ESSCOTS For Learning: Transforming Commercial Software Into Powerful Educational Tools
This paper discusses ESSCOTS systems—Educational Support Systems based on Commercial-Off-The-Shelf software.
Matthew W. Lewis (he/his) is a senior research scientist at the RAND Corporation and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. His work has centered on using technology to improve learning and decision-making by individuals, teams, and organizations. He also uses modeling and simulation methods to study and improve complex logistics processes.
Lewis's current work includes projects exploring how virtual reality technologies can improve decision-making under stress for police officers and how the Department of Homeland Security can integrate and manage education and training to achieve cost-effective learning outcomes. He is also working in the areas of electrifying future vehicles and sustaining robotic vehicles for the US Army. Recent work has included investigating how simulation tools can support improvement in knowledge and complex skill acquisition by collaborative teams. Earlier projects in decision-making and logistics have helped to support U.S. public health emergency preparedness and response, with a focus on best practices in real-time, high-stakes team decision-making.
Lewis has also carried out evaluations of education programs in K-12 and, vocational education as well as in military training domains. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.A. from the University of California at San Diego as well as an elementary education teaching credential.
Finally, mentoring and participating on Pardee RAND dissertation committees are important parts of Lewis's professional commitments at RAND.
Education
B.A. in developmental psychology and education, University of California, San Diego; Ph.D. and M.A. in cognitive psychology, complex skill acquisition, Carnegie Mellon University
Selected Work
- Susan G. Straus, Matthew W. Lewis, Kathryn Conner, Rick Eden, Matthew E. Boyer, Timothy Marler, Christopher M. Carson, Geoffrey E. Grimm, Heather Smigowski, Virtual Collective Training in the U.S. Army: User Interface Fidelity, Costs, and Training Effectiveness, RAND Corporation (RR-2855-A), 2017 (forthcoming)
- Lewis, M. W., Eden, R. A., Garber, C., Rudnick, M., Santibañez, L., Tsai, T, "Competency-Based Education: Equity Concerns and Potential Mitigations," Prepared for the Jobs for the Future, Students at the Center, 2014