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We need a more effective teaching method
For Marines, the lecture method stifles the initiative and creativity the Marine Corps requires from its leaders. To execute maneuver warfare, Marines at all levels must make sound and timely deci- sions to out cycle their opponents. To do this, all leaders must develop sound judgment in their decisions. In his 2010 planning guidance, Gen James F. Amos stated, "We will better educate and train our Marines to succeed in distributed operations and increasingly complex environments."1 Yet the Marine Corps training and education system is in some ways still grounded in outdated modes of instruction, most notably the lecture method, which is designed to produce massive citizen armies-formations that we may not need for the foreseeable future. There have been educational gaps both exploited and created across Marine Corps schools by hard working instructors. We need an instructional method that is in step with current adult education theory and capable of producing Marine leaders that the Commandant demands and the future operating environment will require.
Throughout their time in the Marine Corps, Marines of all ranks are often called upon to teach classes in both formal and informal settings. Unfortunately, the current teaching methodology most Marines are familiar and comfortable with is among the least effective methods to impart knowledge and create understanding.2 In fact, the GOLMEST method (gain attention, overview, learning objectives, method/ media, evaluation, safety, transitions) focuses on memorizing facts and data vice long-term retention, application, and innovative thinking. If the Marine Corps is going to produce leaders capable of confronting the myriad challenges the current security environment pres- ents, we need a more effective teaching method. Current methods that focus on rote memorization and regurgitation without thought fall short of the task. We require a more holistic teaching methodology by first describing why the current methodology is ineffective.
According to studies as early as 1969 and as recently at 2012, only 10 to 30 percent of the population retains information from a lecture and can apply that information.3 As an example, students routinely get in the habit of memorizing information for the test but consistently fail to apply and generalize concepts they were taught.4 This problem stems from two issues: first, how the brain...