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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 Michael Tate

Player Embed Code:

Localized Professional Development: Creating Base-Level Solutions to a Military-Wide Problem

Air University Public Affairs
Dec. 8, 2023 | 47:51

Mr. Layton Graves

A quantitative study is being conducted on Freedom Air Force Base (FAFB) (a pseudonym for anonymity), to asses the motivations of active duty Airmen to pursue voluntary education. All Airmen who attend the Air Force Tuition Assistance (AF-TA) seminar over a two-month period (ending 30 June 2023) at FAFB are invited to participate in the study. The study incorporates Boshier’s (1991) Education Participation Scale, a 42-question survey utilizing a four-point Likert Scale, to measure the motivations of adult learners to pursue voluntary education. The results are aggregated by demographic categories (time on station, military rank, gender, education level, etc.) and compared to known perceptions of United States Air Force (USAF) education programs found in academic literature. This study addresses the research questions of, “What are the motivations of Airmen who attend the AF-TA briefing at FAFB?” “Are there any statistically significant demographic trends present for Airmen who attend the AF-TA briefing at FAFB?” and “What are the similarities between the motivations of Airmen who attend professional development (PD) courses at FAFB and the known perceptions of USAF PD?” This study addresses the specific education motivations of Airmen at FAFB and showcases how Airmen at FAFB may have different motivations to pursue education than what may be present at other USAF installations. The benefits of locally developed and managed
PD, tailored to the education motivations of Airmen on an installation, is discussed through examples of what a base-level USAF PD program could incorporate to align with Boshier’s (1991) seven motivations of adult learners to pursue voluntary education.

Video by Michael Tate

Player Embed Code:

Localized Professional Development: Creating Base-Level Solutions to a Military-Wide Problem

Air University Public Affairs
Dec. 8, 2023 | 47:51

Mr. Layton Graves

A quantitative study is being conducted on Freedom Air Force Base (FAFB) (a pseudonym for anonymity), to asses the motivations of active duty Airmen to pursue voluntary education. All Airmen who attend the Air Force Tuition Assistance (AF-TA) seminar over a two-month period (ending 30 June 2023) at FAFB are invited to participate in the study. The study incorporates Boshier’s (1991) Education Participation Scale, a 42-question survey utilizing a four-point Likert Scale, to measure the motivations of adult learners to pursue voluntary education. The results are aggregated by demographic categories (time on station, military rank, gender, education level, etc.) and compared to known perceptions of United States Air Force (USAF) education programs found in academic literature. This study addresses the research questions of, “What are the motivations of Airmen who attend the AF-TA briefing at FAFB?” “Are there any statistically significant demographic trends present for Airmen who attend the AF-TA briefing at FAFB?” and “What are the similarities between the motivations of Airmen who attend professional development (PD) courses at FAFB and the known perceptions of USAF PD?” This study addresses the specific education motivations of Airmen at FAFB and showcases how Airmen at FAFB may have different motivations to pursue education than what may be present at other USAF installations. The benefits of locally developed and managed
PD, tailored to the education motivations of Airmen on an installation, is discussed through examples of what a base-level USAF PD program could incorporate to align with Boshier’s (1991) seven motivations of adult learners to pursue voluntary education.

Video by Michael Tate

Player Embed Code:

Localized Professional Development: Creating Base-Level Solutions to a Military-Wide Problem

Air University Public Affairs
Dec. 8, 2023 | 47:51

Mr. Layton Graves

A quantitative study is being conducted on Freedom Air Force Base (FAFB) (a pseudonym for anonymity), to asses the motivations of active duty Airmen to pursue voluntary education. All Airmen who attend the Air Force Tuition Assistance (AF-TA) seminar over a two-month period (ending 30 June 2023) at FAFB are invited to participate in the study. The study incorporates Boshier’s (1991) Education Participation Scale, a 42-question survey utilizing a four-point Likert Scale, to measure the motivations of adult learners to pursue voluntary education. The results are aggregated by demographic categories (time on station, military rank, gender, education level, etc.) and compared to known perceptions of United States Air Force (USAF) education programs found in academic literature. This study addresses the research questions of, “What are the motivations of Airmen who attend the AF-TA briefing at FAFB?” “Are there any statistically significant demographic trends present for Airmen who attend the AF-TA briefing at FAFB?” and “What are the similarities between the motivations of Airmen who attend professional development (PD) courses at FAFB and the known perceptions of USAF PD?” This study addresses the specific education motivations of Airmen at FAFB and showcases how Airmen at FAFB may have different motivations to pursue education than what may be present at other USAF installations. The benefits of locally developed and managed
PD, tailored to the education motivations of Airmen on an installation, is discussed through examples of what a base-level USAF PD program could incorporate to align with Boshier’s (1991) seven motivations of adult learners to pursue voluntary education.