Since the early work in CRM was primarily conducted by social
psychologists, most of the findings and proposed solutions that we all used
for our early programs had a distinct social psychology spin. This early
work by social scientists did a lot to help us put voice, understanding,
and awareness to the domain we now call CRM. However, for many developers
and managers on this forum, our predominant challenge involves identifying
effective training methods rather than finding new CRM phenomenon to train.
We all know that training cannot solve all of our human performance
challenges, yet it remains one of our best tools. Since many of the
individuals on this forum have jobs that include training development, I
would like to focus a few paragraphs on the underrepresented science of
training.
Skilled training scientists are well suited for identifying effective CRM
and safety training methods, yet, how many training scientists do you see
at CRM and Human Factors conferences? While social psychologists still
have much to tell us about the way humans interact, training scientists
have scarcely begun showing us how to build better training solutions to
meet CRM and safety training challenges. The body of knowledge on
professional training is immense and very mature. By-and-large it has not
been effectively tapped by the CRM community. Multimedia creates
tremendous training potential if we have the wherewithal to seek experts
who can help us maximize its effectiveness. The increased utility and
accessibility of multimedia will further increase the need for skilled
training scientists. The science of training is grossly underrepresented
in today's CRM and safety training programs.
New paths to training scientists, multimedia experts, and other training
methodology experts will allow us to draw from expertise that we will not
find if we use the traditional paths and doors we have used for the past 20
years. This forum is an integral part of building better paths to other
professionals and a refreshing change. Yet old paths have familiar footing
and familiar paradigms are comfortable. I am reminded of a saying: "If
you always do what you have always done, then you will always get what you
always got". I am also reminded of a humorous definition of psychosis:
"It's doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results".
I am encouraged to see training scientists joining our discussions and I
would encourage the group to invite other training scientists and experts
(inside or outside aviation) to contribute. A talented and accessible
training scientist will soon find a well-worn path to his or her door.
Two excellent contributions that that focused specifically on the science
of training come to mind immediately:
1. Ros Woodhouse's response today:
http://www.caar.db.erau.edu/lists/crm-devel/Feb_98/0044.html
2. Wendy Santilhano's response on experiential training in June 1997:
http://www.caar.db.erau.edu//lists/crm-devel/Jun_97/0043.html
There have been countless others but these stick in my mind as addressing
core "science of training" issues. Thanks for your expertise!
Best Regards,
Vince Mancuso
??? Wendy, are you still out there???