Definition
The stage of the demonstration-performance teaching method in which the instructor performs a skill or procedure exactly as the student is expected to perform it, while explaining what is being done and why. It follows the explanation phase and precedes the student's own attempt.
Plain English
It is the part of a lesson where the instructor shows the student how to do something correctly, step by step, before the student tries it.
Context Anchor
Seen in flight instructor training and lesson planning, especially when teaching cockpit procedures, maneuvers, landings, preflight tasks, or emergency procedures.
Derivation
From Latin demonstrare, meaning 'to show clearly.' The instructor's job in this phase is exactly that — to show the skill clearly so the student has an accurate model to copy.
Why Pilots Care
Students tend to imitate what they see. If the instructor demonstrates a maneuver sloppily or differently from how the student will be expected to perform it, the student learns the wrong version. A clean, accurate demonstration sets the standard the student will work toward.
Intuition Check
Do not read “demonstration phase” as a casual example or a show of skill. In this FAA instruction context, it means a specific teaching step where the instructor deliberately models the task before the student performs it.
Example Sentence 1
During the demonstration phase, the instructor flew a steep turn at the same airspeed and bank angle the student would be expected to hold.
Example Sentence 2
The demonstration phase follows the explanation phase and precedes the student performance phase in a typical lesson.