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DOE OSTI2020

Summary Report for the 2019 Radiation Detection for Nuclear Security Summer School

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) hosted students from across the United States at the 6th Radiation Detection for Nuclear Security Summer School 17-28 June 2019. The summer school provided students with a unique understanding of nuclear security challenges faced in the field and exposed them to the technical foundations, analyses, and insight that will be required by future leaders in technology development and implementation. The course heavily emphasized laboratory and field demonstrations including measurements of special nuclear material. Student evaluations and feedback from student advisors indicates that the summer school achieved its objectives of 1) exposing students to the range of nuclear security applications for which radiation detection is necessary, 2) articulating the relevance of student research into the broader context, and 3) growing student interest in careers in nuclear security.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

DOE OSTI2015

2015 LLNL Nuclear Forensics Summer Program

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Nuclear Forensics Summer Program is designed to give graduate students an opportunity to come to LLNL for 8–10 weeks for a hands-on research experience. Students conduct research under the supervision of a staff scientist, attend a weekly lecture series, interact with other students, and present their work in poster format at the end of the program. Students also have the opportunity to meet staff scientists one-on-one, participate in LLNL facility tours (e.g., the National Ignition Facility and Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) to gain a better understanding of the multidisciplinary, on going science at LLNL. Currently called the Nuclear Forensics Summer Program, this program began 15 years ago as the Actinide Sciences Summer Program. The program is run within the Glenn T. Seaborg Institute in the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate at LLNL. The goal of the Nuclear Forensics Summer Program is to facilitate the training of the next generation of nuclear scientists and engineers to solve critical national security problems in the field of nuclear forensics and have the students participate in conducting research at LLNL. We select students who are majoring in physics, chemistry, geology, mathematics, nuclear engineering, chemical engineering and environmental sciences. Students engage in research projects in the disciplines of actinide chemistry, radiochemistry, isotopic analysis, computational analysis, radiation detection, and nuclear engineering in order to strengthen the “pipeline” for future scientific disciplines critical to DHS (DNDO), NNSA.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗

DOE OSTI2025

Construction Methodology Transformation for the Benefit of Workforce Development

Construction is a key economic engine driving both national and global economies. While manual, onsite construction methods dominate the U.S. construction industry, a major shift towards offsite methods has been underway due to its efficiency, speed, and potential cost savings. The workforce necessary for offsite construction growth does not exist in its current form because of the focus on onsite methodologies and the lack of exposure to offsite building methods at all levels of a student’s learning journey. The growth of the U.S. construction industry and competitiveness in an increasingly global construction market over the coming decades can only be supported by a dramatic increase in the use of offsite methods, which requires ramping up workforce training for certain skillsets. The goal of Construction Methodology Transformation for the Benefit of Workforce Development was to understand the opportunities and barriers in both education and industry and to identify best practices for offering curriculum and training to educators, industry, and students that would support skills needed for careers in offsite construction. Our team proposed combining three offsite construction workforce development needs: content development, exposure and training, and job placement - under a single Platform model that would increase experience and career opportunities for students and help match them with potential industry members. Through our proposed solution we expected to see: developed offsite curriculum being utilized by educators and students; an increase in the identification of construction technology and offsite construction methods; an average increase in knowledge gain of at least 25% after participation in pilots; better equipped candidates who are prepared for jobs in offsite construction; and a beta workforce development platform that helps build more pathways for students looking for careers in offsite construction. The two pilots included almost 250 students and resulted in an average knowledge gain of 37 percent. Our research has identified areas of opportunity, for both education and industry to make collaborative training programs more efficient and successful. The chosen techniques for this program are extremely effective when both the school and factory have solid processes and cultures in place to accept students into training programs. This project serves as an important stepping stone to industrywide collaboration to move workforce development for offsite construction forward across the country. With continued collaboration programs like this can provide much needed early exposure and training in offsite construction and we can begin to fill important positions for the future of construction.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2024

High-Dimensional Bayesian Optimization via Semi-Supervised Learning with Optimized Unlabeled Data Sampling

