Drawing Inspiration Across Industry Lines: What Can Civilian Education Learn from the Military?

     I'll start by saying that I'll be the first to admit  the military takes most of its educational cues from the civilian sector.  The first things you'll notice when dipping your toes in the waters of online military training and education are the many similarities to civilian education. Do you have experience with Blackboard?  That's the same LMS (Learning Management System) used by the US Special Operations Command's Joint Special Operations University (JSOU).  Did your undergraduate feature classes on Moodle?  That's the same LMS used by the Marine Corps for their "MarineNet" online education ecosystem.  Even unique Learning Management Systems such as the Navy's Waypoints and Army's ATIS appear heavily patterned after civilian systems--and for good reason!  The familiarity requirement remains, 

as enclave institutions such as the Naval War College, the Army's Medical Center of Excellence, the Army's Command and General Staff College, and the Army War College all continue to use Blackboard for delivering online courses and managing student work.  

     What is vastly different, however, is the course pacing and scheduling.  Military literature is rife with metaphorical usage of a "death by 1,000 cuts", be it to describe attrition warfare or to explain the importance of the battle for the narrative to indigenous populations.  Military education, it seems, approaches education in a metaphorically similar manner.  Education is achieved by many dozens of micro-courses and short duration classes that a military service member attends over the span of their career.  But just as the metaphor 

implies small effects combining to cause a devastation, the military approach provides bite-size lessons combining to form an education.

The United States Marine Corps' "MarineNet"

Classroom teachers and education administrators are by no means "strangers" to similar forms of the periodic "annual training" required of military members.  Comparatively speaking, though, the military takes it to another level--perhaps to excess.  Do we want service members to quit tobacco?  Let's make an online class for that.  Do we want to lower the prevalence of sexual assault?  Let's make an online class for that.  Also sexual harassment?  Another online class for that.  Should I continue with Operational Security, Information Security, Records Management, Suicide Awareness, and more?  I think you get the point.  Many will admit that these can be excessive and most units have transitioned these to leader-led discussion group delivery methods.  

More broadly speaking, however, the military has achieved an effective incentive basis for continuing education through curriculum advancement and certification progression.  Risk Management, for example, follows a tiered approach based on rank--something easily repeatable in the civilian sector based on time and/or position within an organization.  The training starts at the entry-level and continues through the most senior positions.  As individuals advance, so does the curriculum, and so does the certification.  And some lessons are repetitive by design.  Cyber Security, for example, is something the military both highly values and reasonably expects many members to yawn at.  With enough repetition, however, the thought process hopes for correct actions coming from habit.

The higher an individual climbs in rank, the higher the education requirement.  A 6-month "Basic School" for Lieutenants is raised to a 41-week "Expeditionary Warfare School" for Captains.  This is again raised to a 10-month "Command and Staff College" for Majors.  

At every level, there are online primers, counterparts, and/or equivalents.  The Basic School online portion runs concurrent with the seated course curriculum as a supplement.  The Expeditionary Warfare School has an online alternative ("EWS Distance Education Program") to the resident school that follows a Marine Corps Captain for a full two-year course schedule.  Each of the enlisted ranks' resident schools feature an online course primer of multiple modules of classes.    

It is undeniable that the military focuses so heavily on such "vertical" training and education due to a uniquely prevalent attrition dynamic that is far less often encountered in the civilian sector.  But civilian educators and administrators can still draw much inspiration from the progressive nature of the military's educational approach for its employees.  My personal key takeaway and idea for classroom implementation with adult learners is to recognize that sometimes the full plate can be overwhelming.  Breaking up instruction or lessons into "bite size" pieces may help students with their own workload management.  

Could continuing education at the size and scope of the military also be a beneficial addition for civilian educators, or just more thrown onto already full calendars?  Is there any application to students on 2- and 4-year programs?  Is there room for new and/or radically re-formatted programs within higher education programs?  These are additional takeaways to ponder.  Let me know what you think in the comments.