Research and Evaluation Methods for Measuring Nonroutine Mine Health and Safety Skills. Volume I

摘要

Thirty-six simulation exercises designed to teach and assess problem-solving skills for coping with mine emergencies were developed and field tested in annual refresher training classes in eight states. The exercises focus on first aid, self-rescue and escape situations. The 4,000 miners in the field test samples averaged 37 years of age with 12 years experience. Only 2.1% of the sample was female. Miners and their instructors rate the exercises highly in terms of their authenticity, relevance, and utility. Analysis of performance data suggest the exercises are valid, discriminate between persons with basic and advanced levels of training, and challenge most miners. The exercises deal with critical skills that should be learned to high levels of mastery. Yet, fewer than 30% of the miners in the samples achieved mastery scores at or above the 90% level. The low levels of mastery suggest miners have little opportunity to practice judgment and decision-making skills in mine emergency situations because of the infrequent occurrence of these events, and working the simulation exercises in annual refresher training classrooms may contribute to miners' preparedness to cope with infrequently encountered mine emergencies.