Refresher interventions and their impact on skill retention of complex, dynamic process control tasks for longer periods of nonuse considering mental workload and situation awareness

这些实验的首要目标是通过复习干预(RIS)提高复杂、动态和程序性任务的技能保持能力。到目前为止，在过程控制领域中关于技能衰退和技能保持的研究很少，尽管技能衰退与自动化的副作用高度相关。RI应该在某个时间间隔不使用后，重新建立在初始培训结束时获得的特定技能水平。基于我们以前的实验结果，我们的目标是分析练习、象征性排练和提取在考试情境(测试)中的影响。这些RI方法将：(A)除了固定序列外，还将检查平行和或有序列；(B)考虑到脑力负荷和情境意识的心理生理测量，检查其有效性；以及(C)扩大凝视指导用户界面的创新概念，其中将在检索时进行更新。固定、并行和或有序列表示在过程控制的不同领域中需要在人机交互中完成的任务，例如在很大程度上是航空领域。考虑脑力负荷和情境感知的目的是为了深入了解如何为经常导致压力的异常情况设计RI，在这些情况下需要检索技能和知识，以节省尽可能多的资源。虽然对建议的RIS的有效性有一些了解，但测试这些RI方法对于复杂、动态任务的有效性是新颖和重要的。我们之前的研究表明，关于简单、非动态任务的测试效应或符号预演的结果要么不能被复杂的、动态的任务复制，要么RIS会引起意想不到的副作用，比如比RIS更高的脑力负荷，从而增强认知图式的自动化(例如，练习RI)。根据所建议的实验结果，可以得出关于设计技能保持方法的建议，例如复习训练或增强检索的用户界面。这些调查结果对于设计培训，以保持高度自动化的过程控制行业的技能，以及为其他领域，其中技能保留是必不可少的，如医学或航空。

The overriding objective of the proposed experiments is to gain novel insights on enhancing skill retention of complex, dynamic, and procedural tasks with refresher interventions (RIs). There are only a few studies on skill decay and skill retention in the field of process control so far, although skill decay has been recognized as highly relevant with respect to side effects of automation. A RI is supposed to re-establish a specific skill level that was acquired at the end of an initial training after a certain time interval of nonuse. On the basis of our previous experimental findings, we aim to analyze the impact of practice, symbolic rehearsal, and retrieval in an examination situation (testing) as RIs. These RI approaches will be (a) examined regarding parallel and contingent sequences in addition to fixed sequences, (b) examined regarding their effectiveness considering psychophysiological measures of mental workload and situation awareness, and (c) expanded with an innovative concept of a gaze-guiding user interface in which the refresher will take place at the time of retrieval. Fixed, parallel, and contingent sequences represent tasks that need to be completed in man-machine interaction in different fields of process control as well as e.g. aviation to a large part. Consideration of mental workload and situation awareness aims at gaining insights into how RIs need to be designed for often stress inducing, abnormal situations in which skills and knowledge need be retrieved saving as many resources as possible. Although there is some knowledge about the effectiveness of the suggested RIs, testing the effectiveness of these RI approaches for complex, dynamic tasks is novel and important. Our previous research showed that results found on the test effect or symbolic rehearsal regarding simple, non-dynamic tasks can either not be replicated with complex, dynamic tasks or the RIs induce unexpected side effects such as a higher mental workload than RIs which enhance automatization of cognitive schemas (e.g., practice RI). Based on the findings of the suggested experiments, recommendations for designing approaches for skill retention such as refresher training or retrieval enhancing user interfaces can be derived. The findings are essential for designing training for maintaining skills in process control industries with high levels of automation as well as for other fields in which skill retention is essential such as medical science or aviation.