7.3 General Debrief Techniques

At the debrief stage, the instructor must ensure that the levels of proficiency defined in the approved training programme have been achieved. The trainee should end the session with the following levels of proficiency:

• Understand.
• Be familiar with.
• Be able to.
• Know.
• Be proficient.

These are the five levels of attainment the debrief is responsible for confirming. They are the operational target 7.4 Specific Debrief Scenarios and 7.5 LOFT Debriefing - Introduction ultimately answer to. A debrief that produces an enjoyable conversation but does not deliver the trainee to the appropriate proficiency level for the lesson has failed against the programme standard.

#Mapping the proficiency levels

The proficiency list above names the levels but does not gloss them. They are progressive in two dimensions (depth and autonomy):

• Understand: the trainee can articulate the concept and the underlying rationale.
• Be familiar with: the trainee recognises the concept in context and can describe it correctly when prompted.
• Be able to: the trainee can perform the task with instructor scaffolding.
• Know: the trainee can recall the concept and its application without prompt.
• Be proficient: the trainee can perform the task to the defined standard, unaided, under representative conditions.

The lesson plan and the syllabus dictate which level applies to which item. A briefing on a new procedure may target "be familiar with"; a recurrent simulator session on rejected take-off targets "be proficient." The instructor's job in the debrief is to assess the trainee's actual level against the target level for that lesson, and to drive any gap to closure (or to record the gap and trigger additional training if it cannot be closed in the available time).

#The facilitation discipline assumed in debrief sections

What follows presupposes a working command of the facilitation discipline reproduced in full in A1.1 Foreword and Introduction. The four operational components of that discipline (levels of facilitation, criteria for effective crew participation, criteria for effective instructor facilitation, and the question / silence / active-listening / video toolkit) are summarised here so that the 7.4 Specific Debrief Scenarios can be read on its own; depth lives in Appendix 1.

#Levels of facilitation

The instructor's role varies across a continuum from high (most desirable) to low (least desirable), set by the crew's capability to participate. A skilled instructor recognises which level is appropriate for each crew at each point in the debrief and works at the highest level the crew can sustain. Unnecessary descent to a lower level prevents the crew from participating to its full capability.

A sign of skillful facilitation is being able to recognise what level is appropriate for each crew, and being able to adapt to the varying needs of individual crew members as the debriefing shifts from one topic to another. With consistent crew-centred debriefings, crews gain experience as they go through recurrent training and participate at increasingly higher levels each year.

#Criteria for effective crew participation

To determine the appropriate level of facilitation, the instructor needs to assess how capable crew members are of participating. High-level facilitation is best when the crew meets all of these criteria; intermediate or low level may be needed otherwise:

• Crew members analyse in depth their performance, discussing the situations they confronted, what they did, and why they made the decisions and performed the actions they did.
• Crew members evaluate in depth their performance, discussing what went well, what did not, and how their performance could have been improved.
• Crew members discuss how CRM techniques helped them manage, or could have helped them manage, the situations they encountered.
• Crew members address each other directly and interactively rather than merely respond to the instructor.

#Criteria for effective instructor facilitation

The instructor's effectiveness in facilitating the debriefing can be measured against these criteria:

• Facilitation occurs at the highest level possible, guiding the discussion only to the extent necessary to help the crew accomplish the objectives.
• Facilitation level is modified to match the crew's needs throughout the debriefing: refrain from interfering when the crew does not need guidance; use intermediate-level strategies if guidance is needed; revert to low-level only if necessary to ensure important lessons are learned.
• Crew members analyse their performance in depth, identify CRM techniques that played or should have played a role, and discuss the LOFT with each other in an interactive way.
• All critical topics are covered.

The Appendix 3 rubric (5 categories × 4 markers × 5 levels = 100 cells of descriptor text) is the operational scoring tool that turns these criteria into a rating; full reproduction lives in A3.1 Purpose and Directions.

#What you should do, what you should avoid

The Flight Safety Foundation manual condenses the facilitator's brief into two parallel checklists.

#Do

• Set expectations for crew participation.
• Guide the session to the extent necessary to achieve the debriefing objectives.
• Adjust facilitation to the level needed to engage the crew to the maximum extent possible.
• Draw out quiet crew members.
• Ensure that all critical topics are covered.
• Integrate instructional points as needed into the crew's discussion.
• Reinforce positive aspects of the crew's behaviour.

