4.3 Techniques for Using the More Common Training Aids

This section turns from the rationale and selection of aids to per-aid technique. The thirteen subsections that follow each address one common aid type, with the specific Be-Neat / Be-Consistent / Be-Methodical / Be-Visible disciplines for the whiteboard, the design and presentation techniques for PowerPoint, the playback discipline for video, and the practical handling of every other aid the instructor will encounter in a typical training organisation. The aid types are listed in the order below; sequence is not significance.

#4.3.1 Whiteboard

The Whiteboard is the building block of most practical training in the aviation world. It is used before almost every simulator session. Most briefing rooms have a Whiteboard and therefore it is important to know how to use it effectively, in order to give the training maximum visual impact. It allows the instructor to detail what is expected of the trainee and what their training session is going to be about. It is a constant visual reminder of the training to be conducted during the briefing for both trainee and instructor alike. It allows the instructor to emphasise and reinforce points that they may want to make. Practical use of the Whiteboard cannot be understated, as in a modern era of technology, over reliance of automatics can leave the instructor floundering when all power fails to the systems. Poorly used it can ruin more than it achieves.

When using a whiteboard:

#Be Neat

• Clean the board before the lesson with the correct cleaner.
• Print clearly.
• Practise writing the lines horizontally, without "drooping".

#Be Consistent

• Keep the same writing style and case.
• Use uniform symbols for commonly used diagrams.

#Be Methodical

• Plan the layout; use a sheet of A4 paper to refer to.
• Start top left and work down and across.
• Divide large boards into smaller sections.
• Pre-draw diagrams (neater) if you can.
• Use yellow marks to mark out bullets etc. They cannot be seen from a distance, but give you a neat looking layout that has been pre-planned.
• DO NOT talk to the board. Write the point, and then turn to the class and talk.

Human factors training recommends the use of eye contact in order to communicate more effectively. Facing the audience after writing on the Whiteboard helps to ensure that the information transmitted has been processed and understood. Initial body language from the trainees can be observed and assessed by the instructor in order to determine if the information taught has been understood. It also means that there is less likelihood of having to repeat information due to lack of audio / visual cues.

#Be Visible

• Can the printing be read from the back of the room? (size and colour).
• Use colour for emphasis.
• Underline headings for emphasis.
• Try not to use the very bottom of the board. Bend your knees to get down there to write if necessary.

Most whiteboards also double as magnetic boards. Items are prepared from heavy card with small magnets glued on the back. Using coloured card allows colour to be introduced to the whiteboard.

#4.3.2 Computers (PCs) / Laptops

The use of laptops by students during a lesson is a useful tool. References can be checked, and the students can read from their laptops.

The crew library and the training document library can be used very effectively in this way, replacing the need for hard copy references (books).

Uncontrolled use can however be a problem and must not be allowed to cause loss of attention or distraction from the lesson.

A computer based training (CBT) package allows the trainee to work at his own pace and to revise the information as often as is needed. Simple training packages of this sort can be produced quite easily. The process that they follow is similar to the programmed learning text method of training. Like all other training aids the computer training package must be developed with some degree of professionalism so that it may be effective.

The "uncontrolled use" caveat is what distinguishes a productive trainee laptop from a distracting one. The instructor sets the expectation explicitly at the start of the lesson: laptops are open for the manual lookups and crew-library or document-library references the lesson will use, and closed for everything else. An instructor who does not set the expectation cedes the room's attention to whatever happens to be on each trainee's screen, and the lesson competes for attention with email, news, and instant messaging. The same discipline applies to the 3.12 Student Attention.

#4.3.3 PowerPoint Slideshows

Computer slideshows (e.g. PowerPoint) are perhaps the most widely used (and mis-used) teaching aid in use today. Whilst they can be very effective, they can also be the most distracting if not used correctly.

The use of modern large LCD TV screens or projected images may seem cutting edge and engaging. In reality, however, the use of PowerPoint by most "instructors" is very poor. Unfortunately many instructors simply stand in front of a computer to the side of a screen and read out lines and lines of text from a myriad of slides with little or no interaction with their students. The poor use (or over-use and reliance) of computer slideshows degrades the effectiveness of a lesson to the extent that the lesson may be less illuminating than a well presented lecture (which is widely held as one of the least effective methods of teaching). Well thought out and designed slide-shows can however be very effective training aids when used in an appropriate manner in conjunction with all the other skills and teaching aids an effective teacher has at his disposal.