We introduce a novel semi-supervised learning approach, named Teacher-Student Bayesian Optimization (TSBO ), integrating the teacher-student paradigm into BO to minimize expensive labeled data queries for the first time. TSBO incorporates a teacher model, an unlabeled data sampler, and a student model. The student is trained on unlabeled data locations generated by the sampler, with pseudo labels predicted by the teacher. The interplay between these three components implements a unique selective regularization to the teacher in the form of student feedback. This scheme enables the teacher to predict high-quality pseudo labels, enhancing the generalization of the GP surrogate model in the search space. To fully exploit TSBO , we propose two optimized unlabeled data samplers to construct effective student feedback that well aligns with the objective of Bayesian optimization. Furthermore, we quantify and leverage the uncertainty of the teacher-student model for the provision of reliable feedback to the teacher in the presence of risky pseudo-label predictions. TSBO demonstrates significantly improved sample-efficiency in several global optimization tasks under tight labeled data budgets. The implementation is available at https://github.com/reminiscenty/TSBO-Official.

Yin, Yuxuan↗

DOE OSTI2017

Integrating Scientific Argumentation to Improve Undergraduate Writing and Learning in a Global Environmental Change Course

We present a strategy for using scientific argumentation in an early undergraduate laboratory course to teach disciplinary writing practices and to promote critical thinking, knowledge transformation, and understanding of the scientific method. The approach combines targeted writing instruction; data analysis and interpretation; formulation of a hypothesis; and construction of an argument. Students submit and receive feedback on two drafts of two different argumentation essays, providing the opportunity for guided practice. Each written argument is intended to draw on several weeks' course material, including short lectures, discussions, readings, and problem sets. Thus our aim with these writing assignments is to help students synthesize content and concepts, deepening their learning. We have found that this inquiry-based approach to writing engages students in course material, and significantly improves both writing and learning. We observed the greatest improvement among students with the lowest initial scores, suggesting that lower-achieving students benefitted disproportionately from this approach. Students have responded positively to the use of writing in the course, many stating on course evaluations that this is the first time they have received instruction in scientific writing. They have also pointed to a greater 'big-picture' understanding of the course gained through writing. We describe the course and our curriculum, and provide suggestions for implementation as well as rubrics used to evaluate problem sets and student argumentation essays.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

NASA NTRS1985

To catch a childs's imagination: Educational overview of CAN DO G-324

When a public school district is involved in the flight of a GAS package, they have a The desire to produce an serious responsibility, along with an unprecedented opportunity. experiment with real scientific validity must be tempered by the schools' primary mission to make the adventure educationally meaningful to the greatest possible number of students. Such a project can easily become the personal plaything of the select few that are highly scientifically motivated, and technologically gifted. A public school system must, in addition, insure that the resources invested in such a project also reach out to the average student, and those whose interests lie in other directions. Such a broad reach is only possible if the GAS canister is but one part of a comprehensive and ongoing educational effort that involves as many disciplines and levels of student interest as possible. The total program should include: 1) A background of previous programs which have trained teachers and prepared students to fully utilize special activities as part of the educational process. 2) Direct student involvement in the design of experimental packages to be flown, and in the evaluation of data derived. 3) Supplementary related activities that use a Get Away Special as a motivational catalyst to generate efforts in other disciplines, other schools and other student groups. 4) Future plans to fully exploit and maintain the momentum developed by this one dramatic event. The one overriding goal of all these activities as articulated by one of our leading classroom teachers: "TO CHOOSE AND DEVELOP HIGHLY MOTIVATION& ACTIVITIES WHICH WILL CAPTURE THE IMAGINATION AND INTEREST OF STUDENTS, AND TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE "TEACHABLE MOMENT" WHICH IS SO ELUSIVE."

James H. Nicholson↗

NASA NTRS1990

Economical graphics display system for flight simulation avionics

During the past academic year the focal point of this project has been to enhance the economical flight simulator system by incorporating it into the aero engineering educational environment. To accomplish this goal it was necessary to develop appropriate software modules that provide a foundation for student interaction with the system. In addition experiments had to be developed and tested to determine if they were appropriate for incorporation into the beginning flight simulation course, AERO-41B. For the most part these goals were accomplished. Experiments were developed and evaluated by graduate students. More work needs to be done in this area. The complexity and length of the experiments must be refined to match the programming experience of the target students. It was determined that few undergraduate students are ready to absorb the full extent and complexity of a real-time flight simulation. For this reason the experiments developed are designed to introduce basic computer architectures suitable for simulation, the programming environment and languages, the concept of math modules, evaluation of acquired data, and an introduction to the meaning of real-time. An overview is included of the system environment as it pertains to the students, an example of a flight simulation experiment performed by the students, and a summary of the executive programming modules created by the students to achieve a user-friendly multi-processor system suitable to an aero engineering educational program.

