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Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
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2
Education and Training

NATIONAL ISSUES

Emphasize education for officers as an essential part of career development, especially education in science and engineering.

The educational system of the United States, if it indeed can be called a system, has a number of strengths, but also some well-recognized weaknesses. Among its strengths is its broad-based attempt to educate all of its citizenry, not just an elite few. It is widely recognized, however, that the typical schooling received in the K-12 age groups does not compete well with the educational systems of our industrialized competitors. International mathematics and science studies describe this problem in detail.1 On the other hand, the U.S. school system has been able to retain a degree of freedom, individuality, creativity, and spark that these same competitor nations might well wish to emulate. At the college level, U.S. institutions start with incoming students who are often at a serious disadvantage compared to students enrolling from abroad, but our colleges are generally regarded as being competitive in the value added to this part of a student's education. At the graduate level, the United States is widely perceived to excel. Graduate education in the United States has become a mecca for foreign students who want to advance beyond what their own country pro-

1  

See, for example, Third International Mathematics and Science Study, 1997, Science Achievement in the Middle School Years: IEA's Third International Mathematics and Science Study, Boston College, Boston, Mass.

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

vides academically. The Chronicle of Higher Education has reported that a large proportion of the students in engineering and science graduate fields come from abroad. The large number of foreign graduate students attests to the premium placed on U.S. graduate education.

Although the U.S. educational system apparently produces an adequate number of degree recipients in science and technology, the courses of study available are in many ways poorly matched with Navy needs. There has been a tendency for both the faculty and the students to aim for more prestigious courses of study, those concerned with the exotic and the theoretical at the expense of more practical applied sciences needed for naval operations. Many applied science programs have attenuated or have disappeared from academic science departments, in some cases reappearing in engineering departments, while many engineering departments have eschewed applications-oriented studies for science-based education. The fraction of college students enrolled in calculus-based elementary physics has declined over the last 50 years, yet the military's need for individuals with expertise in such a discipline has expanded over this period, not declined.

In many U.S. graduate departments of science and technology, a majority of the students today are foreign nationals and thus do not qualify for either civilian or uniformed employment by the naval forces. Foreign national students who remain in this country and achieve citizenship constitute a substantial fraction (perhaps half) of the total. They represent substantial gains for the United States, but the Navy can attract them, if at all, only in mid or late career.

It is a paradox that although the real strength of the U.S. educational system is at the graduate level, there is little indication that the Navy leadership prizes such education as a necessary component of an officer's background. The discipline in graduate study of tackling an original research problem that has no known right answer; of learning how to frame a question and how to approach it; of knowing how to interpret data, how to draw significant conclusions from them, and how to present and sell the validity of the result provides an extraordinarily effective approach to problem solving that is beneficial throughout a career. The nature of the discipline or the particular problem is less important than the process. The Navy may not value sufficiently the problem-solving potential represented in substantive graduate programs in technology, engineering, and science.

Education takes time in the career path of the officer: time to think, collect and analyze data, organize, and communicate. This time cannot be abridged too severely without losing the effectiveness of the process. Although some officers are engaged in this way of learning, others by choice are serving in the fleet without making the commitment to further learning. The latter tend to be favored by fast-tracking in the Navy's promotion process because they are more visible, making personal contact with active Navy officer superiors who then may tend to advocate their subsequent advancement. Viewed in this light, the extended time spent in serious graduate study, even in fields of critical interest to the Navy, frequently inhibits promotion and advancement compared to those who do not

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
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pursue these paths. The Navy is depriving its future readiness and capability of the use of such technologically astute individuals in larger numbers in its upper leadership.

NAVAL FORCE ISSUES

Navy needs are already highly advanced scientifically and technologically, and the importance of technical literacy among naval personnel will only increase in the future. The march of information and communication technology, sensing and display techniques, computer system capabilities, material and power options, and so forth has reduced shipboard manning requirements for routine duties and has improved war fighting strength. These technical capabilities substantially increase the Navy's need for personnel who can comprehend the potential for war fighting that the new technologies bring, who understand both the opportunities and the limitations they present, who are able to choose among competing technological avenues, who can critically assess and lead technological development, and who can formulate practicable new technological visions.

It is perfectly true that the Navy can and does operate without more of these individuals, and in that sense, it does not need more of them. Nevertheless, technically literate personnel, who are able to recognize which of the new civilian technologies will make a difference in future war fighting capabilities and readiness, could enable the Navy and Marine Corps to field more effective fighting units. In that sense, the Navy needs more than it has, and perhaps all it can get. The current requirements-based personnel system does not necessarily recognize the long-term career enhancement produced by graduate education but rather defines graduate educational requirements in terms of assignments. This approach may result in suboptimization of officer potential, which would be damaging to the long-term readiness of the Navy as a whole.

Moreover, the present trend with regard to technical literacy among Navy Department personnel, relative to need, is not positive but negative and thus sounds the alarm for the desired impact of technology on the Navy in the next 35 years. The following are some indications of this trend:

  • Through the mid-1960s, but not much beyond that, the Navy encouraged and nurtured postgraduate technical education among its officer corps; now the Navy's encouragement is weaker, and its nurturing through career growth is largely absent.

  • Fewer of the best U.S. high school graduates opt for a Navy career or a college education in fields relevant to Navy technology needs.

  • Few of the students who are preparing for a Navy career via higher education specialize in science, mathematics, or engineering.

  • Officers who specialize in science, mathematics, or engineering as under-

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

graduates are less frequently provided postgraduate education, are less rapidly promoted, and are more likely to retire early.

  • Navy civilian laboratory personnel, once nationwide leaders in science and engineering, are now less prepared to meet important new Navy needs. Downsizing has inhibited the renewal and innovation that come from the ability to hire a stream of intelligent, highly motivated young people from whom future laboratory leaders can be selected.

To meet the human performance needs of naval operations in an increasingly technology-intensive environment, the Department of the Navy will have to do the following:

  • Increase significantly the proportion of naval force officers who obtain bachelor's degrees in science, mathematics, or engineering.

  • Ensure time in the career paths of all officers who are capable of and motivated to invest the considerable effort required for postgraduate study in science and technology, and ensure that they are rewarded in their careers for their added skills and capabilities.

  • Restructure the mode of teaching science and technology at the U.S. Naval Academy with the use of personnel on loan from major research institutions and industrial laboratories and/or the establishment of joint programs with research-based academic institutions.

