GOAT

Case-based training is used by Harvard Business School and many other organizations for its effectiveness in business situation instruction. Utilities face an operator shortage and need training to prepare and retain operators. As power engineers and technicians retire at a rapid pace, more than 80 percent of energy employers report having trouble hiring qualified workers. Lack of candidate training is a major reason why personnel can be challenging to find.

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Experiential learning prepares trainees to handle unexpected situations by understanding why certain procedures are used and not just how to do them
Focuses on mental models of complex systems and strategies to remediate a wide range of problems
The deeper knowledge acquired helps trainees adapt and create new solutions in dynamic work environments
The approach makes the reasons behind tasks clear, enhancing trainees' ability to adapt and innovate

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Results
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We tested GOAT by having young, inexperienced grid operators learn from three GOAT training scenarios. On a scale from 0 to 10, trainees scored GOAT averaged a 9. Multiple trainees assigned GOAT a score of 10; the lowest score was 7.5.

We collected many comments about what trainees liked learning from GOAT:
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“Great learning experience for me because I’m going on AGC desk, and I navigated changes to generation, while watching frequency and ACE.” – Trainees see GOAT as job relevant
“In the scenario, I didn’t think about ACE. The AAR reminded me to look at ACE. Now that will stick with me.” – Lessons learned from GOAT are memorable
“Liked that the simulation wasrealistic, interactive, and parameters changed in real time.” – The realism of the simulation engages the student
“I learned that generators on AGC and Manual could be counter-productive.” – The student demonstrated appreciation of their deeper understanding of generator control
“Would like to see more scenarios.” – Students want more GOAT training