Definition
Instructional materials that present information through hearing (audio) or sight (visual), or both, to support a lesson. Examples include recordings, models, charts, diagrams, photographs, slides, videos, and computer-based displays used by an instructor to help students grasp concepts more effectively than through words alone.
Plain English
Things a student can hear or see — like a video, model, diagram, or recording — that an instructor uses to make a topic easier to understand.
Context Anchor
Seen in instructor training when discussing lesson planning, classroom teaching, ground instruction, and preflight or postflight explanations.
Derivation
‘Audio’ comes from the Latin audire, meaning ‘to hear.’ ‘Visual’ comes from the Latin visus, meaning ‘sight’ or ‘seen.’ Together the phrase simply names the two senses these aids work through.
Why Pilots Care
These aids help student pilots understand and remember key ideas quickly, shortening training time and lowering the chance of later confusion in flight.
Intuition Check
Do not read “aids” here as extra decoration or filler. In instructor use, audio or visual aids are chosen because they directly help the student understand the lesson.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor used audio or visual aids, including a sectional chart and a short video, to explain airspace classes.
Example Sentence 2
During the weather briefing, audio or visual aids helped the student see how fronts move across a sectional chart.