Category: Education

Perceptions about Distance Learning from CAF Members’ Points of View

On By kimjones12In Education, Military, Research, TrainingLeave a comment

As I have in previous blog articles, I will share here a small section of my doctoral research on the topic of satisfaction with distance learning (DL) experiences in the CAF. Specifically, I will share some qualitative data on CAF members’ general perceptions, both positive and negative, related to DL, as well as perceptions related to the direction the CAF is going with DL use, CAF cultural aspects related to DL, and considerations related to generational differences and individual learning preferences. This research, which was defended in 2020, included a sample of 368 CAF members who had graduated from CAF Professional Military Education programs between the dates of January, 2015 and March, 2018.

There was a wide variety of responses regarding overall satisfaction with DL. One Senior Non-Commissioned Member (NCM), for example, spoke positively about his experience and, in rating his overall experience from 1 to 10, stated, “I would say about 9.” An Officer Cadet, who had completed the Primary Leadership Qualification (PLQ) as a Junior NCM, rated his experiences as “6, 7 out of 10.” A Senior Officer shared that “on a scale of 1 to 10, 5.” General comments regarding CAF DL satisfaction, ranging widely from positive comments to more negative sentiments included, “best learning experience,” “various degrees of positive,” “globally it’s great,” “pretty good,” “pleased,” “quite favourable,” “satisfied,” “fine,” “mixed emotions,” “strongly dislike,” and “painful to get through.” One member even stated, “I cannot convey the depth of my dissatisfaction.” As we can see, generally speaking, the range of perceptions was vast.

Many members shared their perceptions concerning the direction the CAF was taking with the use of DL. Generally, I found that those members who were positive about their DL experiences felt that the CAF was moving in a good direction in increasing the use of DL and improving upon current offerings. Some of the comments included that the CAF was making “incredible strides,” and that “it’s a great way to go.” One member said that he was “impressed that we are going this way,” and another stated that “the CAF should continue to move in the way we are.” Additional positive comments included that “DL is a vital tool in contemporary learning and the CAF should continue to embrace it,” and that “DL is a great capability that should be explored and leveraged as much as possible.”

On the other hand, members who were more negative about their DL experiences shared that they believed the CAF was relying too heavily on the use of DL and should minimize its use. Often members made the comment that we would need to ensure that we are choosing the right balance between the use of DL and classroom. One Senior NCM stated that “we’re starting to do too much by DL, simply because there’s a cost savings factor.” An Advanced Leadership Programme (ALP) graduate suggested that the CAF should, “arrêter d’augmenter le nombre de cours donner en AD [stop increasing the number of courses given by DL].” Another member stated, “I’m just concerned that we put too many eggs in the same basket there for the DL,” and yet another stated that “the CAF needs to stop ‘pushing the easy button’ on DL courses in general”. Again, these perceptions ranged from very positive to very negative on the use of DL in the CAF.

Some comments seemed to be CAF- or military-specific cultural perceptions regarding DL. Although these quotes represent individual beliefs and could potentially be just one person’s view, they seemed valuable to consider. One Canadian Armed Forces Junior Officer Development (CAFJOD) graduate stated that operations and workload must take priority and that professional development courses are, “known as selfish career climbing initiatives.” A Senior Appointment Programme (SAP) graduate stated that “if a course is taught by a person or in class it is assumed that the lesson is important. When course materials are covered by DL, the mentality is that ‘it’s the less important stuff.’” One Primary Leadership Qualification (PLQ) graduate shared his opinion that, “In my mind, there’s no room for DL in the Army. It’s been my experience that most folks didn’t join the army because they were academics. DL courses are designed for academic oriented people, not for the typical blue collar.”

Regarding members using work time for DL, some members shared their perceptions that it would be seen negatively if they were to take this time. One member stated that they did all the DL on their own time due to, “not wanting to be judged for taking time off.” A CAFJOD graduate said that supervisors say that “professional development through courses, especially DL, are a “personal responsibility” and should “not take work time” to complete them.” These are all noteworthy individual perspectives/opinions to contemplate.

Some members shared a perception that DL was less favourable for older members and more favourable for younger members. Some members shared their opinion that there are no real differences between the generations in their affinity and satisfaction with the use of DL. One member, for example, stated that “as an older member of the CAF the greatest beginning difficulty was the technology of the computers and navigation of a DL course.” Another stated that “when it comes to the younger generation, they are probably more comfortable doing stuff online…. we older [members] have to get used to it.” Another member stated that “some of the senior NCMs… may not be as comfortable with computers…. so maybe they wouldn’t be as positive… using such a tool.” Another shared, “maybe I’m becoming one of those old guys I don’t know, but I’m reluctant, or hesitant to invest myself too much into DL.” On the other hand, one member stated that “particularly for the younger generation that’s starting to come through now, they’re so used to technology and so used to the resources and being able to find things online and that kind of thing.” Another member stated that “maybe the new generation responds better to DLN as they are less likely to want to leave “home” for a course and are more reliant on networking with “friends” they’ve never met.”

