Teaching Ground School - Part 2

[BoDEAN]

Tonights Topic, FARS! WEEE...FUN.

Hope the class stays awake. I know its dry, but has to be taught. Now I have a few hours to come up with a game plan/lesson plan for the students.

I figure reading the FARS word for word will cause them to pull out the pillows.

Part 1, 61, 91, NTSB ... time to find out whats hot and whats not !

 

[plunger]

hey Bodean, where are you teaching at up there? i from the west mich. area.

 

[Tug Driver]

i have to relocate to west michigan in the fall. are there any good cfi gigs out that way??

 

[FADECtoBLACK]

i have to relocate to west michigan in the fall. are there any good cfi gigs out that way??

No....

 

[bobbysamd]

Teaching Ground School

I figure reading the FARS word for word will cause them to pull out the pillows.

Part 1, 61, 91, NTSB ... time to find out whats hot and whats not !

Do you have an overhead projector? (Are overhead projectors still used for teaching ground school?) Try copying the regs out of your FAR/AIM onto transparencies and projecting them onto a screen. You can always underline and give emphasis to them with a grease pencil, etc.

It may not be much, but don't forget how we obtain most of our learning - through our eyes.

Hope that helps a little.

As a suggestion, how did you learn the FARs in class at WMU? If your professor taught them in a way that you remember, why don't you crib off his/her presentation? There is no copyright on teaching technique.

 

[chuychanga]

I used the classroom just to show them what the different parts of the FARs are all about and how to find things in the table of contents. Then I give them a list of about 100 or so FARs that I think are important enough to know without having to look them up.

The list has the FAR number and a question about it. It looks something like this:

61.19 - Does a student pilot cert. ever expire? If so, when?

91.117 - What is the speed limit below Class B airspace?

43.3 (G) - As a pilot, can I do any work on my own plane?
43 Appendix A - List several things that are considered preventive maintence?

etc.... etc... etc....

The point is that you point them toward the important regs and make them look this stuff up on their own time at home. You are also helping them avoid the regs that have nothing to do with anything they are responsible for knowing.

I always have them highlight the important points of every reg on my list. Then once they've completed that (may take several days), start asking them other questions that they may not have looked up already. I always gave each student some obscure reg to look up and have an answer and FAR number for me by the next time we fly. The answer is not as important as the fact that they are able to look it up.

Good luck.

 

[JAFI]

My recommendation:

First teach them Broad categories:

FAR 1 -- Definitions

61 --Certification, Pilots …

91 --General Operating and Flight Rules - and so on.

Second: Teach them how to find a reg. -- Ie. Table of Contents

Third: How to read a Reg. (If you do not know how, find out)

Fourth: How to understand what it says. This is complicated, yes but start on their level.

Then ask them questions and have them find the answer.

This will take some time. So have homework questions ready for them to do later.

Discuss the results. I think they will be better off in the long run.

IMO, Teaching Regulations is something we as an industry do not do well.


JAFI

 

[plunger]

IMO i think all schools conducting flight training 61 or 141 should operate on a standardized syllabus for each ground/flight lesson. same goes for the checkrides. examiners have way too much leeway. what they actually test on and what the PTS says they are supposed aren't always the same things. personally, i've gotten let off way too easy on some checkrides and put through the ringer on others. for example, i have a buddy who went up on his instrument checkride and busted on doing an NDB hold. the airplane i did my checkride in wasn't equiped with an ADF so i didn't do anything with an NDB. instead of an NDB, i did a GPS approach. how easy is that! he was definatley held to a higher standard than i was. not fare IMO. i've only failed one checkride and it was during th oral. (cfi initial). my flight partner had the same examiner a couple of days later and wasn't even asked the topic that i busted on.

 

[Ralgha]

That is exactly the way the practical test should be. It helps prevent teaching for the test, and making sure they really know the stuff.

 

[lymanm]

JAFI - I fully agree with your method. I separate the class into groups of 2 and assign each on a question. Of course, I try to make it interesting by assigning quirky, odd and unique situations and often requiring multiple FAR research. Most of the time it will allow them to answer legit quetions for a budding PPL, but I'll often ask out-there questions simply to get the FAR research experience. Get to know your FARs!

As this is an election year, I plan on having alot of fun with 91.323

 

[Flymach2]

Originally posted by lymanm

As this is an election year, I plan on having alot of fun with 91.323

Hi...

I may be missing something but what does increasing max certificated weight for certain airplanes in Alaska have to do with an election year?

Regards

 

[huncowboy]

Tonights Topic, FARS! WEEE...FUN.

Hope the class stays awake. I know its dry, but has to be taught. Now I have a few hours to come up with a game plan/lesson plan for the students.

I figure reading the FARS word for word will cause them to pull out the pillows.

Part 1, 61, 91, NTSB ... time to find out whats hot and whats not !

dang few hours only lol?

I have put into the FARs (only 61,91,NTSB830 and the general description of what is in the AIM) say a total of 15 net hours over the computer. I have done 61 and 1/2 of 91 thus far and have some 20 pages already. Of course this is for my ground briefs only (which should be "extremely detailed") so it is definitely too much for private students. But only a few hours to prepare that lesson?

 

[lymanm]

...

Sorry Flymach2, I meant 91.321

http://www.risingup.com/fars/info/part91-321-FAR.shtml

Yikes, and I'm CFI!

 

[Flymach2]

Hi...

No need to be sorry, my friend. Keep up the good work.

Regards