Modeling the User for Education, Training, and Performance Aiding

Abstract

If we are to present instruction that is available anytime and anywhere, takes advan- tage of the substantial tutorial efficiencies of one teacher for every student, and is affordable, we must have recourse to technologyspecifically, computer technology. Such technology can be used in instructional applications that range from drill and practice and tutorial dia- logues, to multiplayer simulations and games. It can be used in stand-alone modes, or it can be used to supplement classroom instruction. It can be used by individuals or by groups. In all cases, however, it must take account of the current state of the learner, the eventual state of the learner that the instruction is intended to produce, and the instructional techniques that reliably effect transitions from one state to the other. Models of the learner that represent these current and objective states must, to an appreciable extent, be models of the learners cognition, something that underlies compe- tence and produces the human skills, performance, and abilities needed for success in all military operations. These models can be implicit, as in intrinsically programmed instruc- tion, or they can be explicit. Both types have been used in technology-based instruction from its beginning. Early explicit models were largely quantitative. These models involved relatively simple instructional paradigms but fairly elaborate mathematics, including instructional applications of optimal control theory. Current efforts are more concerned with qualitative models, 19 of which are briefly described and discussed. Each of these models can con- tribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of technology-based instruction. However, new challenges have arisen from todays uncertain, asymmetric operational environment, and these challenges may require responses that cannot be foreseen or be well prepared for in advance. Our military personnel must be prepared to expect the unexpected and to meet unexpected events with individual and collective agility, creativity, and adaptability. These qualities are fundamentally cognitive in nature and require more powerful and comprehen- sive cognitive models if they are to serve our programs of education, training, decision- making, and performance aiding successfully.