Not everyone, however, saw generational considerations having a real effect on DL satisfaction. One Senior Officer shared his opinion that we tend to think of DL as, “generational, like all the young folks like it, the older people don’t. I think that might be a bit of a misnomer or a fallacy because it just depends.” A Senior NCM stated, “I certainly think that across-the-board of generations -so whether you’re 19 years old or whether you’re 55 years old… DL is a very good mechanism.” As one 52-year-old member with 35 years of service in the CAF stated, “even us old guys can do it!” One 53-year-old member with 28 years of service made the point that even the older CAF members have been in a “technology powered workplace” for a long time now. “We may not be Digital Natives,” he stated, “but we should be just about out of web-illiterates [in the CAF].” Personally, I would tend to agree with this point. As someone who advances beyond middle-age, even I had a Commodore VIC-20 growing up and I would not necessarily consider myself a “digital immigrant”.

One CAFJOD graduate shared that “everyone learns differently, DL may work for some but it does not work for me.” One member suggested that the CAF should, “have some options for people. Some like DL… many, like myself, hate it. Basically stop looking for “one” solution because it will never work for everyone.” Another member stated that “not everyone is computer savvy (i.e. a digital native). There needs to be training available that is aimed at every type of learner.” Another stated that “we’re getting better with identifying people with… how they learn, and just try[ing] to adapt to it whenever we can…. otherwise we’ll always be leaving someone behind.” A CAFJOD graduate stated that “many people learn in different ways, some prefer classroom instruction and some prefer DL and some prefer hands-on courses. We should be helping people learn according to their strengths and not forcing everyone to supposedly “learn” in exactly the same way.” Some good food for thought regarding members’ perception related to learning preferences and the value of providing options.

For further details related to this research, the methodology used and fulsome findings, please feel free to refer to the link below. There have been some exciting advancements in CAF DL in the years since this research took place including the introduction of the new DLN 3.0 and more widely used videoconferencing/virtual classrooms for synchronous DL, which may influence CAF members’ perceptions of DL today.

Thanks so much to the CAF members who offered their time to answer the open-ended survey questions and who participated in interviews for this research. Their voices have added so much to the quantitative numerical data collected.

Reference:

Jones, K.A. (2020). Satisfaction of Canadian Armed Forces Regular Fores Members with their Distance Learning Experiences [Dissertation]. Athabasca University.

The Importance of Data Literacy – from a DND/CAF Perspective

On By kimjones12In Education, Military, TrainingLeave a comment
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

“What is data literacy?” you may ask, and “Why should I care about data literacy in a defence context?” In this blog, I will share some of what I learned during my experience as the lead for Data Literacy & Culture at DND’s ADM (Data, Innovation, Analytics) and some of my own reflections related to these questions. Data is everywhere! If we know how to harness it, it can be powerful!

As is a common experience for military personnel, I have periodically moved around to different positions diving into a variety of different subjects.  It certainly keeps things interesting and the brain flexible!  After several years working in the training domain of data & analytics, I quickly switched to a very different area of training this past summer at the new Chief, Professional Conduct and Culture (CPCC). I can recall wondering what I would do with all the new knowledge I had acquired over the past few years, as I quickly switched focus to a new area.  This blog is a small effort to hand off, to you dear readers (& colleagues), some of what I learned working in the domain of data & analytics training, from my own perspective.  

According to Statistics Canada (2019), “Data literacy is the ability to derive meaningful information from data. It focuses on the competencies involved in working with data including the knowledge and skills to read, analyze, interpret, visualize and communicate data as well as understand the use of data in decision-making. Data literacy also means having the knowledge and skills to be a good data steward including the ability to assess the quality of data, protect and secure data, and their responsible and ethical use.”

IN DND/CAF, some impressive early efforts and achievements by the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) began to take hold in the areas of data & analytics, some of which were highlighted in 2018 in the linked video “Member Story: Royal Canadian Navy,” as presented to the America’s SAP User Group (ASUG). In the same time-frame, the governmental Report to the Clerk of the Privy Council: A Data Strategy Roadmap for the Public Service was published with a long-term vision of increasing data literacy, managing data as an asset, creating a data-driven culture, and governing data. 

In 2019, DND’s ADM (Data, Innovation, Analytics) stood up and published DND/CAF’s first Data Strategy.  Four pillars were described within the strategy, including: 1) Data Management; 2) Data Tools & Environment; 3) Data Literacy & Skills; and 4) Data Culture. The stated goal of the strategy, specifically in terms of data literacy & skills, was to “create a data-literate and skilled workforce capable of using data to create value for DND/CAF.” From my own experience, I know that much effort is ongoing towards achieving this goal.

Data literacy is the foundation of preparing our people to advance towards a more modern military; one that further optimizes the use of digital, analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.  

As a Training Development Officer, I have reflected on what aspects could/should we be working towards within military training to prepare our people for future operating environments that rely on data in new ways? Some that, perhaps, we can not yet even imagine.

The Canadian School of Public Service (CSPS) Digital Academy and the Government of Canada Data Community, in collaboration with various government departments, spearheaded the creation of a Data Competency Framework for the Federal Government. This consists of 21 competencies over 4 categories including: 1) concepts and culture; 2) data governance, collection, & stewardship; 3) analytics & evaluation; and 4) data systems and architecture.

