Instructor Insights pages are part of the OCW Educator initiative, which seeks to enhance the value of OCW for educators.
Instructor Insights
Below, Dr. Philip Greenspun and Dr. Tina Srivastava describe various aspects of how they teach 16.687 Private Pilot Ground School.
Every student graduating from MIT should know how airplanes fly. It's a really basic point of curiosity in the world.
— Tina Srivastava
Curriculum Information
Prerequisites
None, though students are expected to have previously read portions of the FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, FAA Airplane Flying Handbook, and FAA Helicopter Flying Handbook.
Requirements Satisfied
Unrestricted Elective Credits 
Offered
Every IAP
The Classroom
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Room 1 of 2 
Lecture
The first day of the course was taught in a lecture hall with tiered seating for 119, several blackboards and whiteboards, and A/V equipment.
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Room 2 of 2 Lecture
The second and third days of the course were taught in a slightly smaller lecture hall with tiered seating and shared desk space for 90, blackboards, and A/V equipment.
Assessment
Students receive a P/D/F grade rather than standard letter grades. P (passing) indicates a C- or better.
Student Information
Enrollment
Enrollment was about 170 in the 2019 IAP, of whom 51 were MIT students taking the course for credit.
Breakdown by Year
30% undergraduates, 40% graduate students, 10% MIT alumni, 20% other
Typical Student Background
About 25% of students had taken one or more flight lessons; 20% had studied some written pilot training materials; 55% had no aviation experience of any kind.
In Class
The course met on three successive days from 9 AM to 5 PM each day. Class sessions were lecture-based, with many opportunities for asking and answering questions. Lectures were also infused with images, graphics, and props.
Out of Class
Students were expected to read portions of the FAA training manuals before the beginning of the course and many prepared to take the FAA official knowledge test outside of class.