Applied Research in AQP

Certain features of AQP have generated a significant need for applied human factors research support. For example, while ISD has long been routinely employed in the development of computer based training content, it has rarely been employed in an air carrier setting to design an entire curriculum from ground school through flight operations training and checking. The complex nature of this training and evaluation requirement, which encompasses both advanced technical and cognitive skills, has necessitated research to extend methodological techniques to meet the need in a pragmatic and economically feasible fashion, together with software tools tailored for use by air carrier training development staff.

This requirement has been particularly challenging in the area of identifying effective strategies for CRM curriculum integration The emphasis on scenario based training and evaluation has engendered a multitude of requirements for human factors support, ranging from the need to establish a systematic methodology for the development of targeted scenario event sets to the establishment of reliable and valid scenario performance assessment strategies, and the standardization of evaluators responsible for accomplishing psychometric measures. The significant time and labor workload associated with generating LOE’s has engendered an acute need for software tools which facilitate the creation of fresh scenarios on a quick turnaround basis. Such tools must incorporate all of the methodological concerns associated with targeting desired technical and cognitive skills, as well generating supporting flight paperwork and scenario specific grading schemes for use by evaluators.

Finally, the requirement in AQP for the acquisition of data which are diagnostic of both pilot proficiency and curriculum effectiveness has generated a need to adapt psychometric methods to the development of effective performance measurement techniques, to establish appropriate data analysis strategies, and to enhance the reliability, sensitivity, and validity of measures of quality control.