Syllabus for AVT-306

CREW RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Crew Resource Management examines and develops the cognitive, organizational, management, and interpersonal skills that are necessary to lead a crew and manage a flight within a complex organized aviation environment.

COURSE TOPICS

Crew Resource Management (CRM) will examine the following major topics:

The history of and need for CRM
The limits of human performance and the nature of human error
The cognitive skills and mental processes used in maintaining situational awareness, decision making, and problem solving
The interpersonal skills used in communicating and working as a team
The organizational skills used in managing a flight, its crew, and passengers
The error management skills used to identify threats to safety and implement a plan to avoid or mitigate those threats
The processes used to combine the cognitive, interpersonal, organizational, and management knowledge, skills, and ability to be a part of and lead a crew safely and effectively

COURSE OBJECTIVES

After completing this course, you should be able to:

CO1 Explain and identify the rationale and necessity for crew resource management training.

CO2 Analyze the elements of effective crew resource management including the evaluation and use of all available resources.

CO3 Critically examine and critique case studies involving CRM actions and make recommendations for operational improvements.

CO4 Apply the elements of CRM to solve scenario-based problems using cognitive, interpersonal, organizational, and error management skills.

COURSE MATERIALS

Except for information you will research for your final paper, all the material you will need to do the work of the course is provided in the individual modules where you will find links to assigned videos and instructions for completing all assignments.

COURSE STRUCTURE

Crew Resource Management is a three-credit, online course consisting of six modules, a final project in the form of a paper, and a final exam. Modules include an overview, topics, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.

Module 1: Introduction and Purpose of CRM
Course objectives covered in this module: CO1
Module 2: Cognitive CRM Skills and Effective Decision Making
Course objectives covered in this module: CO2
Module 3: Interpersonal Skills and Resource Management
Course objectives covered in this module: CO2
Module 4: Organizational Skills and Error Management
Course objectives covered in this module: CO2
Module 5: Applying CRM Processes
Course objectives covered in this module: CO3
Module 6: Practicing CRM
Course objectives covered in this module: CO4

ASSESSMENT METHODS

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, take modular quizzes, take a proctored final examination, and complete a final project. See below for details.

Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.

Promoting Originality

One or more of your course activities may utilize a tool designed to promote original work and evaluate your submissions for plagiarism. More information about this tool is available in this document.

Discussion Forums

In addition to an ungraded Introductions Forum, you are required to participate in six graded online class discussions—one in each module.

Communication with your mentor and among fellow students is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online class discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a discussion question and at least two subsequent comments on classmates' responses.

All of these responses must be substantial. Meaningful participation is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate or your mentor, state and support your position.

You will be evaluated on the quality and quantity of your participation, including your use of relevant course information to support your point of view and your awareness of and responses to the postings of your classmates. Remember, these are discussions: responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, mature, and respectful.

Written Assignments

You are required to complete four written assignments. The written assignments are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules.

Quizzes

You are required to take six quizzes. The module quizzes are open book and consist of multiple-choice questions. You may take a quiz as often as you want; just be aware that the grade of your most recent attempt for that particular quiz will appear in the gradebook. The launch links for the quizzes are available within Modules 1 through 6.

Note: You may see some new questions each time you attempt the quiz, so multiple attempts should serve as a useful review method.

Final Examination

You are required to take a proctored, online final examination. The examination requires that you use the University's Online Proctor Service (OPS). Please refer to the Examinations and Proctors section of the Online Student Handbook (see General Information area of the course website) for further information about scheduling and taking online exams and for all exam policies and procedures. You are strongly advised to schedule your exam within the first week of the semester.

Online exams are administered through the course website. Consult the Course Calendar for the official dates of exam weeks.

The final examination is closed-book, proctored, and covers concepts from all six modules. The exam, which is 2 hours long, consists of multiple-choice questions and essay questions.

Note:

To be able to answer the essay questions on the final examination, you must first watch a video called Mayday Air Crash Investigation: S15E01—Fatal Focus. You must watch this video before you take your exam; you will not have access to the video during the exam. The video can be accessed using the link above.Run time is 43:55.

