Pedagogically Adaptive Scenarios for Training – Automated! (PAST-A!)

Soar Technology proposes to build PAST-A! (Pedagogically Adaptive Scenarios for Training – Automated!), a tool to generate and deliver training scenarios that not only target specific training objectives, but can provide trainees with the deliberate practice needed to support skill acquisition. PAST-A! enables trainers to create scenarios by specifying desired training characteristics and scenario requirements. Scenarios will then be generated from a library of existing engagements encoded using an engagement markup language (EML) that specifies important training meta data, mission characteristics, Distributed Mission Operations (DMO) configurations, and scenario execution scripts. PAST-A! will not only generate scenarios of desired complexity that satisfy a given set of training requirements, it will also generate pedagogically appropriate branch points and monitor trainee performance to help trainers and operators make instructionally sound adaptations during scenario execution. In addition, configuration files for the generated scenarios will be output to the DMO, automating the initialization of scenarios for the operators. PAST-A! will include an expert diagnostician agent to monitor trainee performance during scenario execution, providing both instructors and operators with real-time assessment information, thus facilitating real-time scenario adaptation (through choice of scenario branches or other real-time changes).