During the mid-1970s, many young people had mind-altering experiences inspired by smoke from tiny crumpled cigarettes. Mine was smoke-free. It occurred while teaching a lesson on VOR navigation to private pilot students. All I did was mention the word “radial” before the word “course.” The result? It was as if each student had an Etch-a-Sketch mind that had just been vigorously shaken. They were confused. What kind of demonic power does a word have that it can apparently turn nav knowledge into nonsense as it enters a student’s noggin?
Fortunately, there were no demons in the classroom that day, but there was a valuable lesson to be learned there. My assumption was that by presenting information—regardless of how it was presented—students would learn. Sometimes that’s true, but it’s not a guarantee that students would learn quickly or even efficiently.
Before my instructional epiphany, my strategy was to discuss VOR radials first, then talk about how pilots track to VOR stations on reciprocal (course) headings to those radials. This requires students to hold two abstract concepts in their noggins at the same time (radials “from” and courses “to” a station). Since the core objective of the lesson was to teach how to navigate to and from a VOR station, there was no reason to discuss radials until much later in the lesson.
That’s when I began approaching every lesson by asking myself: How can I teach the core concepts quickly? My assumption was that if the core concepts were taught quickly, then my presentation had greater focus and contained fewer distractions. Of course, additional information could be incorporated into any lesson once its core concepts were understood.
The core concept of VOR navigation involves navigating to and/or from a VOR station using the omni display’s needle and ambiguity indicator. This requires pilots to use their course selector to choose any one of the 360 courses available to them. To teach this concept quickly, it’s best to speak in terms of VOR courses (e.g., a 274-degree course to and from the station) and avoid discussing VOR radials until the latter part of thelesson. Trying to understandhow to navigate to a VOR station on something that radiates from it (a radial) while using reciprocal headings is like eating asnow cone too fast—it hurts the brain.
Presenting the core concepts quickly allows me to teach any topic more efficiently. In the case of VOR navigation, I could teach the concept in 10 minutes to any motivated listener. (Just to be clear here, there’s much more to VOR navigation than just core concepts. That’s why a thorough lesson on VOR navigation might take an hour.)
This principle applies to teaching anything. For instance, the core concept associated with understanding cloud clearance and visibility minimums involves the rate and speed at which aircraft use a particular class of airspace. The core concept associated with understanding meteorology involves knowledge of how uneven heat distribution across the Earth’s surface results in common weather phenomena. Every lesson has core concepts. Your job as a teacher is to find a way to present them without confusing your students. Thereafter, you can use these concepts as the foundation for higher knowledge to be added later in the lesson.
The next time you’re asked to teach a lesson, ask yourself: How can I teach its core concepts quickly? Then teach at any rate that pleases you. At least you’ll have identified and eliminated ideas that could prevent your students from grasping the lesson’s core concepts. And, as a precaution to ensure efficient learning, advise your students to avoid shaking their heads too vigorously as they leave the classroom.
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