#Advantages of computer slideshows

• You can present to any size group in a fully lighted room.
• You face your class when using it.
• The "Black Screen" technique directs attention to you or the screen.
• You can reveal material point by point.

#The four fundamental steps in creating slides

1. Select Slide Design.
2. Apply Slide layout.
3. Add text and insert pictures etc.
4. Apply Animation(s) and Transition(s).

#Remember the following points when making your slides

• Lettering should be at least 14 pts.
• The area of a slide image should be no smaller than half the screen.
• Clarity is essential. Everything on the slide should be instantly recognisable. If it is not, it should be labelled.
• Limit each slide to one main point.
• Break paragraphs into sentences, and sentences into phrases and key words.
• Use a maximum of six to eight lines of text and six to eight words per line.
• Titles should generally be at the top and information in the upper two-thirds for better visibility.
• Do not get carried away with complicated slide designs or transitions; they can be very distracting and detract from the message. Keep them simple and clear.
• Try to have a picture to illustrate a point, every few slides. This will break up text and make the lesson more interesting and interactive, especially if you can make a discussion point from it.

Impact is added to visuals with colour. This brings dull subjects to life, makes important elements of the slide stand out and adds definition, clarity and interest to the presentation.

Here are a few simple presentation techniques to follow to give your presentation that professional polish.

#Revelation Transitions Technique

This technique lets you control what your audience sees bit by bit. You keep them from jumping ahead of your commentary by using transitions such that as you proceed, the next line is revealed.

Dimming of previous lines after revelation retains attention on the newly revealed teaching point.

#Black Screen Technique

This focuses attention where you want it. With the use of a black screen you can smoothly and naturally turn the audiences' attention from the screen to you or to some other Training Aid.

#Write On Technique

A mouse can be used as a pen to draw on slides during the presentation.

#Cursor or Laser Pointer Technique

You simply point at the item on the screen. This can be useful with pictures and graphs.

#Overlay Slides Technique

Complicated concepts can be simplified by using this method. The visual is divided into different sections and added to successive slides section by section as the slideshow progresses.

#4.3.4 Practical use of PowerPoint in Simulator Briefs

PowerPoints, if used for checks should be utilised to display regulatory authority requirements. This will guarantee what is expected from the trainee under check. However for training they should be used to reinforce the training already given.

An example of this would be to discuss a malfunction, in order to find out depth of knowledge, and then use the PowerPoint to validate the statements that have been made. This will re-emphasise what is correct and it will also allow for any omissions that may have been made unintentionally.

Interaction is an absolute must for the instructor using the PowerPoint, otherwise the trainee become disengaged from the whole process.

The asymmetry between checks and training above is operationally significant. Under a check, the slide is the standard the trainee is being measured against, so it is shown explicitly: there is no benefit in surprising the trainee with the criterion. Under training, the slide is the answer the trainee is working toward, so it is shown after the attempt: showing it first removes the active-recall step that produces the learning.

#4.3.5 Audio Recordings (Laptop, MP3 player)

Recordings of procedures allow a trainee to learn repetitive procedures such as memory items (TCAS, WINDSHEAR etc.). The recording would give directions for the student to follow in order to complete the procedure. If the student was uncertain about the procedure, he could replay the recording again and again.

Audio recordings sit on the periphery of the modern training-aid set, but they retain a niche advantage: a trainee revising memory items in a hotel room or on a commute does not have the bandwidth to follow a video, but can follow audio. The recording becomes a portable rehearsal partner. The same logic applies to call-out flows and challenge-response sequences that need to become reflexive: hearing the flow read aloud at correct cadence helps the trainee internalise the rhythm in a way silent reading does not.

#4.3.6 Flip Charts

Flip charts can be easily manufactured and used like a small whiteboard. Some of the pages can be pre-planned with diagrams or a list of points.

