Instructor Tips

Communication is a cornerstone of instruction, and instruction is a method to get students to understand information. Since communication is important to instruction, it follows that instructors must be good communicators. Of course, that?s not always the case.

Several models describe communication. One theory uses the terms source, symbol, and receiver to explain the communication process. Other theories are more complex, using a five-step model of perception, encoding, transmission, reception, and decoding. These theories often use the term noise to describe barriers to effective communication. Any outside influence that degrades the signal can be considered noise. Solar flares, mountains, or corroded connections can affect radio transmissions and create noise. These types of noise can be dealt with. But when it comes to interpersonal communication, there are more subtle types of psychological noise that creep into our messages and disrupt learning. The causes of this noise are more difficult to identify and therefore more difficult to correct. The barriers to communication include language (spoken, written, and body) and the effect of language on different individuals. Spoken and written language consist of words that represent thoughts, ideas, and concepts. Words alone do not create a concept because the words we use have different meanings to different people. The result is that two people may hear the same words but interpret them differently. Even though you may use the right words for you, they may not be the right words for your students, who may pick up incorrect inferences from your choice of explanations and misinterpret what you thought was perfectly clear. One reason for this potential confusion is that words have two sets of meanings: denoted meanings and connoted meanings. Denotation refers to the specific or literal meaning of a word, and connotation refers to the implied meaning. On the surface, a word?s denotation is relatively straightforward. But in language, words sometimes have multiple denotations. For example, one popular dictionary has 57 definitions for the word ?time? and 27 definitions for the word ?spring.? And some words that sound the same are spelled differently and mean different things, such as ?reed? and ?read,? or ?red? and ?read.? Even though most adults can identify a word?s meaning by its use and context, you must carefully choose which words you want to use when speaking and writing to avoid confusion, especially with students who may speak English as a second language. A classic aviation example is takeoff power and take off power (the first meaning full power and the second meaning to reduce power). When written, the difference is obvious, but it may be less clear when spoken. In that case, it?s best to use another word, for example, reduce instead of take off. Another problem with denotation can occur when an individual thinks he or she understands a concept but does not. For instance, a newspaper reported that a witness to an aircraft accident had said that an airplane stall is when the airplane isn?t flying fast enough to keep the engine turning. The witness obviously thought he knew what a stall was, but the result was that the public was misinformed. Despite these potential pitfalls, the denotation of a given word is fairly simple. Connotations, however, affect understanding and communication in more complex ways. Experiences control perceptions. Words and phrases can evoke images or thoughts of previous experiences (which may be totally irrelevant to flight), that will influence your student?s perception and understanding. For example, snow has many associations. It may bring pleasant memories to some, such as skiing, sledding, building snowmen, and ice skating. For others it may represent hard work such as shoveling a driveway, evoke unpleasant stress about hazardous driving, or recall a time when family members were unable to be together because of bad weather. Or, the word snow may bring both sets of memories to the same person. Nuances are an important part of connotation. For example, what?s the difference between a chef and a cook? Both do the same thing, but to many people they are two completely different professions. It?s the implication based on previous learning that creates the perception. What would your description be for a fighter pilot or airline captain or flight instructor? All three fly aircraft, but is your image of each the same? The answer to that depends on your knowledge of aviation and your attitudes toward pilots, the military, the airlines, and so on. Each of your students also has his own preconceived attitudes, and you will have to deal with them. What a person says about himself, and the words he uses to say it, also affect communication. For example, what would you expect if someone said he was a wrestler? Would you think of college or Olympic wrestling, or television?s professional wrestling spectacle? What about a student who said he likes to play baseball? You might assume he is a typical sports enthusiast. What if he then added that he plays for the New York Yankees? Would that change your image? As a society, we tend to think that scientifically oriented individuals make competent pilots, while artistically oriented individuals do not. There is little truth in those ideas. Engineers do not make good pilots just because they?re engineers, and musicians do not make bad pilots just because they are musicians. If the skill, ability, and interest are there, anyone can make a good pilot. These images are based on bias, and biases are communication noise. If you expect your student to do poorly, you will not teach him the same way as if you expected him to do well. Many teachers tend to encourage students of whom they have favorable images, and discourage those of whom they do not. What?s more, we generally see what we expect to see. If you have a positive impression of a student, you are more likely to see improvement, progress, and competence. If you have a negative impression of a student, you are more likely to notice mistakes and overlook progress. Body language is another communication device that can be very effective in sending messages. How we move our bodies, incline our heads, gesture with our arms, and the way we sit, stand, and walk all send messages. At times, a person may say one thing while his body sends an entirely different message. Body language can be grouped into two types: warm and cold. Warm behaviors imply an openness to communication, and cold behaviors imply the opposite. Open behaviors include hand touching, moving toward an individual, smiling, facing an individual, agreeable head nodding, and tilting the head when talking or listening. Closed behaviors would include staring or sneering, moving away, cleaning fingernails, looking at the ceiling, and not facing an individual. The face may send the most messages, hence the expression ?written all over his face.? Often ?eyes light up? when you?re happy to see someone. Arms are also important. Folded arms may send the message, ?I?m not listening, and I don?t care.? Hands on hips coupled with a stare or frown may indicate arrogance or condescension. The way you sit is also important. Face your students as much as possible. Sitting across from each other at a table implies a structured environment. Sitting at 90 degrees to your student at a table implies a more casual situation. Use whichever seems more appropriate for the circumstances. If you want to be an effective instructor, you must identify communication barriers and knock them down. You?re supposed to be the expert in communication and teaching, not your student, and it?s up to you to take the initiative to eliminate barriers to communication. If you want additional information on communicating effectively, try your local bookstore under the headings of communication, sales, teaching, understanding personalities (psychology), or business and management. Any book that helps you to improve your communication and teaching skills is worth reading. College or business courses in communication and speech are another good source of information. Communicating effectively can be a challenge, and so can instructing. Meet the challenge. Learn to communicate effectively and you will become a better instructor.