Making use of this framework, as well as developing and/or making use of training content being developed to support these competencies, within the Defence Team, would be a great start. Training on defence-specific present-day uses of data and related tools would be a great next step. Exploring and then communicating the art of the possible in terms of future optimization of business and operational data within defence should be on all our minds in order to keep pace with our allies and, also, our adversaries.  We must develop internal subject matter experts who understand the complexity of domestic and operational environments, but who also have the data literacy and skills in order to derive maximum value from the data we presently collect, and also understand the value we could derive from data in the future if it were to be collected and analyzed. 

In terms of business data, we must be able to effectively access, visualize, and display our data. We must be able to interpret trends and to report on performance (such as required from the Defence Results Framework (DRF)). In terms of operations, command decisions should be made taking into account relevant, available data.  Support staff should be able to collect and manage data, read data, evaluate its reliability, and present it to the Commander, either visually or verbally, in an understandable way (aka. data visualization & story-telling). Commanders must understand the value of data.

In a war-fighting context, to quote LGen (Ret’d) Mike Rouleau when he was the Vice Chief of Defence Staff, “the next kinetic fights will punish military forces who remain analogue at their core,” therefore, “…we surely owe the next generation the intellectual and pragmatic down-payment of smartly progressing into a digital future.” Wise words. Moving away from “analogue” and advancing into this desirable “digital future” requires us to embrace a data culture and work towards increasing the Defence Team’s data skills and knowledge.

The Defence Team, globally, must work to enable evidence-based decision making in order to progress into a data-driven and digital future.  As stated by General Wayne Eyre, who was Commander of the Canadian Army at the time, in Advancing with Purpose: The Canadian Army Modernization Strategy, “The Canadian Army must harness data and embrace digital culture to benefit from their potential.” Indeed!

What will you do to enable your teams to be ready for the future data-driven workplace? What will we do to ensure that the Defence Team will be ready for the future data-driven fight?

References

America’s SAP User’s Group. (2018) Member Story: Royal Canadian Navy.

Canadian Army. (2021). Advancing with Purpose: The Canadian Army Modernization Strategy.

DND. (2019). The Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces Data Strategy

Rouleau, M. (2020). VCDS/DMA Planning Guidance and Digitization, VCD2020-0015391

Statistics Canada (2019). Data Literacy Training.

Experiential Learning: From a CAF Perspective

On By kimjones12In Education, Military, TrainingLeave a comment
Photo Credit: Corporal Daniel Chiasson, Canadian Armed Forces photo

Experiential learning is becoming a much more recognized alternative and compliment to pure traditional academic learning.  Experiential learning has been defined by Lewis & Williams (1994) as, “…learning from experience or learning by doing. Experiential education first immerses learners in an experience and then encourages reflection about the experience to develop new skills, new attitudes, or new ways of thinking” (p. 5). “Learning by doing” is certainly not a new concept, though, as we have had “apprentices,” “journeymen,” and “masters” in most learning contexts since before we necessarily had words to describe them. The post-activity reflection that is included in this definition aids the acquisition of the new skill, attitude, or way of thinking.

Examples of Experiential Learning

One context where we sometimes use the term “experiential learning” is when we are assessing previous experiences in work and training in order to make a prior learning assessment which can grant individuals with academic credit, entry into an academic or training program, strengthen a job application, or allow entry into a professional body. In job advertisements, we will often see that a certain degree is required, or equivalent work experience. Through this recognition of experiential learning, new opportunities can present themselves for those who do not have the required prerequisites but who do necessarily have sufficient past learning experiences. In the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), we often use and encourage the use of Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) to reduce unnecessary training time and costs required for a member to achieve their qualification. If previous work and/or training experiences show that specific CAF performance objectives have, indeed, been previously achieved through other means, such as within a previous work or training experience, a PLAR can be requested and evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Conversely, there are also organizations outside the CAF who will recognize CAF experiences towards credit or qualifications.

Canadian Armed Forces Professional Development Framework

The second use of the term “experiential learning,” which is likely the more common use in the training and educational context, concerns itself with integrating experiential learning into traditional training and education.  This may include real-life simulations and other learner-centric and learner-controlled activities. The instructor’s role in this context is as a facilitator. We often see experiential learning in the CAF as part of the Training Pillar of the Professional Development Framework, which is illustrated in the figure above. Examples of experiential learning in the CAF could come in the form of simulated live field/air/sea exercises, planning an attack, operating simulated vehicles, typing a memo (as I did in my RMS Clerk QL3 course back in 2005!), firing a weapon, performing first aid on a dummy, taking apart and putting together an engine during training, and using simulated a 360 degree air traffic control center to run through real-life scenarios, as they do at Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Control Operations (CFSACO). In my own occupational training, as a Training Development Officer, we led mock Qualification Standard and Training Plan Writing Boards during our course, followed by real writing boards, under supervision, with real subject matter experts during our on-the-job training.

