Can Technology Remediate Cognitive Style Deficits? A Study of Field Dependence/Independence in Air Traffic Control Training

• In Event: Technology in Teaching

Abstract

Conventional wisdom suggests that visual processing abilities are innate and stable. Research such as the Flynn Effect (the documented increase in scores of the visual pattern recognition test Ravens Progressive Matrices, or RPM) has begun to cast doubt on this assumption. Some theorists suggest that technology exposure may be improving visual pattern recognition within and across generations, which suggest that other visual pattern recognition constructs such as field-dependence/independence (FD-I) might also be affected. FD-I is highly correlated with academic success, but is thought to be stable. Two studies examined the effects of technology exposure on FD-I in air traffic control (ATC) students. Findings suggest that exposure to ATC training, including immersion in a 360-degree ATC tower simulator, may promote field-independence.

Authors

• Richard N. Van Eck, University of North Dakota

• Hongxia Fu, Arizona State University

• Paul Drechsel, University of North Dakota