New goals for HCI training: How to mix old and new skills in the trainee
Craig P. Speelman, Kim Kirsner · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · 1993
The development of human‐computer interaction systems and the acquisition of skills associated with such systems typically occur in the context of previous experience. What is learned in one situation may facilitate or impede learning in another situation. The aim of this article is to discuss the role of experience in human‐computer interaction. The ACT∗ theory of skill acquisition and transfer is extended to account for the effects of old skills on the learning of new tasks. The extended model predicts a number of changes in performance that will occur when a new task involves the combination of old and new skills, including the suggestion that the learning rate of the new task will be slower than the rate at which the old skills were originally acquired. Two experiments are reported, the results of which support most of the model's predictions. The results also suggest that the minimum performance time of a task may be increased if performance of the task involves combining old and new skills. Implications of the effects of such combinations are considered with respect to the best methods of training for human‐computer interaction systems and the development of such systems.