The Army Learning Strategy Army University Good afternoon, I’m Keith Beurskens…Deputy VPAA & Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence. This afternoon I’d like to set the stage for what the Army University is, introduce you to the Army Learning Strategy, and provide examples of technological initiatives ArmyU is exploring to realize the strategy. Army University and The Army Learning Strategy Dr. Keith R. Beurskens

Why Army University? PROBLEM: The present Army education system, while among the best in the world, is inadequate to address the growing complexity of the 21st Century security environment and requirement to develop leaders who can win in a complex world. 1 2 3 4 5 LTCs and COLs value experience over education based on 13 years of war. Within TRADOC, the Army’s colleges, institutes, schools and training centers provide high quality education and training to Soldiers and Civilians from across the world. This system however, was developed over 40 years ago, and is not optimal to develop the critical and creative thinkers the Army requires in the future. The slide displays the five underlying causes determined to inhibit the Army educational enterprise from realizing its full potential. The strategy for solving these problems was to develop The Army University as an enterprise-wide system as a premier learning institution preparing the best leaders in the world to win in the future security environment:  Recognized for its academic rigor and relevance  Respected as a prestigious educational institution  Acknowledged for its management practices and institutional agility Current system is predominantly Industrial Age and does not develop agile, adaptive, and innovative leaders

Army University System Army University Chancellor Training and Doctrine Commanding General Army Univ. Vice Chancellor Combined Arms Center Commanding General Army University Provost Defense Language Inst. Centers of Excellence and Schools Fires (Artillery, Air Defense Artillery) Aviation Cyber (Cyber, Signal) Intelligence Maneuver Support (Military Police, Engineer, CBRN) Maneuver (Infantry, Armor) Sustainment (Quartermaster, Ordnance, Transportation) Mission Command Reserve Training Centers Cadet Command (ROTC) Specialized Training (Medical, Chaplain, Legal, SOF) Colleges and Schools Command and General Staff College Command and General Staff School Army Management Staff College Warrant Officer Career College Sergeant Major Academy School of Advanced Military Studies School for Command Preparation Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation TRADOC Culture Center Vice Chancellor for Strategic Edu. Army War College* United States Military Academy* The ArmyU systems was structured to address the problems identified on the previous slide. Fundamentally, it is not a ‘brick and mortar’ institution. It was designed to foster the evolution of the Army’s conceptualization, delivery, and management of training, education, and other learning opportunities. While many of the traditional means of individual and collective learning endure, several still occurring within our brick and mortar institutions, others must be supplemented or replaced by improved learning techniques and enhanced learning technology solutions.

Army Learning Strategy Talent Management Strategy DRAFT The Army University White Paper Strategic Business Plan for the Army University US Army Learning Concept Vision: An Army of professionals who meet readiness challenges today and tomorrow by learning faster, adapting more quickly than adversaries, and who have the leadership, technical, tactical, and problem-solving skills to thrive in complex and chaotic environments. End State Enhance learning across the Army by creating a learning enterprise that develops agile, adaptive, innovative, and trusted leaders who are able to build cohesive, competent, professional teams capable of successfully accomplishing all assigned missions. The Army Learning Strategy was developed through a collaborative effort including representatives from DoD, Army HQ, TRADOC, and the Centers of Excellence. It is a distillation of several Army strategies and concepts driving changes to Army personnel development. The Army Learning Strategy includes three Lines of Effort with supporting objectives. Today’s brief will be structured based upon the LOEs and include a brief introduction to many of the initiatives ArmyU is pursuing to implement the strategy.

LOE 1: Learning Environment Persistent, blended, adaptable, tailorable, mobile, accessible, learning ecosystem that optimizes learning outcomes Line of Effort 1 is the Learning Environment. The goal is to optimize learning outcomes by developing a persistent, technology-supported learning ecosystem that integrates career-long formal and informal learning experiences, provides anytime/anywhere access to learning, adapts to individuals’ personal and operational needs, and uses competency frameworks and associated credentialing to systematize and validate individuals’ capabilities. The following five initiatives support this LOE.

