Training Maintenance Technicians for Troubleshooting: Two Experiments with Computer Simulations

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Abstract
Aviation maintenance trainees participated in two experiments designed to assess the relative effectiveness of traditional instruction versus two types of computer simulation in the context of aircraft power-plant troubleshooting. Simulations ranged in nature from abstract, context-free problems to those involving specific aircraft power plants. Traditional instruction included reading assignments, television programs tailored to aircraft power-plant troubleshooting, and on-line quizzes. The first experiment compared the three training methods, and the second considered a mixture of the two computer simulations versus traditional instruction. The primary conclusion was that an appropriate combination of low- and moderate-fidelity computer simulations can provide sufficient problem-solving experience to be competitive with the more traditional lectureldemonstration form of instruction.

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