This help page is specific to lesson plans. A separate page is available for general editing help.
Book Versus Lesson Plan Content
If you are attempting to edit a lesson plan’s content, see the My CFI Book References section below for details on the process. You may need to edit the corresponding book page instead.
Adding and Editing Lesson Plans
- To edit a lesson plan, click the “Customize” link from the page used to view the lesson plan’s contents.
- New pages are added from the dashboard. Click “Add New” under the “Book Pages” menu.
Lesson Plan Templates
New lesson plans are generated using a template that is common to aviation lesson plans. The template serves as a starting point. Unwanted sections can be removed, and new sections can be added.
Lesson Plan Elements
Each lesson plan typically contains the following sections. All sections are optional.
Introduction
The introduction is a brief statement about the lesson. Its purpose is to convince the learner that the lesson is important and relevant.
According to the Aviation Instructor’s Handbook, “the introduction is made up of three elements: attention, motivation, and an overview of what is to be covered.” Because each lesson plan provides an overview of the lesson in the objectives section, the introduction can focus on attention and motivation.
Tips for the introduction:
- Point to what is important in the lesson.
- Tap into the learner’s interests.
- Finish the introduction with a few casual questions to assess the learner’s current subject knowledge.
Objectives
Properly written objectives describe:
- What should the learner do during the lesson?
- What conditions will the learner encounter in the lesson?
- What will the learner be able to do upon completing the lesson?
The objectives should measure one of the learning levels of the cognitive, affective, or psychomotor domains. Each domain has a list of adverbs (e.g., describe, perform, explain) that can be used to write the objective.
Teaching Strategy
The strategy describes an approach to teaching the lesson material. It is only meant to be seen by the instructor. The strategy should be unique to the instructor’s preferred teaching style, but adaptable to meet the learner’s needs.
Possible uses of this section include:
- Describing what teaching methods to use.
- Listing related topics or maneuvers that the learner is likely familiar with.
- Keeping personal notes about the lesson.
- Describing how to use the instructional aids.
My CFI Book References (Lesson Briefing)
Lesson plans can use content from My CFI Book by selecting checkboxes during editing. The selections can be broad, meaning an entire page is used, or they can be made more specific by selecting individual subtopics.
Selecting References from My CFI Book
The checkboxes correspond to pages or portions of pages that are in the book (My CFI Book). Any selected boxes will render the book’s content when the lesson plan is viewed.
“My CFI Book References” Panel When Editing
Selections are made in the “My CFI Book References” panel at the bottom of the lesson plan editing page.
The default selections for new users are limited in scope and generally replicate the Objectives of the Airman Certification Standards (ACS). Certificated instructors who are actively teaching will need to select additional topics for each lesson to ensure that all material is covered.
How content from My CFI Book is used:
- When viewed on the web or in a PDF, the book selections are displayed below the lesson plan outline.
- When viewed as a slideshow, the book selections are used as the content (most appendices and supplements are not shown).
Lesson Presentation View
The “Lesson Presentation” section (or “Lesson Briefing” for flight lessons) in the lesson plan serves as a table of contents and updates automatically with any changes you make to the checkboxes.
Sorting My CFI Book References
Book selections can be sorted when editing or viewing a lesson plan. Titles can be moved up and down (drag-and-drop) to change the display order.
Note: Sorting is not enabled by many small devices, including smartphones.
Scenario
The scenario defines a real-world experience to incorporate into the lesson, enabling the training objectives to be met in an operational environment. The learner should be presented with a situation that requires him or her to make decisions.
The following examples can be used to help develop a scenario:
- You are going to fly to a nearby airport to deliver a package to a branch office of your business.
- You are taking a flight to a nearby airport to check on the maintenance status of another airplane from your flight school.
- You are flying to a nearby large airport to pick up a client arriving on a commercial airline.
- You are an insurance agent and need to fly to another airport to assess damage to a restaurant near the airport.
Case Studies
Instructors should use case studies as a part of the teaching process. Case studies are factual accounts of real-world situations that led to incidents or accidents. The full narrative of the listed accidents is available on the NTSB’s website.
Case studies can be evaluated using the Accident Analysis Worksheet and Aviation Accident Analysis lesson plan.
Resources
This section can be used to list the reference materials that were used to construct the lesson. It can also be used to list resources for the learner to review later.
Schedule
The schedule outlines the sequence of events for the lesson and how much time (in hours and minutes) each part should take. Extraneous tasks, such as preflight activities and time spent transitioning to the practice area, are not included by default. The omission is made because it is reasonable to assume that an instructional period will incorporate multiple knowledge areas or flight maneuvers, thus involving a combination of lesson plans.
Equipment
The equipment section can be used to list the teaching materials and instructional aids that will be used during the lesson.
Review and Assessment
This section can be used to list key points to review and questions to ask during the assessment.
Completion Standards
The completion standards relate to the objectives but also specify the specific knowledge and skills to be met. Since the same lesson plan may be used for learners in different training phases, the standards should be appropriate to the desired level of progress.
Airman Certification Standards (ACS) documents can be referenced instead of listing the requirements in the lesson plan. A summary of the pilot certification standards is included in My CFI Book for each airport operation and flight maneuver.