Contributions of an electronic performance support system to learning a complex cognitive skill

van Merriënboer [1] defines complex cognitive skills as skills that have a number of constituent skills some of which are cognitive. Based on this definition, conducting a performance systems analysis (PSA) of an organizational performance issue can be considered a complex cognitive skill. PSA contains many whole and sub tasks whose accomplishments require complex cognitive strategies that learner needs to execute in order to successfully “diagnose” the systemic causes of the performance issues and “prescribe” the right performance interventions. The 4C/ID model (van Merriënboer [1]) lists “supportive information” and “just-in-time information” as two major components of its “training blueprint” for complex learning. In this study, an electronic performance support system (EPSS) was employed to provide supportive and just-in-time information to students in a performance technology course. Twelve students divided into three groups used the EPSS while they conducted performance analyses of actual performance problems in three professional organizations. Students’ self-efficacy scores, measured before and after using the EPSS to conduct a performance systems analysis, indicated that their self-confidence in conducting PSA on their own improved. Also qualitative and quantitative analysis of students’ feedback on the experience demonstrated that EPSS was a valuable tool for learning the skill and supporting their self-regulatory behaviors.