Research Project
Type of Project: In-house project Funded project Scientific Work
Adaptive Cognitive Training

Mentally handicapped employees might at times confuse the order of work processes. Someone may, for example, fail to load a part into a fixture before sanding it, or forget to ring up an item at the cash register. This project aims to help handicapped individuals easily master the steps of on-the-job tasks. Researchers from Bielefeld University have developed a computer software programme that displays the individual problems and steps of work processes and then offers tips for improvement.
The project is taking place in the “Bildungszentrum Schopf”, a unit of Work and Occupational Rehabilitation of the v. Bodelschwingh Foundation Bethel. People with various disabilities can put their occupational training into practice. Two-year vocational training programmes prepare handicapped individuals to participate in the workplace as far as possible in the general job market.
For the diagnostic, handicapped individuals sit 10 – 15 minutes in front of a computer and make binary decision concerning their work: Do the work steps belong together or not? Afterwards, the software analyzes the mental work-structure and can give individual hints for improvements. Thus, the software will systematize and individualize diagnostic assessments. Trainers will be able to address trainees in a more targeted way and intervene earlier.
Future plans also include an avatar: the face of a virtual person will appear on screen who will speak to the trainees, give them advice, show them how they can improve, or motivate them (e.g. "Great, keep doing that!").