Training v. Education (Bailey, Robert W. Human Performance Engineering: A Guide for System Designers. Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ. 1982.) “ Training is the systematic acquisition of skills, knowledge, and attitudes that will lead to an acceptable level of human performance in a specific activity in a given context”(463). In systems that have operational issues, for example, many human performance problems (perhaps even the majority) have little if anything to do with training. Does practice make perfect? Ellis found in 1977 that half of all instruction sessions had no hands-on training and that there was little difference in performance between those with and without practice where little movement skill was required. In 1977, Karlin found savings of over $2.5M for one year in one application. That's over $9M is 2010 equivalent dollars.
What are the approaches to Learning? Descriptive (theory) or Prescriptive (instructions, criteria, conditions of evaluation) Prescriptive Instruction doesn't always work “ To land this plane you must level off to an altitude of about ten feet. Then after you have descended to about two feet, pull back on the elevators and touch down as you approach stalling speed. You must remember that at touch-down the control surfaces are less sensitive, and any gust may increase your airspeed. That may start the plane flying again, so be prepared to take corrective measures with the throttle and elevators. And if there is a cross-wind, lower the wing on the windward side,holding the plane parallel to the runway with the opposite rudder. ” (Miller, Galanter and Pribram, 1960, 83)
Prescriptive training can even be nonsensical "Adjust the curvature of your (bicycle ’s) path in proportion to the ratio of your unbalance over the square of your speed." As many skills are developed, the learner passes from conscious performance of an operation, to somewhat conscious performance of the operation, to completion with little attention to the performance of the task. Skills Development Stages (Conscious, Shared, Automatic) Developing Skills without Instructions General v. Detailed Instruction. Highly formalized instruction will lead to faster learning; looser instruction can lead to “deeper” learning.
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