Keywords

Abstract

Immersive simulation and training devices have flooded the market touting superior training value. However, the science for precisely quantifying training gains and overall value for these next generation training devices is largely inadequate, thereby leaving claims of training value unchecked. The result is an increasing difficulty for training stakeholders to engage in science-driven training media selection and integration into a curriculum. Compounding this issue are training assessment methods, processes, and analyses that have remained stagnant and are in dire need of an update to assess the total impact of immersive devices on the training landscape.

The purpose of this tutorial is to provide training stakeholders, whether they be scientists, practitioners, or decision-makers, with a review of the current state-of-the-art for determining the media composition of simulation-based training, its limitations, and the introduction of a data-driven approach to precisely quantify training value. As a result, stakeholders will obtain a broader capacity to effectively assess immersive devices within a training solution.

The tutorial begins by providing contextual and historical background on determining training needs. We begin by outlining pros and cons of different instructional methods and modes of instruction, including a description of the basic components of a traditional ground-based training system designed to expedite skill acquisition across the novice-to-expert continuum. We then proceed to describe how immersive simulation is changing the training landscape, disrupting traditional simulation-based training, and to what extent it is warranted.

Following this historical grounding and contextualization of immersive devices, we provide evidence for augmenting training needs analyses in order to competently and objectively pair immersive devices to learning objectives. Specifically, we address this gap by describing a combinatory approach between Instructional System Design (ISD) and Human Factors (HF) methods to gauge the impact of immersive training media. Next, we introduce the topic of media cost versus capability tradeoff, including novel training media factors to consider within an overall training ecosystem. Practical visualizations are provided to illustrate the importance of this tradeoff.

Finally, the tutorial presents a data-driven approach at quantifying training value. Specifically, we review and visualize through an applied use case the main factors impacting the computation of a normalized training value index, including media sensory gains and proportion of training coverage across a notional media solution set. Our conclusion summarizes the tutorial’s main points under the lens of driving training value while providing useful resources to stakeholders in support of that endeavor.