Chapter 5 106 Testing the second hypothesis, we found that learning efficacy did not significantly differ during the AAR with and without the line of fire of the weapon of the police officers. It is possible that the line of fire feature did not provide information relevant for the performance of the police officers within the scenario and therefore was not relevant for learning. Another reason may be that the discussion of line of fire is sufficient when done verbally; thus, not relying on visual support to provide further information on performance. Lastly, processing feedback right after high-arousal training may be cognitively demanding for trainees (Jenkins et al., 2020). If too many visual features are used while trainees recover from the arousal of a scenario and already receive verbal and visual performance feedback, the additional use of visual features such as the line of fire may not enhance learning further. It is therefore possible that while cognitive abilities are limited at the time of the AAR, the information provided by additional AAR features may not be processed properly (Mugford et al., 2013). Conclusively, the second hypothesis is not supported by our data: the line of fire feature of the AAR did not enhance learning efficacy in police officers. Limitations While the results presented in our study provide valuable insights for practice and development of VR training in police, the study also has limitations. First, in this study, we assessed learning efficacy via a self-designed questionnaire. Ideally, learning and transfer would be assessed objectively on a behavioral level in a novel performance context. This was not feasible within this study. Therefore, the question regarding learning and the transfer of VR training to operational situations remains to be explored. Second, the study’s focus was placed on the features that the VR AAR provides. Thus, the influence of verbal feedback and expertise of instructors was not explicitly controlled for. To standardize the feedback that instructors provide during the VR AAR, instructors received reference points for providing feedback. Nonetheless, police instructors still have individuals ways of delivering feedback (Kleygrewe et al., 2022). Because the type and modality of feedback influence learning (Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Zhu et al., 2020), the way that instructors provide feedback may play a role in how officers perceive their learning experience. While all police instructors who participated in this study were experienced and well-instructed to use the VR AAR, their personal feedback style may have, in some way, contributed to the learning efficacy police officers experienced. Lastly, learning efficacy was assessed on an individual level. This study did not explore team effects or team dynamics that can influence learning efficacy. For instance, four-person teams with
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTk4NDMw