Abstract
As flight simulators have become more commonplace in aviation training, empirical research for the optimum instructional design to be used to train novices has been left behind. The most common accident during instructional flight occurs due to an incorrect landing. These accidents could be reduced through the use of an effective training programme safely administered in a flight simulator. Simulator-based training has proven advocacy for training the flight skills needed to operate an aircraft. Furthermore, simulator-based training strategies can be designed to cater to a novice learner’s cognitive load. Cognitive load theory (CLT) has been used in past research as a pedagogical framework to design and evaluate instructional strategies. CLT advocates for instructional designs that maximise training effectiveness by minimising extraneous load, increasing germane load, and managing intrinsic load. Past research has also found an ‘instructor present’ effect in which an instructional design’s efficiency decreases with an instructor’s presence. Therefore, in the present study, the experimental instructional design was based on CLT and optimised for novices learning to land an aircraft. The CLT-based design provided initial assistance using a ‘tunnel-in-the-sky’ and delivered standardised instructions to reduce instructor variability. Novices learned to fly over three training sessions in one of three different instructional designs either with or without an instructor and then took part in a near- and far-transfer test. The flight performance, mean heart rate, and both objective and subjective cognitive load were measured. Through optimising the instructional design for novices, flight performance improved over the sessions and transferable psychomotor skills developed. No ‘instructor present’ effect was found. The present study concluded that a CLT-based instructional design could allow for flight training to become more efficient and effective regardless of an instructor’s presence.