October 7, 2009
Instructional technology students assess National Guard teaching tool
Ana-Paula Correia, second from left, stands with graduate students Turkan Karakus, Capt. Richard Rush , Paul Mangiemele, Peter Schmidt, and Joseph Grgic at a training facility at Camp Dodge. Correia and her team of students recently worked with the Iowa National Guard to evaluate marksmanship simulation training exercises. |
By
Laura Dillavou
Laying on the ground, palms slick with sweat, Ana-Paula Correia aimed, fired, and shot at her target. Hit. Reload. Aim, fire, shoot.
It wasn’t a role or an action Correia, an assistant professor in curriculum and instruction, was familiar with. But after agreeing to work with the Iowa National Guard at Camp Dodge in Johnston, she quickly found herself surrounded by the weapons and practices of army training.
“This relationship, this client, the project – it doesn’t really match with the foundations or values we teach in higher education,” Correia said. “But, working with the Iowa National Guard was a new opportunity and we saw it as something that if our differences could be worked out, would open many doors for the future.”
Correia and a team of graduate students in the Evaluating Digital Learning Environments class (CI/HCI 504) met with Capt. Richard Rush of the Iowa National Guard last spring when he requested academic assistance to evaluate simulated and actual war-training exercises. After consulting with her class about the client and the nature of the project, and visiting the training center at Camp Dodge, Correia and her team agreed to help.
“Captain Rush was looking for a way to evaluate this marksmanship training at a low price, and we had the semester timeline to work under, so we decided a pilot study was the right way to approach this,” Correia said. “After meeting with him on campus and at Camp Dodge, we felt it would be an evaluation that would help many.”
As part of their research, Correia and the students tested the marksmanship simulation program “Engagement Skills Trainer 2000.” For many, it was an experience that hit close to home.
“This was very real,” Correia said. “Many of our students [on this project] had mixed feelings about war situations, including myself, because I experienced war in eastern Africa when I was a child. It was hard for some to overcome their thoughts or apprehensions, but in the end, we realized that the way we educate our students and prepare them for life is just a different approach to the way soldiers are trained for their [professional] lives.
“In higher education, we look at the holistic human being – from birth through death – and create lifelong learners. They create lifelong learners, too, but focus more on skill training. They approach ‘education’ as breaking down the big picture and mastering one small piece at a time. We can learn from each other.”
After Correia and the students collected shooting accuracy data from the simulation and actual training exercises, they evaluated it to see whether the simulation exercises were beneficial to soldiers before they engaged in actual shooting practice. The results from this pilot study showed that overall, the simulator improved live-fire performance. Along with these results, a set of recommendations were offered to continue improving the marksmanship simulation program. And Correia thinks these findings could have an impact for soldiers and civilians alike.
“It is very inspiring to be a part of this project and to let officials know that well-designed simulation exercises will help to create soldiers that are more prepared and ready for combat,” Correia said. “This means they will have better, more responsible actions when it comes to working with civilians, even in times of stress. It increases the safety of civilians and soldiers, and although that’s hard to measure or quantify, it’s important.”
Correia ended the study with the Iowa National Guard when the spring semester ended, but said another College of Human Sciences student-consulting group, LearnDS, has been contacted for further work.
“This turned out to be very beneficial for both parties. I think everyone was able to learn and grow from this – myself included,” Correia said. When students tell me they want to continue working on a project, I know it’s been a good learning experience.”
