ABOUT

MSOTL Background

In their seminal publication, “From Teaching to Learning: A New Paradigm for Undergraduate Education" Robert Barr and John Tagg identified a shift in higher education moving toward the facilitation of learning in which teaching practice is focused, enhanced, and assessed. It is in this spirit that the Military Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (MSOTL) Forum was originally convened and continues to grow. That is, regardless of an educator’s academic background or the learning level at which they teach, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) field offers meaningful methods for educators to put into practice and valid measures for researchers to integrate into their classroom assessments.

Ongoing MSOTL initiatives seek to highlight such practices and measures and, in doing so, create the kind of educational synergy that has been the hallmark of the MSOTL community since its first informal gathering in 2019. By way of background, the Marine Corps University Strategic Plan (Goal 5.4.4) tasks its Faculty Council to: “Engage other PME institutions in discussion for development of a society/ association of Professional Military Educators as an opportunity to increase service school collaboration.” In response to this call, a small group of military educators from across the United States and Canada came together in 2019 at the Inter University Seminar on Armed Forces & Society conference to collaborate and promote decision-making in military education through the lens of SOTL. Several months later in 2020, the first Joint Scholarship of Teaching & Learning Forum came to life, hosted by Dr. Megan Hennessey and her colleagues at the U.S. Army War College. This initiative expanded the traditional SOTL emphasis on/by civilian universities to create space for a military perspective in this growing field.

The MSOTL community that has formed during the past five years has served an important role in advancing research at various stages of development, and at the fourth annual (but first hybrid) MSOTL Forum in December 2023, scholars from around the world presented the outcomes of their classroom inquiries at various stages, ranging from initial stages to completed research projects. The research findings from 13 of these presentations were compiled in a 2025 edited volume: Military Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (usmcu.edu). Additionally, MSOTL collaboration has led to the publication of the International Journal of Professional Military Education by Marine Corps University Press IPME (usmcu.edu) which provides a centralized home for scholarship and reflections on military education in its many forms.

MSOTL Leaders at MCU

Since joining MCU initially as the Director of Academic Services, and currently as its Provost (Megan J. Hennessey, Ph.D. > Marine Corps University > Biography (usmcu.edu)), Dr. Megan Hennessey has elevated MCU as the home of the MSOTL Forum. She is joined by Dr. Lauren Mackenzie (MCU Faculty Development and Outreach Coordinator: Lauren B. Mackenzie, Ph.D. > Marine Corps University > Biography (usmcu.edu)) and LtCol Tim Sparks, EdD. (Director, Command & Staff College Blended Seminar Program: Lieutenant Colonel Timothy A. Sparks, USMC > Marine Corps University > Biography (usmcu.edu)) as MSOTL co-leaders of MSOTL events since 2023.

Contacts

Lauren Mackenzie, Ph.D.

Faculty Development and Outreach Coordinator

Marine Corps University

140 Gray Research Center

Quantico, VA 22134

Lauren.mackenzie@usmcu.edu

Video by Mike Tate

Player Embed Code:

A Practical Exercise for Teaching Sociocultural Systems Thinking Skills to Army Leaders

Air University Public Affairs
Dec. 7, 2023 | 13:48

Stefanie Stancato & Ava Loer

Sociocultural systems thinking (SCST) involves a process of identifying and exploring how information regarding components of a sociocultural system interconnect and serve to create emergent meaning that both guides and is guided by how individuals interact through social relationships (Gharajedghi,
2013). Given the complexities of the operational environment, it is important for Army leaders to understand the sociocultural system as it extends beyond a single interaction and the broad and distal consequences of their actions and responses to events (Strong et al., 2013).The Analyses of Boundaries in Systems (ABS) Practical Exercise was developed to hone these sociocultural
systems thinking skills in Army leaders and was designed to be conducted with current and future field-grade officers in Professional Military Education courses or for Army leaders who want to prepare themselves for complex sociocultural environments. ABS draws from real-world events to demonstrate sociocultural systems concepts. The exercise involves participants coming together in small groups to review real-world sociocultural systems. Each group is tasked with examining the sociocultural system from a specific perspective (e.g., economic, environmental, law enforcement, diplomatic) and use their designated perspective to create a timeline of key historic events, develop a
visual representation of the system, propose potential interventions, and predict how the system may respond to their intervention. The goals of this practical exercise are (a) generate discussion among groups of participants, (b) encourage systems thinking, (c) promote new ways to think about complex
events, and (d) to practice productive discourse. Disclaimer: The research described herein was sponsored by the U.S. Army Research Institute for
the Behavioral and Social Sciences, Department of the Army (Contract No. W911NF-15-C-0031). The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, DoD, or the U.S. Government.

