is formal and results recorded to certify the student’s progress in the course. Assessment is explored in more detail in the next category.