  • Reconfigure promotion policies and practices to retain and more fully reward technically skilled officers and enlisted personnel, who will be increasingly needed for predominantly high-technology naval duties.

  • Identify the most promising leaders among those technologically educated for special management talent recognition and fast-track movement to leadership positions that can benefit from their expertise.

  • Place priority on ensuring a continuing stream of fresh, young talent employed in naval laboratories. Those who are retained in a longer career path should have regular opportunities to refresh their talents.

Graduate education provides career-long enhancement of the abilities of an officer, not just a technical specialty skill. Development of problem-solving skills is applicable to all kinds of problems that face the individual in unexpected situations. It is self-evident that there is little time for such education in wartime. The time to devote resources to obtaining graduate education is when the nation is at peace. It should then be a high priority whose payoff is enhanced performance in times of war as well as in time of peace. Graduate education is a generator of future readiness with a high rate of return.

Several steps can be taken to help increase the Navy's commitment to graduate education; they are as follows:

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
  • Make investment in education a priority in officer development, and separate the educational investment category from the individual's account so that graduate students are not thrown into the same personnel categories as prisoners and the medically unfit. Increase the billet assignment to the investment portion of the individual's account for graduate education, deriving those new billets from a portion of the personnel savings recovered from reduced manning and increased outsourcing.

  • Revamp the subspecialty system as the basis for a requirement for education. This requirement now limits the Navy's access to graduate-educated personnel, rather than maximizing it.

  • Strengthen the precepts to officer promotion boards to pay full attention to the potential of career-enhancing skills provided by graduate education.

These are literally cost-free changes that have the potential to significantly improve the technological capabilities of the future Navy officer corps.

MILITARY TRAINING

Invest more in the conversion of conventional forms of training to technology-based, distributed training.

Training is a means to an end—successful performance of military missions. Training is widely acknowledged to be an essential component in preparing for military operations. There is, therefore, great interest in seeing that military training is performed effectively and efficiently and that training resources are expended wisely. Technology has contributed substantially to the complexity of modern warfare and to U.S. success in war. Technology also provides the means to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of preparing for naval operations. Success in modernizing Navy and Marine Corps capabilities and operations will be of less value if it is not accompanied by success in modernizing the conduct of training as well.

Military training can be described in terms of who is being trained (individuals or groups) and where the training takes place (in residence or in units). Training in residence refers to training presented in formally convened schools under the domain of specifically designated training commands. Training in units takes place in operational or duty assignments. Training of individuals may be contrasted with training of crews, teams, and units. Clearly, the performance of groups depends on the skills of the individuals who make up the groups. The distinction between individual skills and group skills is imperfectly understood, but the focus in individual training is on the performance of individuals, and the focus in group or collective training is on the performance of crews, teams, and units as a whole.

Training of individuals that takes place in residential, schoolhouse settings is

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

annually reported to Congress in the Military Manpower Training Report (MMTR).2 The MMTR describes how the trained manpower projected by another annual report, the Manpower Requirements Report, will be provided in coming fiscal years. The MMTR for FY 1997 estimates that the training load (the number of man-years students are expected to be in training), where

will be about 144,632 man-years (or student-years)—officers and enlisted—for active duty personnel and 30,217 man-years for the reserve components—a total training load of 174,849 man-years across DOD. This training will require about 115,000 military and civilian personnel to provide instruction, administration, and supervision, and it will cost about $13.7 billion.

As shown in Table 2.1, the number of Navy personnel—officer and enlisted, reserve and active—entering formally convened military schools in FY 1997 is expected to be about 586,200, with a training load of 41,600. Comparable numbers for the Marine Corps are 156,200 school entrants, with a training load of 22,500. The FY 1997 costs for this training, as shown in Table 2.2, will total about $3,866 million for the Navy and $1,433 million for the Marine Corps, summing to $5,299 million for the Navy Department.

The MMTR estimates are focused on residential training for individuals and do not reflect all training costs. They include formal course instruction conducted by organizations whose primary mission is training, but they exclude training conducted by operational units, on-job training, factory training for new systems, most team and unit training, and most fleet and field exercises. Although the magnitude of resources allocated to these latter activities is not regularly reported and is difficult to determine, it would probably increase the $5.3 billion cost estimated for Navy Department training by a factor of two or three.

TRAINING CHALLENGES

Many commentators have discussed current trends that increase the challenges to the successful conduct of military training. Among the points raised by these discussions are the following:

  • Workplaces in all sectors have become increasingly infused with technology, requiring workers to become increasingly technology literate. The com-

2  

Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Readiness. 1996. Military Manpower Training Report: FY 1997, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C.

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

TABLE 2.1 Total Student Input and Training Loads Planned for Active and Reserve Component Officer and Enlisted Individual Training in FY 1997

 

Input (thousands)

Load (thousands)

Training Categories

Army

Navy

Marine Corps

Air Force

Total

Army

Navy

Marine Corps

Air Force

Total

Recruit

91.4

55.7

41.6

33.5

222.2

13.9

9.5

7.8

3.7

34.9

Officer acquisition

7.9

3.1

0.9

2.0

13.9

6.0

5.5

0.9

6.3

18.7

Specialized skill

279.7

517.1

103.2

117.1

1,017.1

42.9

23.1

11.6

16.7

94.3

Flight

4.8

3.2

0.4

5.0

13.4

0.9

1.3

0.5

1.8

4.5

Professional development

5.3

7.1

10.1

42.0

64.5

3.7

2.2

1.7

4.8

12.4

One-station unit

41.5

0.0

0.0

0.0

41.5

10.1

0.0

0.0

0.0

10.1

Total

430.6

586.2

156.2

199.6

1,372.6

77.5

41.6

22.5

33.3

174.9

 

SOURCE: Compiled from data in Military Manpower Training Report: FY 1997, 1996, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Readiness, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C., July.

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

TABLE 2.2 Funding Planned for Active and Reserve Component Officer and Enlisted Individual Training in FY 1997 (million dollars)

Training Categories

Army

Navy

Marine Corps

Air Force

DOD Total

Recruit

$ 307

$ 282

$ 419

$ 147

$ 1,155

Officer acquisition

146

210

11

174

541

Specialized skill

1,560

1,497

601

784

4,442

Flight

390

990

0

584

1,964

Professional development

312

216

72

298

898

Army one-station unit

247

0

0

0

247

Direct training support

338

114

64

60

576

Base training support

1,226

499

188

720

2,633

Training management headquarters

46

21

0

71

138

Reserve pay and allowances

703

37

78

265

1,083

Total

$5,275

$3,866

$1,433

$3,103

$13,677

 

SOURCE: Adapted from Military Manpower Training Report: FY 1997, 1996, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Readiness, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C., July.

plexity of military operations has continued to increase along with the human performance needed to operate, maintain, and deploy the technology—the materiel, devices, and equipment they employed. It could be argued that technology will decrease the complexity of human performance required by operations in the military and elsewhere, but this has not happened. The demand for people trained to hold jobs that are classified as technical or highly technical continues to increase in the Navy and Marine Corps.

