DRTS Instructor Theory study plan
DRTS Instructor Theory · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
UAS Regulations and Airspace & Program Administration and Instructor Responsibilities
Map the UAS regulatory framework by categorizing Part 107 operating rules, waivers, and airspace authorization pathways.
Classify airspace classes and explain UAS access restrictions and authorization requirements for each.
Identify instructor administrative duties including recordkeeping, student eligibility verification, and currency tracking.
Draft a compliance checklist that links each regulatory requirement to a program administration action.
Your checkpoint
A one-page regulatory and airspace quick-reference sheet with a paired instructor compliance checklist covering at least 15 requirements.
UAS Regulations and Airspace
Interpret sectional chart symbology relevant to UAS operations, including controlled airspace boundaries and special use airspace.
Differentiate waiver and authorization mechanisms and select the correct process for a given scenario.
Explain remote identification requirements and their operational implications.
Solve ten scenario-based airspace and regulation problems with written justifications.
Your checkpoint
A worked answer key for ten airspace/regulation scenarios, each with the governing rule cited and a one-sentence rationale.
UAS Flight Operations and Safety & Emergency Response and Public Safety Integration
Sequence preflight, in-flight, and postflight procedures into a teachable checklist.
Analyze loading, performance, and site-survey factors that affect flight safety decisions.
Describe emergency procedures for lost link, flyaway, battery failure, and medical events.
Outline how public safety agencies integrate UAS into incident command and scene operations.
Your checkpoint
A normalized preflight-to-postflight procedure card plus a one-page emergency response flowchart covering four emergency types.
Emergency Response and Public Safety Integration & Risk Management and Crew Resource Management
Apply a structured risk assessment model to three operational scenarios and document mitigations.
Explain crew resource management principles and assign roles for a two-person UAS crew.
Demonstrate communication protocols and decision-making under stress in a tabletop exercise.
Connect emergency response lessons to public safety integration and mutual-aid coordination.
Your checkpoint
A completed risk assessment matrix and CRM role-assignment sheet for three scenarios, plus a tabletop exercise after-action summary.
Instructional Methodology and Adult Learning
Compare adult learning theories and select instructional strategies that match them.
Write measurable learning objectives using revised Bloom's taxonomy verbs.
Design a lesson plan that includes an opening, guided practice, and a formative check.
Adapt instruction for varied learner backgrounds and experience levels.
Your checkpoint
A 45-minute lesson plan with measurable objectives, a formative assessment, and a differentiation note for two learner profiles.
Instructional Methodology and Adult Learning & Assessment, Evaluation, and Documentation
Build an assessment blueprint that maps test items to learning objectives and domain weights.
Construct valid multiple-choice items with plausible distractors and defensible answer keys.
Create a performance-based rubric for a practical flight evaluation.
Explain documentation standards for training records, endorsements, and remediation.
Your checkpoint
An assessment blueprint with ten original items and a four-level performance rubric, plus a documentation template.
Assessment, Evaluation, and Documentation & Risk Management and Crew Resource Management
Evaluate assessment results to identify training gaps and recommend corrective instruction.
Design a documentation audit that verifies record completeness and regulatory alignment.
Integrate risk management into assessment design by building scenario-based evaluation items.
Apply CRM debriefing techniques to post-evaluation feedback.
Your checkpoint
A sample student evaluation report with gap analysis, remediation plan, and a completed documentation audit checklist.
Program Administration and Instructor Responsibilities & UAS Regulations and Airspace & UAS Flight Operations and Safety & Emergency Response and Public Safety Integration & Instructional Methodology and Adult Learning & Assessment, Evaluation, and Documentation & Risk Management and Crew Resource Management
Synthesize all domains into a comprehensive instructor theory review plan.
Complete a full-length practice examination under timed conditions.
Analyze missed items by domain and produce targeted review notes.
Verify program administration responsibilities and instructor currency requirements.
Your checkpoint
A timed practice exam score report with a domain-by-domain error analysis and a final one-page personal readiness checklist.
Milestones
Week 2: Score at least 80% on a self-made 20-question regulatory and airspace quiz, with every missed item corrected and annotated by rule citation.
Week 4: Deliver a 10-minute tabletop briefing on an emergency scenario that demonstrates correct risk assessment, CRM roles, and public safety integration.
Week 6: Produce a lesson plan and assessment package that passes a self-audit against a provided instructional design checklist with no critical gaps.
Week 8: Achieve at least 85% on the timed practice exam with no domain below 70%, and complete the personal readiness checklist.