Training reflective processes in military aircrews through holistic debriefing: the importance of facilitator skills and development of trust

Abstract

This paper explores how Holistic Debrief, a new concept in the field of debriefing and reflective processes, can contribute to restitution, reflection and learning in professional teams following stressful events and routine tasks. Interviews were conducted with Norwegian military aircrew mission commanders following deployment to Afghanistan in 2010. Phenomenological analysis in the frame of social learning theory revealed that reflective processes were easier to facilitate after stressful events than after routine tasks. Challenges identified included lack of trust during the early stages of team establishment and poor conceptual repertoires among aircrew commanders undertaking facilitation. Relational trust and reflective processes tended to improve after stressful events. Repeated interactions in Holistic Debrief tend to increase familiarity, trust and learning potential over time. This study reports data from the war context, an environment not often available for qualitative research. The findings are relevant for military and other operational units who wish to develop their debriefing practice and create an experience-based learning environment.

The Moderating Effect of Debriefing on Learning Outcomes of IVR-Based Instruction: An Experimental Research

“…Research on debriefing in the literature has mostly been seen in simulation-based training in traditional brick-and-mortar contexts, such as onsite medical training [15], military drill [14], and psychological therapy [18]. The results indicate that this strategy not only improves learning outcome but can also stimulate higher learning motivation, increased self-efficacy, and improve learning satisfaction.…”

“…Debriefing is widely practiced in military training and medical education, and has achieved positive learning results. For example, Moldjor et al (2015) showed that listening to experienced military personnel's reflective reports before conducting military training and rescue operations could increase trust and understanding among team members [14]; Brown et al (2018) revealed that one-on-one debriefing after simulation training obtained better results in subsequent medical knowledge tests [15]. In recent years, researchers have applied debriefing strategies in various educational contexts, including teacher training [16], transnational cultural education [17], and psychological therapy [18], and have reported significantly improved learning outcomes.…”

Organizational Learning Through Debriefing: The Process of Sharing and Hiding Knowledge

“…This utterance was used as a routine way to express that nothing worth sharing has been experienced, and a threshold for sharing was created if you felt you were the only one with issues. Even well-intended organizational routines may inhibit people from sharing knowledge (Moldjord & Hybertsen, 2015).…”

“…This utterance created a threshold as people in the aircrew worried about being "the only one with issues" (Moldjord & Hybertsen, 2015, p. 294). Researchers argue that there may have been a lack of relational trust among crew members in the early stages of the new debriefing routine and that relational trust and vulnerability trust appear to be key factors as to whether people are willing to share personal experiences (Moldjord & Hybertsen, 2015;Moldjord & Iversen, 2015). Trust has a positive impact on knowledge sharing (Dyson, 2019).…”

Mediation Of Transfer Motivation On The Relationship Between Supervisor Support, Peer Support And Transfer Of Training

“…Therefore, improving employees training transfer motivation is fundamental to success of training transfer (Kirwan & Birchall, 2006). Concentrating on the effectiveness of training, transfer motivation is expected to influence the trainee interest for transfer of training, the direction of employees to master and learn the training program (steering) and the utilization of knowledge and skills at workplace (support) (Moldjord & Hybertsen, 2015). There is no doubt that trainee abilities and trainee transfer motivation are determinants of effectiveness of training programs (Noe, 1986), hence, the basic principles of the transfer motivational approach is that jobs will be fully enriched, i.e.…”