Professional vision in simulated environments — Examining professional maritime pilots' performance of work tasks in a full-mission ship simulator

This paper reports on a qualitative study of professional maritime pilots who used a ship simulator to train for cruise ship navigation in high winds by the use of Azipod propellers. The instructional design of the exercise involves the participants experiencing work-like situations in the simulators and then reflecting on these situations in debriefings. Interaction analysis of the maritime pilots' training showed that simulator training has distinct advantages. However, the detailed analysis of the pilots' issues with the simulator's accuracy also demonstrated that a lack of photorealism and fidelity in the simulator's visual display may have affected the dynamics of the work tasks for which pilots are trained. The results of the analysis showed that the participants' professional perception of work environments — their professional vision — may come in conflict with an instructional strategy to isolate certain elements of the learning objective from the total experience. The article concludes by arguing that the organisation of simulator training must consider whether the degree of fidelity meets the requirements of the situated work tasks and learning objectives, while also attending to the specific nature of the professionals' expertise.