Data Collection in Support of the Design of Training Devices

A major problem in training device design is specifying the appropriate level of fidelity and required instructional features for learning. This research effort was designed to acquire detailed information about tasks and training device fidelity features. The standard method for developing information about task and fidelity relationships has been to conduct research into training methods using varying degrees of fidelity, or to extrapolate from evaluations of training programs based on newly developed training devices. The rotary-wing operations domain was selected as the basis for gathering detailed relationship data. A Training Device Fidelity analysis was conducted on many of the devices at the Army Aviation School at Ft. Rucker. A survey was then developed that crossed the tasks being trained on the AH-64 CWEPT (Cockpit, Weapons, and Emergency Procedures Trainer) and the UH-1 CPT (Cockpit Procedures Trainer) with the device characteristics present on those training devices. The survey was administered to instructors using the training devices. The survey responses were categorized, and the consensus results are being used in developing expert system rules. The conclusion drawn is that adequate data can be collected using surveys to generate experience-based (versus opinion-based or device evaluation-based) rules for determining necessary and sufficient fidelity aspects for training devices. The method can be used in any training domain that requires training devices, where guidance is inferential and opinion-based, and where those devices are costly and/or need to be very effective.