Summative evaluation of the SINCGARS Tutor

In an earlier set of studies with a different Intelligently Coached Simulation (Orey, M.A., Fan, H., Park, J., Tzeng, S., & Gustafson, K. (1995). Evaluation of Device operator in a context of a coached simulation environment), we found a retention and a transfer problem. We tried to solve these problems while building a new Intelligently Coached Simulation (the SINCGARS Tutor). The solutions to the two problems were to use an interactive conceptual model for the retention problem and we used photographs of the equipment as the visuals of the simulation. We then tested this new tutor with a group of 22 officers who were not only required to know how to operate the SINCGARS radio, but would be responsible for teaching others in their unit when their training was complete. We had one group of officers train on the real equipment, in pairs, with one instructor available for guidance. The other group of 11 learned via the SINCGARS Tutor. The post test was to put an actual radio into operation while being observed by a trained observer. Results indicate that not only did the transfer problem go away, but officers trained on the computer performed the task more accurately both initially on the immediate post test and again on a surprise four-week delayed post test. The SINCGARS Tutor was found to be a very good training solution.