Restructuring the Lecture Method in Marine Corps Schools is Overdue

Abstract

The lecture method has the same constraints as centralized leadership such as poor information dissemination and power being in the hands of a few. Despite these constraints, "the Marine Corps educational mindset remains one of centralization and control" as exhibited by current curricula that includes a multitude of lengthy lectures in professional military education (PME) courses. Centralization is outdated and not in line with the Marine Corps' maneuver warfare doctrine, which calls for execution of mission type orders at the lowest levels of leadership. Centralized leadership and the lecture method were products of illiterate societies with limited information dissemination capabilities. Today, the Marine Corps does not have the concern of having uneducated and illiterate members. Therefore, to improve instructional efficacy in Marine Corps Formal Schools, class lectures should be structured in thirty minute blocks followed up by small group discussion.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 20, 2009
Accession Number
ADA517773

Entities

People

  • J. P. Kearns

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Doctrine
  • Education
  • Instructions
  • Instructors
  • Leadership
  • Learning
  • Maneuvers
  • Marine Corps
  • Military Education
  • Personnel Management
  • Schools
  • Standards
  • Students
  • Training
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.
  • STEM Education