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Training that works

Fleet leaders have complained for years that new sailors are showing up at ships and squadrons without the skills and knowledge to do their jobs.

Word on the waterfront was that the “A” schools were the problem.

Now there’s proof to back that up: A new inspector general report lays the blame squarely on computer-based training, which is used at the schools, among other places.

Ten months in the making, the report concludes that recent readiness problems in the fleet are likely related to an over-reliance on computer courses at the expense of practical, hands-on training under the watchful tutelage of experienced instructors.

The IG found that computer-based training:

• Was often out of date and based on faulty equipment and/or outmoded processes and procedures.

• Wasted time because of frequent technical breakdowns and bandwidth issues.

• Allowed sailors to game the system by reclicking multiple-choice questions until they got the right answer.

The emphasis on computer training picked up steam after 2000, driven by pressure to save money and cut classroom time, and inspired by the misguided notion that the incoming generation of sailors was more comfortable learning from a computer. Naval Education and Training Command says it is already working on fixes to make the coursework more relevant and standardized.

But this misses the larger point: Computers and software are tools that can help learning, but they’re shouldering too much of the job.

Navy medical authorities already know that. Soon after hospital corpsman “A” school adopted computer-based training in 2006, fleet medical officials started complaining that new HMs were arriving at hospitals and clinics unable to draw blood, administer immunizations or even record blood pressure.

The school quickly switched gears, introducing a “blended training environment” the following year that combined computer-based training with instructor-led demonstrations, hands-on exercises and a clinical practicum. Scores and morale went up, disciplinary problems went down.

That, says the IG, is the model “best practice” for Navy training. It’s a model other schools must quickly adopt.