Preliminary Evaluation of a Novel Simulation-Based Tool for Training Rapid Decision-Making Skills

摘要

This report describes an initial evaluation of a desktop training tool named the Simulated Field Exercise (SimFX). SimFX is different from other desktop trainers in that it uses a discrete, outcome-driven simulation for training leader decision making rather than a simulation driven by inputs from the virtual operating environment. The training scenarios used in SimFX exploit the cognitive realism that occurs when the leader is engaged in an interactive, branching storyline. The SimFX simulation advances the leader from one decision point to the next, and therefore focuses the leader on making decisions using available information rather than on experiencing the subtleties of a virtual environment. The SimFX was evaluated using the results from a questionnaire completed by 19 participants in a hands-on workshop that was conducted to introduce SimFX to a broad cross-section of trainers and training developers at Fort Benning, Georgia. The findings of this preliminary evaluation of SimFX suggest that it may be both an effective and an efficient means to train information-processing and decision-making skills. Equally important, the SimFX tool has the capability to be an aid in the development of the cognitive skills required for both the current force and for the envisioned future force environment.