Experiential learning also occurs as part of the Experience Pillar, as illustrated above. The Experience Pillar is defined as “the application and continued development of the knowledge, skills and attitudes obtained through education, training, and/or self-development in the performance of assigned roles and duties” (GoC, 2018a). In other words, experiential learning happens on the job and throughout our careers. We move beyond simulated vehicles, for example, and operate various types of vehicles in theatre, on various types of terrain, and in various types of weather. In other contexts, such as leadership development, we move beyond role-playing difficult discussions, and move into handling difficult discussions within many different real-life scenarios, in many different contexts, and with many different types of people. Experiential learning in training is excellent for practicing what is to come. Experiential learning throughout our career, and indeed throughout our entire lifetime, continuously develops us and adds depth to our knowledge and skills.

Myself, showing off a simulated Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit (ROWPU) during the Basic Public Affairs Officer Course: Exercise Veritas Thunder, 2012

Discussion

Experiential learning is an important consideration in terms of prior learning assessments. Older workers want their life work experiences to be recognized so that new opportunities can open up for them.  CAF recruits are no longer only younger adults people fresh out of school. Practical abilities and tacit knowledge must be respected and equivalencies must be offered through the process of PLAR in order to avoid training redundancy and to reduce unnecessary training days. There are many occupations in the CAF that have an equivalent in the civilian world, for example, cooks, various types of technicians, and nurses. Granting equivalencies based on experiential learning, whether through work or other life experiences, just makes good sense. In many cases, only training that covers the military aspects of the job may be required to get an individual to the operationally functional point (OFP) in their occupation.

Recognizing education in the younger graduates (or recruits), who may be new to the workplace and lack life/work experiences, and recognizing the life/work experiences of the older population, who may lack traditional academic degrees/training certification, “levels the playing field” and can help to provide the best individual, regardless of age and regardless of how the pertinent knowledge and skills were gained.  In a time when we, in the CAF, are focused on reconstitution, that is rebuilding the numbers we lost due to the lack of recruitment and training during the pandemic, this point seems especially relevant. As Lance Lee, in Spectre’s (1993) article on experiential learning, stated “capability is the bottom line” (p. 135). Indeed, it is!

The future of experiential learning, in terms of enabling experiences in training or in the workplace, looks bright. In fact, it would be hard to imagine one CAF school or qualification that does not have some sort of experiential learning included. In terms of civilian academic and college programs, many are offering experiential learning extended opportunities in the forms of co-ops, internships, and practicum.  

It is highly likely that these practices will continue and expand.  The implications of the greater recognition and value given to experiential learning, that I envision, will be that training and educational institutes could evolve.  It could be more the norm that students come in and out of programs to acquire what, and only what, they need to do their jobs.  They will not invest time or money, or their organization’s money, to relearn what they already know from previous workplace or school learning.  Workplaces will value experience gained equally to, if not more than, academic credentials.  Job advertisements will never list a certain degree as an absolute minimum.  The words “or equivalent experience” will always appear in advertisements- including within CAF recruitment advertisements.

Final Words

I believe that training and education should always include some form of experiential learning. Examples include through simulations, role-playing, working through scenarios, games, field trips, and many other options. Consider your target audience, consider your context, and consider what it is, in the world beyond the schoolhouse (or virtual classroom), that you are looking to achieve. The next time you, as an instructor, consider creating a long PowerPoint deck for your classroom lecture, consider how you could enable “Learning by Doing.” Your students will thank you for it!

References

Government of Canada. (2018a). Canadian Armed Forces professional development framework.

Government of Canada. (2018b). DAOD 5031-1 Canadian Forces Military Equivalencies Program.

Lewis, L.H. & Williams, C.J. (1994). In Jackson, L. & Caffarella, R.S. (Eds.). Experiential
Learning: A New Approach (pp. 5-16). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Spectre, P. H. (1993). Lance Lee: Building self-reliance, character, and boats. Wooden Boat, 114, 52-63. Published by Jossey-Bass Inc.

Sternberg, R. J., Wagner, R. K., Williams, W. M., & Horvath, J. A. (1995).Testing common sense. American Psychologist, 50(11), 912-927.

Military Operational Considerations Affecting Distance Learning Experiences

On By kimjones12In Education, Military, Research, TrainingLeave a comment
Photo credit: Major Carl Gendron, Camp Julien, Afghanistan, 2004

In terms of design, development, and delivery of distance learning (DL) for the military, it must be acknowledged that the military is a unique target population which often operates in unique contexts. Due to this fact, members often face unique challenges in relation to their DL courses. Depending on the specific operational situation, members often wish to continue their distance learning while in these settings, assuming time and circumstances can allow. My doctoral research, which focused on the overall satisfaction of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members on their DL experiences, shed some light on the experiences of members working through DL courses while on operations. This research, which was defended in 2020, included a sample of 368 CAF members who had graduated from CAF Professional Military education programs between the dates of January, 2015 and March, 2018.

