TESTING A COGNITIVE ALIGNMENT-BASED TRAINING MODEL TO ACCELERATE OPTIMAL MILITARY DECISION-MAKING IN A PLATOON-FORMATION TASK

Abstract

Determining which platoon formation (PF) should be used is a decision that all junior Army leaders must execute during training. Yet, current military training in PF is tailored to the masses rather than adapted to an individual’s current abilities. This thesis had two goals: (1) to develop a computer-based platoon formation decision task (PFDT) and associated software that can be used as a training aid and (2) to apply a recently developed adaptive training model, CAPTTIM, to the PFDT to provide greater insight into a trainee’s cognitive state and decision performance. Thirty subjects completed the PFDT in about 15 minutes. On average, subjects performance improved as they progressed through 128 trials. CAPTTIM revealed three distinct groups of learners. The results indicate that the PFDT and CAPTTIM have the potential to accelerate learning through incorporation into an adaptive training tool.