Definition
A learning principle stating that students improve faster and retain skills better when they receive prompt, specific feedback about how well they performed a task. In flight instruction, it means the instructor tells the student clearly and quickly what was correct, what was incorrect, and how performance compared to the standard.
Plain English
Telling a student how they did, soon after they did it, so they can learn from it. Without this feedback, students keep repeating the same mistakes because they don't know what to fix.
Context Anchor
Used in flight training, ground lessons, simulator sessions, maneuver practice, and post-flight debriefs when an instructor gives feedback on student performance.
Why Pilots Care
It speeds up learning by letting the student correct errors before they become habits.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as simply knowing the final score. In this FAA training context, it means getting clear feedback soon enough to connect the result to the action that caused it.
Example Sentence 1
After the student's third landing attempt, the instructor provided knowledge of results by pointing out that the flare was started about ten feet too high.
Example Sentence 2
In the simulator the student received knowledge of results on heading and airspeed right after each instrument approach.