by Daniel Gustin, Chief Instructor at www.flighttrainers.ca, a modern online ground school dedicated to providing positive learning experiences and solutions for flight schools, private pilots, commercial pilots and flight instructors. Daniel is also a scholar of aviation education with experience as an aerobatic instructor, airline pilot and simulator instructor.
In aviation, threshold concepts are fundamental ideas that, once understood, transform a student’s perspective and approach to learning. It can also be a way of looking at something that allows deep understanding of something in the world (Mossley, 2017). A widely accepted way of understanding threshold concepts is to envision our students crossing an irreversible line (i.e., a “threshold”), which, once crossed, allows them to approach knowledge in a more advanced way. Crossing this line is transformative; it changes the way we think, perceive or experience phenomena (Meyer & Land, 2003). However, such thresholds come with challenges. Transformations can be so drastic and frightening that students may resist learning them. Nevertheless, once a concept is accepted and internalized, students can then progress with their learning. In aviation education, these concepts play a crucial role in shaping the mindset and skills not only of student pilots but also of active aviation professionals. Threshold concepts “bind a subject together, being fundamental to ways of thinking and practicing” (Land et al, 2005, p. 54).
When creating an aviation curriculum, whether it be preparatory ground instruction material for student pilots or a course on oceanic airspace, instructors must identify and address threshold concepts. Let’s consider two examples: one of an ab-initio student learning about stalls, and another of a two-crew environment in a 705 operation. For student pilots, once it is fundamentally understood that an airfoil stalls due to its angle of attack, the student may, from that point forward, begin to learn the correct and proper techniques for stall prevention and recovery. By mastering this ab-initio concept relating to stalls, students will be better prepared for any subsequent transition to higher performance aircraft, where stall recoveries may be more dangerous and difficult. As for the example of a two-crew 705 operation, this requires transitioning pilots to understand how best to make a two-crew scenario work. Once a pilot can transition their mindset away from single-pilot operations and embrace the skills necessary to work as a crew, they will be able to tackle complex problems that require task sharing, workload management, leadership or other crew resource management related proficiencies. Transitioning into a two-crew environment for the first time may be difficult and troublesome for some pilots, as it requires a fundamental change in how they approach flying. No longer are they an individual decision-maker; instead, they are now a part of a coordinated team effort. Once this threshold in mindset is crossed, skills flourish and become irreversibly ingrained.
Credit: Daniel Gustin
Image is from a video of an Aerobat exiting a ½ Cuban 8 maneuver with the stall horn audible in the background. This relates to the threshold concept that aircraft can stall at any attitude.
In aviation training, it is important to emphasize that our teachings must be correct and inclusive of threshold concepts. They must also incorporate the accurate language and phraseology used within the Canadian aviation environment. Terms such as “Certified Flight Instructor - CFI” (a term found in American aviation) must be replaced by the correct Canadian equivalent (in this case, “Flight Instructor”). Similarly, the term “class of medical” should be correctly referred to as a “Category” of a medical. Using correct verbiage is not a matter of semantics; it embodies a comprehensive understanding of the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs), which fosters the professional mindset we seek in our students. Using correct and standardized language when discussing a topic represents the cognitive and procedural shift that define a threshold concept, thus reshaping how the individual engages with aviation. With this greater engagement comes a reduction in misunderstandings, in errors, in misinterpretations and in unsafe practices in the cockpit.
Using the correct language is a crucial threshold concept to grasp; the next step is applying it effectively in real-world scenarios. A look at aviation medicals will demonstrate the importance of a language threshold concept. CAR 404.04(6) defines the validity periods of medicals, while the relevant standards in Part 4 of the CARs define which medicals will validate a licence. The basic premise of CAR 404.04(6) is that the validity period of a medical is based on the license held, not on the category of medical held. This means that any medical that validates a private pilot licence (PPL) for anyone less than 40 years of age is 60 months. Standard 421.26(2) outlines that a PPL is maintained by a valid Category 1 or 3 medical. Therefore, if a 23-year-old private pilot held a Category 1 medical, their medical would be valid for 60 months. Some pilots may argue that section 404.04(6.1) states that the validity period in such a case would be reduced to 12 months; however, this only applies to someone who holds a CPL, MPL or ATPL, and not to our 23-year-old with a PPL. The misinterpretation of these regulations may lead to confusion and to students unnecessarily renewing their medicals early, which will increase training costs and put more strain on the Civil Aviation medical processing system.
Credit: Daniel Gustin
Photo is from a crew on final at Rome's Fiumicino Airport.
CRM skills are necessary to work in a two-crew airline environment
Such misinterpretation, resulting from the misapplication of regulations, can be the result of oversimplification, curriculum gaps or a lack of instructor knowledge. In the case of aviation medicals, instructors may feel that it is easier to teach students that the categories of medicals change after a year instead of properly explaining the regulations. Examples such as this are found at all levels of aviation in Canada, from a flight instructor poorly explaining how a wing makes lift to an airline Captain asserting that their own personal flying techniques are their employer’s Standard Operating Procedures when they are not. We must ensure that our own interpretations and assumptions do not replace reality; instead, we should rely on the literature provided by the companies for which we work, by Transport Canada and by our application of accepted principles extracted from evidence-based aviation research.
It is also imperative that we do not impede on a student’s ability to learn necessary threshold concepts, as this may result in students taking unnecessary or unsafe actions when flying aircraft. If instructors focus too much on surface level facts or memorization, they may fail to encourage the deeper learning necessary to grasp a threshold concept. If we use incorrect terminology, neglect context in our teachings or teach something incorrectly, students will struggle to grasp the threshold concepts that are necessary for their growth as aviators. Paradoxically, a strict teaching style may discourage critical thinking to a point where students are prevented from navigating the difficult aspects of a threshold concept. For students learning to be effective, instructors must be mindful of these potential consequences and must create learning environments where students can actively engage, experiment and explore foundational threshold concepts in aviation.
To better apply threshold concepts to your own aviation journey, I encourage you to think about points:
- What role does feedback play in helping students navigate a threshold concept?
- In a transition from single pilot to multi-crew operations, what behavioural changes are necessary for pilots to properly integrate crew resource management (CRM) into their flying?
- What is the key threshold concept that someone must fully understand to effectively perform their role in aviation? What about your role in aviation?
- How does the mastery of a threshold concept, like angle of attack, transform pilot’s approach to decision-making and risk management during a flight?
References
- Land, R., Cousin, G., Meyer, J.H., & Davies, P. (2005). Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (3)*:implications for course design and evaluation.
- Meyer, J. H. F., & Land, R. (2003). Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge: Linkages to ways of thinking and practising within the disciplines. In C. Rust (Ed.), Improving student learning: Improving student learning theory and practice – 10 years on (pp. 412-424).
- Oxford, UK: Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development.
- Mossley, D. (2017). Reflecting on threshold concepts: an introductory tool. Higher Education Academy.