Flip charts are not so suitable for large groups, are difficult to store, and awkward to transport.

The flip chart's distinctive advantage over the whiteboard is permanence: a sheet that has been written can be turned over and revisited later in the lesson, or kept after the lesson for reference. The disadvantages (group size, storage, transport) limit it to small-group settings and to instructors who are willing to carry the easel between rooms. In the airline training environment, flip charts have largely been displaced by the whiteboard for live use and by the printed handout for take-away material.

#4.3.7 Overhead Projector

The overhead projector (OHP) was a commonly used training aid. Although it was the most versatile aid commonly available, it has now effectively been made redundant by computer slideshows. Methods of using the OHP are much the same as for computer slideshows.

The OHP retains historical interest because the techniques the source attaches to PowerPoint (revelation, overlay, write-on, pointer) are direct descendants of OHP techniques: the overlay-slides technique, in particular, was a physical practice with transparent acetate sheets long before PowerPoint replicated it digitally. An instructor who understands why the OHP techniques worked (incremental disclosure, instructor-controlled pacing, the physical presence of the instructor at the projector rather than at a separate computer) will use PowerPoint better.

#4.3.8 Video / DVD Systems

There are four main ways that video can be used as a training aid:

1. By showing a hired or purchased professionally produced video tape / DVD on a subject.
2. By producing your own training video.
3. By using the camera in the "point and shoot" mode (simply record someone in action and then review the performance). Simulator sessions and teaching are examples of where this technique can be used.
4. By pointing the camera at a small object that would be difficult for the whole class to see and projecting the image directly on to the monitor. Looking at oceanic charts during a NAT MNPSA lesson would be an example of where this technique could be used.

The professionally produced and locally produced training videos allow for the real world to be brought into the classroom. The professionally produced video can have limitations though. Only part of the video can cover the topic of interest and you, as the instructor, will have to be selective in the portions of the video you show.

Locally produced videos can cover the subject better as you will know exactly what you want to show. They do take a lot of time and effort to produce and must be produced with a certain level of professionalism if they are to be effective.

Above all though, regardless of the way you may use video, it is essential that the trainee remains active during its use. A question sheet to be completed as the video progresses is one technique that can be employed to keep the trainee active, but you must follow up on this at the end to ensure the trainee got the correct message. Remember, the video, no matter how good it is, does not relieve you of your responsibilities as an instructor to ensure learning has taken place.

The "point and shoot" technique in option 3 deserves emphasis because it is the cheapest and most underused video technique in airline training. A camera in the simulator pointed at the crew (or, more simply, the simulator's own internal recording system) gives the instructor footage of the actual trainee performance to play back in the debrief. The video shows the crew their own behaviour, which is more persuasive than any instructor description. The default-delete confidentiality discipline that applies to recorded simulator playback is treated in 7.5 LOFT Debriefing - Introduction.

#4.3.9 Models

Models are possibly the next best thing to the "real thing". A model though requires a lot of skill to manufacture if it is to be an effective training aid.

Models are most useful to illustrate effects / techniques. An example of this would be a crosswind approach as it shows the trainee the visual aspect of what is occurring. The trainee does not have to try to visualise what is happening, it is evident from what the instructor is manipulating from the model. This can be taken a stage further with the trainee demonstrating with the model what is happening.

The "next best thing to the real thing" framing is the operational reason models retain their place in flight training despite the rise of computer animation and full-flight simulators. A computer animation of a crosswind approach shows the trainee a fixed view; the model shows the trainee whatever view the trainee or the instructor chooses, in real time, with the haptic feedback of physically moving the aircraft. For the geometry of relative motion (formation, intercepts, attitudes during unusual recoveries), the small physical model does work no slide can match.

#4.3.10 Posters and Charts

Posters and charts can either be made locally or obtained from various sources such as manufacturers of equipment. They are used to show complex diagrams, emphasise points graphically or to build interest or review a topic.

Their main disadvantages are that they might be too intricate to be seen clearly by all trainees and they are difficult to store and maintain in good condition.

