Syllabus tips for CFI candidates?

J

jonathanv

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Mar 14, 2015
Messages
11
Location
Houston, TX
Display Name
Display name:
jonathanv
Ok CFIs, what is the best way to organize my syllabus?

I'm getting back into working on my CFI and I'm having a little trouble figuring out how I should organize my syllabus... Should I follow the chapters in the PHAK? PTS? Neither?

How did you decide to organize your lesson plans and make sure everything was covered, yet still be organized enough to quickly pull a lesson plan during the checkride?
 
Neither. If you are going to make your own syllabus (as my examiner said when I pulled out the Jepp one, "Good. No reason to re-invent the wheel."), Your guide is more related to the requirements for the certificate or rating than the PTS or PHAK.

So, for example, as you know, 61 Subpart C lays out the knowledge and flight requirements for student pilots before they solo and, separately, for those before solo cross country. That's more attuned to a private pilot syllabus than having a student plan a cross country and explain all of the weather information and calculations that go into it (the first Task in the Private PTS), isn't it?

Organization of the lesson plans should simply follow your syllabus. Your syllabus is the best Table of Contents to lesson plans I can think of.
 
I passed my CFI ride a few weeks ago. I looked through the entire CFI PTS and went line by and made sure I could exaplain and demonstrate everything and incorporated it into my lesson plans. For example the technical subject areas like Aeromedical Factors, Weight & Balance, etc I made sure I could explain everything in the PTS. It is all fair game for the examiner to ask
 
Google is your friend.

The interesting thing is, if you look at Jepp, King/Cessna, Gleim, Sportys, ASA, etc, one realizes very quickly the differences between them are minimal. That, by itself, tells you a lot.
 
midlifeflyer said:
Google is your friend.

The interesting thing is, if you look at Jepp, King/Cessna, Gleim, Sportys, ASA, etc, one realizes very quickly the differences between them are minimal. That, by itself, tells you a lot.
Click to expand...

Yeah I figured that out and that is what I did.
 
I'm with Mark on not re-inventing the wheel..

When I did my CFI back 6 years ago, I found a CFI's website that had a really good syllabus and lesson plans in .pdf form for Private and Commercial that referenced the FAA publications (I used the AFH and PHAK as a student).

I downloaded them (which the site invited us to do) and then edited and made slight tweaks to accommodate my style.

The FSDO examiner spent all of 5 minutes looking them over...asked how long it took me to come up with them. I told him how and where I found them and he said "nice"...and we moved on.
 
Thanks for all the good tips. It sounds like I'm putting way too much emphasis on how I'm doing my lesson plans...

When I started the CFI ground school a couple of years ago (before life got in the way for a while) it seemed like they were really harping on us to come up with some magical format on our own. At the time I was thinking they were going to be scrutinized during the checkride!

Now it sounds like it was a rouse to get us to study (which it does help quite a bit). I will just keep plugging away on what I was doing without stressing about the format so much.

Small side topic - if anyone happens to have any recommendations on who to work with to finish up (near Houston) I'm all ears. I moved down only a few months ago.
 
jonathanv said:
Thanks for all the good tips. It sounds like I'm putting way too much emphasis on how I'm doing my lesson plans...
Click to expand...
I think lesson plans are a little different. There's still no real reason not to use canned ones (examiners will vary) BUT you really are expected and do need to know how to create one.

In the real world, it's rare (although not unheard of) that you will need to write a whole syllabus, but a bit more common that there will be some new or special subject that will require you to think in terms of planning a lesson.

Looking at my old flight training folder, I have 10 lesson plans I wrote myself. Two were for my CFI practical test; the rest were either subjects that were a little different or in which I saw student problems not covered by the canned ones I had. Much more variation there than syllabi.
 
I'm ok with writing lessons plans... I actually really prefer it as it is helping me study the details a lot closer. Although I probably have too much detail in the lesson plan itself.

