CFI Instrument Practical Test Standards, FAA-S-8081-9B, June 2001

I. Fundamentals of Instructing

B. Human Behavior and Effective Communication

1. Human Behavior
   a. Contol of human behavior
   1) Instructor modifies the behavior of students in guiding them toward a goal
   2) Students recognize and submit to instructor as symbol of authority as a means of valid control
   3) Instructor's challenge is to know what controls are best for what circumstances with what students
   4) Motivation and human nature
   
   a) Work is as natural as play or rest
   b) Most students will exercise self-control in pursuit of goals
   c) Commitment is related to reward (especially, ego satisfaction)
   d) Students learn to seek responsibility
   e) Imagination and creativity are widespread traits
   f) People use only part of their intellectual potential
   g) Instructor is responsible for discovering how to realize student potential
   
   5) The effective instructor molds solid, healthy, productive relationships with students
   b. Human needs
   1) Developing solid, healthy, productive relationships with students depends on instructor's knowledge of them as human beings with needs, drives, desires
   2) Maslow's hierarchy of human needs
   
   a) Physical needs: food, rest, exercise, protection from elements
   b) Safety needs: protection from danger, threat, deprivation
   c) Social needs: friendship and love
   d) Egoistic needs: self-esteem, reputation
   e) Self-fulfillment: continued development, creativity
   
   3) Instructors should help students satisfy their human needs in a manner that will create a healty learning environment
   4) Aiding another in reaching self-fulfillment is a most rewarding accomplishment
   
   c. Defense mechanisms
   1) Defense mechanisms are subconscious reactions to unpleasant situations
   2) Defense mechanisms involve some self-deception and distortion of reality
   3) Types of defense mechanisms
   a) Compensation - disguise a weak or undesirable quality by emphasizing a more positive one
   b) Projection - relegate blame for mistakes or attribute characteristics to others
   c) Rationalization - substitute excuses for reasons to justify otherwise unacceptable actions
   d) Denial of reality - ignore or refuse to acknowledge unpleasant realities
   e) Reaction formation - protect from dangerous desires by developing conscious attributes and behavior patterns that are just the opposite
   f) Flight - physical or mental (e.g. daydreaming, fantasy) escape
   g) Aggression - may be expressed in subtle ways (asking irrelevant questions, refusing to participate in or disrupting activities)
   h) Resignation - giving up
   
   4) Instructor can help by using common sense and talking over the problem to restore motivation and self-confidence
   
   d. The flight instructor as a practical psychologist
   1) Be able to evaluate student personality
   2) Anxiety
   a) A state of mental uneasiness arising from fear (of anything real or imagined)
   b) The most significant psychological factor affecting flight instruction
   c) When introducing maneuvers most frequently associated with anxiety (e.g. stalls), explain not only aerodynamic principles but also carefully describe the sensations to be expected and the recovery procedures
   d) Minimize by emphasizing the benefits and pleasurable experiences
   e) Treat fear as a normal reaction (don't ignore it)
   f) Safe flying practices should be presented as conducive to satisfying, efficient, uninterrupted operations
   3) Normal reactions to stress
   a) Physiologic "fight or flight" syndrome
   b) Individual thinks rationally, responds rapidly and exactly (and, often, automatically) within the limits of her/his experience and training
   4) Abnormal reactions to stress
   a) Inappropriate reactions
   i) Extreme overcooperation
   ii) Painstaking self-control
   iii) Inappropriate laughter or singing
   iv) Very rapid changes in emotions
   b) Marked changes in mood on different lessons such as excellent morale followed by deep depression
   c) Severe anger directed at the flight instructor, service personnel, and others
   5) Flight instructor actions regarding seriously abnormal students
   a) Flight instructor has moral and legal responsibility not to certify student with serious psychological abnormality and to assure that such a student does not become certified as a pilot
   b) If instructor believes that a student has a serious psychological abnormality:
   i) Confer with another instructor who is unacquainted with the student and will conduct an evaluation flight, and then determine together whether further investigation is justified
   ii) Initiate informal discussion with local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) suggesting that student may be unsafe psychologically
   iii) Discuss possibility of further examination of student with local aviation medial examiner (AME), preferably the one who issued student's medical certificate
   c) Authorizations and recommendations must be withheld if instructor believes that student suffers a serious psychological deficiency after consulting with an unbiased instructor, the FSDO, and the AME.
2. Effective Communication
   a. Basic elements of communication
   1) Effectiveness of communication is measured by the similarity between the idea transmitted and the idea received
   2) The process of communication is composed of three elements: the source (speaker, instructor), the symbols (words or signs), and the receiver (listener, reader, student).
   3) Sources
   a) Use language that is meaningful to listeners and readers
   b) Reveal a positive attitude, confidence in the subject and show that message is important for the student
   c) Use the most current and interesting information
   4)Symbols
   a) Symbols are words (and gestures and facial expressions) combined into units (sentences, lectures, chapters) that mean something to the student
   b) Modify symbols depending on feedback from students
   c) Students need feedback from instructor to inform them of their progress and provide motivation
   5) Receiver
   a) Effective communication has taken place when students (receivers) react with understanding and change behavior according to the intent of the instructor
   b) Instructor needs to understand students' abilities, attitudes and experiences
   c) Mold attitudes into forms that promote reception of information
   d) Use a varied communicative approach to reach the most students
   e) Student's experiences, background and educational level will determine the approach an instructor takes
   b. Barriers to effective communication
   1) Lack of common experience
   2) Confusion between the symbol and the symbolized object
   3) Overuse of abstractions
   4) Interference
   a) Physiological (e.g. hearing loss, illness)
   b) Environmental (e.g. noise)
   c) Psychological (e.g. fear, mistrust)
   c. Developing communication skills
   1) Role playing
   2) Instructional communication
   a) Know the subject well
   b) Use examples of past experiences to illustrate points
   c) Use some sort of evaluation to determine level of understanding
   3) Listening
   a) Develop and teach an attitude of wanting to listen
   b) Use technics to enhance listening ability
   i) Do not interrupt
   ii) Do not judge
   iii) Think before answering
   iv) Be close enough to hear
   v) Watch nonverbal behavior
   vi) Be aware of biases
   vii) Look for underlying feelings
   viii) Concentrate
   ix) Avoid rehearsing answers while listening
   x) Do not insist on the last word
   c) Teach students how to listen
   i) Be ready to listen
   ii) Be responsible for listening
   iii) Listen to understand, not refute
   iv) Be emotionally calm
   v) Listen for main ideas
   vi) Take notes
   vii) Guard against daydreaming
   4) Questioning
   a) Good questions can determine how well a student understands
   b) Tools to confirm mutual understanding:
   i) Paraphrasing
   ii) Perception checking
   5) Instuctional enhancement - the deeper the knowledge, the better the instructor is at conveying information in that area

Reference: Aviation Instructor's Handbook, FAA-H-8083-9, 1999

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