Jean L. Dyer's research while affiliated with U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences and other places

... There are common requirements to be met in all types of training and AAR. Interviews with army observers/controllers at various combat training centers (Dyer, 2005) (Salter, 2007) clearly indicate that automation that improves training recall and diagnosis is desirable. Dyer et al (Dyer, 2005) noted that "AAR aids should assist the trainer, and should be used when they are "value added". ...

... Training environments must provide depth and deliberate practice across different skills, such that the obtained skills improve Soldiers' ability to react and adapt to any given environment, rapidly and effectively. For instance, recent interviews with Soldiers serving as the Opposing Force (OPFOR) at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) illustrated that information must be assessed and integrated quickly, in order to maximize time available to complete mission objectives (Dyer, Centric, & Wampler, 2007). Since JRTC provides a close approximation to actual operations in theatre, the training experience at JRTC, and other operational exercises, provide valuable training opportunities. ...

... However, when implemented, they required the DSs to relearn the techniques and procedures necessary to conduct the associated training. Throughout this period the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) at Fort Benning conducted multiple research efforts that either directly or indirectly assessed the IET rifle marksmanship program of instruction (POI) (Beal, Dyer, James, Wampler, & Johnson, 2008;Cobb, Graves, James, Dlubac, & Wampler, 2010;Cobb, James, Graves, & Wampler, 2009;Dyer et al, 2010;Wampler, James, Leibrecht, & Beal, 2007). ...

... In contrast, the problem-solving tasks required more inductive learning (McDaniel & Schlager, 1990) and/or complex variable interactions (e.g., Ahmad, 2006 with presumably less support for managing the search space and consequently increasing task complexity and cognitive load. However, as the small effect sizes suggest, not all studies with digital procedural learning tasks found a transfer benefit for more exploration (e.g., Debowski, Wood, & Bandura, 2001;Dyer, Singh, & Clark, 2005;Yorke, 2005). And there were problem-solving studies that received more benefit from the more exploratory conditions (e.g., Guthrie, 1967;McDaniel & Schlager, 1990;Wood, Kakebeeke, Debowski, & Frese, 2000). ...

... As little empirical research has directly compared different instructional approaches for training cognitive skills (for notable exceptions see Dyer et al., 2001Dyer et al., , 2005Klahr & Nigam, 2004;Strand-Cary & Klahr, 2008), there is a need to better understand the suitability of different approaches for training cognitive skills and the effectiveness of different approaches in terms of student outcomes. Thus, the purpose of the present research was to inform training developers of the instructional approaches that are most effective in achieving cognitive skill proficiency for problem-based, decision-making/analyzing tasks. ...

... Teams are given feedback at the team, not the individual, level. The OCs record qualitative information in "gray books" and everything is videotaped (Dyer, 1994). JRTC Ratings would require the development of rating materials for OCs to use in evaluating individual performance. ...

... Simulators are frequently used in military training (e.g., Wampler et al., 2006), as a means of practicing skills and experiencing consequences of various actions, while avoiding the use of extensive support personnel, the risk of damaging costly equipment or endangering the lives or safety of personnel. Simulators enable practicing scenarios that are close to the actual military tasks, providing situated learning (Brown, Collins & Duguid, 1989). ...

... The firing results were analyzed by AMSAA. These results were also compared here to a reduced exposure firing experiment conducted by Dyer et al. (2005) with earlier versions of the LW system and the DVS on the M4 carbine. Lastly, the consolidated survey data were examined for potential relationships between Soldiers use of reduced exposure and indirect view techniques of fire and their confidence in these skills. ...

... Task characteristics that were less prone to skill decay included open-looped, continuous, and automatic processing tasks [16,25,27,34,47,[52][53][54][61][62][63][64][65]. However, there might be other factors that reduce or amplify the influences of task characteristics on complex cognitive skill retention, such as cognitive processing. ...

... These increased practice opportunities may be exceedingly important for National Guard and Reserve Soldiers who do not receive as much face-to-face training as Active Duty Soldiers throughout their AVC3. Moreover, research has shown that an instructional approach that affords students with more control over the learning process, constructivist instructional methods, has been found to have benefits on student outcomes over behavioral (demonstrating and sequencing of tasks) and cognitive (leveraging past experience and using organizing principles) methods, even for novices (for a review see Leibrecht, Goodwin, Wampler, & Dyer, 2007). In summary, the blended learning approach adopted in this project reflects a constructivist approach in that it allows students to explore the instructional material on their own in the context of a realistic problem with minimal guidance from the instructor during the exercise. ...