Instructional design has not kept pace with the growth of the globalized knowledge economy. In th... more Instructional design has not kept pace with the growth of the globalized knowledge economy. In the area of project management, a volatile global economy requires immersive learning and training exercises targeted to expert learners that have not yet been widely adopted. The authors developed a 16-hour, immersive collective learning experience for mid- to high-level project managers. The exercise was carried out in the Second Life Virtual Worlds platform and aimed to accelerate learning among participants. In addition, the authors tested a number of questions about the capacity of Virtual Worlds to be used for running complex, immersive learning and training. Results indicate that participants experienced high levels of engagement with exercise and, in the second iteration, were able to achieve goals within the exercise. Various technological breakdowns pointed to both the downsides as well as the opportunities for Virtual Worlds to be used for immersive rehearsal engagements.
ABSTRACT This paper describes a two-year study in which high levels of performance were achieved ... more ABSTRACT This paper describes a two-year study in which high levels of performance were achieved and sustained among so-called low-level workers in a biotech company. The purpose of the study—funded by National Science Foundation and lnvitrogen Corporation—were to explore the effectiveness of an accelerated learning Operational Simulation (OpSim) training on workers in biological manufacturing. While greater responsibility is demanded of “front-line” workers in biotech, efforts at “empowerment” have not worked well in this context. In this particular OpSim, workers were facing a large and expensive backorder problem. The OpSim did not target or specify the skills or means for greater responsiveness; rather we emphasized only goals and challenged the groups to develop a solution. All groups failed on the first try, but exceeded desired outcomes on the second try and subsequently sustained these performance objectives. Implications for Naturalistic Decision Making, training, and empowerment are discussed.
Speed in acquiring the knowledge and skills to perform tasks is crucial. Yet, it still ordinarily... more Speed in acquiring the knowledge and skills to perform tasks is crucial. Yet, it still ordinarily takes many years to achieve high proficiency in countless jobs and professions, in government, business, industry, and throughout the private sector. There would be great advantages if regimens of training could be established that could accelerate the achievement of high levels of proficiency. This book discusses the construct of ‘accelerated learning.’ It includes a review of the research literature on learning acquisition and retention, focus on establishing what works, and why. This includes several demonstrations of accelerated learning, with specific ideas, plans and roadmaps for doing so. The impetus for the book was a tasking from the Defense Science and Technology Advisory Group, which is the top level Science and Technology policy-making panel in the Department of Defense. However, the book uses both military and non-military exemplar case studies. It is likely that methods fo...
The chapter on expertise in business attempts to show how changes in society have influenced a gr... more The chapter on expertise in business attempts to show how changes in society have influenced a greater need for expertise in business. The chapter touches on a number of themes. Clients teach businesses the nature of expertise while businesses help clients adapt to an increasingly complex and interconnected world of business. The new “expert” in business may not be an individual at all, but rather a high-performing and highly efficient team, with team-level self-awareness of who has what piece of the skill puzzle in addressing complex challenges. Further, all business employees probably need to be closer to an expert than in the past, if only to add value to a team. Lastly, pushing the envelope on accelerated learning can only help more people feel secure that they will be able to find a meaningful and rewarding role in the future workforce.
Maxx Appliances is an online Multi-player “game” specially designed to accelerate the expertise i... more Maxx Appliances is an online Multi-player “game” specially designed to accelerate the expertise in agile business decision making, an important skill in increasingly complex business environments. The activities are based on the author’s research on how iterative cycles of trial and error with feedback accelerates the acquisition of expertise in some domains. The exercise in this case was agile decision making in highly volatile business environments, where quick evaluation of changing information and distributed decision making is required. The multi-player platform has been used to successfully scale the approach, but still requires about 16 to 20 hours of online time. The experiment described here was to explore a novel use of “traffic light” feedback, a form of minimalist instruction, in addition to other kinds of feedback. The current trial – described here – showed that people developed expertise associated with years of experience, in only six hours over two sessions.