  • The quantity and variety of military systems along with the pace of their introduction have substantially increased the demands on military training to provide the people needed to operate and maintain these system. At the end of World War I, the U.S. military fielded about 500 materiel systems. At the end of World War II, this number had increased to 2,000. Currently, about 4,000 systems are fielded or in planning.

  • The technological complexity of military systems is increasing. In 1939, the volume of technical documentation required for the J-F Goose Catalina Flying Boat filled 525 pages. In 1962, the volume required by the A-6A Intruder filled approximately 150,000 pages. In 1975, the volume required for the F-14 Tomcat filled approximately 380,000 pages. Documentation required by the B-1 bomber has been estimated to be 1,000,000 pages of information. This upward trend will no doubt continue.

  • Costs to conduct training in the fleet and the field have risen in absolute terms and in terms relative to other DOD expenses. Worldwide land, sea, and air space available for military exercises continues to be reduced as civilian requirements for space increase. Fuel and ammunition for new weapons have been

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

major contributors to increased military training costs. In addition, the ranges needed to exercise the long reach of the newest systems are scarce, environmentally controversial, and increasingly expensive to establish and maintain.

  • Reserve component training poses particularly difficult challenges. The reserve components have a limited time—39 days per year—to train. Reserve units are widely dispersed, not fully equipped, and are supported by only small numbers of qualified supervisors and trainers. Many reserve component trainers for these units are noncommissioned officers who have primary assignments elsewhere and give training short shrift. Yet with a downsized military, we are likely to rely increasingly on reserve component readiness.

It is unlikely that conventional approaches using platform lectures, paper-based workbook exercises, and laboratory experience with actual, scarce, and expensive equipment will meet the demands for the training efficiency and effectiveness required for the coming century. Although technology introduces these problems, it may contain the seeds for their solution. Increasingly, trainers in both military and civilian settings are turning to technology as a source of improved training effectiveness and efficiency.

TECHNOLOGY EFFECTIVENESS

It may be said, with some help from the dictionary, that the word ''technology" refers to the application of any effective procedure to solve a specific, practical problem. Popularly, the meaning of technology has become increasingly associated with computers and computer-controlled applications, and this is the sense in which it is commonly used in education and training. Applications of computers and/or computer-controlled capabilities to military training have been around for more than 35 years. After this period of time, it is fair to ask if they have improved either the efficiency or the effectiveness of training.

The most fundamental promise of technology applied to training appears to be its ability to tailor pace, sequence, content, presentation style, and even difficulty to the needs of individual learners. Research suggests that the difference between those taught in classroom groups of 30 and those taught one-on-one by an individual instructor providing individualized instruction may be as great as 2 standard deviations in achievement.3 However, individual, one-on-one tutoring is prohibitively expensive. In military training as in civilian education, the provision of a single instructor for every student is an instructional necessity and an economic impossibility. Technology—substituting the capital of technology for the labor of human instructors—can replace some of the individualized tutoring and its instructional value that are now lost to economic necessity.

3  

Bloom, B.S. 1984. "The 2 Sigma Problem: The Search for Methods of Group Instruction as Effective as One-to-one Tutoring," Educational Researcher, 13:4-16.

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

The primary benefit of instruction tailored to individual needs may be efficiency—students spend less time repeating material they already know and more time concentrating on what they do not know. They should learn more quickly, and this, in fact, is a principal finding of assessments of technology applied in education and training that serves to emphasize the economic and readiness benefits of individualizing instruction.

This finding and others are summarized below. First, however, it may be noted that no single evaluation, no matter how carefully done, is conclusive. The results of many evaluation studies must usually be collected to draw a cumulative picture of what has been learned. In the current state of the art, such collection is accomplished using meta-analysis, which employs a measure called effect size. Effect size is simply a standardized measure defined as the difference between the means of two groups divided by the estimated standard deviation of the population from which they are drawn. In this summary, they are calculated so that the larger the effect size, the greater is the instructional impact of technology.

The main drawback in using effect sizes is that they are, basically, a measure of standard deviations and are not especially meaningful to those who are not statisticians. For this reason, the effect sizes reported here are accompanied by rough translations to percentiles based on the notion that an effect size of, say, 0.50 (half a standard deviation) is roughly equivalent to raising the performance of students in the 50th percentile to that of students at the 69th percentile.

Some findings follow.

Technology Can Be Used to Teach

A number of studies have compared applying technology in education and training to simply doing nothing. The issue here is not to determine whether these applications are a good way to teach or if they teach the right things, but simply to see if they teach anything. The results suggest that they do. For instance, some studies4 have compared applications of interactive videodisk instruction (IVI) to placebo treatments in which no instructional material was presented. The average effect size for these studies was 1.38, suggesting an average improvement in student achievement due to the presence of this technology from 50th to 92nd percentile performance.

Additional evidence comes from early studies5 tracing student progress, or trajectories, through instructional material. These studies found that based solely on the amount of time students spent in computer-based instruction, the improvement of each student on a standardized test of total mathematics achievement

4  

Fletcher, J.D. 1990. The Effectiveness of Interactive Videodisc Instruction in Defense Training and Education, IDA Paper P-2372, Institute for Defense Analyses, Alexandria, Va.

5  

Suppes, P., J.D. Fletcher, and M. Zanotti. 1976. "Models of Individual Trajectories in Computer-Assisted Instruction," Journal of Educational Psychology, 68:117-127.

