Creating a Scenario Design Workflow for Dynamically Tailored Training in Socio-cultural Perception

AbstractThe current operational context for military personnel necessitates development of nuanced perceptual skills, including the ability to identify and interpret a range of socio-cultural behaviors and patterns of life. To develop this capacity, we constructed the Virtual Observation Suite Demonstrator (VOSD), a simulation-based training platform combining extant simulation technologies, custom software components that enable system reconfiguration and expansion, and the Dynamic Tailoring System (DTS), a custom middleware package which adds trainee-specific scenario tailoring and feedback capabilities. Constructing socio-cultural perception scenarios, then planning dynamic tailoring to support and challenge trainees at different proficiencies, requires a complex workflow that integrates: 1) instructional design; 2) story-telling and narrative representation; 3) operational and socio-cultural subject matter expertise; 4) simulation engine implementation; and 5) identification of event alternatives, parameters, and subsequent configuration for tailoring. While instructional design for scenario-based training has been explored in detail, the additional considerations required to support dynamic tailoring introduce unique concerns. Planning tailoring options requires instructional expertise on the training efficacy tightly unified with knowledge of the technical capabilities of the system, as well as attention to maintaining narrative coherence and consistency. This paper discusses the current scenario development workflow used by our team to create prototype scenarios. We also identify and describe specific challenges and limitations for authoring, and outline preliminary recommendations for overcoming these issues in the future