The Concept Assessment Tool for Statics is a concept inventory instrument designed to detect erro... more The Concept Assessment Tool for Statics is a concept inventory instrument designed to detect errors associated with important and difficult statics concepts. This paper discuses findings from a previous study in which the Arpeggio Software, used to determine the cognitive capability of an assessment instrument, was applied to the concept inventory. Based on a set of cognitive attributes and responses
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
Training for non-federal law enforcement agencies is subject to little regulation—training academ... more Training for non-federal law enforcement agencies is subject to little regulation—training academies and education requirements often vary between departments—resulting in new officers with varying abilities and on-job proficiencies. The role of expertise can be evaluated in law enforcement and assessed to determine best practices for ideal on-job performance, especially in incidents requiring officers to make potentially lethal, rapid critical decisions (e.g., a use-of-force scenario). Training in a virtual environment has successfully been utilized to maximize management decision-making performance and accelerate the training process. A supplementation of cognitive skills training to existing law enforcement training procedures is proposed along with a recommendation on utilizing virtual environments to enhance expert training and develop a safer community environment.
Google, Inc. (search). SIGN IN SIGN UP. The programmer's burden: developing expertis... more Google, Inc. (search). SIGN IN SIGN UP. The programmer's burden: developing expertise in programming. Authors: Robert L. Campbell, Norman R. Brown, Lia A. DiBello, Published in: · Book. The psychology of expertise. Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. ...
ABSTRACT This paper describes a two-year study in which high levels of performance were achieved ... more ABSTRACT This paper describes a two-year study in which high levels of performance were achieved and sustained among so-called low-level workers in a biotech company. The purpose of the study—funded by National Science Foundation and lnvitrogen Corporation—were to explore the effectiveness of an accelerated learning Operational Simulation (OpSim) training on workers in biological manufacturing. While greater responsibility is demanded of “front-line” workers in biotech, efforts at “empowerment” have not worked well in this context. In this particular OpSim, workers were facing a large and expensive backorder problem. The OpSim did not target or specify the skills or means for greater responsiveness; rather we emphasized only goals and challenged the groups to develop a solution. All groups failed on the first try, but exceeded desired outcomes on the second try and subsequently sustained these performance objectives. Implications for Naturalistic Decision Making, training, and empowerment are discussed.
Instructional design has not kept pace with the growth of the globalized knowledge economy. In th... more Instructional design has not kept pace with the growth of the globalized knowledge economy. In the area of project management, a volatile global economy requires immersive learning and training exercises targeted to expert learners that have not yet been widely adopted. The authors developed a 16-hour, immersive collective learning experience for mid- to high-level project managers. The exercise was carried out in the Second Life Virtual Worlds platform and aimed to accelerate learning among participants. In addition, the authors tested a number of questions about the capacity of Virtual Worlds to be used for running complex, immersive learning and training. Results indicate that participants experienced high levels of engagement with exercise and, in the second iteration, were able to achieve goals within the exercise. Various technological breakdowns pointed to both the downsides as well as the opportunities for Virtual Worlds to be used for immersive rehearsal engagements.
ABSTRACT This paper describes a two-year study in which high levels of performance were achieved ... more ABSTRACT This paper describes a two-year study in which high levels of performance were achieved and sustained among so-called low-level workers in a biotech company. The purpose of the study—funded by National Science Foundation and lnvitrogen Corporation—were to explore the effectiveness of an accelerated learning Operational Simulation (OpSim) training on workers in biological manufacturing. While greater responsibility is demanded of “front-line” workers in biotech, efforts at “empowerment” have not worked well in this context. In this particular OpSim, workers were facing a large and expensive backorder problem. The OpSim did not target or specify the skills or means for greater responsiveness; rather we emphasized only goals and challenged the groups to develop a solution. All groups failed on the first try, but exceeded desired outcomes on the second try and subsequently sustained these performance objectives. Implications for Naturalistic Decision Making, training, and empowerment are discussed.
