Designing Instructional Simulations: Effects of Instructional Control and Type of Training Task on Developing Display-Interpretation Skills

Abstract

Instructional simulation is a useful training medium for developing complex skills, but principles are needed to specify the most effective strategies for representing complex tasks and controlling instruction and simulation events within these learning environments. Different types of instructional control and training tasks were examined in three experiments. Adult subjects were taught how to use radar information shown on simulated cockpit displays to estimate the location and heading of target symbols on a computer screen. Overall, program control and part-task training strategies produced the best performance on this task.