In this research, I generally defined operational activities as deployments (foreign and domestic), military exercises, mission training, and working in a high readiness state for deployment.  Clearly, based on the qualitative data gleaned from interviews and survey open-ended questions, operational activities did have an effect on CAF members’ DL experiences. Many members stated that operational activities can cause difficulties with DL studies as the operational activities take members away from their normal schedules. “Certainly,” one member stated, “if you are on DL and there are taskings, deployments, whatever, forest fires, anything that can grab you away from work, that will impact your DL experience.” On the other hand, many members praised DL as a mode of delivery that can enable the continuation of professional development during operations.  One member asserted that “it’s possible to continue to engage in the learning process while deployed – if the technology supports it.”  Another stated that “DL is a viable option in various circumstances, such as while on a mission or deployed out of the country.” Another member stated that whether, “we’re looking at deployments, postings, exercises, high readiness plans… DL enables the learning process to continue through all of it.”  Another member, however, stated that some of their, “classmates had to withdraw due to deployments.” 

Several members mentioned the challenges with being able to focus on DL in an operational setting. One Senior NCM, for example, said that “understanding that when you’re in operations and deployments, the environments, the stresses, and the factors of where you are already keep you quite busy.”  One Junior Officer who had completed the Canadian Armed Forces Junior Officer Development (CAFJOD) program, while aboard a ship, stated that it was “virtually impossible” to complete the courses in a timely manner, “mainly due to inflexible work schedules (watch-keeping).”  Another member mentioned that “deployed operations present a challenge in focusing on the material at times.”  Another stated,“I did the ILP [Intermediate Leadership Program] DL while in Afghanistan.  Super busy and dangerous time.  Could not focus on the course as much as needed.”

Accessing the required equipment was sometimes a challenge that members faced on operations.  One member stated that “at sea, DL is very hard to complete, as there are few available computers that are shared between multiple users, and operational requirements have priority over individual training.” One Senior Non-Commissioned Member (NCM) made the pertinent comment that the availability of equipment during training and extended deployments is often dependent on the type of work a member is doing.  He stated, in French, that “…pour les armes de combat, notre travail est principalement concentré sur le travail manuel et de gestion de personnel. L’accès à un poste informatique est difficile […for combat arms, our work is mainly focused on manual work and personnel management. Access to a computer station is difficult].” 

The most common challenges that many members brought up regarding DL during military operations were issues of connectivity and bandwidth.  While one CAFJOD graduate said he completed three courses while deployed to Afghanistan and, “only on the odd occasion ran into any connectivity difficulties,” others reported more challenges in this respect.  Some members stated that they had dropped DL courses due to connectivity and bandwidth issues on operations.  Another mentioned the difficulty accessing good internet connections while on humanitarian relief operations, such as with the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART).

“Restricted bandwidth while sailing,” one member stated, “can significantly reduce, or stop, DL progress.”  One ILP graduate stated that “connectivity while at sea was a big problem… There was also the constant risk that you would lose connectivity altogether and lose your work.” Another stated that “if you’re deployed to Africa or something like that, who knows what kind of connection you would actually have to be able to progress it.”  Another member stated that “HMC Ship’s IT software and/or connectivity has created a lot of headaches for students.” One CAFJOD graduate stated that “bandwidth is often severely restricted, making newer DL hard to access.”  One member stated that there was a submariner on their Senior Leadership Program (SLP) course and that due to being on a submarine, “he could only participate when… surfaced, and even then…there was no real interaction [with peers or instructors].”

A couple of sailors even mentioned that members are using time in foreign ports to fulfill their DL commitments.  One Senior NCM stated that “once I was deployed onboard ship the internet wasn’t very good and [so I] had to do extra work before and download info at a café once we docked in another port. Not ideal.” Another stated that “students spend personal time in foreign ports downloading and uploading assignments,” and that, due to this fact, “their quality of life goes way down.”

Military exercises, mission preparation training, and high readiness states can also cause unique challenges to members pursuing professional development via DL.  One ILP graduate remarked that, during major exercises, it is “hard to write and send essays while living off a tank.”  Being in the field can often cause accessibility issues. One Joint Command Staff Program (JCSP) DL graduate stated that he was required to participate in mandatory field exercises during his studies.  In reference to a lack of course flexibility and connectivity while on exercise, he described the scenario he faced.  “Imagine”, he shared, “having to leave the field, go find a Tim Hortons for their Wi-Fi and have to submit content iaw [in accordance with] an arbitrary and completely inflexible timetable. Ridiculous.”  Another mentioned that members sometimes “use their BlackBerry [work cellular phone] to send essays” in the field.  Another shared that “trying to send in your last few assignments in the middle of the field in WX [Wainwright Exercise] will most definitely leave a bad taste in your mouth.”  Another member stated that “conducting DL while on exercise was extremely difficult and led to considerable corner cutting, reducing the quality of the learning.”  Others mentioned how military activities during DL led to more stress and more difficulties finding time to dedicate to DL and meeting course deadlines. 

Members suggested that granting flexibility in professional military education is paramount in enabling members’ success. Such things as allowing for deadline extensions due to other military obligations and ensuring course design flexibility, such as allowing for the downloading of course content and alternative offline activities for members who may not have access to Internet connections, would be beneficial to the military population in dealing with the military-specific considerations that can influence members’ DL experiences.