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NASA NTRS1993

Schools of the Pacific rainfall climate experiment

The SPaRCE program is a cooperative rainfall climate field project involving high school and college level students and teachers from various Pacific island and atoll nations. The goals of the SPaRCE program are: (1) to foster interest and increase understanding among Pacific-area students and teachers of climate and climate change; (2) to educate the students and teachers as to the importance of rainfall in the Pacific area to climate studies; (3) to provide the students and teachers an opportunity of making a major contribution to the global climate research effort by collecting and analyzing Pacific rainfall data; and (4) to incorporate collected rainfall observations into a comprehensive Pacific daily rainfall data base to be used for climate research purposes. Schools participating in SPaRCE have received standard raingauges with which to measure rainfall at their sites. Students learned to site and use their raingauges by viewing a video produced at the University of Oklahoma. Four more videos will be produced which will include information on Earth's atmosphere, global climate and climate change, regional climate and implications of climate change, and how to analyze and use the rainfall data they are collecting. The videos are accompanied by workbooks which summarize the main points of each video, and contain concrete learning activities to help the student better understand climate and climate change. Following each video, interactive sessions are held with the students using the PEACESAT (Pan-Pacific Education And Communication Experiments by Satellite) satellite radio communication system.

Postawko, S. E.↗

NASA NTRS1993

NASA Propulsion Engineering Research Center, volume 1

Over the past year, the Propulsion Engineering Research Center at The Pennsylvania State University continued its progress toward meeting the goals of NASA's University Space Engineering Research Centers (USERC) program. The USERC program was initiated in 1988 by the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology to provide an invigorating force to drive technology advancements in the U.S. space industry. The Propulsion Center's role in this effort is to provide a fundamental basis from which the technology advances in propulsion can be derived. To fulfill this role, an integrated program was developed that focuses research efforts on key technical areas, provides students with a broad education in traditional propulsion-related science and engineering disciplines, and provides minority and other under-represented students with opportunities to take their first step toward professional careers in propulsion engineering. The program is made efficient by incorporating government propulsion laboratories and the U.S. propulsion industry into the program through extensive interactions and research involvement. The Center is comprised of faculty, professional staff, and graduate and undergraduate students working on a broad spectrum of research issues related to propulsion. The Center's research focus encompasses both current and advanced propulsion concepts for space transportation, with a research emphasis on liquid propellant rocket engines. The liquid rocket engine research includes programs in combustion and turbomachinery. Other space transportation modes that are being addressed include anti-matter, electric, nuclear, and solid propellant propulsion. Outside funding supports a significant fraction of Center research, with the major portion of the basic USERC grant being used for graduate student support and recruitment. The remainder of the USERC funds are used to support programs to increase minority student enrollment in engineering, to maintain Center infrastructure, and to develop research capability in key new areas. Significant research programs in propulsion systems for air and land transportation complement the space propulsion focus. The primary mission of the Center is student education. The student program emphasizes formal class work and research in classical engineering and science disciplines with applications to propulsion.

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NASA NTRS1995

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 46: Technical communications in aerospace: A comparison across four countries

In this paper we describe the preliminary analysis of four groups of aerospace engineering and science students -- student members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and students from universities in Japan, Russia, and Great Britain. We compare: (1) the demographic characteristics of the students; (2) factors that affected their career decision; (3) their career goals and aspirations; (4) their training in technical communication; and (5) their training in techniques for finding and using aerospace scientific and technical information (STI). Many employers in the US aerospace industry think there is a need for increased training of engineering students in technical communication. Engineers in the US and other countries believe that technical communication skills are critical for engineers' professional success. All students in our study agree about the importance of technical communication training for professional success, yet relatively few are happy with the instruction they receive. Overall, we conclude that additional instruction in technical communication and accessing STI would make it easier for students to achieve their career goals.

