Features A Case for Auditory Learning Resources in Naval Aviation Training By LT Andrew George, USN
Problem Statement: Naval Aviation does not provide auditory-based learning resources when training students to fly a Type/Model/Series (T/M/S). Background: tudent Naval Aviators (SNA) and Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) students are issued several primary resources when learning to fly a T/M/S for the first time, or as a CAT II or III FRS student. These primary resources include but are not limited to the NATOPS Flight Manual, NATOPS Pocket Checklist, Flight Training Instruction (FTI) in flight school, and Maneuver Description Guide (MDG) at the FRS. Ground-based Training in a T/M/S is then further supplemented by a combination of instructor led classes and computer based training such as Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI) and Interactive Courseware (ICW). In some instances, students are also provided with digital copies of these publications and courseware on a CD/DVD. If CD/DVDs containing study materials are not provided in an official manner, aviators will typically distribute publications to themselves and others by attaching files to emails and cloudbased file-sharing services. Although the importance of having hard copies of these primary study materials is a necessary minimum requirement, the portability and accessibility of digital study materials is invaluable when it comes to being able to study in any environment with a cellular device, tablet, or computer. While distribution of digital publications is a topic in itself, this document addresses a much larger concern underlying the primary learning style in Naval Aviation training.
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Discussion: The one thing that primary source publications and computer-based courseware have in common is that they appeal to a visual learning style. There are virtually no resources based on an auditory learning style that are available to flight students to take home or study on a portable electronic device. Compare this to an ever-growing audiobook industry with companies such as Audible that has most of Amazon’s vast database of eBooks recorded in audio format for playback; it is clear that Naval Aviation is lagging behind when it comes to tapping into this alternative method of learning. Reference (a) concludes that visual and auditory learning are equally effective learning methods and that a combination of these methods leads to "more efficient comprehension" over using visual or auditory alone. Reference (a) also suggests auditory learning can, in some cases, be more effective than visual learning when studying "meaningful, familiar material" compared to studying "meaningless and unfamiliar material" where visual learning is more effective. Recommendation: It is my recommendation that CNATRA and NATOPS Model Managers of all T/M/S explore and implement low cost but effective learning resources based on an auditory learning style for distribution to all aviators of their assigned T/M/S. Rotor Review #162 Fall '23
Distributed with the caveat that the auditory materials are not to replace the primary sources they are based on, and that the auditory learning materials can be regarded as supplementary. A specific example of how easily this can be implemented would be to focus on Chapter 12 Emergency Procedures of the NATOPS Flight Manual. Anyone with a decent voice can sit in front of a computer and microphone, and over the course of a working day or two, record and edit all the Critical Memory Items (CMI) with associated Notes, Warnings, and Cautions for distribution as an auditory study resource. In addition, recordings could implement mnemonics or other memory aids that increase retention. Distribution could be in the form of a CD/DVD as previously mentioned, or could be downloaded directly onto an electronic device such as an Android cell phone through the GEOINT App Store, a government-controlled medium. Reference (b) outlines examples of how playback of recorded knowledge can be utilized. In the same way people listen to audiobooks, freeing their hands to accomplish other tasks while engaging the mind to listen and learn, Naval Aviators can listen to a recording of life-saving CMIs while they drive to work, cook or clean at home, and at the gym. This specific method of studying was successfully implemented by a pilot at HSC-25, who over the course of his Naval Aviation training, made recordings of CMIs for every T/M/S he flew including the T-6, TH-57, and MH60S. With an extremely busy family life, he found that, "concentrating on EPs while doing another task really helped it sink in." Introducing an auditory resource like this that not only covers Emergency Procedures, but Systems, Limitations, Flight Characteristics, etc. would transform the way we learn our assigned aircraft, reduce flight school attrition, increase Fleet readiness, and make us better aviators. Summary And Conclusions The implications of the experimental evidence for the first of these questions is quite clear. Approximately half of the research has favored a visual, and half, an auditory method of presentation. It must then be concluded that neither an auditory nor visual presentation of information is more suited per se to efficient comprehension. 1. A Combined visual and auditory presentation of material leads to more efficient comprehension than the presentation of either auditory or visual material alone. 2. Meaningful, familiar material is more efficiently presented aurally, whereas meaningless and unfamiliar material is more efficiently presented visually. 64
