In remarks about the National Defense Strategy, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis, observed that in a time of rapid technological change and an over-stretched military, “Success does not go to the country that develops a new technology first, but rather, to the one that better integrates it and more swiftly adapts its way of fighting� (2018, emphasis is ours). Services within the Department of Defense (DoD) and agencies across the national security community are transitioning from an antiquated learning model to a more agile one that better leverages innovation and emerging learning science and technology (S&T). Service members and the civilian workforce seek to integrate these new learning capabilities and expect to obtain more personalized and accelerated learning as a result.
Previous research (Raybourn et al., 2017) identified key recommendations for enhancing learning within the national security domain. These recommendations focus on enhancing instructional quality, competencies, credentials, data analytics, data interoperability, personalization, learning on demand, integrated human–machine systems, creating a technology-enabled continuum of learning, providing multiple paths for achievement, and implementing an enterprise approach to talent management. Although there appears to be much support regarding what to implement, it is unclear how to achieve these outcomes, integrate with legacy programs, and swiftly adapt innovative prototypes to obtain effective real-world results.
This paper describes current progress, challenges, and opportunities in integrating innovative learning science, instructional methods, and technologies in military environments using specific examples from the Marine Corps Training and Education Command (TECOM) and partner efforts. In collaboration with S&T partners, TECOM conducted limited military user assessments of emerging adaptive mobile learning technologies. To date, the results appear promising and support the premise that newer Marines, for both the officer and enlisted ranks, prefer these new technology-enabled personalized learning delivery methods compared to “Industrial Age� instructional delivery methods. Finally, this paper discusses current limitations, challenges, future directions, and recommendations for integrating and more swiftly adapting emerging S&T into military training and education programs.