Last week, you discovered the best study strategy to get the most out of your ground school training experience. But do you know how you learn? Having an awareness of how you learn can help you succeed both in the air and on the ground.

As in any other field, flight instructors are challenged to understand the different ways people learn. When your CFI understands how you learn, they can deliver the information so you may absorb it better. The result is a more customized learning experience.

What is Learning?

Before we discuss how you learn, we need to determine what is learning. Learning is a change in behavior that occurs through study, instruction, or experience. You have engaged in learning from birth. Learning is a fundamental part of our lives.

Educators and educational researchers have further classified learning into learning theories.

Behaviorism says that learning is predicted based on reward (success) or punishment (errors).
During cognitive learning, you change how you think, understand, or feel. This learning is also called “critical thinking” “problem solving” “reflective thought.”
Information processing theory likens your brain to a computer. Your brain processes incoming information, stores, and retrieves it, then generates a response.
The constructivism learning theory suggests that you build skills and knowledge from your experience. You might equate new information about aircraft engines to what you know about a car engine.

How We Learn

A commonality among the learning theories is that your brain is taking in information. You move through four levels of learning as you process new information.

Rote Memorization is what I call procedure. When you learned to ride a bike, you sat on the seat, placed your feet on the pedals and your hands on the handlebars, and pushed with your feet. You followed a specific set of directions to accomplish a task.
Understanding enables you to explain why you executed the procedures you learned. Your flight instructor teaches you to put your feet on the pedals (procedure). Understanding helps you connect what your feet are doing on the pedals and the movements you are making with the rudder (left and right).
Once you learn and understand a new procedure, you move to the application level of learning. This is usually the point in flight training where you can perform a maneuver and remain within a specified limitation.
As you progress through flight training, you notice that each lesson builds upon previous lessons. This helps you build correlation. When you correlate your learning, you associate new information with previous learning. You begin to figure out why are you doing what you are doing.

Your CFI will use scenarios to gauge your correlation of the subject matter. Be they real or theoretical, the scenarios your instructor produces could come from their experience or that of someone they know. Scenarios help reinforce the information you have learned, and they help prepare you for situations should they arise. Learning the procedure and moving forward is not enough. As the old saying indicates, practice makes perfect.

I have shown you what learning is and how you learn, but why do you need to know this information? Your instructor should know about learning and will guide you, right? In theory, yes. However, learning a skill such as flying an airplane requires teamwork between you and your instructor. Your instructor must do their part, but you must also do yours.

Determining Your Learning Style

Doing your part can include discovering your learning style. Your instructor can adjust and deliver information effectively based on your learning style.

Left Brain v. Right Brain

Helping your instructor understand how you absorb information starts with your brain. You have heard people describe themselves as “left brained” or “right brained.” The diagram below from the Aviation Instructor’s Handbook overviews the characteristics of a left-brained or right-brained individual. You use both sides of your brain in nearly every human activity, but you process information with the “brain” you are.

*Aviation Instructor’s Handbook (2020), Figure 3-14*

The ILS

In aviation, ILS refers to the Instrument Landing System. ILS can also refer to the Index of Learning Style developed by Richard Felder and Linda Silverman in 1988. You can assess your own learning preferences via a survey hosted by North Carolina State University. The Aviation Instructor’s Handbook also summarizes eight basic learning styles as seen below.

Aviation Instructor’s Handbook (2020), Figure 3-15 — Aviation Instructor’s Handbook (2020),
Figure 3-15

I took the questionnaire to see what it provided me. It took me 10 minutes to complete. I tried to answer based on my first thought and not overthink the questions, which I tend to do. Keep in mind, I have been teaching for a while, and I have learned how I like information delivered to me. Still, I struggled with some questions. I encourage you to take this test for yourself. The site also offers links with further detail of your results. Below were my results:

What does this mean? According to the site, the numbers result in the following:

“According to the model on which the ILS is based, there are four dimensions of learning style, with each dimension having two opposite categories (such as active and reflective). The reported score for a dimension indicates your preference for one category or the other.

If your score for a dimension is 1 or 3, you are well balanced on the two categories of that dimension, with only a mild preference for one or the other.

If your score for a dimension is 5 or 7, you have a moderate preference for one category of that dimension. You may learn less easily in an environment that fails to address that preference at least some of the time than you would in a more balanced environment.

If your score for a dimension is 9 or 11, you have a strong preference for one category of that dimension. You may have difficulty learning in an environment that fails to address that preference at least some of the time.”

Sensory Receptors

The more popular learning styles are based on the three sensory receptors: vision, hearing, and touch. This is called VAK or Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic learning styles.

*Aviation Instructor’s Handbook (2020), Figure 3-16*

You generally use the entire VAK to interpret information, but you might rely on one sense more than the others.

How Your CFI Can Help

In aviation, we equate higher-order real-world thinking skills with Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM. To develop your ADM, your instructor will use problem-based instruction (PBI) to include real-world problems, student-centered learning, authentic scenarios, active learning, and customized instruction for you.

This all can seem complicated if you are a new learner already overwhelmed by the processes and procedures associated with flight training. Therefore, your CFI must work to understand you and how you learn. They also need to deliver scenarios in such a manner that you become a safe pilot and that you enjoy a more rewarding experience.

I am always learning new ways to deliver information to my students. I find it challenging when I encounter someone who does not think or learn the same way I do. This is when, as an instructor, I talk to them about it. I encourage them to let me know how they like to absorb information. I want to know how I can help their learning experience.

Think about you absorb information. Do you tend to learn from videos or graphics? Or do you prefer charts and data? Do you like to talk to others? Do you need a study partner? Do you learn better on your own?

Talk to your instructor. Help them understand how you like the information delivered. Use them as your study partner. Help them understand what motivates you. Answer the questions, “Why do you want to learn to fly?” and “What are your goals?” This easy conversation can lead to a more positive and rewarding flight training experience for you.

Kathryn Roberts recalls standing in a field at age four and being able to reach up and touch the wheels of her father's plane while he seeded the local farmer's field. Aviation was always part of her childhood and life, as her father was a former crop duster and Piedmont Airlines captain. However, Kathryn sought another form of horsepower, competing as an equestrian and managing horse barns. But a flight lesson during her senior year at Clemson University changed her career path forever. Learn more about Kathryn and the rest of the Elon Aviation staff at www.elonaviation.com.