I'm just a little overwhelmed trying to figure out exactly what to cover and when in each plan. I guess I figured if I laid out an overall syllabus that would give me a good roadmap to work through.
 
jonathanv said:
I'm ok with writing lessons plans... I actually really prefer it as it is helping me study the details a lot closer. Although I probably have too much detail in the lesson plan itself.

I'm just a little overwhelmed trying to figure out exactly what to cover and when in each plan. I guess I figured if I laid out an overall syllabus that would give me a good roadmap to work through.
Click to expand...
That is exactly the reason to know how to write your own. But your concerns over overdoing it is a good reason to be looking at canned ones. The lesson plan is really an outline or - to use a common aviation analogy - a checklist of things to cover. It's not meant to hamstring you but to free you to be creative while still covering the essentials.

The syllabus, OTOH, is a roadmap of the order in which to cover the lessons. To use the stepping stone theory of instruction effectively. To recall what skills are essential in order to learn other skills. Not much sense to cover short field landings unless you've already covered slow flight.

Worst example of a syllabus - or the lack of one - I know of was an instructor who figured the best first lesson for a multi-engine student was single engine landings. Ended up losing control and, while fortunately no one was hurt, managed to crash into another airplane - on a taxiway!
 
Just think about what you learned during your private, look back through your logbook, ask friends about what they would have done differently if they were starting over. Mainly, you want to have a plan to logically teach your students in a good learning progression with some flexibility for weather or schedule issues.
 
Task A: Aeromedical Factors
References: AIM; FAA-H-8083-3, FAA-S-8081-12, FAA-S-8081-14.
Objective: To determine that the applicant exhibits instructional knowledge of the elements related to aeromedical factors by describing:
1. How to obtain an appropriate medical certificate.
2. How to obtain a medical certificate in the event of a possible medical deficiency.
3. The causes, symptoms, effects, and corrective action of the following medical factors:
a. Hypoxia
b. Hyperventilation
c. Middle ear and sinus problems
d. Spatial disorientation
e. Motion sickness
f. Carbon monoxide poisoning
g. Fatigue and stress
h. Dehydration
4. The effects of alcohol and drugs, and their relationship to flight safety.
5. The effect of nitrogen excesses incurred during scuba dives and how this affects pilots and passengers during flight.

If you can explain or know where to look up everything here and whatever is in the PTS you will be good to go. You can also get some syllabus ideas from Jeppesen, Gleim, King, etc.
 
Something I have in my syllabus is a student agreement in the front where I go over how I handle late-shows, equipment/materials I want my students to own, etc.
 
Thanks, this helps a lot!

I feel like I'm trying to cover too much in each lesson. I'm still working on that nice mix of regulations and aeronautical knowledge without being too overwhelming.
 
jonathanv said:
Ok CFIs, what is the best way to organize my syllabus?

I'm getting back into working on my CFI and I'm having a little trouble figuring out how I should organize my syllabus... Should I follow the chapters in the PHAK? PTS? Neither?

How did you decide to organize your lesson plans and make sure everything was covered, yet still be organized enough to quickly pull a lesson plan during the checkride?
Click to expand...

Where do you instruct?
 
jonathanv said:
...I feel like I'm trying to cover too much in each lesson.
Click to expand...

Then don't. :wink2:

Just because a particular "lesson" is on one page, it does not mean that you have to cover everything and complete it in one "training session". It will vary from student to student.
 
Well that... and I tend to make a lot of notes on each lesson plan. I might just need to filter it down where I have references listed more than detail so I can quickly pull out the book full of diagrams, etc.
 
jonathanv said:
Thanks, this helps a lot!

I feel like I'm trying to cover too much in each lesson. I'm still working on that nice mix of regulations and aeronautical knowledge without being too overwhelming.
Click to expand...
You also have to gauge where each student is. I assign homework to the students and have them explain the topic to. Some of them do their homework so we don't really have to a lot of ground and some of them don't so I end up spoon feeding them the material and they pay for it. Simple is better. On my CFI ride I went from simple to complex and if the examiner wanted me he would just ask me to explain it more in depth.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top