Competency Pyramid, Army Learning Areas & General Learning Outcomes Aligns the Army’s critical learning requirements with its missions as partners within the Joint community through individual Soldier competency. The Army Learning Area (ALA)/General Learning Outcomes (GLO) Framework horizontally and vertically aligns learning activities across Officer, Warrant Officer, Non-Commissioned Officer, and the Army Civilian Corps. 1.1 RIGOROUS & RELEVANT CURRICULUM. The Army has always been a competency based learning system. On the left is a competency pyramid that captures the Army’s Operational environment through the nesting of structure, missions, and Readiness focused learning activities. At the foundation are Individual Tasks, the middle Collective tasks, and the top Army Mission capabilities. On the right is the ALA/GLO framework to focus individual learning outcomes. The framework horizontally and vertically aligns learning activities across Officer, Warrant, Non-Commissioned, and the Army Civilian Corps, and the three learning environments for leader development (operational, institutional, and self-development). Learning strategies are developed that with the ALA/GLO framework and serve as the blueprint for developing task/lesson material. The backbone for developing, resourcing, documenting, and validating the learning supporting the Army mission and individual learning must be through technological improvements in Army Training Information Systems.

Competency Based Education Assess, capture, recognize, and translate critical military competencies into measured and validated competencies that others can understand and apply to support readiness, talent management, and transition to Soldier for Life. While the Army is a competency-based learning organization, its training and education systems use a mix of instructional design and teaching methods. They range from physical Training activities, to post secondary learning objectives. There is no common taxonomy or language that integrates them all. Competency-Based Education is gaining momentum across academia and industry as a means for that integration, and is the logical approach for the Army to apply into the future. First, it would support career development and would enable Soldiers to better see themselves, accelerate their development paths, and own their learning. Secondly, it would enable better talent management, enabling career managers and leaders to better fit and time assignments within the operational and institutional domains. Third, by better capturing, recognizing, and translating military to civilian competencies, we would better support the transitioning Soldier. However, CBE would also require the Army to record the learning that occurs in much greater detail, and requires systems that support the capturing and analyzing of Big Data to document and validate competencies that translate to readiness, credentials, college credit, or job requirements.

Enterprise Classrooms Provide instructional technology to support instructor-centric, student-centric training and Distributed Learning to deliver training “anytime, anywhere” from TRADOC proponent Centers/Schools Wireless to support training anywhere Classroom Programs Instructor Workstation Components The Enterprise Classroom Program consists of technology enabled classrooms tailored for the levels and types of learning being facilitated. The classrooms include an instructor workstation that allows the instructor to manage the learning experience and monitor student progress. ‘Classrooms’ outside the institution are ‘hosted’ through wireless and mobile capabilities providing learner access to learning anywhere, anytime.

Federated Library Suite Ties all TRADOC libraries together in a cloud environment. Reduces costs and # of contracts for library services. Initial investment, but SOME off set later from adjusting ITRM of schools. A Federated TRADOC Library System is being developed that combines 13 individual Libraries into an integrated management system It will enables One "Library for Life" – for Academic, Professional and Mission focused research, will serve the Total Army, and supports the Soldier and civilians Total Career. It is an evolution of our key infrastructure that is indispensable in providing current and future library services and resources. The library system establishes common standards and templates to easily navigate across libraries, while still retaining the unique “identity” and tailored look and feel of Current Libraries.

Research Collaboration Tool Align Army research priorities with the wide body of researchers and research teams to combined and joint research forums, promote research collaboration with partnered institutions, improve synchronization with academia, and promulgate Army research Professional Profiles Research & Academic Partners This initiative will align Army research efforts with the Key Strategic Initiatives List (KSIL) and the SECDEF Research Priorities with the wide body of Army researchers and research teams. Advanced Civil Schooling students, students and faculty of our Army schools, and other researchers will have the means to view approved research topics, view ongoing and completed research, and interact with faculty and advisors. It will leverage combined and joint research forums, promote research collaboration with partnered institutions, improve synchronization with academia, and promulgate Army research.

LOE 2: Learning Leaders Accessible subject-matter-expert, world-class teachers, coaches, mentors, facilitators blended throughout the learning ecosystem Line of Effort 2 is Learning Leaders. Within the Army all of its members are considered leaders. As leaders in the 21st Century, their responsibility increases to foster improved learning outcomes, and provide the professional development subordinates require. Learning leaders help other learners to develop their own networks, support their self-directed social learning, and enhance curriculum development through empowerment of curriculum development teams.

