Making Sense of Cognitive Performance in Small Unit Training

• Published in: Foundations of Augmented Cognition: Neuroergonomics and Operational Neuroscience Vol. 9744; pp. 67 - 75
• Main Authors: Ross, William A., Johnston, Joan H., Riddle, Dawn, Phillips, CDR Henry, Townsend, Lisa, Milham, Laura
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Springer International Publishing AG 2016; Springer International Publishing
• Series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science
• Subjects: Decision making; Human dimension; Infantry squad; Measurement; Observation rubric; Sense making; User interface design & usability
• ISBN: 3319399519; 9783319399515
• ISSN: 0302-9743; 1611-3349
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-39952-2_7

The goal of the Squad Overmatch (SOvM) for Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TC3) study was to introduce and assess an integrated training approach (ITA) for producing adaptable, high performing infantry squads. The challenge is to create the conditions and encode learning experiences for re-use in combat situations. Effective performance embedded in force-on-force actions are unscripted and required unpacking to understand and use as performance feedback. This paper describes the development of a prototype team performance observation tool developed to support the assessment of mission critical tasks during the simulation and live training phases of the ITA. The tool was constructed based on tactical use cases developed with subject matter experts. Discrete TC3 tasks were defined so that observers could recognize and record squad member performance, and that could be traceable to understanding underlying cognitions of team members during an after action review. Lessons learned on usability and reliability of the tool are discussed.