Much thanks to the members who shared their first-person accounts to help inform the CAF training and education system and enable our collective continuous improvement.

Reference

Jones, K.A. (2021). Satisfaction of Canadian Armed Forces Regular Fores Members with their Distance Learning Experiences [Dissertation]. Athabasca University.

Technology-Enabled Interactions in Distance Learning : Part 3/3 (CAF Members’ Input)

On By kimjones12In Education, Military, Research, TrainingLeave a comment
Canadian Armed Forces medic at laptop in back of a LAV
Photo Credit: DND photo IS2011-1036-02 by Sergeant Matthew McGregor

In the previous two blog articles in this serial (1/3 & 2/3), I focused more generally on the concepts of interaction in Distance Learning (DL). In this entry, I will focus specifically on the qualitative findings that I gleaned from my own mixed methods (qualitative & quantitative) doctoral research, within the context of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Although the mixed methods approach gave rich findings, I have always really wanted to specifically share with a wider readership, the words of the CAF members who responded to open-ended questions in my survey and who took part in the interviews that I conducted. In short, my research into CAF DL satisfaction included a sample of those who graduated between Jan, 2015 and March, 2018, from the Officer and Non Commissioned Members (NCM) professional military education programs, which, at the time of this research, were either delivered solely by DL or as blended learning (DL + classroom). In relation, specifically, to the Joint Command and Staff Programme (JCSP), only graduates of the DL version (with visits to the college) were part of the research sample. While, overall, 78% of these CAF members reported that they were somewhat or very satisfied with their DL experiences, 71.7% stated that, all things being equal, they would choose classroom learning over DL. Some interesting nuances emerged from the qualitative data that I happy to share here, in relation specifically to the three types of interactions in DL. More detailed research findings can be found from here.

Today, I will focus solely on DL interactions. It must be noted that this research was completed prior to the COVID pandemic, and as such, we could potentially expect different responses today, based partially on the quick stand-up many organizations moved to, including the CAF, of desktop Internet videoconferencing as a tool to enable synchronous DL. Some residential courses switched to synchronous virtual classes shortly after the pandemic began.

The first category within the theme of DL course quality, within this qualitative thematic analysis, contained members’ comments and perspectives regarding the three forms of interactions described in the previous two blog entries of this series. The interactions category included the following: 1) peer interaction, including comments about networking, 2) interactions with instructors and staff, as well as, 3) interactions with the course content.

Generally, the quality of interactions came up often in members’ qualitative responses to DL satisfaction, with many reporting that they had felt that they were missing out on what they perceived as rich face-to-face opportunities to meet, discuss, and create relationships with their peers that could benefit them throughout their careers.

Some members felt that the online asynchronous forum discussions were valuable for effective interactions with peers. One, for example, said that “they were excellent. Part of it is because you’re forced to interact.” One member said, “getting in contact online with people like that, you meet a lot of people… so I think it’s good.” Another member said that the connections with the other students were great and stated that they would stay in contact with their classmates. One member said that they liked the flexibility in that they could contribute to a discussion at any time, day or night. In an interview, one Senior NCM offered his positive perspective on one aspect of interactions in DL:

“One of the things that distance learning will enable, when we’re looking at group discussion kind of formats, is typically, when you get people physically in a room, group dynamics always take over. You’re going to have one or two people that will naturally take charge of the room, you’ll have one or two people who won’t say a word even if you come around and poke them with a pen and, then, you get the fence-sitters who can go either way. In the virtual chat room [discussion forum] everyone has a voice and they’re not afraid to express opinions.”

Other members, however, found the value of the DL interactions compared negatively to in-class peer interaction. Some stated that students were often just posting the bare minimum to meet the course requirements and that the forum discussions were not engaging. Many stated that they felt they would learn more in an in-class situation rather than, as one member put it, from, “the cold face of a screen.” One Intermediate Leadership Programme (ILP) graduate said that he found himself, “unable to fully engage with other participants.” Another stated that the DL experience, “isolated the users and did not really allow for positive discussions amongst peers.” One Senior Leadership Programme (SLP) graduate stated that “for leadership and command courses nothing [referring to DL] beats face time and learning from others, ‘Friday night in the shacks learning over beers with peers.’” Another stated that “it’s easier to appreciate other experiences when soldiers are assembled in one location.”

One ILP graduate stated, in reference to DL, that “there is no human component, experience, lessons learned. There is no feeling of camaraderie, team building etc.” Another ILP graduate stated that “the over reliance of computers has taken the “human” interaction away from most courses. The “tech net” used to be formed when sitting in a class with peers from different areas.” Another stated that a negative impact of DL, beyond the immediate training, is the “general group mentorship by rank or trade.” Another member stated that DL does not improve our people skills and, “leads to more people ‘leading by email.’” Several of the JCSP graduates shared that they felt the online forums were more effective after the cohort met face to face during the residential visit halfway through the DL course. Some also felt that, following the program, the students from the residential version of the JCSP seem, “to have a greater network of peers and mentors than DL students.”

