Plain English Meaning

Teaching by talking, listening, and checking. The instructor shares an idea, the student responds, and both confirm the message actually landed the way it was meant.

Full Definition

A purposeful, two-way exchange of information between an instructor and a learner in which ideas, concepts, procedures, or skills are conveyed and verified, with the success of the exchange measured by the learner's resulting understanding and behavior — not by what the instructor said.

Context Anchor

You encounter this in flight instruction, ground lessons, briefings, debriefings, and any moment when an instructor is trying to help a student learn or improve.

Derivation

From Latin instruere, meaning to build up or arrange, and communicare, meaning to share or make common. Together they describe the act of building shared understanding — which is exactly what an instructor is trying to do with a student.