Faculty Development Design and implement an end-to-end faculty and staff development program for the Army education system Faculty Talent Management 1 Common Faculty Development Course (CFDC) 2 The end-to-end Faculty Development Program consists of four major elements. First, Faculty Talent Management will leverage periodic individual assessments and other traditional measures of experience and performance to professionalize the selection, assignment, and development of Army-U faculty to ensure we are optimizing training and education by assigning the most highly qualified and motivated personnel to instructor positions. Second, the CFDC becomes the centerpiece for developing facilitator and curriculum developer competencies. It covers Common content covering adult learning theory, followed by Tailored phase 2 – 4 for Instructors and Curriculum Developers. The program uses blended learning and includes facilitator networks for the sharing of best practices. The third element is the FDRP. The developmental focus of this initiative is individual growth. The program is aligned to civilian teaching quality standards and applies a badging system of three levels: Basic, Senior, and Master The badges reflect increased experience and higher levels of quality compared to the standards. Each level includes self-reflection requirements and demonstrated classroom proficiency through evaluation tied to Cooperative Certificate Program. The fourth area is focused on providing self development opportunities. Learning materials and links to online resources. An example is the Magna Commons includes the Teaching Professor Newsletter and on demand 20 Minute Mentor Commons webinars. Faculty Development and Recognition Program (FDRP) 3 Common Professional Development Program (CPDP) 4 Basic Senior Master Self Development Opportunities

LOE 3: Assessments & Evaluations Rigorous and relevant curriculum; assessed and validated learning outcomes; and continuous evaluation of the learning system Line of Effort 3 is Assessments and Evaluations. This LOE is focused upon improving the quality of learning assessments, including what data are collected, how and where assessments take place, how learning data are analyzed, and how those data are stored and visualized. In addition to enhancing the measurement and evaluation of learners, this LOE will support continuously conducting high-quality program evaluations of the Army learning system and its component parts.

Learning-Common Operating Picture A Learning Common Operating Picture that provides comprehensive awareness of all aspects of training and education in the Army, spanning all cohorts and components. To have an effective program evaluation process, the Army University requires a Learning Common Operating Picture that provides comprehensive awareness of all aspects of training and education in the Army, spanning all cohorts and components. It must allow executive level leaders at ArmyU, Centers and Schools throughout the Army to monitor and influence performance management. This technology will also assist in managing programs and resources by highlighting best practices throughout the Army's learning institutions, monitoring pilot programs, broadening programs, faculty exchanges, and research projects. Key Performance Indicators are already being monitored through TRADOC’s Strategic Management System.

Learning Management System An enterprise learning management system (LMS) that improves the quality, relevance, and effectiveness of face-to-face learning, as well as extends the learning environment throughout the career-long continuous of learning. Discoverability Accessibility Playability Tractability Flexibility The backbone of assessments and evaluations is an enterprise learning management system (LMS) that improves the quality, relevance, and effectiveness of face-to-face learning, as well as extending the learning environment throughout the career-long continuous of learning. The enterprise LMS must make materials from all three learning domains (Institutional, operational and, self development) available to all COMPOS and cohorts. The LMS must also provide grade book functionality; assessing and recording capability; training Record management; predictive analysis and performance management tools; training event management (i.e., scheduling, tracking); collaborative environments for students and the ability to create virtual organizations; mobile accessibility; interface with Learning Common Operating Picture, registrar suite, and Individual Learning Profiles; support Statics Reporting; and Courseware Authoring.

export- transcript/reporting capabilities Registrar Suite Record learning outcomes from Army schools, operational assignments, and academic courses into individual training records. This suite must be perform degree audits, records management, establish archival records process, and maintain comprehensive metrics reporting capabilities and official records processing capabilities to support Soldiers reintegration into academia and/or industry as part of the Soldier for Life program. Registrar Suite Required Capabilities data input, archives Enterprise-level “dashboard”: A managed solution to student education & training records administration Versatile Student Management System: This Solution will suite multiple organizations with multiple Learning Management Systems and physical practices. Data Archives: This solution must have the potential to store information in a retrievable manner for an extended amount of time (10-25 years). Encryption: The system needs to be secured as it will maintain protected student information. Access to the system must be controlled through regulatory and policy practices specifically for Registrar functions. Reporting Capabilities: The ability to show Transcript Data in a tangible and filterable way for readiness, talent management and gap analysis at the administrator, user and general (student interface) levels. export- transcript/reporting capabilities