Kennedy, John M.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Howard University Energy Expert Systems Institute Summer Program (EESI)

Howard University, under the auspices of the Center for Energy Systems and Controls runs the Energy Expert Systems Institute (EESI) summer outreach program for high school/pre-college minority students. The main objectives are to introduce precollege minority students to research in the power industry using modern state-of-the-art technology such as Expert Systems, Fuzzy Logic and Artificial Neural Networks; to involve minority students in space power management, systems and failure diagnosis; to generate interest in career options in electrical engineering; and to experience problem-solving in a teamwork environment consisting of faculty, senior research associates and graduate students. For five weeks the students are exposed not only to the exciting experience of college life, but also to the inspiring field of engineering, especially electrical engineering. The program consists of lectures in the fundamentals of engineering, mathematics, communication skills and computer skills. The projects are divided into mini and major. Topics for the 1995 mini projects were Expert Systems for the Electric Bus and Breast Cancer Detection. Topics on the major projects include Hybrid Electric Vehicle, Solar Dynamics and Distribution Automation. On the final day, designated as 'EESI Day' the students did oral presentations of their projects and prizes were awarded to the best group. The program began in the summer of 1993. The reaction from the students has been very positive. The program also arranges field trips to special places of interest such as the NASA Goddard Space Center.

Momoh, James A.↗

NASA NTRS1999

The Starshine Hitchhiker Mission on STS-96

A mirrored, spherical "Starshine" satellite was ejected by NASA into a circular low Earth orbit from a Hitchhiker canister in the cargo bay of Space Shuttle OV-103 Discovery at 07:21 Universal Time on June 5, 1999, near the end of Discovery's STS-96 mission to the International Space Station. Starshine's initial orbital altitude was 218 Nautical Miles (387 km), and its orbital inclination was 51.6 deg. The satellite is expected to orbit Earth until sometime in January 2000, when it will reenter the atmosphere and vaporize. Some 25,030 students in 700 schools around the world participated in the construction of this satellite by polishing 878 small, front-surface aluminum mirrors that stud its outer surface. A small fraction of those students is presently tracking the satellite and measuring its angular position at specific times. The Naval Research Laboratory is combining the students' measurements with Naval Space Command radar tracking data to compute the satellite's orbit on a daily basis. From the rate of decay of the orbit, the students are able to calculate the density of the atmosphere at the satellite's present altitude. The students are also accessing the project's web site to observe ground-based and space-based images of the sun and other indices of solar activity. They are then using these data to make correlations between the intensity of solar storms and fluctuations in the density of the earth's upper atmosphere. The number of students participating in the tracking phase of the project is expected to increase dramatically at the start of the fall school term in the northern hemisphere. At the conclusion of the Starshine mission, the student team will attempt to predict when and where the satellite will re-enter the atmosphere, so they can compete for a cash prize for the best photograph of the satellite's fiery demise.

Moore, Gil↗

NASA NTRS2000

Team Training and Retention of Skills Acquired Above Real Time Training on a Flight Simulator

Above Real-Time Training (ARTT) is the training acquired on a real time simulator when it is modified to present events at a faster pace than normal. The experiments related to training of pilots performed by NASA engineers (Kolf in 1973, Hoey in 1976) and others (Guckenberger, Crane and their associates in the nineties) have shown that in comparison with the real time training (RTT), ARTT provides the following benefits: increased rate of skill acquisition, reduced simulator and aircraft training time, and more effective training for emergency procedures. Two sets of experiments have been performed; they are reported in professional conferences and the respective papers are included in this report. The retention of effects of ARTT has been studied in the first set of experiments and the use of ARTT as top-off training has been examined in the second set of experiments. In ARTT, the pace of events was 1.5 times the pace in RTT. In both sets of experiments, university students were trained to perform an aerial gunnery task. The training unit was equipped with a joystick and a throttle. The student acted as a nose gunner in a hypothetical two place attack aircraft. The flight simulation software was installed on a Universal Distributed Interactive Simulator platform supplied by ECC International of Orlando, Florida. In the first set of experiments, two training programs RTT or ART7 were used. Students were then tested in real time on more demanding scenarios: either immediately after training or two days later. The effects of ARTT did not decrease over a two day retention interval and ARTT was more time efficient than real time training. Therefore, equal test performance could be achieved with less clock-time spent in the simulator. In the second set of experiments three training programs RTT or ARTT or RARTT, were used. In RTT, students received 36 minutes of real time training. In ARTT, students received 36 minutes of above real time training. In RARTT, students received 18 minutes of real time training and 18 minutes of above real time training as top-off training. Students were then tested in real time on more demanding scenarios. The use of ARTT as top-off training after RTT offered better training than RTT alone or ARTT alone. It is, however, suggested that a similar experiment be conducted on a relatively more complex task with a larger sample of participants. Within the proposed duration of the research effort, the setting up of experiments and trial runs on using ARTT for team training were also scheduled but they could not be accomplished due to extra ordinary challenges faced in developing the required software configuration. Team training is, however, scheduled in a future study sponsored by NASA at Tuskegee University.

