The embedded evaluations in air traffic control training

This chapter concerns evaluation of trainee performance in air traffic control training. By connecting the detailed study of talk with the multimodal analysis of action, we investigate evaluative practices embedded in a particular instructional sequence. The sequence consists of the trainer question (Q) – trainee response (R) adjacency pair. The trainer questions have a double instructional function as they (a) prompt trainees to accomplish tasks, and (b) serve as embedded evaluations on the performance of trainees. Further, the trainee’s subsequent appropriate response is oriented to as being a visible display of the understanding and competence achieved. The chapter concludes that evaluation of cognitive competences in apprenticeship is an interactional achievement tied to the local, interactional configuration of work- and trainingin-progress.