Marc Dubrule
V. Mancuso wrote:
> Marc Dubrule writes:
> >I can appreciate the face validity, but i'm also interested in the science
> behind it.<
>
> For those who are satisfied with the face validity of the 6 steps to a "0"
> cost CRM program and don't care about the science upon which it is built,
> you can stop reading now, take another sip of coffee, and spend your
> morning in other pleasant pursuits... This will bore you to tears.
>
> For those who are looking for the complexity behind the simplicity... Here
> goes...
>
> Perhaps the easiest answer to Marc's question can be found in an FAA
> Advisory Circular. AC 60-14 is the Aviation Instructors Handbook. In
> chapter 1 it highlights six laws of learning based on the work of
> Thorndike. I have a whole library full of other education and training
> theory literature that would apply to the both the Air Force Reserve CRM
> program and the 6 step process but Thorndike's laws explain it all the
> easiest. Let's apply Thorndike to two alternatives:
>
> *Model A: Today's prevailing model of CRM training (mostly classroom and
> perhaps some LOFT training if your company has the resources).
>
> *Model B: The model for CRM training used for both the Air Force Reserve
> CRM program as well as the 6 steps to a "0" cost program.
>
> Six laws of learning have been attributed to Thorndike:
> The LAW OF READINESS
> The LAW OF EXERCISE
> The LAW OF EFFECT
> The LAW OF PRIMACY
> The LAW OF INTENSITY
> The LAW OF RECENCY.
>
> The LAW of READINESS
> "Individuals learn best when they are ready to learn, and they do not learn
> much if they see no reason for learning... If students have a strong
> purpose, a clear objective, and a well fixed reason for learning something,
> they make more progress than if they lack motivation. " (AC 60-14).
>
> Model A: In this model, the pilot sits in an auditorium and learns about
> CRM (awareness training). Maybe the accident videos get his or her
> attention for a little while. The objectives, if there are any at all, are
> purely awareness objectives. There is no sign of a skill objective
> anywhere. The pilot asks: What is the reason for learning about
> heuristics? What does all this really mean to me when I am flying a broken
> jet on an approach to minimums? The pilot answers: "I don't know and I am
> not going to take the time to figure it out. This psychobabble will be
> done in 30 minutes and it will be another year before I have to endure this
> again."
>
> Model B: In this model, the pilots brief CRM in the mission briefing. The
> CRM portion of the briefing is designed to be about 1-minute reviewing the
> CRM skill objectives and how they apply to today's flight. Debriefs
> includes a review (detailed if necessary) of the CRM skill objectives as
> they applied to today's flight.
>
> Law of Exercise
> "This law states that those things most often repeated are best remembered.
> It is the basis of practice and drill... The mind can rarely retain,
> evaluate, and apply new concepts or practices after a single exposure...
> They learn by applying what they have been told and shown. Every time
> practice occurs, learning continues. The instructor must provide
> opportunities for students to practice or repeat and must see that this
> process is directed toward a goal." (AC 60-14)
>
> Model A: Until AQP came into town, there was little evidence of any
> definable CRM objectives or direct connection between what was taught in
> the CRM classroom and what was taught in the LOFT sim. The company for
> whom I work was in AQP for over 4 years before the current set of CRM skill
> objectives were developed. Regarding practice and drill, lets take a
> giant step back from our current training programs and review them with an
> eye toward the law of exercise. If your company provides an opportunity
> for LOFT, the session is probably a one hour video production studio that
> relies entirely on the strength of the debrief to extract learning. The
> learning is accomplished through a combination of serendipity,
> self-discovery (if the instructor finds a good segment of tape), and an
> instructor's ability to extract lessons learned against unstated
> objectives. The reason that many instructors find LOFT instruction
> difficult is that it defies many of the laws of good instructional design.
> Observing behavior without intervention might be great for behaviorists in
> a laboratory, but it creates some real difficulties when it is used as a
> training methodology. I do not know of any other sim session where there
> are no specific skill objectives for the period. The objective is often to
> finish the period, get a good video tape, and hope for the best in the
> debrief. If there is something that did not go so well, there is no
> opportunity to try it a different way or to refine the skill (See you in
> next year's LOFT). The FAA mandates that the LOFT session is at least 60
> uninterrupted minutes. Most companies have interpreted this to mean 60
> minutes of LOFT and not a minute more. Period! Therefore, there is no
> opportunity for an instructor to make a mid-course correction with the
> students, or to try something different because it is one uninterrupted
> 60-minute session. Question: Is there practice and drill in the current
> method? Answer: Not much if any. Question: Is this single exposure that
> the law of exercise advises against? Answer: The worst form of single
> exposure is when a pilot gets only CRM awareness training in a classroom.
> The second worse form of single exposure is when they get a sim session
> with no objectives, disconnected from the classroom session, with no
> opportunity to correct deficiencies found in the debrief. Today's
> prevailing model of CRM instruction crucifies the law of exercise.