Some members found that discussions in DL forums were lacking in depth as it was, as one member put it, “difficult to gauge an individual’s perspective without being able to read body language and identify tone.” Another mused that “you don’t get the facial expressions, you don’t get the gestures, you don’t get the intonations.” As one member described, “some things come across as very pointed where they’re not intended to be.” Another member explained that “text and narrative can be taken out of context and read in many different ways,” and yet another member said that “it’s hard to bring emotion into a conversation through a computer screen or through an online chat forum.”

The Canadian Armed Forces Junior Officer Development (CAFJOD) program and the Primary Leadership Qualification (PLQ) did not incorporate any peer interaction in the DL course design. A Junior Officer who had completed the CAFJOD program stated that it was, “a solo endeavor.” Although he said that discussions with peers, outside of the courses, were encouraged, you “have to sit down and do the course all by yourself.” A graduate of the PLQ course suggested that DL courses, “need to be a little bit more interactive.” When I asked him to explain what “more interactive” would be like, he replied with examples such as, “being able to talk to other students,” and “more networking and bouncing ideas and having to work together.” He also reflected that “maybe through other people you can actually learn the information a little bit better yourself.” When asked if any of this type of interactivity was seen in his PLQ, he stated, “None. There was zero.”

Some Advanced Leadership Programme (ALP) graduates shared their disappointment that there was no longer a residential portion of the ALP in that it was presently delivered solely via DL. One ALP graduate stated, “I am extremely dissatisfied with the DL package. It does not foster networking, nor does it allow us to broaden our experience with other trades.” Another member stated that “ALP should have a small portion by DL and bring back the residential portion since that is where your networking is establish[ed] which you cannot have online. The face-to-face interaction is definitely necessary.”

Interactions with instructors were also seen as an important issue in members’ discussions regarding their satisfaction with their DL experiences. There was a range of levels of satisfaction with instructor interactions. Some said that they communicated with instructors through the messages and online forum discussions on the Defence Learning Network (DLN) / Learning Management System (LMS), some via email, and some communicated on the telephone. One member said that they found the interactions with instructors to be “adequate,” and another said, “effective.” One Senior NCM that I interviewed, who had completed the SLP, stated that the course staff were, “always there to help.”

On the other hand, some members felt that the interactions with their instructors and staff left something to be desired. The interaction, one member stated, was “effective but very brief and not necessarily personable.” In terms of feedback, one PLQ graduate hinted at his displeasure saying that it should be made “mandatory for instructors to respond within a given time period.” A Senior NCM stated, in reference to the interactions with instructors, that he was “not overly satisfied… it was more process management than people management.” He suggested this could be improved by “more feedback on how we’re communicating, more feedback on things that we’re doing, greater interactive sessions.” In terms of the online discussions, another member stated that “the instructors could have been involved. They could have actually chimed in, they could have given some feedback directly in the middle of conversations, they could have redirected conversations or opened up the conversations much more,” and that this probably would have, “elicited a little more.”

A Junior Officer who had completed the CAFJOD program explained that “there’s no instructors on CAFJOD” and that the course is, “entirely self-serve.” He stated that any questions a student may have were to be directed to the Chain of Command.

As for interactions with the course content, members reported that, depending on the different courses, they accessed the content in different ways, such as the following: on the LMS, by downloading pdfs or accessing content through provided links and electronic libraries, both from internal and external sources; and, in some cases, through content and references that were either mailed or emailed. One member said that there were “phenomenal resources” that were “easy-to-access.” A JCSP graduate stated that “the content as provided was easily accessible, you could get it, you could read it.”

As you can see, there were a range of levels of satisfaction with the interactions within the CAF Professional Development Programs for Officers and NCMs and I have, obviously, not represented all comments here. The sentiments within, however, generally speaking, were also supported by the quantitative data. In my opinion, many of the issues that were brought up in this research regarding interactions, could be addressed somewhat with the use of the newly available technologies, such as desktop videoconferencing now available to all CAF members. Even at a physical distance, a blended approach including technologies that enable synchronous interactions via, for example, MS Teams or the DLN virtual classroom, and asynchronous, for example, via the DLN LMS, could offer even more opportunities for valuable learning interactions via DL than prior to the COVID pandemic.

As stated in earlier articles in this series, higher quality interactions, in various forms (i.e., learner-content, learner-to-instructor, and learner-leaner) has the potential to lead to a more satisfying learning experience. While, there may sometimes be roadblocks (e.g., bandwidth, Internet access), we should make all attempts to optimize the training technologies available to us to the benefit of our students.

For further information, including the quantitative data of my research in relations to DL interactions, feel free to pursue my full dissertation linked below. More discussions related to this research’s findings, in relation to training technologies and military-specific considerations for DL, will follow in future blog articles.

Reference

Jones, K.A. (2021). Satisfaction of Canadian Armed Forces Regular Fores Members with their Distance Learning Experiences [Dissertation]. Athabasca University.

Technology-Enabled Interactions in Distance Learning : Part 2/3

On By kimjones12In Education, Training1 Comment

In part 1/3 of this series, which you can find here, I discussed the importance of interactivity in distance learning (DL) and how technology has supported it to an increasing degree over history. In many contexts, the move to DL has quickly increased due to necessity during the COVID pandemic. Restating Anderson (2003), learning can be successful as long as one type of interaction is very well done i.e. learner-to-content, learner-to-instructor, or learner-to-peer. However, instructional design that successfully incorporates more types of interaction, “will likely provide a more satisfying educational experience” (p. 3).