Speed in acquiring the knowledge and skills to perform tasks is crucial. Yet, it still ordinarily... more Speed in acquiring the knowledge and skills to perform tasks is crucial. Yet, it still ordinarily takes many years to achieve high proficiency in countless jobs and professions, in government, business, industry, and throughout the private sector. There would be great advantages if regimens of training could be established that could accelerate the achievement of high levels of proficiency. This book discusses the construct of ‘accelerated learning.’ It includes a review of the research literature on learning acquisition and retention, focus on establishing what works, and why. This includes several demonstrations of accelerated learning, with specific ideas, plans and roadmaps for doing so. The impetus for the book was a tasking from the Defense Science and Technology Advisory Group, which is the top level Science and Technology policy-making panel in the Department of Defense. However, the book uses both military and non-military exemplar case studies. It is likely that methods fo...
The chapter on expertise in business attempts to show how changes in society have influenced a gr... more The chapter on expertise in business attempts to show how changes in society have influenced a greater need for expertise in business. The chapter touches on a number of themes. Clients teach businesses the nature of expertise while businesses help clients adapt to an increasingly complex and interconnected world of business. The new “expert” in business may not be an individual at all, but rather a high-performing and highly efficient team, with team-level self-awareness of who has what piece of the skill puzzle in addressing complex challenges. Further, all business employees probably need to be closer to an expert than in the past, if only to add value to a team. Lastly, pushing the envelope on accelerated learning can only help more people feel secure that they will be able to find a meaningful and rewarding role in the future workforce.
Maxx Appliances is an online Multi-player “game” specially designed to accelerate the expertise i... more Maxx Appliances is an online Multi-player “game” specially designed to accelerate the expertise in agile business decision making, an important skill in increasingly complex business environments. The activities are based on the author’s research on how iterative cycles of trial and error with feedback accelerates the acquisition of expertise in some domains. The exercise in this case was agile decision making in highly volatile business environments, where quick evaluation of changing information and distributed decision making is required. The multi-player platform has been used to successfully scale the approach, but still requires about 16 to 20 hours of online time. The experiment described here was to explore a novel use of “traffic light” feedback, a form of minimalist instruction, in addition to other kinds of feedback. The current trial – described here – showed that people developed expertise associated with years of experience, in only six hours over two sessions.
The Concept Assessment Tool for Statics is a concept inventory instrument designed to detect erro... more The Concept Assessment Tool for Statics is a concept inventory instrument designed to detect errors associated with important and difficult statics concepts. This paper discuses findings from a previous study in which the Arpeggio Software, used to determine the cognitive capability of an assessment instrument, was applied to the concept inventory. Based on a set of cognitive attributes and responses
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
Training for non-federal law enforcement agencies is subject to little regulation—training academ... more Training for non-federal law enforcement agencies is subject to little regulation—training academies and education requirements often vary between departments—resulting in new officers with varying abilities and on-job proficiencies. The role of expertise can be evaluated in law enforcement and assessed to determine best practices for ideal on-job performance, especially in incidents requiring officers to make potentially lethal, rapid critical decisions (e.g., a use-of-force scenario). Training in a virtual environment has successfully been utilized to maximize management decision-making performance and accelerate the training process. A supplementation of cognitive skills training to existing law enforcement training procedures is proposed along with a recommendation on utilizing virtual environments to enhance expert training and develop a safer community environment.
Google, Inc. (search). SIGN IN SIGN UP. The programmer's burden: developing expertis... more Google, Inc. (search). SIGN IN SIGN UP. The programmer's burden: developing expertise in programming. Authors: Robert L. Campbell, Norman R. Brown, Lia A. DiBello, Published in: · Book. The psychology of expertise. Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. ...
ABSTRACT This paper describes a two-year study in which high levels of performance were achieved ... more ABSTRACT This paper describes a two-year study in which high levels of performance were achieved and sustained among so-called low-level workers in a biotech company. The purpose of the study—funded by National Science Foundation and lnvitrogen Corporation—were to explore the effectiveness of an accelerated learning Operational Simulation (OpSim) training on workers in biological manufacturing. While greater responsibility is demanded of “front-line” workers in biotech, efforts at “empowerment” have not worked well in this context. In this particular OpSim, workers were facing a large and expensive backorder problem. The OpSim did not target or specify the skills or means for greater responsiveness; rather we emphasized only goals and challenged the groups to develop a solution. All groups failed on the first try, but exceeded desired outcomes on the second try and subsequently sustained these performance objectives. Implications for Naturalistic Decision Making, training, and empowerment are discussed.
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