Definition
Information delivered to a learner through what they see, including the instructor's facial expressions, gestures, posture, eye contact, written words, diagrams, photographs, models, and demonstrations. In instructional communication, visual cues work alongside spoken words to reinforce, clarify, or sometimes contradict the message being given.
Plain English
Anything the student picks up by looking, rather than by listening. This includes the instructor's body language and the pictures, charts, or written notes used during teaching.
Context Anchor
Used in flight and ground instruction when an instructor observes a student, demonstrates a task, or checks whether a message was understood.
Derivation
Visual' comes from the Latin visus, meaning 'sight' or 'seeing.' A 'cue' is a signal that prompts a response, originally a theatre term for the words or actions that told an actor when to speak. So a visual cue is literally a signal you receive by seeing it.
Why Pilots Care
They reduce the need for spoken explanations in a noisy cockpit and help students grasp concepts more quickly and accurately.
Grounding Statement
During a lesson, an instructor may see from a student’s face, posture, or control movement that the student needs a clearer explanation.
Intuition Check
Visual cues are not only hand signals or pictures. In this context, they include any useful information you get by looking, including a student’s actions, posture, and the airplane’s behavior.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor used visual cues, including a sectional chart and hand gestures showing wind direction, to explain how to plan a crosswind landing.
Example Sentence 2
The student responded to the instructor's visual cues and adjusted the pitch attitude without further explanation.