Training Shipbuilders with the Classroom of the Future

Abstract

To achieve the quality and productivity gains necessary to compete successfully in a global market, shipbuilders must prepare employees to apply diverse principles to complex problems. Rote learning of facts is no longer a useful paradigm for training employees to accomplish a wide range of shipbuilding jobs. Imagine a classroom where the instructor has the ability to monitor the trainee's level of comprehension and motivation, even as the presentation is underway. This same classroom provides the instructor with instantaneous control over a complete suite of advanced instructional equipment and environmental conditions. Newport News Shipbuilding has used the interactive technologies provided by such a classroom, combined with group facilitation methods, to significantly improve pass rates in a trades radiological control training program from 67% to 89%. One result of this improved pass rate is that retraining requirements in this program have been reduced by 67%. This paper describes the use of this Advanced Technology Classroom (ATC) to meet customer requirements to upgrade classroom performance of radiological control employees. The customer's challenge, our review of the available technology, and the characteristics of the ATC are discussed. The effects of organizational variables, normative change in the classroom, and relevant research concerning the use of interactive instructional technology are also covered. Finally, the implications of the ATC for other shipyard training are addressed.