Ali, Syed Friasat↗

NASA NTRS2002

CaTs Lab (CHAOS and Thermal Sciences Laboratory)

The CHAOS and Thermal Sciences Laboratory (CaTs) at James Madison University evolved into a noteworthy effort to increase minority representation in the sciences and mathematics. Serving ten students and faculty directly, and nearly 50 students indirectly, CaTs, through recruitment efforts, workshops, mentoring programs, tutorial services and research and computational laboratories, fulfilled its intent to initiate an academically enriched research program aimed at strengthening the academic and self-actualization skills of undergraduate students with potential to pursue doctoral study in the sciences. The stated goal of the program was to increase by 5% the number of enrolled mathematics and science students into the program. Success far exceeded the program goals by producing 100% graduation rate of all supported recipients during its tenure, with 30% of the students subsequently in pursuit of graduate degrees. Student retention in the program exceeded 90% and faculty participation exceeded the three members involved in mentoring and tutoring, gaining multi-disciplinary support. Aggressive marketing of the program resulted in several paid summer internships and commitments from NASA and an ongoing relationship with CHROME, a nationally recognized organization which focuses on developing minority students in the sciences and mathematics. Success of the program was only limited by the limited fiscal resources at NASA which resulted in phasing out of the program.

Teate, Anthony A.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Virginia Space Grant Consortium Management of National General Aviation Design Competition

This report summarizes the management of the National General Aviation Design Competition on behalf of NASA, the FAA and the Air Force by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC) for the time period October 1, 2000 through September 30, 2001. This was the VSGC's seventh and final year of managing the Competition, which the Consortium originally designed, developed and implemented for NASA and the FAA. The competition is now being managed in-house by NASA. Awards to winning university teams were presented at a ceremony held at AirVenture 2001, the Experimental Aircraft Association's Annual Convention and Fly-In at Oshkosh, Wis. by NASA and FAA officials. The competition called for individuals or teams of undergraduate and graduate students from U.S. engineering schools to participate in a major national effort to rebuild the U.S. general aviation sector. Participants were challenged to meet the engineering goals of the Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiment (AGATE) project. For the purpose of the contest, general aviation aircraft are typically defined as single or twin engine (turbine or piston), single-pilot, fixed-wing aircraft for 2 - 6 passengers. The competition seeks to raise student awareness of the importance of general aviation by having students address design challenges for a small aircraft transportation system. NASA, AFRL and the FAA hope to stimulate breakthroughs in technology and their application in the general aviation marketplace. National goals for revitalizing the industry offer excellent, open-ended design challenges with real world applications for the Innovative Design Category. Both individual and team submissions were encouraged. University faculty advisors and students consistently cite the value of this kind of educational experience for their engineering students. Eight proposals were submitted for the 2001 Competition for the Innovative Design Category. Eleven faculty members and 124 students participated. Since inception, more than 785 students and 60 faculty members have participated in the Competition. A review panel comprised of general aviation experts from the FAA, EAA, NASA and industry representatives reviewed the design packages and selected the winners. The VSGC coordinated marketing of the competition to a mailing list which included selected deans and department chairs from ABET-accredited institutions, Space Grant affiliates, faculty who had previously participated in or expressed interest in the Competition, and others.

