Training aids

Training aids are devices that stimulate one or more of the trainee's senses so that instruction becomes more meaningful and more memorable. The category is defined by function, not cost or sophistication: a whiteboard sketch, a cockpit photo, a model aircraft, a video clip, a folded sheet of A4 standing in for an aerofoil, or a printed summary all count if they add a sensory channel the spoken word alone does not provide.

The load-bearing rule: the aid is not the lesson. An aid is a stimulus the instructor uses so a point lands; it is not a substitute for the instructor or for practice of the real task. When the projector dies and the lesson collapses, the aid and the lesson were confused.

#How aids assist learning

People learn through sensory experience. Hearing is only one channel. Visual impact is the sensory channel to stress most for learning, especially in practical flying. The stronger the first impression (primacy), the more durable the encoding, so aids must be both effective and correct: a wrong diagram is worse than no diagram.

The compressed pedagogical thesis:

I hear and I forget
I see and I remember
I do and I understand

Escalate up that scale wherever the lesson allows. Prefer the actual object or process when practical. No aid substitutes for seeing or doing the real thing.

#When to use aids

Use aids at three stages of the same lesson, with different jobs:

More is not better. Once working memory is full, another aid competes with the one already in front of the trainee. Choose the single aid that does the most work for each teaching point.

#Selecting aids

Prepare the lesson plan first; let the plan drive the aid. Never invent a lesson around a favourite deck.

Main filter: will this make the teaching point better than you can on your own? If not, drop it.

Nine-question gate before making or using an aid:

1. Is it necessary?
2. Will it help the student?
3. Does it involve more than one sense?
4. Is it accurate?
5. Is it simple?
6. Is it manageable?
7. Is it durable?
8. Is it portable?
9. Is it interesting?

Knowledge versus skills (sensory channels):

• For knowledge: eyes and ears (diagrams, structured explanation, worked examples).
• For skills: hands and feet, plus eyes and ears (simulator, mock-up, hardware). Teaching a skill with a slide deck alone is the wrong channel.

#Techniques for common aids

#Whiteboard

Building block of most practical aviation training; permanent fallback when power or decks fail.

• Neat: clean board, clear print, level lines.
• Consistent: same style and case; uniform symbols for recurring diagrams.
• Methodical: plan layout, start top left, section large boards, pre-draw when possible, yellow guide marks invisible at distance.
• Visible: size and colour readable from the back, colour and underlines for emphasis, avoid the unreachable bottom strip.
• Write the point, then face the class. Do not talk to the board.

#PowerPoint and slideshows

Widely used and widely misused. Reading dense slides aloud is the failure mode: trainees can read faster than you speak, so the instructor becomes a narrator.

Design rules that earn impact:

• One main point per slide, six to eight lines, six to eight words per line, lettering at least 14 pt.
• Clarity first; label anything not instantly recognisable.
• Simple transitions; picture every few slides to break text.
• Revelation (show points one by one); black screen (return attention to the room); write-on, pointer, and overlay for complex diagrams.

In simulator checks, slides may state regulatory requirements explicitly. In training, prefer discussion first, then the slide as validator: the crew attempts the answer, then compares to the standard. Interaction is mandatory; without it the room disengages.

#Models, video, and other common aids

• Models: next best thing to the real thing for geometry and relative motion (crosswind approach, attitudes). Have the trainee manipulate the model back to you.
• Video: professional, home-made, point-and-shoot of the session, or live camera on a small object. Passive viewing does not produce learning; use question sheets, pauses, and discussion. Simulator playback shows the crew their own behaviour (default-delete confidentiality still applies).
• Hand-outs: powerful; timing matters. Start (follow-along reference), moment of use (worksheet), or end (take-away summary). Early hand-outs invite reading ahead.
• Notes versus précis: notes are what the trainee writes; précis are prepared hand-outs. Notes encode; précis guarantee accuracy. Best pattern when budget allows: notes during, précis after as check.
• Laptops / computers: useful for references and computer-based packages; uncontrolled screens steal attention. Set open/closed expectations at the start.
• Improvised aids (paper aerofoil, tennis ball for Coriolis) count when they make the principle visible.

#Uncontrolled versus controlled note taking

Note taking is the trainee-side aid that makes the lesson portable after the room empties. The instructor chooses locus of judgement per content block, not once for the whole course.

#Uncontrolled

The trainee decides what to write (typical of lecture technique).

Advantages: writing itself aids memory, trainee can navigate own notes, personal notes mean more on review.

Disadvantages: requires practice, writing competes with listening, importance of a point may only be clear at the end, pointless if the trainee is not following.

When it fits: clear structure; experienced trainees who already know what matters (e.g. recurrent ground school). Scaffold with clear headings and section markers so personal notes stay organised.

#Controlled

The instructor decides what is written: from whiteboard / chart / slide, or by dictation.

Board-driven capture has quality control (visible reference; instructor can walk the room). Dictation has no listed advantage: low bandwidth, easy mishearing, slow. Prefer board, slide, or printed précis over dictation; frequent dictation is a planning failure.

When controlled fits: verbatim definitions, ordered procedures, memory items, exact values, diagrams that must match the standard.

Most lessons mix both: uncontrolled during discussion and conceptual phases; controlled when accuracy matters more than personal paraphrase.

#Instructor use

1. After the lesson plan is firm, pick aids with the nine-question gate; one primary aid per teaching point.
2. Map knowledge points to eyes/ears aids; skill points to practice devices, not deck-only delivery.
3. Rehearse how and when each brief aid is used before the trainees arrive (wrong deck, dry markers, missing model cost credibility).
4. In the pre-instructional brief, use whiteboard, models, and photos to teach the how of the session, not only the what the manuals already cover. Keep Aim visible; aids serve A-W-A-R-E content, not decoration.
5. Whiteboard first when live explanation drifts off the prepared track; do not force a misaligned deck.
6. Choose note-taking mode block by block: uncontrolled for experienced conceptual discussion; controlled for must-capture definitions and procedures.
7. Never build the syllabus around a long-running slide deck. If trainees could learn nearly as much by reading the deck alone, the instructor is decorative.

#Connections

• Learning theory. Sensory encoding, primacy, multi-channel practice, and why writing strengthens memory.
• A-W-A-R-E model. Brief content scaffold; aids carry Aim, Revision, and Elements into the room.
• Systematic Approach to Training. Media and method selection in the training plan step of the Systematic Approach to Training (SAT) cycle.
• Knowledge, skills and attitudes. Eyes/ears versus hands/feet mapping follows the knowledge versus skill split.
• The briefing, conduct and debriefing loop. Briefing aids set the contract; video and board work also support debrief.
• Instruction versus facilitation. Deck-as-lecture is pure telling; discussion-then-validate is facilitation-friendly use of the same aid.
• Bloom's taxonomy. Aid choice should match cognitive depth (diagram for understand/apply; practice for higher skill).

#Sources

• 4.1 Introduction. Definition of training aids; meaningful and memorable purpose; common range; aid-is-not-the-lesson rule.
• 4.2 How Aids Assist Learning. Sensory rationale; when to use aids; nine-question selection; knowledge versus skills senses.
• 4.3 Techniques for Using the More Common Training Aids. Per-aid technique (whiteboard, PowerPoint, models, video, hand-outs, notes and précis).
• 4.4 Uncontrolled Note Taking. Trainee-led capture; advantages and disadvantages.
• 4.5 Controlled Note Taking. Instructor-led capture; board versus dictation; when accuracy trumps personal notes.
• 6.2 Briefing Aids. Rehearse aids before the brief; whiteboard, models, photos in the pre-flight brief sequence.