Adaptive Skill Rehearsal and Experimentation Environment for Battle field First-Aid Procedure Training

Abstract

Pictorial mnemonic devices represent a promising approach to improving the efficiency and efficacy of procedural training in comparison to traditional, text-based materials. However, simply trading static, textual depictions of process flows with static, visual depictions will not support the development of the rich knowledge structures necessary for procedural recall. In this paper, we describe our ongoing effort to design dynamic, adaptive microgames for battlefield first-aid training that incorporate pictorial mnemonic devices. This effort builds upon prior pictorial mnemonic development work to incorporate structured visual imagery within an adaptive training and experimentation environment. Examples from the training microgame suite developed under this effort are presented and a web-based component for conducting longitudinal training experiments is discussed. This work sets the stage for a follow-on effort to evaluate the performance benefits of adaptive, pictorial mnemonic-based training methods in the battlefield first-aid domain. It is our hope that this example will aid others in the development of game-based training materials for other procedural skill domains.