Science of human measures workshop : summary and conclusions /

The U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences hosted a workshop on human measurement. The workshop consisted of four panels that discussed assessment of attitudes and aptitudes, mental agility, individual performance, and new training programs. The workshop began with a plenary session with keynote addresses. Each panel was led by a retired general officer and a leading academic or industry researcher. With regard to measuring attitudes and aptitudes, key topics discussed included developing better ways to identify highly qualified individuals from among those who would otherwise be ineligible for service and developing better measures of Soldier and Family well-being. To develop mental agility measurements, panelists suggested building a model based on critical incidents of operational experience, developing measures to assess the critical skills identified in the model, and linking the measures to performance. Regarding the measurement of individual performance, panelists discussed re-scoping initial entry training to train and measure attributes like teamwork, initiative, and accountability in addition to basic combat skills and tasks. Finally, with regard to assessing new training programs, panelists discussed the many challenges in conducting quality assessments of new institutional courses, new equipment training, and unit training. At the end of the workshop, the co-leaders briefed the conclusions of their panels to an invited audience of Army leaders."Army project number 633007A792.""October 2009."Cover title.Includes bibliographical references (p. 45).The U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences hosted a workshop on human measurement. The workshop consisted of four panels that discussed assessment of attitudes and aptitudes, mental agility, individual performance, and new training programs. The workshop began with a plenary session with keynote addresses. Each panel was led by a retired general officer and a leading academic or industry researcher. With regard to measuring attitudes and aptitudes, key topics discussed included developing better ways to identify highly qualified individuals from among those who would otherwise be ineligible for service and developing better measures of Soldier and Family well-being. To develop mental agility measurements, panelists suggested building a model based on critical incidents of operational experience, developing measures to assess the critical skills identified in the model, and linking the measures to performance. Regarding the measurement of individual performance, panelists discussed re-scoping initial entry training to train and measure attributes like teamwork, initiative, and accountability in addition to basic combat skills and tasks. Finally, with regard to assessing new training programs, panelists discussed the many challenges in conducting quality assessments of new institutional courses, new equipment training, and unit training. At the end of the workshop, the co-leaders briefed the conclusions of their panels to an invited audience of Army leaders.Mode of access: Internet