#Avoid

#The toolkit: questions, silence, active listening, video

The four facilitation tools named in passing above, treated in depth in A1.4 Facilitation Techniques:

#Questions

Five question patterns the FSF / NASA manual organises around:

1. Set the scene and ask for crew reaction. Open with a video segment or a situation, then an open-ended question: "What went well (or not so well) there?" or "What lessons can be learned from this?" If the crew does not respond, try a more focused question: "Is there anything you would do differently if you had it to do over?" or "Did you see anything in the video that was not SOP?"
2. Lead the crew to topics. When the crew seems unsure of what to discuss next, or overlooks an important aspect of a situation, ask a question that focuses attention on the topic, phrased so it is not easily answered yes / no.
3. Deepen the discussion. Once the crew has begun to discuss a topic, ask questions that require crew members to explore their thoughts and actions in depth. Avoid questions that give the answer or leave little for them to say.
4. Follow up on crew topics. When a crew member raises a topic, follow up rather than moving on. Ask questions that begin with what, how, and why.
5. Turn crew questions and comments back to them. If a crew member makes a comment or asks a question, redirect to the crew rather than answer; encourage the crew to work out answers for themselves.

The full effective / ineffective dialogue contrasts that illustrate these patterns are reproduced in A1.4 Facilitation Techniques.

#Silence

To minimise the discomfort often associated with even brief silences, the instructor should look relaxed (sitting tense gives the crew non-verbal cues that silence is not appreciated), sit back (sitting on the edge of the seat may be interpreted as impatience), and smile (conveys reassurance and acceptance). Silence can be used throughout the session: pause after asking questions, and pause after crew comments to allow other members to resume discussion.

#Active listening

Active listening is one of the most useful tools to encourage continued participation; it shows the crew that the instructor is listening and paying attention, and that the instructor understands what they are saying, which encourages them to keep talking. The five levels, simplest to most complex:

• Non-verbal: nod, smile, make eye contact, sit forward, or otherwise indicate interest.
• Short interjections: "Yes?", "Uh-huh", "I see", to indicate attention and encourage them to say more.
• Echoing: repeat part of what the speaker said as a question directed back to the crew (speaker: "we weren't sure if you were cleared for take-off"; instructor: "So you weren't sure if you were cleared for take-off?").
• Reflecting: repeat what the speaker said in different words while retaining the same meaning (speaker: "we didn't use good communication"; instructor: "you didn't let each other know what you were doing?").
• Expanding: expand on what the speaker said by implying more than the speaker intended (speaker: "we didn't use good communication"; instructor: "so if you had communicated better you could have avoided getting overloaded?").

The most important aspect across all techniques is the tone the instructor conveys: the crew must perceive genuine interest in what they have to say and in their perspectives, not just leading them to predetermined answers.

#Video discipline

#The C-A-L organising frame

The C-A-L model is the framework the FSF / NASA manual uses to structure the discussion of each LOS topic across three components: C (CRM, applying the company model), A (Analysis and evaluation of LOS performance), and L (Line operations, applying lessons from the LOS). Posting the model on a wallboard during the debrief reminds the crew of each aspect of their performance they should address. The model is summarised in 7.4 Specific Debrief Scenarios where the synthetic-flight debrief is treated, and reproduced in full as the C-A-L Debriefing Model in A1.3 The C-A-L Debriefing Model.

#Connections

• 7.2 Role of an Instructor. The pivotal-role framing this section operationalises.
• 7.4 Specific Debrief Scenarios. Applies these general techniques to the three operating environments.
• 7.5 LOFT Debriefing - Introduction. The longest debrief treatment; uses the question, silence, active-listening, and video toolkits set out here.
• A1.4 Facilitation Techniques. The full FSF / NASA treatment of the toolkit summarised in this section.
• A3.1 Purpose and Directions. The 5 × 4 × 5 rubric that scores the techniques described here.
• C-A-L model. The CRM / Analysis / Line-operations frame the simulator debrief organises discussion around.
• Facilitation. The primary instructional technique the toolkit serves.
• CRM. The set of techniques the C-A-L "C" component is built around.