Learning Profile A learning profile is a digital portfolio of related training, education, and experiential information that provides a snapshot of a Soldiers' professional competencies. A learning profile is a digital portfolio of related training, education, and experiential information that provides a snapshot of a Soldiers' professional competencies. Learning assessments at various career inflection points help to continuously update learning profile data. Validated learning outcomes are added to the learning profile and then mapped to defined competencies. Badges (Associates, Advanced, and Mastery) reflect the level of competency in each given area with “points” awarded for progression, validated by assessments. The profile provides a mechanism to visualize these competencies and illustrate both assets to be leveraged and gaps to be addressed. The learning profile serves as a central repository (integrating data from numerous authoritative sources) and delivers real-time information to the point of need through an individualized dashboard using an on-line application.

Individual Assessments Leverages data-driven techniques to define and measure the talent requirements and inventory of all organizations and employees, creating the highest levels of talent alignment possible to optimize the performance of its manpower and teams. MAJ LT CPT LTC COL GO 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Pre CDT TNG PL/XO/Staff CCC KD CMD ILE KD S3/XO Broadening/Staff SSC Staff CSL CMD Staff / Broadening Broadening COM Acquire Develop / Retain Develop / Employ Develop / Employ / Retain Talent Assessment Milestones Prior Learning Assessments Standardized Exams: e.g., College Level Examination Program (CLEP) 3rd Party Evaluations: e.g., American Council of Education Individualized Assessments: e.g., Portfolios and/or Demonstrations Institution-led Exams or Assessments: e.g., Challenge Exams

2 + 2 Degree Pathways Academic partners that provide enlisted Soldiers a clear pathway to completing an Associate’s Degree in their assigned discipline, technical field or leadership. Associates degrees aligned to a bachelors program. TRADOC already has over 90 relationships with academic institutions that have developed over time to meet diverse and unique requirements. The 2+2 program is a step toward ensuring every TRADOC Center of Excellence and Branch School has at least one academic relationship designed to help Soldiers toward their academic goals. We do not currently know how many relationships the Army has, including the Reserve and Army National Guard. What is missing is an information system that allows us to see all of our relationships enterprise wide, and a means for sharing that with Soldiers and civilians interested in pursuing academic programs.

The Army Credentialing Program The Army's credentialing strategy is focused on creating opportunities throughout the Soldier's term of service or career; increasing Army readiness, improving the professionalism of the force, and preparing career-ready Soldiers. 1. The first priority of the Army is to prepare its personnel to perform their war-fighting mission. In doing so, there are direct ties between our military occupational specialties and nationally recognized credentials which the Army utilizes as part of its professional development the force.   2. The Army has consciously separated certification and licensure from academic diplomas and degrees within the Army Credentialing Program, doing so simplifies oversight, management, resourcing, etc. 3. This slide depicts a general timeline of a Soldier's term of service, where credentialing opportunities may occur. You will notice that the "self-directed" or voluntary credentialing "shelves" are shown empty. This is because it is the least mature of the avenues for credentialing. Although credentialing is encouraged as a self-development activity, currently the Army only provides support in the form of information to its Soldiers through the Army Credentialing Opportunities Online (COOL) website. But as the program matures, the Army's intent is to provide some form of financial support in the pursuit of self-directed credentialing. 4. A key component of the overall program is for our Army training institutions to lay out a credentialing "pathway" for each occupational specialty which reinforces certification and licensure in the preparation of career ready Soldiers, in and outside of the Army.

Contact Information Dr. Keith R. Beurskens, Deputy Vice Provost Academic Affairs & Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence keith.r.Beurskens.civ@mail.mil 913-684-2090 COL Joseph Schafer, Chief Information Officer, Deputy Vice Provost Learning Systems joseph.a.schafer.mil@mail.mil 913-684-7488