While watching the video, you should focus on the following:

The airline’s and crew’s use of error management skills to identify threats to safety
The role of the first officer in the accident
The interpersonal skills of the crew
The cognitive skills and mental processes used by the crew
The root causes of Garuda Air accidents that have occurred over the last two decades

Statement about Cheating

You are on your honor not to cheat during the exam. Cheating means:

Looking up any answer or part of an answer in an unauthorized textbook or on the Internet, or using any other source to find the answer.
Copying and pasting or in any way copying responses or parts of responses from any other source into your online test. This includes but is not limited to copying and pasting from other documents or spreadsheets, whether written by yourself or anyone else.
Plagiarizing answers.
Asking anyone else to assist you by whatever means available while you take the exam.
Copying any part of the exam to share with other students.
Telling your mentor that you need another attempt at the exam because your connection to the Internet was interrupted when that is not true.

If there is evidence that you have cheated or plagiarized in your exam, the exam will be declared invalid, and you will fail the course.

Final Project: Research Paper

You are required at the end of the semester to submit a final project in the form of a research paper that will demonstrate understanding of the various administrative aspects of airline management. You will research an airline of your choice and discuss at minimum the following:

Brief history and importance of CRM
Cognitive CRM skills and effective decision making
Interpersonal skills and resource management
Organizational skills and error management

The main body of the paper should be 8 to 10 pages long.

Your final project will be completed in four steps as part of your work for Modules 1, 2, 4, and 6.

The first step, which you will complete as part of your assignment for Module 1, is to identify three topics/issues that you might like to research. Your mentor will provide feedback. This assignment is not graded but the gradebook will be marked as complete/incomplete.
The second step, which you will complete as part of your assignments for Module 2, is to choose a topic/issue that you will research and compile a preliminary list of sources you plan to use. Your mentor will provide feedback. This assignment is not graded but the gradebook will be marked as complete/incomplete.
The third step, which you will complete as part of your assignment for Module 4, is to construct an outline of how you intend to structure your paper and a revised list of sources based on feedback you received your mentor. This assignment is not graded but the gradebook will be marked as complete/incomplete.
The fourth step is to complete your paper and list of sources, which you are required to submit at the end of Module 6.

The final project is worth 20 percent of your grade. Your work will be assessed according to the criteria outlined in the Final Project Rubric.

For further details see Modules 1, 2, 4, and 6 and the Final Project area of the course.

Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.

GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

Discussion forums (6)—20 percent
Written assignments (4)—20 percent
Quizzes (6)—20 percent
Final project: research paper—20 percent
Final exam (proctored)-- 20 percent

All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:

A	=	93–100	C+	=	78–79
A–	=	90–92	C	=	73–77
B+	=	88–89	C–	=	70–72
B	=	83–87	D	=	60–69
B–	=	80–82	F	=	Below 60

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a course not in your area of study), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings).

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

Read carefully the entire Syllabus, making sure that all aspects of the course are clear to you and that you have all the materials required for the course.
Take time to read the entire Online Student Handbook. The Handbook answers many questions about how to proceed through the course, how to schedule exams, and how to get the most from your educational experience at Thomas Edison State University.
Arrange to take your examination(s) by following the instructions in this Syllabus and the Online Student Handbook.
Familiarize yourself with the learning management systems environment—how to navigate it and what the various course areas contain. If you know what to expect as you navigate the course, you can better pace yourself and complete the work on time.
If you are not familiar with Web-based learning be sure to review the processes for posting responses online and submitting assignments before class begins.

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:

To stay on track throughout the course, begin each week by consulting the Course Calendar. The Course Calendar provides an overview of the course and indicates due dates for submitting assignments, posting discussions, and scheduling and taking examinations.
Check Announcements regularly for new course information.

ACADEMIC POLICIES

To ensure success in all your academic endeavors and coursework at Thomas Edison State University, familiarize yourself with all administrative and academic policies including those related to academic integrity, course late submissions, course extensions, and grading policies.

For more, see: