Harnessing Emerging Technologies to Enhance Decision-Making in Competency-Based Training and Assessment

Abstract

The transition from traditional training methods to Competency-Based Training and Assessment (CBTA) represents a paradigm shift in aviation education, aligning learning outcomes with operational realities rather than rote procedural mastery. This study advances CBTA by re-envisioning decision-making—a complex ICAO core competency—as a dynamic, human-centered process cultivated within adaptive and operationally authentic environments rather than through procedural repetition. Using the ICAO ADDIE framework, the research identifies recurrent decision-making challenges from accident data and training records, designs culturally intelligent and human-factors-integrated learning modules, develops AI-driven digital twins, immersive VR/AR simulations, and smart haptic systems to replicate complex operational contexts, and implements these innovations across pilot, air traffic, and maintenance training programs. Evaluation integrates quantitative metrics—reaction times, decision accuracy, workload indices—with qualitative insights from reflective debriefings and peer assessment to measure competency growth. AI enhances objectivity and reduces assessor bias through real-time behavioral analytics, while immersive and tactile simulations provide exposure to rare, high-risk scenarios that cannot be safely recreated in live training. The resulting ecosystem transforms CBTA from static evaluation toward a responsive, data-informed socio-technical model in which human expertise and technological adaptability co-evolve. The study contributes theoretically by redefining CBTA as an adaptive learning system, practically by producing validated decision-making modules, and strategically by offering policy guidance to regulators such as ICAO, EASA, and FAA for the inclusive and harmonized integration of emerging technologies into aviation training frameworks.

Keywords: Competency-Based Training and Assessment (CBTA), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), decision-making, emerging technologies

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007101