Random Light: 09/01/2009

Friday, September 25, 2009

Principles of Learning as per Aviation

Principles of learning Remember to REE-hash the PRI-nciples
REE-PRI
Readiness, Effect, Exercise (Thorndyke)
Primacy, Recency, Intensity

Readiness: Any learning is based on some type of previous experience that provides the foundation (no, that's not it). "Individuals learn best when they are emotionally, mentally, and physically ready to learn, and they do not learn well when they see no reason for doing it. " Instructors can be in a position to provide motivation.

Exercise: Any skill, whether manual or cognitive, must be repeated and/or applied regularly or it will be lost. Better: "Those things most often repeated are best remembered. This is the basis of drill-and-practice." I need to repeat this a lot. This says a lot for the CAP-style practice of maneuvers in a consistent sequence.

Effect: (beats me. I couldn't remember this one in college, either). "Learning is strengthened when accompanied by a pleasant emotion." Oh, yeah. I can picture one of my professors who used the word a lot, but I can't remember her name. She was an exceptionally good school principle who eventually got swallowed up by the computers at Spalding U. That was in the years when all the very best people in all the schools got suckered into setting up and maintaining the obsolete IBM computers that the schools insisted on buying, and 10 or 15 years drained into a bottomless pit. A lot of unpleasant emotion floating around during those years. Negative EFFECT had quite an effect.

Primacy: The first learning of a skill or concept is the strongest, therefore it is essential that things be taught well the first time. "Things learned first create a strong impression in the mind that is difficult to erase." Well said. Somehow good lesson plans fall into this category. ??!

Recency: "Information acquired last is usually remembered best." The instructor can repeat, restate & reemphasize at the end of the lesson to take advantage of this.

Intensity: The highly emotional or otherwise multi-layer experience will be more strongly learned than a simple experience. "A sharp, vivid, exciting, emotional experience teaches more than a routine or boring experience." Ahh. Enter scenario-based flight training.

REE-PRI

When you're READY for EFFECT in the EXERCISE of flight,
PRIME the engine, and lock the knob in tight.
Not RECENT, but clear, is the crucial lesson learned--
INTENSITY unwanted for lack of metal turned.

gah.