>
> Model B: For the entire month/quarter, a subset of CRM skills are briefed
> as a special interest item on every mission. Briefing it with some
> consistency over a month or quarter directly supports the law of exercise.
> Each month or quarter, new objectives from the master CRM skill list are
> used. Every skill will be represented in the briefings at some time during
> the year. The contractor is provided the list of skills that will be used
> for the upcoming months/quarters. The contractor then creates SHORT
> briefing vignettes that are aircraft/mission specific. These are used by
> the flight leads, aircraft commanders and mission commanders on daily
> missions. The contractor also creates a 10-minute briefing, including
> slides, for the safety officer to present at quarterly safety meetings.
> These briefings directly support that quarter's CRM skill objectives.
> These vignettes and briefing slides are made available via the Internet so
> each squadron can obtain them easily.
>
> Law of Effect
> "This law is based on the emotional reaction of the learner. It states that
> learning is strengthened when accompanied by a pleasant or satisfying
> feeling, and that learning is weakened when associated with an unpleasant
> feeling. An experience that produces feelings of ... futility are
> unpleasant for the student." (AC 60-14) Note: Most professional do not
> expect to leave a training session singing a happy tune and skipping a
> happy step. They do, however, expect to leave the session professionally
> fulfilled. It could be easy to misinterpret the author's use of the terms
> "satisfying feeling" and "unpleasant feeling". I have interpreted the
> author's use of the word "feeling" to mean "professional fulfillment."
>
> Model A: This model is marked by hour's of classroom instruction where the
> student often struggles to make some connection between the classroom
> presentation and the cockpit. If you think that pilots associate CRM
> classroom instruction with professionally fulfillment, tell a group of
> pilots that they have a CRM class today and watch their reaction. LOFT
> sessions can be professionally fulfilling if the instructor is skilled at
> delivering and debriefing the session. I have had sessions, however, where
> the tape didn't work and/or the instructor chose not to use it. In these
> cases, the company wasted a bunch of money and the pilots left
> professionally unfulfilled.
>
> Model B: This model uses short focused briefings applied to the context of
> today's mission. It uses short mission specific vignettes related to the
> monthly/quarterly objectives. It provides an opportunity to apply the
> skill and see the effect in the cockpit. It uses mission specific
> reinforcement in the debrief. The debrief may not be a happy "feel good"
> event. In fact, it might not feel good at all. However, there is a
> tremendous professional fulfillment in mastering an aspect of ones
> profession. It's also very professionally fulfilling to see your
> team/flight do well on a mission.
>
> Law of Primacy.
> "Primacy, the state of being first, often creates a strong, almost
> unshakable, impression. For the instructor, this means that what is taught
> must be right the first time. For the student, it means that learning must
> be right... Every student should be started right. The first experience
> should be positive and functional and lay the foundation for all that is to
> follow (AC 60-14).
>
> Model A: Oops. I am not sure we can recover from this one. There is no
> misinterpreting what pilots think about the first decade of CRM.
>
> Model B: If it is possible to recover from the past decade of CRM folly,
> it will have to be done in a context specific learning environment with
> specific CRM skill objectives. Maybe the next generation of aviators will
> be introduced to CRM as a set of skills presented in a mission context.
> Maybe Thorndike will then be able to roll back to a comfortable position in
> his grave.
>
> Law of Intensity
> "A vivid, dramatic, or exciting learning experience teaches more than a
> routine or boring experience. A student is likely to gain greater
> understanding of stalls by performing them than from merely reading about
> them. The law of intensity, then, implies that a student will learn more
> from the real thing than from a substitute... the classroom imposes
> limitations on the amount of realism that can be brought into teaching."
> (AC 60-14)
>
> Model A: The pilot gets a combination of classroom and sim if they are
> lucky. They get just a classroom session if they are unlucky. A crash and
> burn video might get the pilot's attention for a little while. Not many
> pilots would place the word "intensity" and "CRM classroom session" in the
> same sentence. LOFT sims ARE intense so this law works in today's model if
> you get a well designed LOFT as part of your training.
>
> Model B: Real world intensity - no substitute. The intensity of a "Red
> Flag" simulated combat mission is far beyond anything I have ever
> experienced in a training device. The intensity of real combat was beyond
> anything I have ever experienced. The intensity of an approach to mins
> with the rain pounding on the windshield so loud you can barely hear the
> other pilot, is difficult to replicate. The Air Force Reserve Command has
> not reduced the amount of CRM sim training for folks who have sims (not all
> weapon systems have them) so the benefit if sim intensity is not lost in
> Model B.
>
> Law of Recency
> "The things most recently learned are best remembered. Conversely, the
> further a student is removed time-wise from a new fact or understanding,
> the more difficult it is to remember it. " (AC 60-14)
>
> Model A: Presented annually.
>
> Model B: Presented daily in mission briefings then applied 30 minutes from
> the time they were briefed.
>
> If you have made it this far, you are a real trooper... I hope that
> explains some of the science behind the model for CRM training applied to
> the Reserves and the 6 step process to a "0" cost program.
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Vince Mancuso