Until generative AI conversational systems like ChatGPT were developed, there was no way for a Scenario-Based Learning system to learn about the user (child or adult) or to respond intelligently to their input and questions. We’ll see two examples of state-of-the-art ScBL learning activity that used the best instructional design ideas of the day.
Instructional design as a field of study began in the rush to train American airmen in World War II. According to a German Luftwaffe general after the war, the Nazis believed it was impossible to train air crews so fast. He thought that the speed of aircrew training was a main reason Germany lost the war. Both examples use Scenario-Based Learning through video in which the airmen trainees imagine themselves in the air, ready to perform air-to-air combat. The first uses a cartoon, a light-hearted approach to help capture the beginners’ attention to new, complex ideas. The main character is designed so that the trainees can relate to his difficulty understanding the complex skills::
The second example uses realistic video training to emphasize critical skills needed by pilots who are ready to leave training and join active fighting.
In both examples, the videos placed the trainees in a scene they could relate to. They will soon be in that scene in reality, so they are primed to take the training seriously and to learn effectively. Relative to the traditional ways German and Japanese airmen were trained, this Scenario-Based Learning was very effective. But there was no interactivity in these examples. The goal of the training was to prepare young men who may never have flown “in” an aircraft with the complex skills to fly and fight in one. Yet the “complex skills” that were taught were basically a series of rules to follow. These approaches seem inadequate when faced with today’s and tomorrow’s challenges in climate, economics & employment, health, law, and politics.
In the previous page (4. Intro to Scenario-Based Learning), we’ve seen that AI systems like ChatGPT can create highly interactive ScBL activities similar to a job interview or a tutorial with a famous scientist or historical figure. Yet when asked to provide an “example of scenario-based learning,” ChatGPT gave this example:
Scenario:
“You’re on a class field trip to the zoo. You were looking at the giraffes and now… you can’t find your group! What do you do?”
Learning Goal: Teach safety procedures and problem-solving in unfamiliar situations.
Activities:
• Students act out safe responses:
go to a zoo worker, stay put, don’t wander.
• Discuss why each choice is good or bad.
• Create a class safety poster afterward.
The above example is the kind of ScBL that is often done in classroom, business, legal, and medical groups. The interactivity is the healthy exchange of ideas, consideration of alternatives, and decision of a real-world strategy. If the situation does not call for a group decision, such as an independent or online learner would face, then AI can provide the interactivity. The AI, like our previous job interview example, can personalize the interaction to the specific, individual scenario, differentiating according to age, interest, and prior knowledge.
Your turn to create an intelligent ScBL project! Ask ChatGPT or other AI how to do it. When you’ve got it, ask ChatGPT for how to develop it into a more effecting mentor or tutor system. Find out if it can be embedded in a web page!
note on “intelligence:
“As Jean Piaget once said, “Intelligence is what you use when you don’t know what to do.” With imitation learning, the answer is just there, so models don’t have to be intelligent, they just have to be good memorizers.