Teaching the Pilots of the New Millennium: Adult Cooperative Education in Aviation Education

Abstract

Aviation is a very dynamic field that requires great dedication on the part of those who choose professional flying for their careers. Students must acquire a great amount of knowledge to include technical data, procedural information, social skills and more. There is much for the potential aviator to learn; sometimes it seems overwhelming to the initiate. One means of learning this vast amount of information involves the technique of cooperative education. The mixing of adult educational techniques and cooperative learning may be particularly useful in aviation. Using cooperative education in acquiring the required knowledge can teach them discipline and social skills required in surviving today's active aviation environment. The challenge then, becomes one for the college-level aviation instructor. This paper addresses techniques for teaching potential pilots the fundamentals required for the job based on adult and cooperative educational techniques.