Welcome to the first episode of the CFI ACS Breakdown Series. We’re starting where the ACS starts — Area of Operation 1, Task A: Effects of Human Behavior and Communication on the Learning Process. This task pulls from two chapters of the Aviation Instructor’s Handbook: Chapter 2 (Human Behavior) and Chapter 4 (Effective Communication). In a college setting, either one of those could fill an entire semester. The ACS distills both into a single page.

Before You Open the ACS: Two Things That Actually Matter

Before diving into the elements, there are two pieces of advice that come up in every CFI prep conversation and are worth addressing head-on.

Don’t waste time writing lesson plans from scratch. Commercially available lesson plans are completely acceptable. The analogy: if your boss asked you to train the new cook, you wouldn’t go home and write a cookbook first. There are plenty of recipes available. Your time is better spent practicing the teaching itself. Military instructors are expected to know what goes into a lesson plan, but they don’t write them from scratch — those are developed at the command level and pushed out to the instructor corps.

Memorizing the FOIs is not what the practical test is about. Having rote memorization of every defense mechanism or every level of Maslow’s Hierarchy may help on the written exam, but the practical test evaluates at the application level. A former FAA examiner used to begin the CFI oral by asking for the definition of human behavior. When the applicant recited it perfectly, she’d say: “Good. What level of learning did you just demonstrate?” The answer was rote — and that’s not what the exam is about.

Understanding the Testing Rules

For each task the examiner selects, you need to demonstrate:

Per the 8900.1 (Volume 5, Chapter 2, Section 1), the FAA wants examiners to use scenario-based evaluation to the maximum extent possible. A scenario is a flight or situation the applicant could realistically encounter with the certificate they’re seeking. The examiner shouldn’t be asking you to rattle off lists — they should be presenting you with situations that let you demonstrate application-level knowledge.

Area of Operation 1 Note: The evaluator must select Task E, Task F, and at least one other task for initial flight instructor applicants. For add-on ratings or reinstatements, FOI coverage is at the evaluator’s discretion.

Knowledge Elements: What’s in This Task

Task A has four knowledge topics, several with sub-elements. All of them trace back to chapters 2 and 4 of the Aviation Instructor’s Handbook.

K1 — Elements of Human Behavior   FI.I.A.K1

K2 — Learner Emotional Reactions   FI.I.A.K2

K3 — Teaching the Adult Learner   FI.I.A.K3

A single knowledge element covering AIH Ch 2, p.2-17. Adult learners are motivated to seek out learning because they have a use for the knowledge — learning is a means to an end, not the end itself. Their brain chemistry isn’t as malleable as a younger student’s. If you’re a younger CFI, this is often a blind spot because you’ve recently come out of the school system and are used to non-adult learning environments.

K4 — Effective Communication   FI.I.A.K4

Role-playing is the best way to develop communication skills. Have your CFI play the role of a new student and practice teaching them. This comes straight from Air Force training: on day one, the first assignment is to prepare and deliver a 15-minute lesson on any topic except aviation. It forces you into the role of a teacher, gets you comfortable speaking in front of people, and develops the exact skill set you’ll need on checkride day.

Risk Management Elements

R1: Recognizing and accommodating human behavior   FI.I.A.R1
R2: Barriers to communication   FI.I.A.R2

You must demonstrate at least one of these. Scenario-based evaluation handles both naturally — if your scenario involves a learner exhibiting defense mechanisms, you’ve addressed R1. If you demonstrate breaking through generalizations to establish two-way communication, you’ve addressed R2.

Skill Elements — You Must Demonstrate All of These

Four skills total. The key insight: start your preparation with the skills, then design a scenario that hits all of them. A well-designed scenario naturally pulls in the knowledge and risk management elements along the way.

The Walkthrough Scenario

Here’s a scenario that addresses every skill element in this task with a single, realistic setup:

You get an email from a potential client: “I’d like to get back into flying. I haven’t flown in about 10 years. I used to own an airplane but don’t anymore. I’ve found a local flying club with a Cessna 172 and I’d like to get checked out. There are a couple of family trips I’d like to do this summer. Would you be willing to work with me?”

Right away you need to unpack this. You have an adult learner who already holds a certificate. But there’s not enough information to proceed. As a CFI, your first move is effective communication — you need to ask the right questions: Do they still hold a medical? Is it basic med or a standard certificate? Can you review their logbook and pilot certificate? Is the flying club’s insurance going to cover you as an instructor in their airplane?

Then the DPE, role-playing as the student, adds a triggering detail: ten years ago, they had a runway excursion on a dark, rainy night. “It wasn’t really my fault — the airplane hydroplaned.” They got away with minor injuries but haven’t touched an airplane since.

What just happened in terms of the ACS: The learner is demonstrating defense mechanisms (not taking ownership of the accident — rationalization). You now have a clear opening to address S2B. The fact that they crashed and haven’t flown in a decade introduces likely anxiety and stress (K2A). Their motivation to do family trips addresses K1C and K3 (adult learner). And you’re using effective communication (S3) throughout the entire interaction.

Your approach: dig into the accident. If there’s an NTSB report, get your hands on it. Walk through the facts with the learner — weather, conditions, decision-making — and ask questions that let them arrive at the realization themselves. “If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?” You’re using learner-centered grading, letting them self-assess rather than lecturing them.

If you can get them to take ownership — “yeah, maybe staying overnight and leaving the next morning in daylight would have been the better call” — you’ve demonstrated that you can address defense mechanisms and use ADM concepts in instruction. If you can’t get them there, that may constitute serious abnormal emotional behavior (S2A), and the Aviation Instructor’s Handbook says to bring in another experienced CFI to conduct an evaluation. You don’t have to endorse a learner you’re not comfortable with.

Scoreboard: That single scenario addressed all four skill elements (S1, S2A, S2B, S3), at least one knowledge element, and at least one risk management element. No rote memorization required — just application-level understanding of human behavior, communication, and instructional judgment.

EP1 ACS Companion PDF
Every element of AOO I, Task A mapped to the Aviation Instructor’s Handbook with chapter references and scenario examples.

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VSL ACE Guide

Every ACS element in this episode links directly to the source material through the ACE Guide. Green buttons take you straight to the right page in the Aviation Instructor’s Handbook, the Airplane Flying Handbook, and dozens of other FAA documents.

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