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NASA NTRS2002

Promoting Real-Time Science in the Classroom using Wireless PDA Technology

The year is 2004, NASA has landed and deployed a fleet of rovers on the surface of Mars to continue the exploration of that planet and prepare the way for human visitors. Middle school students at Milton Elementary have been following the mission through the media and Internet as part of Mr. Johnson's Earth and space sciences class. The kids have been working in teams to track the rovers as they move across the surface of Mars on a scale model of the landing site they built from sand and rocks using pictures and video downloaded from the Internet. They also built their own version of a rover that can be driven around the model. The time is 3:36pm. Jim and a couple of his fellow students from class are sitting in the cafeteria waiting for a student council meeting to begin. Mary and several others are on the bus riding home. Kathy is in her father's car waiting to leave the parking lot. On Mars, Rover-3 has just stopped and issued an alert to ground control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Back at Milton Elementary chimes can be heard going off in the cafeteria, on the school bus, and in Kathy's car. The students are familiar with the drill and each brings up the Mars mission status display on their hand-held PDA device. They've been using their PDAs (those Palm devices that seem to be everywhere today) to obtain real-time position information for each of the rovers throughout the mission. The mission status display tells them that Rover-3 has stopped on the edge of a small gully and isn't quite sure what to do. The students begin considering the options amongst themselves. Should the rover just drive through the gully? If it does, what happens if it gets stuck? Maybe it should turnaround and look for away around the gully? Trough questions. Real questions. Real problems. The students know they will need to be prepared to discuss the options and conduct their own simulations using the models they built in Mr. Johnson's class tomorrow. Much the same way engineers and scientists will be working to solve the problem at NASA. It's a couple of days later, NASA has made a decision on what to do and has issued new commands for Rover-3 to execute at 9:15am Milton Elementary time. Interestingly, NASA's solution to the problem differs from the one favored by the students. 9:16am, chimes can be heard going off throughout Milton Elementary.

Matusow, David↗

NASA NTRS2003

NASA's Bioreactor: Growing Cells in a Simulated Microgravity Environment

National Science Education Standards (NSES), Science for All Americans, the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) as well as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are all making an effort to promote scientific literacy in America. Unfortunately, major evaluation programs such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) have provided information that suggested our students are not able to compete with peers from comparable countries. Although results indicated that American students are recalling memorized, factual knowledge well enough, the real problem is the ability to apply what they know. Concerned with these reports, the National Science Teacher's Association (NSTA) has developed a mission to support innovation and high quality in science teaching and learning for every student. NSTA recommends less emphasis on factual knowledge (memorization) and information and more understanding of the concepts. Science process skills are considered imperative to prepare America's students for the 21st century. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) supports this mission and adds that NASA strives to help prepare and encourage the next generation of researchers and explorers. One method that NASA supports educators and its mission is to publish educational briefs. NASA describes a brief as a publication that ranges from one-to-thirty pages. The focus is on mission discoveries and results. The brief provides curriculum to educators that supports their objectives and NASA's interest. Educational Briefs are specific to the grade level and course so that educators may have choices that fit their methods and students level. Sometimes, the brief includes lessons and activities teachers may use. For example, NASA's Microgravity Division has designed a student bioreactor. Consequently, an Educational Brief is being written that focuses on how to build a student bioreactor and experiments that can be conducted in it. These experiments mimic the experiments done by NASA and other researchers in the real world of work.

Richardson, Denise↗

NASA NTRS2003

A Tutor That's Up to the Task

With assistance from NASA s Marshall Space Flight Center, a new breed of ITS for technical training and complex problem-solving has hit the market to provide students and trainees with the decision-making skills necessary to succeed to the next level. The Task Tutor Toolkit (T3), developed by Stottler Henke Associates, Inc., of San Mateo, California, is a generic tutoring system shell and scenario authoring tool that emulates expert instructors and lowers the cost and difficulty of creating scenario-based ITS for technical training. The functionality of Stottler Henke Associates T3 far exceeds that of traditional computer-based training systems, which test factual recall and narrow skills by prompting students to answer multiple-choice or fill-inthe- blank questions. The T3, on the contrary, lets students assess situations, generate solutions, make decisions, and carry out actions in realistically complex scenarios.At the beginning of each scenario, the T3 tutoring system presents a briefing that describes the situation and the goals the students should pursue. Each scenario contains a solution template that specifies a partially-ordered sequence of action patterns that match correct sequences of student actions. During each scenario, the built-in simulator notifies the tutoring system of each student action. The T3 uses this information to evaluate the student action by comparing it with the scenario s solution template and with error rules that detect incorrect actions.

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