Phenomenological Approach to Training

Abstract : Current approaches to training attempt to break complex tasks into simple, discrete steps. This attempt while valuable for teaching procedural tasks, may not be optimal for teaching complex perceptual and motor tasks; it is valuable for initial stages of training, but may not be optimal for training to highly proficient levels of performance. The assumptions behind current approaches to training are questioned. A phenomenological approach is discussed as a means for supplementing the traditional methods, and for accomplishing high proficiency training of complex perceptual-motor tasks. A phenomenological approach would emphasize wholistic features of tasks, and shifts in perspective that develop with competence. Such an approach could provide a theoretical framework for the use of modelling, demonstrations, prediction displays, and other instructional methods.