Train-the-Trainer by DataHomeLab

A1.1 Foreword and Introduction

Source citation

Subsequent pages cite the upstream reference inline ("Use of Silence") rather than re-stating the full citation. Pages elsewhere in the cluster refer to this appendix by section: A1.4 Facilitation Techniques or A1.3 The C-A-L Debriefing Model.

Preface

This manual is based on the authors' study of LOFT debriefings at several U.S. airlines. The suggestions in this manual are derived from the data from that study, the authors' subjective impressions, the experiences the LOFT instructors shared, and general literature on facilitation. Data and references to relevant literature from the study are available in the published report: LOFT Debriefings: An Analysis of Instructor Techniques and Crew Participation, by R.K. Dismukes, K.K. Jobe and L.K. McDonnell (NASA Technical Memorandum 110442; March 1997).

The material is presented as suggestions rather than rules because facilitation is very much a personal skill and each instructor must develop an approach with which he or she is comfortable. The suggestions provide a tool kit of techniques instructors may draw upon to develop their own style.

The study was funded by the FAA's Office of the Chief Scientist and Technical Advisor for Human Factors (AAR-100). Eleana Edens was the program manager.

Summary

This manual is a practical guide to help airline instructors effectively facilitate debriefings of Line Oriented Simulations (LOS). It is based on a recently completed study of Line Oriented Flight Training debriefings at several U.S. airlines. As a companion piece to the published report (LOFT Debriefings: An Analysis of Instructor Techniques and Crew Participation, by R.K. Dismukes, K.K. Jobe and L.K. McDonnell, NASA Technical Memorandum 110442, March 1997), this manual presents specific facilitation tools instructors can use to achieve debriefing objectives. The approach of the manual is to be flexible so it can be tailored to the individual needs of each airline.

Examples of how to effectively use the techniques are provided throughout, including strategies to try when the debriefing objectives are not being fully achieved. The closing guidelines for facilitating LOS debriefings are reproduced in A1.6 Sample Question Forms and Closing Notes.

An introduction to facilitation

How much crews learn in Line Oriented Simulations (LOS) and take back to the line hinges on the effectiveness of the LOS debriefing. The simulation itself is a busy and intense experience; thoughtful discussion afterwards is necessary so the crew can sort out and interpret what happened and why. As the instructor, you are expected to encourage the crew members to analyse their LOS performance on their own, rather than lecturing to them about what they did right and wrong. This crew-centred approach emphasises self-discovery and self-critique. The crew-centred approach also draws upon the crew's professional experience and motivation to perform well to enhance learning.

The rationale for crew-centred debriefings is that adults learn and remember more when they participate actively and make their own analyses than when they listen passively to someone else's. Active participation in the debriefing requires the crew members to process the information more deeply, enabling them to draw upon that information more readily and more effectively in a wide range of line situations.

Another advantage of the crew-centred approach is that crew members who actively discuss Crew Resource Management (CRM) concepts and company procedures tend to "buy-in" more deeply than those who are only given lectures on proper procedures. Therefore, crew members who participate actively may be more likely to transfer learning from the LOS to the line. The goal is for crew members to develop the habit of analysing their own CRM and technical performance following line operations, a practice which is still rare in civil operations. The LOS debriefing provides an opportunity for showing crews how to debrief and for illustrating the benefits of self-debriefing.

The facilitation techniques presented in this manual are intended to provide the instructor with a set of tools that can be used to effectively facilitate crew-centred debriefings. These tools supplement, rather than replace, the skills the instructor already possesses. Becoming skillful at facilitation requires practice, but once mastered it enables the instructor to increase what crew members learn and take back to the line.

Objectives of crew-centred debriefings

Effective facilitation enables the instructor to meet the following objectives:

  • Crew members discuss issues directly with each other (rather than interacting solely with the instructor) and discover as much on their own as possible.
  • The crew thoroughly analyses and evaluates what happened in the LOS, how they handled the situation, what went well, what could be improved, and how to improve it.
  • The crew recognises how CRM techniques helped them manage, or could have helped them manage, the situations they encountered in the LOS.
  • Crew members leave the session with a better understanding of how they can use CRM on the line to enhance safety and efficiency.
  • The crew is encouraged to develop the habit of self-debriefing following line operations.

These five objectives are the operational targets the rest of the upstream manual is built around. A1.2 Instruction vs Facilitation through A1.5 Five-Point Facilitator Rating Scale provide the discipline, the structure, the techniques, and the worked applications that turn these objectives into a session the crew can actually run.

How the section files map to the upstream content

Section file Content reproduced
A1.1 Foreword and Introduction Cover, masthead, In-This-Issue, preface, summary, opening rationale
A1.2 Instruction vs Facilitation Instruction vs. facilitation; what you should do; what you should avoid; levels of facilitation; criteria for effective crew participation; criteria for effective instructor facilitation
A1.3 The C-A-L Debriefing Model Clarifying roles and expectations; sample introduction; debriefing format; developing an agenda; organising the discussion (the C-A-L model); plus Table 1 (C-A-L Model for LOS Debriefings)
A1.4 Facilitation Techniques Questions; use of silence; active listening; use of video; with all nine question patterns and the effective / ineffective dialogue contrasts
A1.5 Five-Point Facilitator Rating Scale The C-A-L model in action (C, A, L) plus the lineage from these qualitative criteria to the quantitative 5-level rubric in the Facilitation Assessment Tool
A1.6 Sample Question Forms and Closing Notes Guidelines for facilitating LOS debriefings (the closing single-page summary) plus the sample introduction script

Connections

  • Train-the-Trainer Course Manual. The parent course manual; this appendix is the upstream FSF / NASA reference 7.3 General Debrief Techniques draws on.
  • 7.3 General Debrief Techniques. The downstream summary that condenses this discipline into the chapter on post-instructional debrief.
  • A3.1 Purpose and Directions. The Facilitation Assessment Tool quantitative rubric (5 categories x 4 markers x 5 levels) that scores the qualitative criteria reproduced here.
  • C-A-L model. The CRM / Analysis / Line-operations frame Part 2 introduces and Part 4 puts into action.
  • Facilitation. The primary instructional technique Appendix 1 operationalises.
  • CRM. The set of techniques the C-A-L "C" component is built around.
  • LOFT. Line-oriented flight training; the close synonym for the line-oriented simulations the source manual is written to debrief.