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

TABLE 2.3 Some Effect Sizes for Computer-based Instruction

Where

Effect Size

Number of Studies

Improvement from 50th Percentile Performance to:

Elementary school

0.47

28

68th percentile

Secondary school

0.42

42

66th percentile

Higher education

0.26

101

60th percentile

Adult education

0.42

24

66th percentile

Military training

0.40

38

66th percentile

Overall

0.39

233

65th percentile

 

SOURCE: Fletcher, J.D. 1996. "Does This Stuff Work? Some Findings from Applications of Technology to Education and Training," Teacher Education and the Use of Technology Based Learning Systems, Society for Applied Learning Technology, Warrenton, Va.

could be predicted to the nearest tenth of a grade placement, within 99 percent confidence limits. If time spent in the computer curriculum had no effect, no predictions would have been possible. In these studies, the precision of the predictions is as notable as the fact that they could be made, and validated, at all.

Technology Improves Instructional Effectiveness

The conclusion that technology improves instructional effectiveness concerns the more common issue of determining whether or not the application of technology allows us to do any better than we can do without it. A typical study that addresses this issue compares an approach using technology, such as computer-based instruction or interactive multimedia instruction, with what might be termed conventional instruction, which uses platform lectures, text-based materials perhaps including programmed text, and/or laboratory hands-on experience with real equipment.

There have been many studies of this sort. Some results for computer-based instruction (CBI) are shown in Table 2.3. Their effect sizes range from 0.26 to 0.47 and average 0.39, which suggests an average improvement from 50th to 65th percentile achievement. A recent review6 of 12 meta-analyses involving at least 250 different evaluations of CBI reported an overall average effect size of 0.35, suggesting an increase from 50th to 64th percentile performance after introduction of CBI.

The results shown in Table 2.4 for IVI, which includes the functionalities generally used to describe interactive multimedia instruction, are slightly higher

6  

Kulik, J.A. 1994. "Meta-Analytic Studies of Findings on Computer-Based Instruction," Technology Assessment in Education and Training, E.L. Baker and H.F. O'Neil, eds., Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, N.J.

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

TABLE 2.4 Some Effect Sizes for Interactive Videodisk Instruction

Where

Effect Size

Number of Studies

Improvement from 50th Percentile Performance to:

Military training

0.39

24

65th percentile

Industrial training

0.51

9

70th percentile

Higher education

0.69

14

75th percentile

Overall

0.50

47

69th percentile

 

SOURCE: Fletcher, J.D. 1990. The Effectiveness of Interactive Videodisc Instruction in Defense Training and Education, IDA Paper P-2372, Institute for Defense Analyses, Alexandria, Va., p. III-10.

than those for computer-based instruction without multimedia capabilities, averaging 0.50 for 47 evaluation studies and suggesting an overall increase in student achievement from 50th to 69th percentile performance. The effect size of 0.69 for interactive videodisk (or multimedia) instruction in higher education is impressive, in that it suggests an improvement from 50th to 75th percentile performance.

Generally, then, these studies present evidence favorable to the use of technology in instruction, suggesting that the introduction of technology improves its effectiveness. There is also much to be said about its military value. Interactive multisensor analysis training (IMAT)7 provides an example of technology-based training that has been adopted by all antisubmarine warfare (ASW) communities and has been designated as a congressional special interest program.

IMAT is a product of Navy personnel R&D, developed jointly by the Navy Personnel Research and Development Center and the Naval Surface Warfare Center. It provides sensor employment and tactical training (e.g., environmental analysis, sensor selection and placement, search rate and threat detection, multisensor crew coordination, multisensor information integration) that compensate for the current lack of opportunities to develop and sustain these skills in formal training or on the job. IMAT integrates models of physical phenomena with innovative visualization techniques to demonstrate the relationships among threats, the environment, and ASW systems. It combines new analytic and curriculum design technologies such as cognitive modeling, situational learning, and elaborated explanations with advanced computer-based graphics and programming to promote rapid acquisition of the visualization capabilities needed to

7  

Wetzel-Smith, S.K., J.A. Ellis, A.M. Reynolds, and W.H. Wulfeck. 1995. The Interactive Multisensor Analysis Training (IMAT) System: An Evaluation in Operator and Tactician Training, NPRDC Technical Report TR-96-3, Naval Personnel Research and Development Center, San Diego, Calif.

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

understand the structural and spatial interrelationships that exist among sensors, platforms, and submarine systems.

IMAT8 is used in the basic training (A) schools for aviation antisubmarine warfare (AW) operator, sonar technician-systems (STS), and sonar technician-guns (STG), and in submarine officer basic and advanced courses, the surface warfare officer's school, sea-based weapons and advanced tactics school, and (currently) eight other naval training schools. Some findings regarding its effectiveness are as follows:

  • IMAT students in STG A and AW A school scored significantly higher on all performance measures (facts, comprehension, and tactical problem solving) than did students in conventional instruction. The overall effect size was 1.26 (from 50th to 90th percentile performance) for IMAT-based STG training and 2.01 (50th to 98th percentile performance) for IMAT-based AW training. Similar results, which are not yet available, are expected for STS training.

  • IMAT graduates scored significantly higher than fleet personnel with 3 to 10 years' experience on an oceanography knowledge and skills test.

  • Apprentice AW operators who were trained using IMAT scored higher than journeyman fleet personnel on acoustic problem solving.

  • IMAT-trained pilots and tacticians scored significantly higher than performance qualification standard (PQS)-qualified fleet personnel on all ASW performance measures.

  • IMAT produced a four- to six-year equivalent experience gain in search planning for non-PQS qualified officers.

  • IMAT-trained submarine crews significantly improved their tactical employment skills.

  • A 10-decibel (dB) tactical gain was achieved in at-sea trials; i.e., objects had the same probability of detection as if the sound source were 10 times more intense or less than half as far away. It has been estimated that a 1-dB gain in sensor performance costs about $100 million in research and development.

  • IMAT-trained crews showed significant performance gains on independent tactical readiness evaluations.

It is also notable that IMAT-based instruction not only can raise performance on already-established instructional objectives but also can raise the level of objectives sought in training. IMAT courses contain significantly more high-level (transferable, abstract, problem-solving) objectives and can cover all critical instructional components as contrasted with a sampling of instructional components covered by more conventional approaches.

8  

Wetzel-Smith, S.K., J.A. Ellis, A.M. Reynolds, and W.H. Wulfeck. 1995 The Interactive Multisensor Analysis Training (IMAT) System: An Evaluation in Operator and Tactician Training, NPRDC Technical Report TR-96-3, Navy Personnel Research and Development Center, San Diego, Calif.

