Designing Adaptive Blended Learning Experiences for Military Formal School Courses

The United States Marine Corps Training Command is responsible for preparing Marines to succeed in their Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) but faces increasing challenges including limited number of instructors, instructor time in billet, and classroom time available. Additionally, an institution-wide shift is taking place to better prepare Marines for tomorrow’s increasingly uncertain, complex, and decentralized operating environment, by transitioning from passive, instructor-focused training towards an active, student-centered, adult learning model [1]. Making this shift requires efficiencies in how students learn the foundations of their MOS in order to increase time spent on problem solving and practical application exercises in the classroom. The purpose of the Adaptive Blended Learning Experience (ABLE) effort was to assess the outcomes of self-paced, adaptive online learning blended with classroom instruction, and develop a model to facilitate learning of MOS training concepts in a self-paced, adaptive format that enhances student learning and creates efficiencies for instructor time. This paper describes the development, implementation, and findings from an experimental study that compared the outcomes of an adaptive blended learning design to those of traditional classroom teaching practices. The results of this effort inform recommendations for best practices in implementing adaptive, blended learning designs throughout Training Command.