Evaluating the Influence of Past Gaming Experience on Learner Preferences and Motivation to Learn in a Military Training Environment

摘要

Millennial generation recruits are entering the Air Force and with them come their new attitudes and expectations. As a result, the leadership of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) expressed a need for information on how to effectively train this new generation of recruits in their 2008 whitepaper. The purpose of this thesis was to begin to address this requirement by investigating the influence video gaming has on the learning preferences of trainees undergoing initial technical training at the 82nd Training Wing, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. A survey was administered and data was collected from 866 trainees. The survey included measures for age, video gaming experience, individual data format preferences (as measured by the Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire), goal orientation, motivation to learn, and performance self assessment ratings. The results showed that video gaming experience was not significantly related to the subjects' preferred learning style. However, correlations between the learning preferences and motivation to learn constructs indicated that none of the VARK categories were significant motivated in the current learning environment. Additionally, goal orientation was also shown to have a significant influence on motivation to learn. Therefore, increased goal orientation will have a profound influence on training motivation in the current training environment.