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

Technology Reduces Time to Reach Instructional Objectives

The finding that technology reduces the time needed to reach instructional objectives arises repeatedly in reviews of instructional technology. Three independent reviews9,10,11 involving a total of more than 70 studies have found time savings ranging from 24 to 70 percent. On this basis, it may be reasonable to expect reductions in time of about 30 percent in general, across a variety of instructional objectives, through the use of instructional technology. Some studies may find smaller time reductions, but others have reported routine time savings of 50 percent in military technical training.

Students Enjoy Using Technology

Many evaluations of instructional technology simply ask students if they like this approach better than more conventional approaches to instruction. Practically without exception, students reply that they do. The long string of positive reports may be due to the novelty of using instructional technology. More conclusive findings must await more routine, frequent, and pervasive application of technology in education and training.

To return to IMAT, students are enthusiastic about IMAT-based instruction and rate it highly. On attitude surveys, students report a significantly greater ability of IMAT to hold their attention, address their needs and goals, build confidence in their ability to succeed, and increase their sense of reward and accomplishment. Instructors are typically slow to accept change in methods of instruction, but those using IMAT show levels of enthusiasm that are similar to those of their students.

Technology Lowers Instructional Costs

The costs of different instructional approaches are usually assessed by calculating the ratio of the costs of instruction using technology to the costs of instruction using conventional approaches. In these cases, the lower the ratio, the relatively less costly is the approach using instructional technology. Cost ratios are available for studies comparing initial investment costs and operating and support costs. A recent study12 found that the ratio of costs for technology-

9  

Fletcher, J.D. 1990. The Effectiveness of Interactive Videodisc Instruction in Defense Training and Education, IDA Paper P-2372, Institute for Defense Analyses, Alexandria, Va.

10  

Kulik, J.A. 1994. "Meta-Analytic Studies of Findings on Computer-Based Instruction," Technology Assessment in Education and Training, E.L. Baker and H.F. O'Neil, eds., Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, N.J.

11  

Orlansky, J., and J. String. 1977. Cost Effectiveness of Computer-Based Instruction in Military Training, IDA Paper P-1375, Institute for Defense Analyses, Alexandria, Va.

12  

Fletcher, J.D. 1997. "What Have We Learned About Computer-Based Instruction in Military Training?" Virtual Reality, Training's Future? , R.J. Seidel and P.R. Chatelier, eds., Plenum Publishing, New York.

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
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assisted approaches over conventional approaches in IVI was 0.43 for initial investment costs and 0.16 for operating and support costs.

In general, the cost argument for technology-assisted approaches is particularly strong when a $2,500 general-purpose computer providing tutorial simulations can be used to achieve instructional objectives for operating, maintaining, or using real equipment costing one to three times as much. The substitution of two-dimensional computer-based simulations for experience with real equipment often turns out to be more rather than less effective than expected.

To return again to the example of IMAT, assessments13 have found the following:

  • First-production IMAT course packages to date involve about $10,000 in development costs per hour of instruction. This can be compared with conventional lecture instruction, which costs $2,000 to $10,000 per hour, and computer-based or multimedia instruction, which costs about $10,000 to $26,000 per hour. Highly complex content increases costs.

  • New courses based on already available IMAT models and simulations (e.g., submarine predeployment training) cost only $500 to $2,000 per hour for development.

This sampling of results is neither comprehensive nor conclusive, but it strongly suggests that the application of technology in military training may be more effective and less costly than our current practice. It does not seem unreasonable, then, to argue that the resources needed for initial investment in these approaches may be well spent. These resources will include funding, time, and the effort to effect significant changes in professional practice and our instructional institutions.

BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

Traditionally, budget decisions have tended to focus almost exclusively on the potential for savings within operation and maintenance (O&M) accounts. There are O&M savings to be gained from investments in converting from current training approaches to those that are technology based, but significant additional payoffs can be realized as well. These accrue from the reductions in time needed to train students when technology is used and the concomitant increase in the time that these individuals are available for duty. One difficulty is that although the investment needed to convert training programs will most probably

13  

Wulfeck, W.H., J.L. Dickieson, J. Apple, and J.L. Vogt. 1993. "The Automation of Curriculum Development Using the Authoring Instructional Materials (AIM) System," Instructional Science, 21:255-263.

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

come from O&M accounts, major savings will appear in personnel accounts, not in O&M.

The net long-term payoff to DOD resulting from course conversion to technology-based instruction could be millions of dollars annually—but only when student pay is measured and considered in the analysis. The difficulty is that the savings can take different forms. The reduction in time spent away from the job site is an important factor that can increase productivity on the job, lead to future long-term efficiencies in the training infrastructure, and in many cases generate reductions in the personnel overhead accounts that pay for student time. Reductions in student accounts can be used to provide either (1) dollar savings, if end strength is reduced, or (2) additional military personnel to meet needs elsewhere in the force. As a result, it is necessary to quantify the potential payoff in terms of student pay as well as the O&M savings generated from distance learning investments.

That the investment may be worthwhile and that the costs of the investment may be recovered quickly, with significant cumulation of cost avoidance over the ensuing years, are suggested by the following rough analysis involving specialized skill training.

Reducing training time saves training resources, and as suggested above, it also increases readiness by providing capable personnel sooner to the naval forces. Savings in training time cumulated over thousands of students are a significant force multiplier. The following comments, which are intended to be more suggestive than conclusive, concern the application of technology to one area, specialized skill training.

Specialized skill training provides officers and enlisted personnel with the skills and knowledge needed to perform specific jobs. It is defined by the MMTR as initial, progressive, and functional training for officers as well as enlisted personnel. Specialized skill training includes such programs as Army Advanced Individual Training, Navy Apprenticeship Training, and Marine Combat Training. This training category also includes aviation-related ground training and initial enlisted leadership training other than that in professional development education.

About 620,300 Navy and Marine Corps personnel are expected to enter some form of specialized skill training in FY 1997, creating a training load of about 34,700 that will cost the Department of the Navy about $2,098 million. Indirect costs for specialized skill training are more difficult to establish. Overall, they are about the same as the direct costs, effectively doubling the cost of such training. The total of both direct and indirect costs that would vary with student time spent in specialized skill training was estimated to be $1,560.5 million, as outlined in Table 2.5.

