Development of a Refined Staff Group Trainer

Book excerpt: "This Staff Group Trainer (SGT) project was a research and development effort sponsored by the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences in coordination with the Force XXI Training Program. As a follow-on effort to the previous SGT project, the goal was to refine a brigade-level staff training program to more effectively and efficiently coordinate the activities within and between the individual staff sections in the brigade command post. The program was designed to deliver training to newly formed, inexperienced staffs conducting the staff functions that support the military decision-making process within the execution phase of the brigade area defense mission. Program design and development were based upon lessons learned from the previous SGT effort, structured design methodology, instructional systems design techniques, adult learning principles, as well as team and mental model research. The refined training program further demonstrated the capability of structured, computer-driven, collective staff training. It advanced the techniques for development of structured staff training and integration of technology into the training process. The program incorporated innovative features including automated performance measures and structured feedback. This report provides details on the SGT background, design concept, technology development process, training support package development process, formative evaluation techniques, lessons learned, and conclusions."--Stinet.