In Progress
Faculty as scholar-practitioners: A Competency-Based Approach to Faculty Development in Professional Military Education
For Military Review with L. Mackenzie, T. Barrick, B. Jensen, N. Packard, & J. McAlarnen
ABSTRACT:
Via the publication of a revised Officer Professional Military Education Policy (OPMEP) in 2020, the Joint Staff J-7 mandated a shift from a topics- or content-based curriculum policy for joint professional military education to an outcomes-based military education (OBME) model. The subsequent 2024 revision of the OPMEP and its soon-to-be-published companion, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Manual 1810.01A on OBME Procedures, further codify an OBME approach to curriculum design, development, implementation, and assessment. However, an explicit OBME approach to faculty development in PME is noticeably absent in the policy beyond the expectation that “the recruitment, selection, development, and management of a highly qualified civilian and military faculty must be a top priority for institutional leaders” (CJSCI 1800.01G, 2024, p. A-9). This article contributes to the framing of such an OBME approach by sharing findings from Marine Corps University’s pilot competency-based faculty development program. The program was designed following OBME principles along three multidisciplinary tracks: artificial intelligence, wargaming, and Joint All Domain Operations. This pilot is unique in PME for the following reasons: (1) the President of the university mandated faculty participation, indicating an unprecedented institutional investment in faculty development for both civilian and military faculty; (2) learning outcomes for the program focused on developing the faculty’s competencies as educators in specific disciplines vice developing general teaching competencies; and (3) each track was peer-led by a faculty member who was a highly experienced scholar-practitioner in their respective discipline.
KEY WORDS:
Faculty development, professional military education, deliberate practice, authentic assessment, experiential learning, multidisciplinary, competency-based education
Military Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: An Empirical Approach to Improving Professional Military Education
For The Routledge Handbook of Professional Military Education with L. Mackenzie
ABSTRACT:
The scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) is rooted in Boyer’s (1990) consideration of teaching and learning as a “scholarly enterprise.” Throughout the 1990s to today, SOTL has been shaped by scholar-practitioners within the educational research community as a rigorous, systematic, and transparent approach to understanding how students learn best across a broad spectrum of learning ecosystems, from early childhood development through executive education. Until recently, however, SOTL had not been widely used as a framework through which to understand the vast military learning ecosystem, which educates hundreds of thousands of adult learners each year (Hennessey, 2023). Although PME educators have a rich history of sharing best practices across services, levels, and even nations, communicating these insights in a rigorous, evidence-informed way supported by sound research design and validated methodologies has been less common. This chapter makes the case for applying empirical SOTL methodologies to military-specific educational settings to improve professional military education (PME) student learning outcomes. The authors are the creators of the military scholarship of teaching and learning (MSOTL) movement and are uniquely positioned to share its origins and describe its evolution via the MSOTL Forum conference and associated publications such as the newly established International Perspectives on Military Education journal (Mackenzie & Hennessey, 2025). After establishing the need for and context around MSOTL, the chapter will continue with a meta-analysis of published MSOTL research within the last 10 years, highlighting key findings and themes as well as the applications of various methodologies used to answer PME-specific research questions. For example, preliminary analyses suggest the MSOTL community is heavily skewed toward qualitative research methodologies, and leadership development competencies are a prominent subject of research with assessment of critical thinking following closely behind. Additionally, a lack of longitudinal studies remains a key limitation in the field. Addressing this limitation and other areas of potential growth, the authors will conclude with service- and level-agnostic recommendations for MSOTL implementation that any reader can apply in their PME institution.
KEY WORDS:
Faculty development, professional military education, deliberate practice, authentic assessment, experiential learning, multidisciplinary, competency-based education