On the basis of the information in Table 2.5, the panel assumed that about $1,560.5 million will vary with the amount of student time spent in specialized skill training in FY 1997. Of this amount, $789.2 million comes from costs for

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
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TABLE 2.5 FY 1997 Navy Department Costs for Specialized Skill Training Expected to Vary with Time Spent in That Training (million dollars)

Cost Category

Navy

Marine Corps

Total

Operations and maintenancea

$218.7

$ 26.6

$ 245.3

Active component student pay and allowancesb

523.8

210.3

734.1

Base training supportc

 

 

164.8

Direct training supportd

 

 

46.6

Reserve pay and allowancese

 

 

55.1

Temporary duty costsf

 

 

314.6

Total

 

 

$1,560.5

a Given by the FY 1997 MMTR, these costs are expected to vary with student time in specialized skill training.

b Earlier MMTR data and a recommendation from the Defense Training and Performance Data Center suggest that about 35 percent of total Navy Department specialized skill training costs (Table 2.2 gives the estimated FY 1997 total) are for active component student pay and allowances.

c The amount of total Navy Department base training support costs expected to vary with student time spent in specialized skill training was estimated to be about 24 percent of the $686.7 million total estimated in Table 2.2.

d A similar percentage of total Navy Department direct training costs is assumed to vary with student time spent in specialized skill training ($46.6 million of the $178 million estimated for FY 1997 in Table 2.2)

e Specialized skill training will account for about 47.6 percent of the total anticipated FY 1997 Navy Department reserve component student load, and the portion of reserve component pay and allowances affected by student time spent in specialized skill training is thus assumed to be about 47.6 percent of the $115.7 million estimated by the FY 1997 MMTR for reserve pay and allowances (Table 2.2). Additional cost savings—and improvements in reserve component readiness—resulting from technology applied in schools operated by the reserve components are also likely but are not considered here.

f The Defense Training Performance and Data Center has estimated that 15 percent of specialized skill training costs are temporary duty costs. Costs would also be affected by time spent in specialized skill training but are not included in this analysis. Of the $2,097.6 million estimated for Navy and Marine Corps FY 1997 costs for specialized skill training (Table 2.2), $314.6 million is expected to vary with time spent in training.

SOURCE: Complied from data in Military Manpower Training Report: FY 1997, 1996, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Readiness, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C., July.

student pay and allowances, including reserve pay and allowances, and the remaining $771.3 million comes from other training costs. Table 2.6 shows cost avoidances in student pay and allowances that are likely to accrue from various levels of reduction in specialized skill training time due to the introduction of technology for various portions of the student load. Cost avoidances in other specialized skill training areas that are likely to accrue from reductions in training time achieved by the introduction of technology are shown in Table 2.7. The reasoning underlying both Tables 2.6 and 2.7 is that not all students will be

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
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TABLE 2.6 Potential Savings (Cost Avoidances) from Recovered Personnel Pay and Allowances Due to the Introduction of Technology in Navy and Marine Corps Specialized Skill Training (million dollars)

 

Percent Training Load Covered

Percent Time Saved

20

40

60

80

20

32

63

95

126

30

47

95

142

189

40

63

126

189

253

TABLE 2.7 Potential Savings (Cost Avoidances) in Training Costs Due to the Introduction of Technology in Navy and Marine Corps Specialized Skill Training (million dollars)

 

Percent Training Load Covered

Percent Time Saved

20

40

60

80

20

31

62

93

123

30

46

93

139

185

40

62

123

185

247

affected by the introduction of training technology and that different estimates for the amount of time to be saved should also be taken into account.

As shown in Tables 2.6 and 2.7, the cost avoidances that may result from the introduction of technology and reduction in the time needed by Navy and Marine Corps personnel to complete specialized skill training range from $63 million (costs avoided for both direct training resources and pay and allowances combined by reducing time to train by 20 percent for 20 percent of the student load) to $500 million per year (assuming 40 percent time reductions achieved by 80 percent of the students in specialized skill training). These are significant cost avoidances and may well justify the investment required to introduce technology into this training. Again, the difficulty is in accounting—the investments will come from one category, but many of the savings will appear in another.

Still, if this cursory analysis holds up under further scrutiny, the conversion of Navy Department training to the increased use of technology should be pursued sooner rather than later. By 2035 the training enterprise is likely to be modernized in any case, but the sooner that modernization occurs, the greater the level of resources that will be freed up.

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

Notably, the increases in readiness and effectiveness from these conversions remain to be determined, but they, rather than savings in costs, may be the most significant result of reducing the time to reach the human performance levels that are needed by operational forces and are the object of military training programs.

FLAG AND GENERAL OFFICER TRAINING

It is tempting to assume that flag and general officers, as the most senior of military executives, have reached a level of mastery that transcends any need for further education and training. Such an assumption is, in a word, wrong, and given the level of authority and responsibility held by general and flag officers can easily lead to disaster in the rapidly evolving environments of naval operations. Because of its capacity for privacy, technology-based training in individual technical matters may well appeal to these officer-executives. However, the new forms of technology-based training that involve linked simulations and can include force-on-force operations with levels of verisimilitude that seem to increase daily offer great promise in preparing flag and general officers for the operational environments of the future.

Four types of training are typically available to flag and general officers:

  1. Training for decision making. In training for decision making, a real or simulated problem is typically identified. Participating officers provide their own staff support, as necessary (i.e., personnel officer, intelligence officer, operations officer, logistics officer, and other special staff). The host command for the decision-making training provides a series of necessary questions that, when answered, can lead to a logical decision. Each question is tackled by each participating flag officer and support staff team. After a designated time (innings), the officer presents to the participating group an answer to the question. The presentation follows the course-of-action format (problem, analysis, conclusions, recommendations) and is tightly controlled by time. After the various innings described above, the original problem is addressed with the information developed in the intermediate question session. The host command then summarizes the recommended decision and forwards it to the convening authority.

  2. War gaming. Participants in war gaming may be single Service, joint or combined, or multinational. The host provides a general and a special situation, generally describing a geopolitical international crisis by addressing the background, cause of tension, increase of tension, and spread of conflict. Flag and general officer participants often represent the commands they would be expected to use in the crisis. They are supported by staff appropriate for a real-world operation. The scenario is broken down into phases, moving forward from response to tension up to the advent of war and initial operations. Commander-staff interactions develop decisions affecting the represented commands, ranging from precrisis deployments to war employments. A war game control group

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
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evaluates the various gaming moves and decisions and modifies the game's scenario based on the actions of various participants. Staff challenges are interjected into the scenario. All staff have responsibilities and often DOD and other federal government agencies participate. War games help flag and general officers become aware of the tremendous coordination required to undertake military operations and of the often unintended results of major decisions.

