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attempt to imitate, whether consciously or unconsciously. The instructor’s advocacy and description of safety practices mean little to a student if the instructor does not demonstrate them consistently. For this reason, instructors must meticulously observe the safety practices being taught to students. A good example is the use of a checklist before takeoff. If a student pilot sees the flight instructor layout, inflate, and take off in a balloon without referring to a checklist, no amount of instruction in the use of a checklist convinces that student to faithfully use one when solo flight operations begin. 

To maintain a professional image, a flight instructor must carefully observe all regulations and recognized safety practices during flight operations. An instructor who is observed to fly with apparent disregard for loading limitations or weather minimums creates an image of irresponsibility that many hours of scrupulous flight instruction can never correct. Habitual observance of regulations, safety precautions, and the precepts of courtesy enhances the instructor’s image of professionalism. Moreover, such habits make the instructor more effective by encouraging students to develop similar habits. 

## Proper Language 

In aviation instruction, as in other professional activities, the use of profanity and obscene language leads to distrust or, at best, to a lack of complete confidence in the instructor. To many people, such language is actually objectionable to the point of being painful. The professional instructor must speak normally, without inhibitions, and develop the ability to speak positively and descriptively without excesses of language. 

Also consider that the beginning aviation student is being introduced to new concepts and experiences and encountering new terms and phrases that are often confusing. At the beginning of the student’s training, and before each lesson during early instruction, the instructor should carefully define the terms and phrases to be used during the lesson. The instructor should then be careful to limit instruction to those terms and phrases, unless the exact meaning and intent of any new expression are explained immediately. In all cases, terminology should be explained to the student before it is used during instruction. 

## The Learning Process 

To learn is to acquire knowledge or skill. Learning also may involve a change in attitude or behavior. Pilots need to acquire the higher levels of knowledge and skill, including the ability to exercise judgment and solve problems. The challenge for the flight instructor is to understand how people learn, and more importantly, to be able to apply that knowledge to the learning environment. [Figure 10-4] 

<img src='content_image/572202.jpg'>

## Definition of Learning 

The ability to learn is one of the most outstanding human characteristics. Learning occurs continuously throughout a person’s lifetime. To define learning, it is necessary to analyze what happens to the individual. Thus, learning can be defined as a change in behavior as a result of experience. This can be physical and overt, or it may involve complex intellectual or attitudinal changes which affect behavior in more subtle ways. In spite of numerous theories and contrasting views, psychologists generally agree on many common characteristics of learning. 

## Characteristics of Learning 

Flight instructors need a good understanding of the general characteristics of learning in order to apply them in a learning situation. If learning is a change in behavior as a result of experience, then instruction must include a careful and systematic creation of those experiences that promote learning. This process can be quite complex because, among other things, an individual’s background strongly influences the way that person learns. To be effective, the learning situation should contain the following four points: 

1. Learning is purposeful. Most people have definite ideas about what they want to do and achieve. Their goals are sometimes short term, involving a matter of days or weeks, while others may have goals carefully planned for a career or a lifetime. Each student, then, has specific intentions and goals. Learning, then, becomes a means to those goals. 

2. Learning is a result of experience. A student can learn only from personal experience; therefore learning and knowledge cannot exist apart from a person. Even when observing or performing the same procedures, two people can react differently; they learn different 

