What is the definition of the term ‘learning theory’?
Learning theory is a body of principles used to explain how people acquire skills, knowledge, and attitudes.
What is the definition of learning?
Learning can be defined as a change in a learners behavior as the result of an experience.
What are two major learning theories?
- Behaviorism - Stresses the importance of reinforcing desired behaviors by someone other than the student to shape or control what is learned.
- Cognitive - Focuses on what is going on inside the student’s mind. More concerned with the process of cognition rather than stimulus and response.
What is a perception?
Perceptions result when a person gives meaning to external stimuli or sensations from the five senses. All learning comes from perceptions.
What factors affect perceptions?
- Goals & Values - Every experience or sensation is colored by the individual’s own beliefs and value structures.
- Self-Concept - A student’s self-image has a great influence on the perceptual process.
- Time & Opportunity - Learning some things depends on other perceptions that have preceded that learning.
- Element of Threat - Confronted with a threat, students tend to limit their attention to the threatening object or condition. Narrows the perceptual field.
- Physical Organism - The ability to use ones senses to sense different stimulus.
Define ‘insight’.
Insight involves the grouping of perceptions into meaningful wholes. It is the mental relating and grouping of associated perceptions.
How can an instructor ensure that a student develops insight during flight training?
- Help the student understand how each piece relates to other pieces.
- Provide a secure, non-threatening training environment.
- Help the student acquire and maintain a favorable self-concept.
How does a student acquire knowledge?
- Memorization
- Understanding
- Application
How can an instructor help students in acquiring knowledge?
- Ask students to recite or practice newly acquired knowledge.
- Ask questions to probe the students’ understanding.
- Present opportunities for students to apply what they know to solve problems.
- Present students with problems to test their knowledge.
- Demonstrate the benefits of understanding and being able to apply knowledge.
- Introduce new topics as they support the objectives of the lesson, whenever possible.
What are the laws of learning?
- Readiness - Individuals need to be ‘ready’ to learn. If the student isn’t interested or lacks motivation, they will have a hard time learning.
- Exercise - What a student learns is strengthened from practice and weakened from disuse.
- Effect - Learning is strengthened when accompanied with pleasant emotions and weakened when accompanied with negative emotions.
- Primacy - How it was taught the first time will be best remembered by the student.
- Intensity - A vivid, dramatic, or exciting learning experience teaches more than a routine or boring experience.
- Recency - Things most recently learned are best remembered.
What are the three domains of learning?
- Cognitive (thinking) - A grouping of levels of learning associated with mental activity.
- Affective (feeling) - A grouping of levels of learning associated with a person’s attitudes, personal beliefs, and values.
- Psychomotor (doing) - A grouping of levels of learning associated with physical skills.
What are the four basic levels of learning?
- Rote - The ability to repeat something back that was learned.
- Understanding - To comprehend or grasp the nature or meaning of something.
- Application - The act of putting something to use that has been learned and understood.
- Correlation - Associating what has been learned, understood, and applied with previous or subsequent learning.
What are the basic characteristics of learning?
- Learning is Purposeful - Each student is a unique individual whose past experiences affects readiness to learn and understanding of the requirements involved.
- Learning is a Result of an Experience - Learning is an individual process from personal experiences. Knowledge cannot be poured into the student’s head.
- Learning is Multifaceted - Learning may include verbal elements, conceptual elements, perceptual elements, etc.
- Learning is an Active Process - Students do not soak up knowledge like a sponge. For students to learn, they must react and respond.
What are the three stages to acquiring skill knowledge?
- Cognitive - Memorizing steps
- Associative - Student begins to practice, and associate individual steps with likely outcomes.
- Automatic Response Stage - As procedures become automatic, less attention is required to carry them out, so it is possible to do other things simultaneously.
How does a student develop and become proficient at a skill?
Practice
Why is it important for a flight instructor to always make certain that a student is aware of their progress?
It’s important for students to know when they are right and when they are wrong. Students should not be allowed to practice mistakes.
What is a learning plateau?
A learning plateau is a learning phenomenon where progress appears to cease or slow down for a significant period of time before once again increasing.
What are three types of practice?
- Deliberate - Practice aimed at a particular goal. The student practices specific areas for improvement and receives specific feedback after practice.
- Blocked - Practicing the same drill until the movement becomes automatic. Bad for long term performance.
- Random - Mixing up the skills to be acquired throughout the practice session, which results in better retention.
What is scenario-based training and what makes a good scenario?
SBT is a training method that uses a highly structured script of real-world experiences to address aviation training objectives in an operational environment. A good scenario has a clear set of objectives, is tailored to the needs of the student, and capitalizes on the nuances of the local environment.
What are the characteristics of a good scenario?
A good scenario :
- Is not a test
- Will not have a single correct answer
- Does not offer an obvious answer
- Engages all three learning domains
- Is interactive
- Should not promote errors
- Should promote situational awareness and opportunities for decision-making.
What are two kinds of errors?
Slip - Occurs when a person plans to do one thing but then inadvertently does something else. Error of action.
Mistake - Occurs when a person plans to do the wrong thing and succeeds. Error of planning.
What are several ways to reduce errors?
- Learning & Practicing
- Taking Time
- Checking for Errors
- Using Reminders
- Developing Routines
- Raising Awareness
How can a student making errors be a valuable learning resource?
Students naturally make errors, which instructors can utilize to help students learn while being careful not to let the student practice doing the wrong thing. It is useful to ask the student why the error happened, and what could be done differently to prevent the error from happening again in the future.
Define ‘Memory’.
The ability of people to encode, store, and retrieve information.