  1. Crisis action. This type of training is similar to war gaming, except that the scenario does not involve execution of a major war plan. Generally, the scenario evolves from an international crisis for which no general war plan exists. The demands of the crisis stimulate original thinking, adaptability, coordination, and often new and unique concepts for the deployment and employment of U.S. forces (e.g., U.S. Army rotor assets on aircraft carrier platforms).

  2. POM cycle and POM decisions. A real-world demand within established DOD-Navy processes caused the former commandant of the Marine Corps to make effective use of his general officers to aid in program objectives memorandum (POM) decisions. A format similar to the one described above in training for decision making was used, except that each general officer participated with fewer support staff. Of particular significance were the various tradeoffs and decisions that had to be made based on Service missions, ongoing programs, R&D efforts, departmental decisions, and war fighting capabilities and support.

It is not difficult to see how technology would assist in delivering these types of training. Technology-based, distributed simulations will be especially valuable for busy, high-level military executives if participants do not have to be physically assembled for the training and can participate from widely dispersed locations worldwide. These capabilities are now within the state of the art at fairly basic levels. They will improve substantially in the future and will be used for other levels of training. There is little reason to deny their benefits to our most senior decision makers.

TRAINING MODERNIZATION

If the modernization of Navy and Marine Corps training through technology is likely, it may be worthwhile to speculate on the forms this modernization might take. In general, the training capabilities that are sought should be accessible, effective, and efficient.

  • Training should be accessible.

    • Training should transcend physical location so that it is available wherever it is needed or wanted. Training should be available in schools, homes, workplaces, and learning centers. Environmental constraints should be minimal.

    • Training should transcend time so that it is available whenever it is  

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

needed or wanted. Scheduling of training resources, equipment, materials, and/or instructors should not constrain the time at which training can be accessed.

  • Training should transcend physical devices so that it can be portable. Constraints imposed by delivery platforms should be eliminated.

  • Training should be effective. It should do the right things. It must be relevant (1) to the job to be performed and (2) to the individual who is to perform it. Training analyses should be done in real time to set skill and knowledge objectives specifically tailored to the skills and knowledge that an individual needs.

  • Training should be efficient. It should do things right. Once relevant objectives are chosen, the instructional approaches used to meet them should be the most cost-effective available for the individual being trained.

Given that these capabilities are sought in training, what sort of goals should be set for developing them? It may be best to base goals on extrapolations from what is now embryonic in technology applied to training but has been launched and is likely to continue. Three areas of development that seem likely to change the nature of training are (1) embedded training, (2) modeling and simulation, and (3) intelligent training systems. Technology-based training capabilities expected to be available in 2035 are listed in Table 2.8, along with the key enabling technologies that will make them possible. The capabilities described in Table 2.8 are evolutionary, not revolutionary. Although it is always possible that a scientific or technological breakthrough will overshadow these developments, they are nevertheless likely to occur.

Given the heuristic of extrapolating from these areas of training R&D and from other developments that will have an impact on training technology, goals for technology development applied to training might be realistically established for five areas of capability: (1) portability; (2) interoperability in preparation of materials; (3) aids for delivery of instruction, including tutoring capabilities; (4) instructional intelligence; and (5) integration of instruction into current institutions (Table 2.9).

Development of portability will provide interactive courseware with the same operating capability—plug and play—now available in high-fidelity audio systems. Authoring system interoperability will permit interactive courseware written using one authoring system on one suite of equipment to be freely modified using another authoring system and another suite of equipment. Development of aids for instructional delivery will provide everyone with a so-called Ph.D. in a pocket—an expert, articulate advisor that will provide information for decision making and performance advice that the student or user can understand and apply. This advice will be delivered on a device comparable to early pocket calculators. Distinctions between instruction and advice will be very difficult to draw. Development of instructional intelligence will provide individualized tu-

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

toring that integrates the setting of training objectives, job performance aides, and performance assessment into a single package. Natural language interaction will be an essential feature of this capability—there will be an Aristotle for every Alexander and a Mark Hopkins for everyone else.

Integration of technology-based instruction into the routine, daily practice of existing instructional and workplace institutions will be the most difficult challenge. The goals, organization, and functioning of these institutions will all be modified to take advantage of the technology. Just-in-time training that is available to everyone will change not only the ways human resources are managed in the workplace but also the workplace itself.

TRAINING SUMMARY

The application of advanced technologies for education and training is key to developing and sustaining the levels of human performance necessary for naval force effectiveness. Currently, the Navy has at least three significant opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its education and training activities: (1) capitalize on the efficiencies available from applications of multimedia, interactive technologies such as interactive distance learning, embedded training, intelligent training systems, and collaborative virtual environments; (2) capitalize on the efficiencies available from increased outsourcing; and (3) leverage and find common cause with the research, development, and acquisition activities that exist outside the Department of the Navy—in the other military Services and across federal agencies, at all levels of government, and in the private sector.

Comparisons of technology-based training with more conventional approaches have found that its use can raise student achievement by 15 percentile points, that it reduces time to reach given instructional objectives by about 30 percent, that it lowers costs of training for equipment operation and repair by about 40 percent, and that students generally prefer it. It also makes training more accessible. Use of CD-ROM or newer digital videodisk (DVD) technology to provide training aboard ships and at other dispersed locations can overcome residential classroom limitations of both time and place.

A natural application of technology-based training is in specialized skill areas. If 20 percent of Navy and Marine Corps specialized training students were to use technology-based training to reduce training time by about 20 percent, the savings in training costs and student pay and allowances would amount to many millions of dollars per year. These economic benefits exclude the improvements in readiness that might result from 20 percent earlier graduation of students from training.

