In the spring of 2012, I had the opportunity to tour
Fort Lee in Prince George County. The
tour was led by Colonel Loren Schriner, who commanded the ordnance
division. The purpose of my visit was to
learn more about the U.S. Army’s approach to handling logistics in order to
assist me with planning a new CTE course on logistics and supply chain
management.
What became more interesting to me during my visit
was the Army’s approach to education. They
used the phrase “blended learning,” as well as stressed the importance of
critical thinking skills and hands-on application. I asked what precipitated this new direction
since it was very similar to the approach taken in PK-12 education. One of the instructors explained to me that
the Army’s old approach to teaching was to simply yell at soldiers until they
“understood” a new concept. The Army also
previously stressed making soldiers adept in one or two very particular skills,
which could be performed repetitively and quickly. However, the Army came to realize that this approach
did not fit the needs of the world’s most modern fighting force, so their
teaching techniques had to change.
At this point, Col. Schriner interjected and
explained that in a battle situation, nothing ever goes according to plan. The Army simply could not afford to have
soldiers who were only good at doing one thing and did not know what to do when
something they had not trained for occurred in the field under hostile
conditions. Instead, by letting soldiers
“discover” solutions and work on critical thinking skills, they were better
equipped to adapt to the inevitable problems they would encounter in battle. With this in mind, the Army reformed their
entire approach to education. They
focused upon helping soldiers overcome whatever obstacles might be thrown at
them through problem solving and critical thinking.
Both then and now, I find this a wonderful testament
to the importance of updating our teaching techniques to ensure we provide our
students with the most relevant education possible. Just as the Army combats the enemy, they also
combat ineffective education techniques.
Similarly, I believe we should embrace the dismissal of outdated adult-centric approaches and replace them with critical thinking skills, problem solving techniques, collaboration,
innovation and a holistic approach to education. In a world where it will be impossible to
predict the future professions or problems, we need to take a page from the
U.S. Army and focus on preparing students to think critically to solve any
problem through a well-rounded, student-centered approach in the
classroom.
