Since the early days of Verification and Validation, to the addition of Accreditation in the VV&A process, the goal has been to determine the return on investment (ROI) to the gaining organization of a particular system by evaluating the system against it's intended purpose and design. As simulation-based training and learning technologies have continued to advance at a leap-ahead pace, the process utilized to evaluate them has not maintained pace with the advancements in cognitive science. In particular, the gains in understanding of how cognition occurs as part of the overall learning process. 4E cognition ties together the areas of embedded, embodied, extended, and enactive cognition to form a comprehensive view of how these processes incorporate multiple areas of cognition, with the mind, body, and environment surrounding the learner to provide an enriched learning experience. This must be taken into account during evaluative processes, such as VV&A in order to identify true markers of ROI, in addition to marking areas for efficiency potential by realizing which areas of cognition are being most engaged by the system or technology in question. This is especially important with simulation based training systems due to the varied levels of involvement of the mind, body, and physical environment during the learning experience. This paper will demonstrate areas of improvement to current and disparate DoD policies that govern and guide the VV&A processes for the service components and lay the foundation for the need to incorporate 4E cognition into these processes. Understanding how cognition ties into the learning process can assist in providing more efficient evalution of the training systems of the future.
Policy, Standards, Management, and Acquisition
VV&A Redux: The Case for Considering 4E Cognition
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