Interesting post. As a person who has spent many a year developing my health care career, I've always found the
"try it this way, if it doesn't work, question it, and try it another way," method, the best way of learning. I'm sure there is some complex psychological theory behingd this, but it escapes me.
On commencing my PPL training, I was a little surprised and bemused to find out actually, that there was only one way of performing a certain task, and most things were learnt "rote" fashion. (BUMPH and FREDA checks for example.)
Initially, I found this a little frustrating, as I've always been used to questioning traditional methods of performing a task.
With hindsight, its pretty obvious now, why this type of "drill" learning was so important. If all hells going on in the cockpit, then I want to be able to almost automatically snap into survival mode.
I soon realised, however, that flying involves more than learning the "drills" required to fly and land the bloody thing, and in fact the PPL learning can be divided up into 3 distinct divisions:
Skills- usually learnt by repeatedly thinking about and performing a task.
Knowledge- gleamed from the usual sources (The Confuser being one of them!)
Attitude- I guess that this is the instructors main role- when is this pilot ready to take command of this aircraft. (usually tested by Mr Instructor giving me further grief, just as I thought that the pressure had really built -RT/Nav?Controlling the thing))
It did seem to work.
I may be wrong, I'm neither an instructor nor educationalist- but my view fom the sharp end of the stick