DoD MS Human Capital Strategy 20101202 - Modeling & Simulation ...

BOK Content Item – Mathematical model
Descriptor - A mathematical model is a symbolic model whose properties are expressed
in mathematical symbols and relationships. Mathematical models are commonly used
to quantify results, solve problems and predict behavior. A simple example of a
mathematical model is the equation that represents a straight line: y=mx+b.
The directions associated with the consolidated BOK asked for a single summary input from
each DoD Service and M&S functional community. A summary input consisted of four
independent ratings for each content item related to the following four usage levels:
Awareness – Information all persons need to know about M&S
Application – Information needed to perform M&S functions
Management – Information needed to manage M&S programs
Executive – Information senior leadership needs to know about M&S
Individual ratings were based on the following scale taken from Bloom’s taxonomy 5 :
1 - Knowledge: Recalls data or information
2 - Comprehension: Able to understand the meaning of data or information
3 - Application: Uses information in new situations; solves problems
4 - Analysis: Breaks down information and identifies components
5 - Synthesis: Uses old ideas to create new ones
6 - Evaluation: Compares and discriminates between ideas
7 - Does not apply
Thus, a given item would receive four ratings, one each for the four usage levels. Using the
example BOK content item above, the four ratings might look like the following:
Awareness Application Management Executive
Mathematical
Model 1 5 3 7
Due to the need for identifying a standard set of M&S competencies for the Management and
Executive levels, all of the individual ratings (DoD Services and M&S functional) were
combined then averaged for a standard rating (7s were treated as a zero when computing
averages). Based on the standardized rating, competencies were developed for both the
Management and Executive levels. By design, individual Services and M&S functional areas
were responsible for determining levels for both the Awareness and Application levels.
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5 http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learn/program/hndouts/bloom.html