Structuring the Conditions of Training to Achieve Elite Performance: Refl ections on Elite Training Programs

Th ere can be arguments as to what training revolution we are in the midst of currently (Chatham, Chapters 2 and 10; Hunt, Chapter 5), but what does not seem debatable is that our society now confronts social, technological, and cultural conditions that require a revolution in training. Personnel in industry, health, military, and the public sector have more to learn in less time. Increasingly sophisticated and rapidly changing electronic and other technologies impose additional training demands at the same time that they off er the potential to make training more eff ective and more portable. Th e chapters in this section focus on these problems from the perspective of the military, which has always tried to be at the cutting edge of research and knowledge of learning and mastery. Th e United States Army, for example, requested that the National Academy of Sciences commission a National Research Council Committee study on the techniques for the enhancement of human performance ( Druckman & Bjork, 1991 , 1994 ; Druckman & Swets, 1988 ). From the perspective of the military, changes in technology, types of wars, and the social/cultural contexts of warfare require that training must continue aft er military personnel are deployed, including in combat zones. Such changes also require that an elite performer possess a high level of interpersonal and cultural skills and sensitivities, as well as a high level of traditional warfi ghter skills. To optimize training, given these changes and challenges, requires new perspectives and new technologies, as well as capitalizing on progress in the science of learning.