En Route to Better Learning

Making the Best Mix
In 2011, the FAA hired more than 1,000 student controllers. A majority of students are Generation Y and have started to learn their profession differently from any previous generation. For example, simulators replaced months of shadowing certified controllers, and strategic assessments provide objective and supplemental information that instructors did not have in the previous training process. The FAA’s technical training team engages students in traditional and non-traditional formats to increase the speed and breadth of knowledge transfer.

The FAA focused on two key actions in 2011: examining the curriculum architecture and maximizing value from air traffic simulators. The goal was to reduce the cost to train each student while improving student comprehension and retention of air traffic principles.

Throughout 2011, the Office of Safety and Technical Training completed two large initiatives — a preliminary examination of the curriculum architecture, and the implementation of a new initial training course to adapt training to current challenges. First, the FAA completed a preliminary examination of the current state of the curriculum architecture in May 2011. Results suggested younger students learn information just long enough to pass the test but do not retain it long-term; this was termed “learn and dump syndrome.” Instructors had to spend significant time and effort to verify students had learned content they should have mastered during the initial training stage.