Despite their promising indications, the current use of these technologies in

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

TABLE 2.8 Technology-based Training Capabilities Expected to Be Available in 2035

Capability

Description

Key Enabling Technologies

Goal

Embedded training

Training for operation, maintenance, and/or employment of a system (e.g., device, software package) included in, and presented by, the system itself

• Human-computer interaction

• Information access and decision support technology

• Cognitive modeling

• Obviate requirements for external training: potential user should need only to turn the system on to learn how to use it—all operator and deployment training should be embedded, as should most maintenance training

• Ensure separation of training from operations and noninterference of one with the other

Distance learning

Structured learning that takes place without the physical presence of an instructor. Distance learning refers to distance training, distance education, distributed training, etc., and includes the full range of approaches (not just video teletraining) for distributing instruction to physically dispersed students

• Computer and video communications

• Data compression

• Networking

• Interactive courseware (e.g., computer-based instruction, interactive multimedia instruction, techniques of individualization, design to effect specified outcomes

• High-quality training available anytime, anywhere, to any student

• Integration with personnel, classification, and assignment systems

Interactive courseware

Training delivered using computer capabilities that tailors itself to the needs of individual students

• Computer technology

• Cognitive modeling

• Instruction engineered to achieve specified training outcomes

Training that uses interactions with each student to maximize its efficiency by tailoring sequence, content, style, and difficulty of instruction to the needs of that student

Intelligent training systems

A form of interactive courseware that is generated in real time, is

• Speech and natural language interaction

• An articulate, expert tutor for every student, possessing full knowledge of the

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

 

tailored to the needs of the individual student, and permits initiation of a tutorial dialogue and open-ended questioning by the student

• Cognitive modeling

• Knowledge representation

• Computer technology

student, the subject matter, and tutorial techniques and capable of sustaining mixed initiative, tutorial dialogue in terms the student understands

• ''An Aristotle for every Alexander"

Simulation

Representations of real-world systems, situations, and environments that help achieve specified training objectives

• Digital, multimedia displays

• Fidelity matched to training objectives

• System, situation, and environment representation

• Knowledge representation

• Device representations for maintenance and operator training generated directly from computer-aided design databases

• Representations of interpersonal situations that respond to student decisions and actions

• Representations of environments that convey sufficient psychological reality to achieve specified training objectives

Virtual reality

A form of virtual simulation—sensory immersing representations of real-world environments

• Digital, multimedia displays

• Multisensory displays

• Real-time interaction

Environmental representations providing full psychological reality and sufficient physical reality selected to achieve training outcomes

Engagement simulation

Simulations providing live, virtual, and constructive representations of real-world war fighting environments

• Networking

• Data communications

• Digital, multimedia displays

Seamlessly linked simulations supporting simulated environments in which engagements occur continuously against "real" and semiautomated forces

Human performance assessment

Assessment of relevant performance capabilities of individuals and teams

• Psychometrics of simulation

• Job-sample testing

• Assessment of cognitive processes

Valid (measures the right thing), reliable (measures things right), precise (exactly identifies progress toward learning objectives) assessment of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of individual students and teams available at any time in a training program

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
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TABLE 2.9 Planned Training System Capabilities for Interactive Courseware

Technical Capability

By 2000

By 2015

By 2030

Portability

System-level interoperability

Device-level plug-and-play interoperability

Authoring system interoperability

Instructional materials preparation and "authoring"

Object-based authoring from object repositories

Knowledge-engineered capture of subject matter and instructional expertise

Automated generation of simulations, job aids, and instructional guidance from interoperable CAD databases

Instructional delivery

Expert system-based tutor

Individual tutoring and job-aid expert on a desktop

• Individual tutoring and job-aid expert in a pocket

• Natural language understanding and interaction

• Individual tutor and expert assistant embedded in every complex device

Instructional intelligence

Information management

• Automated instructional design

• Integrated tutors and simulation

• Intelligent agents embedded in virtual environments as aids, surrogates for missing team members, and opposing and friendly forces

• Immersive, virtual environments

• Expert tutors using natural language

Institutional integration

Widespread access to national information infrastructure

• Seamless school-to-work transitions

• Networked interactive simulation for situated apprenticeships

• Journeyman-level training available in all settings

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

naval training is minimal. Available records14 indicate that of the 3,139 courses presented by the Navy in FY 1997, only 47, about 1.5 percent, used interactive instructional technology. An additional 49 courses were taught using video teletraining to accomplish learning at a distance. Overall, technology-based approaches are unlikely to be found in more than 4 percent of all Navy and Marine Corps training. It may be time to increase their use. Considerable leverage will be gained if the Navy and Marine Corps and the other Services cooperate in developing and expanding use of these technologies in training. Investments in these technologies are likely to increase substantially both the effectiveness and the efficiency of training, to yield significant returns that can be used to fill existing gaps in the delivery of training, and to increase the pace of training modernization. Moreover, the technologies in question can collect data on individual and collective performance that could be used by local commanders in determining the composition of small teams.

Outsourcing is a high-priority concern within DOD. Recent studies15,16 have found that costs to produce instructional materials and operate networked training simulations may be lowered and fewer instructional personnel may be required when outsourcing is used. Outsourcing cannot be applied universally in Navy and Marine Corps training, but it can produce significant economies in obvious areas such as specialized skill training or the delivery of education and training that is already available from community colleges and trade schools.

Finally, the Department of the Navy could join with other federal agencies and the private sector to leverage the development of performance and certification standards for jobs and occupational areas of common interest and to establish technical standards for the reusability, portability, and interoperability of technology-based courseware. These actions will significantly increase the value and quality of training materials available from suppliers.

Specific investments in research and development applied to training can yield large returns. For example, team training research is still in its infancy; much has to be done to learn how to properly characterize what a team is, how to measure team cohesion, and how to instill team cohesion efficiently. To insert technology into the training enterprise in a time of cost constraints, it will be necessary to understand how much fidelity is required to achieve a desired degree of training transfer and use this measure to drive the requirements for a given technological training solution. As the Navy moves to greater use of distributed

14  

These records are available from the Defense Instructional Technology Information System (DITIS), which is maintained by the Defense Manpower Data Center, Washington, D.C.

15  

Tighe, C., and S. Kleinman. 1996. Outsourcing and Competition: Tools to Increase Efficiency, Center for Naval Analyses, Alexandria, Va.

16  

Metzko, J. 1996. Government vs. Contractor Training at the U.S. Army Signal Center, IDA Document D-1942, Institute for Defense Analyses, Alexandria, Va.

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×

training and applies it to collective training, attention must be paid to interaction over communication channels.

Thus, an investment must be made in research into the nature and technological implications of human interactions within shared virtual environments. The movement of training closer to the time of its utilization will also characterize the future training of naval forces. One can foresee a time when a decision to deploy a force rapidly, generate the necessary training content for mission-specific rehearsal, and deliver that training in transit to the operational site can all be accomplished within a single 24-hour period.

Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
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Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
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Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
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Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 40
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 41
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 42
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 43
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 44
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 45
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 46
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 47
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 48
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 49
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 50
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 51
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 52
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 53
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 54
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 55
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 56
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 57
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 58
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 59
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 60
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
×
Page 61
Suggested Citation:"2 Education and Training." National Research Council. 1997. Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 4: Human Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5865.
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