Understanding the Impact of Training on Performance

Abstract : This research effort was conducted to collect empirical evidence on the effectiveness of different training methods for acquiring and transferring complex cognitive skills. To accomplish this goal, we conducted a series of meta-analyses (and supplemental experiments) examining six training methods (training wheels, scaffolding, part-task training, increasing difficulty, learner control, and exploratory learning), as well as factors that moderate their effectiveness, such as task/skill type being trained (e.g., perceptual, psychomotor, cognitive-declarative), trainee characteristics (e.g., experience, aptitude), and type of training performance outcome (e.g., learning, transfer). Algorithms were developed to quantify the relationships between the training methods, performance, and the various moderating factors. These algorithms can be used to perform tradeoff analyses to determine the effectiveness of different combinations of training method(s), task/skill types, trainee characteristics, and performance outcomes. Finally, to ensure these research findings and algorithms would be easily consumable by training developers and researchers, a training effectiveness tool was developed, called TARGET (which stands for Training Aide: Research and Guidance for Effective Training). This tool can aid training developers and researchers in making evidence-based decisions concerning the most appropriate training method(s) to use depending on their particular training context; thus, helping to maximize effective learning and transfer.