Generational Learning in the Marine Corps: The Importance of Information Age Thinking

Abstract

The 38th Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC), General David H. Berger, stated in the 2019 Commandant's Planning Guidance that education and training is one of the five priority areas requiring a targeted focus of effort. Both the US National Defense Strategy and National Security Strategy emphasize that training and education are important to readiness, lethality and ingenuity. The CPG raises concerns with schoolhouses and instructors shifting, within the training and education continuum, from an industrial age model in teaching methodologies and curriculum to an information age model. CMC guidance further contends that the entire formal schools management system requires an overhaul when making the transformation. All three documents also describe the challenges China presents to US security, infrastructure, and economic stability. The CMC described the Corps need to deploy forward to deter Chinese activities as another top priority for Marines. One could assume if situations escalate in the South China Sea, the demand for critical Chinese language speakers may increase, based on the historical need for linguists during conflicts. It is important to understand the CMC's education concerns and assess the Chinese language program at the Defense Language Institute (DLI), where Marines are trained, to determine if information age models can be instituted to improve the learning process for Marine linguists and increase their chances for swift, successful course completion. The transition to an information age model will require a more nuanced appreciation of differences in generational teaching and learning preferences as well as the impact on language resources, the culture of DLI, and how information age instruction is currently being implemented at DLI.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 18, 2020
Accession Number
AD1177532

Entities

People

  • James D. Bower

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Cyber

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Augmented Reality
  • Best Practices
  • Business Administration
  • Chinese Language
  • Computers
  • Generation Z
  • Instructors
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Education
  • Military Science
  • Millenials
  • National Security
  • Operating Systems
  • Psychology
  • Social Media
  • Standards
  • Students
  • United States
  • Virtual Reality

Readers

  • Computational Linguistics
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Strategic Security Studies