Video by Mike Tate

Player Embed Code:

A Practical Exercise for Teaching Sociocultural Systems Thinking Skills to Army Leaders

Air University Public Affairs
Dec. 7, 2023 | 13:48

Stefanie Stancato & Ava Loer

Sociocultural systems thinking (SCST) involves a process of identifying and exploring how information regarding components of a sociocultural system interconnect and serve to create emergent meaning that both guides and is guided by how individuals interact through social relationships (Gharajedghi,
2013). Given the complexities of the operational environment, it is important for Army leaders to understand the sociocultural system as it extends beyond a single interaction and the broad and distal consequences of their actions and responses to events (Strong et al., 2013).The Analyses of Boundaries in Systems (ABS) Practical Exercise was developed to hone these sociocultural
systems thinking skills in Army leaders and was designed to be conducted with current and future field-grade officers in Professional Military Education courses or for Army leaders who want to prepare themselves for complex sociocultural environments. ABS draws from real-world events to demonstrate sociocultural systems concepts. The exercise involves participants coming together in small groups to review real-world sociocultural systems. Each group is tasked with examining the sociocultural system from a specific perspective (e.g., economic, environmental, law enforcement, diplomatic) and use their designated perspective to create a timeline of key historic events, develop a
visual representation of the system, propose potential interventions, and predict how the system may respond to their intervention. The goals of this practical exercise are (a) generate discussion among groups of participants, (b) encourage systems thinking, (c) promote new ways to think about complex
events, and (d) to practice productive discourse. Disclaimer: The research described herein was sponsored by the U.S. Army Research Institute for
the Behavioral and Social Sciences, Department of the Army (Contract No. W911NF-15-C-0031). The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, DoD, or the U.S. Government.

Video by Mike Tate

Player Embed Code:

A Practical Exercise for Teaching Sociocultural Systems Thinking Skills to Army Leaders

Air University Public Affairs
Dec. 7, 2023 | 13:48

Stefanie Stancato & Ava Loer

Sociocultural systems thinking (SCST) involves a process of identifying and exploring how information regarding components of a sociocultural system interconnect and serve to create emergent meaning that both guides and is guided by how individuals interact through social relationships (Gharajedghi,
2013). Given the complexities of the operational environment, it is important for Army leaders to understand the sociocultural system as it extends beyond a single interaction and the broad and distal consequences of their actions and responses to events (Strong et al., 2013).The Analyses of Boundaries in Systems (ABS) Practical Exercise was developed to hone these sociocultural
systems thinking skills in Army leaders and was designed to be conducted with current and future field-grade officers in Professional Military Education courses or for Army leaders who want to prepare themselves for complex sociocultural environments. ABS draws from real-world events to demonstrate sociocultural systems concepts. The exercise involves participants coming together in small groups to review real-world sociocultural systems. Each group is tasked with examining the sociocultural system from a specific perspective (e.g., economic, environmental, law enforcement, diplomatic) and use their designated perspective to create a timeline of key historic events, develop a
visual representation of the system, propose potential interventions, and predict how the system may respond to their intervention. The goals of this practical exercise are (a) generate discussion among groups of participants, (b) encourage systems thinking, (c) promote new ways to think about complex
events, and (d) to practice productive discourse. Disclaimer: The research described herein was sponsored by the U.S. Army Research Institute for
the Behavioral and Social Sciences, Department of the Army (Contract No. W911NF-15-C-0031). The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, DoD, or the U.S. Government.