6.6 The A-W-A-R-E Model

The A-W-A-R-E Model is the load-bearing scaffold for the brief: the five content categories the brief delivers, regardless of session type. The model is a structured aide-mémoire on the line: an instructor about to deliver any brief can run the five letters as a checklist and confirm that no category has been omitted. The five components are reproduced below in the order they appear in the source.

#A: Aim

The Aim is the single sentence that the brief opens and closes with. It is condensed from the lesson plan's session objectives, knowledge objectives, and proficiency criteria via the technique reproduced in the 6.5 Introduction (General Information). The Aim is the trainee's anchor: every part of the brief and every part of the session should be traceable back to it.

#W: Why?

The W component has two sub-parts.

#Attention getter

The attention getter could be any of the following:

• Video.
• Related story incident.
• Personal experience.
• Any icebreaker to facilitate open communication.

The attention-getter list is short and the four options are alternatives, not steps. The instructor selects one based on the lesson and the trainees: a video clip of an accident sequence is a natural opener for a CRM-heavy LOFT scenario; a related story incident is appropriate for a recurrent topic the trainees will recognise; a personal experience is appropriate for an instructor who has lived the event; an icebreaker is appropriate for a session where the relationship-building per 6.4 Briefing Structure is the load-bearing first task.

#The need

The need is why the instructor is teaching the lesson. The trainees should understand exactly what is expected of them and what standard they have to achieve, e.g. is it a regulatory requirement, do they have an exam, is it because of a flight safety incident on the line? The need is the lesson's external justification: it is what makes the lesson matter beyond the room.

#A: Administration

Administration is the second of the two A categories (Aim is the first). It is the operational meta-content of the brief: the things the trainee needs to know about how the lesson will run, separately from the content of the lesson. Some examples of this would be:

#Safety Brief

The safety brief for a simulator session is a mandatory requirement and should be conducted prior to entering the simulator.

This is the operational expression of the 6.1 Introduction and the 6.5 Introduction (General Information) in the General-Information opener.

#Personal Introduction

The Personal Introduction sub-element of Administration is the operational placeholder for the 6.5 Introduction (General Information) in the General-Information opener, treated under the A-W-A-R-E checklist as an Administration item.

#Method (scope)

When teaching a theory lesson, the method or scope should include the training aids that will be used and also the type of instruction the facilitator or instructor will use. For example, it will be an interactive discussion where the students will be expected to participate, or it will be a lecture style, etc.

When teaching practical lessons such as a simulator session or APT, the method or scope becomes very much the how the session will be conducted, e.g.:

The contrast between the theory-lesson Method and the practical-lesson Method is operational. In a classroom session, Method answers what kind of session this will be (lecture, interactive discussion, breakout group, simulator-based). In a simulator session, Method answers what the starting condition is (location, runway, weather, position, time of day) so the trainees can model the session's first thirty seconds before the doors close.

#Hand-out material

Ensure the introduction covers any material that will be handed out during the lesson.

#References

All the references used during the lesson should be available to the trainees for later use.

The Hand-out and References sub-elements deliver the trainees the documentary basis of the session: what they receive in the room, and what they can return to afterward. This is what makes the lesson re-doable in the trainees' own time as part of their continued study.

#R: Revision

Revision is the diagnostic step inside the brief: it surfaces what the trainees already know, so the lesson can extend from there rather than overlap with it. The source is direct that this is not always possible (group composition, time pressure, lesson type) but instructs that the instructor should attempt it whenever they can. The technique pairs with the WSK (Whole, Subject, Key) revision technique referenced in 6.2 Briefing Aids and the known to the unknown principle: an instructor who knows what the trainees already command can extend the new material from there with the lowest cognitive cost.

#E: Elements

The Elements category is the technical content of the lesson, decomposed into briefable units. The decomposition is what makes a complex topic teachable in the time available: a lesson on ETOPS contains far too much material to brief in a single block, so it is broken into elements (rules, the designated scenario, the alternate-airfield approach, FORDEC application, crew-resource management) that each receive their own treatment in the brief and in the session. The element list typically appears as the topic list on the whiteboard layout reproduced in the 6.5 Introduction (General Information).

#The full A-W-A-R-E checklist

The five components, summarised so an instructor can run the model from a single block on the line.

#Why the model is structured this way

The five letters cover the brief's content in a compact, ordered way that is robust under time pressure. Aim sets the destination; Why gives the trainees a reason to engage; the second A (Administration) covers the meta-operational content; Revision calibrates the lesson to the trainees in the room; Elements is the technical body the lesson actually teaches. An instructor who delivers all five has covered the brief; one who omits any one of them has not. The mnemonic exists so the instructor can confirm coverage on the line, in real time, without referring back to 6.6 The A-W-A-R-E Model.

The A-W-A-R-E Model and the 6.2 Briefing Aids are deliberately complementary. The Sequence describes the flow of the brief (Relax, Introduction, Session Profile, Summary/Airex); the A-W-A-R-E Model describes the content the flow delivers. An instructor uses both: the Sequence to know what to do next; the A-W-A-R-E Model to know whether the content is complete.

#Cross-references

• 6.5 Introduction (General Information). The General-Information opener (Self / Trainees / Health and Safety / Overview) that delivers the A-W-A-R-E model's Aim, Personal Introduction, and Safety Brief content.
• 6.7 LOFT Briefing - Suggested Format and Contents. The LOFT briefing format that applies the A-W-A-R-E discipline to the LOFT context.
• 6.2 Briefing Aids. The four-step Sequence of Pre Flight Brief that delivers the A-W-A-R-E content; the WSK revision technique referenced under R.
• 6.1 Introduction. The Safety Briefing requirement and the questioning-not-testing discipline the Revision step uses.
• A4.2.3 Conduct of Briefing. The EBT-specific six-element briefing pattern (Introductions / Confirmation of Understanding / Objective / Planning Time / Manoeuvres Validation / Conclusion) that runs in parallel for recurrent EBT modules; A-W-A-R-E is the general instructional model, Appendix 4 Conduct of Briefing is the EBT-specific operational pattern.
• 1.1 Introduction. Houses the training methodology that the Aim's "Revise / Train / Qualify" verbs are drawn from.