Publication: Assessing MentalWorkload in Dual STEM–Air Force Language Listening Practice
Authors
Vera-López, Juan-Antonio ; Navarro Pérez, Margarita ; Roca-González, José Luis ; Navarro Pérez, Margarita
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Facultades de la UMU::Facultad de Letras
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Publisher
Aerospace
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DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace11020147
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info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Description
Abstract
Cognitive workload analysis is an important aspect of safety studies at the Spanish Air Force
Academy where students must complete a dual academic curriculum based on military pilot training
combined with an industrial engineering degree. Recently, a mental workload assessment (MWA)
and forecasting model based on Shannon’s law from information theory (IT) has been published;
it proposes a new mathematical procedure (MWA-IT) that defines a workload index that could be
extrapolated to other case studies. The aim of this study was to adapt this model to the Spanish
University Centre of Defence to calculate the mental workload caused by the listening practice in
English as a foreign language. In addition, a contrasting methodology, the NASA task load index
(NASA-TLX), was applied to validate the proposed model using the error study provided by SMAPE
and MSE. The results established an expected reference baseline for MWA-IT in English listening
that is between 36 and 92 at the end of the four courses, which corresponds to the students that start
with the lowest English level (higher workload = 92) and the ones with the highest English level
certification (lowest workload = 36); meanwhile, the NASA-TLX result was between 49.8 and 193.7
for the same circumstances. The main difference is that MWA-IT can be predicted with 41% less
deviation than can NASA-TLX and does not require the completion of a questionnaire following the
activities. Finally, the study also highlights the fact that that nearly 65% of the workload was caused
by the first two courses, when the advanced STEM subjects were taught and the pilot learning and
practice program had not yet begun. This methodology may help the teachers in charge to redesign
or add new content depending on the expected workload reference.
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Citation
Roca-González, J.L.; Vera-López, J.-A.; Navarro Pérez, M. Assessing MentalWorkload in Dual STEM–Air Force Language Listening Practice. Aerospace 2024, 11, 147. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace11020147
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