Posters and charts share the flip chart's permanence advantage and add a manufactured-quality advantage: a manufacturer-supplied chart of a system schematic is typically more accurate and more legible than anything the instructor could draw on the whiteboard. The trade-off is rigidity: the chart shows what it shows, and an instructor whose lesson goes off the path the chart depicts cannot easily redirect.

#4.3.11 Books

Books provide specific references for trainees. Unless they can keep the books and highlight specific points, then they are forced to make notes from the books. Sections could be photocopied, but often not all the information on a page is required.

Books are the source-of-truth aid: the manual, the textbook, the regulatory publication. Their pedagogical role in the lesson is usually as a reference the trainee returns to after the lesson, not as a teaching aid the instructor uses live. In most modern airline training environments, the equivalent function is served by electronic flight bag tablets and the crew library or training document library (see Computers / Laptops above), which add searchability and remove the photocopy problem.

#4.3.12 Hand-outs

Hand-outs can be a very powerful training aid. However caution must be applied if given to the trainees at an inappropriate time as they can be distracting and remove focus from the instructor.

The single sentence in the source compresses a real practitioner question: when in the lesson should the handout be given? Three common patterns:

• Hand out at the start. Lets the trainee follow the lesson against the printed structure, but invites the trainee to read ahead and disengage from the live delivery. Best when the handout is the diagram or table the lesson works from rather than a transcription of the lesson itself.
• Hand out at the moment of use. The instructor distributes a worksheet or reference at the point in the lesson where it becomes relevant. Maintains attention but interrupts the lesson flow.
• Hand out at the end. The handout is the take-away summary and reference. Avoids the distraction problem and serves as the reinforcing aid 4.2 How Aids Assist Learning names, but the trainee cannot annotate the handout during the lesson.

The choice depends on what the handout is for. A reference table the trainee will use during the lesson goes out at the start; a worksheet that drives an exercise goes out at the moment of use; a summary or take-away sits at the end.

#4.3.13 Notes and Précis

Many lessons cannot be assimilated all at once, so some means must be devised to enable students to recall the important information / skills of the lesson. Unless the subject is well documented in textbooks or manuals which the student has in his possession, some tangible memory-aid must be provided for later reference.

The Notes and Précis subsection draws an explicit distinction between two kinds of post-lesson memory aid:

• Notes are what the student writes down himself.
• Précis are prepared hand-outs which he is given.

Notes and précis are the bridge to the next two sections. The trainee's own notes (the Notes category) are generated through the techniques covered in 4.4 Uncontrolled Note Taking and 4.5 Controlled Note Taking; the prepared précis (the Précis category) is the instructor-prepared version, distributed as a handout per the Hand-outs sub-section above.

The two are not interchangeable. A précis is more accurate and complete than student-generated notes, but the act of writing the notes is itself part of how the trainee encodes the material; a précis-only lesson with no note-taking removes that encoding step. The instructor's choice is therefore between one of three patterns: trainee notes only (cheap, encodes well, accuracy depends on the trainee), précis only (accurate, no encoding), or both (the trainee takes notes during the lesson and receives the précis afterwards as a reference against which to check). The third pattern is the most reliable; the question is whether the lesson budget supports producing the précis.

#Connections

• 4.1 Introduction. Defines training aids and sets the "aid is not the lesson" rule that governs every subsection here.
• 4.2 How Aids Assist Learning. The selection criteria and senses-mapping that determine which subsection of this section actually applies to a given lesson.
• 4.4 Uncontrolled Note Taking. Begins the trainee-side note-taking treatment that the Notes and Précis sub-section introduces.
• 4.5 Controlled Note Taking. The instructor-led counterpart to 4.4 Uncontrolled Note Taking, also introduced by the Notes and Précis sub-section.
• 7.3 General Debrief Techniques. The downstream application of the video-discipline rules in the Video / DVD Systems sub-section (indexing, segment selection, discussion-not-talkover).
• 7.5 LOFT Debriefing - Introduction. The default-delete confidentiality discipline for simulator-recorded video introduced in the Video / DVD Systems sub-section.
• 6.2 Briefing Aids. The pre-session briefing application of the per-aid technique tips in this section.
• KSA. The knowledge / skills / attitudes triad that determines which sensory channels (and therefore which aids) the lesson should engage.