If you, as an instructional designer, developer, instructor, or technological support for a training/educational institute, wish to provide a more satisfying learning experience to your students, I offer the following, with relation to the three forms of interactions, to consider in the context of DL.

Learner-to-Instructor

Traditionally, in a face-to-face classroom course, students have interacted with their instructor before or after class, through feedback on assignments and sometimes through meetings that take place during office hours.  The availability of the instructor has often been quite limited and the student may need to adjust their schedule in order to meet with the instructor during office hours.  The instructor’s role in this form of interaction often includes lecturing on the course material, offering assistance and feedback on assignments to the students, and facilitating course activities and discussions.  The student’s role in this form of interaction often includes clarifying content and instructions with the instructor, taking part in discussions on the content, and providing course feedback, as needed. 

With newer technologies available to better enable DL, there are many options that can increase learner-to-instructor interaction.  Students can interact asynchronously with their instructors through email addresses and through Learning Management Systems’ (LMS) internal messaging.  Instructors often communicate with students within LMS threaded discussion forums on the course content, and news and social forums.  LMSs often offer a chat system which allows for instant messaging as an interaction option.  Video conferencing tools, such as MS Teams, and/or virtual classrooms, can also be used to enhance synchronous learner-to-instructor interactions. 

It is important for instructors and academic institutes to consider which of these technologies optimize the potential for interactions between learners and instructors.  From an administrative perspective, students should feel that they have sufficient access to the instructor, without the instructor having to be ‘on-call’ 24 hours a day. From a learning perspective, students should, either synchronously or asynchronously, be prompted and challenged by their facilitators who work to add depth to the learning process and outcomes.

Learner-to-Learner

As someone who strongly values sharing ideas and discussing concepts, this type of interaction is very important towards enriching learning experiences. Traditionally in a face-to-face classroom, students have interacted with other students in different ways.  Some classes have tutorial sessions where students would work together to solve problems.  Sometimes courses have group discussions where students hash out ways in which to deal with certain scenarios.  Sometimes in these face-to-face situations, the more extroverted and dominate students engage fully in these discussions, while introverted students listen and quietly reflect.  After-class discussions “around the water-cooler,” can sometimes lead to informal and social learning about classroom subjects.  

Newer technologies in DL have advanced the ways in which students can interact with each other.  Some of the examples include online discussion forums and communities of practice, group work through the use of wikis and other collaboration tools, and large group discussion in a video-conference or virtual classroom. 

Discussion forums are one of the most common types of learner-to-learner interaction tools being used in asynchronous DL.  They allow flexibility so that students can have the time to research in order to provide a more thoughtful response than they may have offered in a synchronous classroom discussion.  Kassop (2003), an experienced classroom and DL instructor, posed the following thoughtful question to his readers, “When was the last time that you saw that many well-reasoned responses in a F2F [face-to-face] setting from the majority of the students in attendance?” (para. 8) As someone who enjoys the time to formulate a good response, I appreciate this distinction.

The role of learner-to-learner interactions include into DL, achieved through the use of technologies, can remove the feelings of isolation that can often accompany DL when it is merely a “solo endeavor.”  Students can learn from each other through discussing others’ thoughts, interpretations, and former experiences.  It can build a “sense of community” which research has shown is “an important factor for maximizing student satisfaction with the experience” (Shackelford & Maxwell, 2012, p.229). 

Learner-to-Content

Traditionally in a face-to-face classroom setting, students have interacted with course content by reading textbooks and by listening to lectures while taking notes. Traditional forms of correspondence courses have also been primarily focused on students reading a study package received in the mail.  

Newer technologies have advanced the ways in which students can interact with the content.  Although reading content is still common, students can now normally access all content online through the use of a Learning Management System (LMS).  Often text can be accessed as a file attached to the LMS or a link that leads the students to a file on the internet.  Although these are common practices for access to content, new and innovative ways for students to interact with content are increasing with the use of ever-evolving technologies. Students often watch videos through the use of a websites such as YouTube or Vimeo or streaming through their LMS. They listen to podcasts created by an instructor or subject matter expert.  Links can be provided within the electronic content to supplemental reading on Internet sites in order to offer students more information to build upon what they are learning.  Games can also be used as ways to offer variation and grab the learner’s interest. Different types of 3D simulation can now also provide more experimental learning, offering an immersive environment where students can practice scenarios related to the course content and even interact with 3D characters (not quite learner-to-learner interaction but it can make for an interesting alternative!).

The main role of this type of interaction in relation to DL, supported by different types of technologies, is to provide the learner with the content at a distance, whether that be 10 meters away or internationally.  Students can then read, watch, listen, interact with, and reflect upon the content in various ways.  Technologies can often improve the learner’s experience by making it more dynamic and active.  It can also make learning more student-centered in that students exert more power over how they learn (e.g., the choice to watch a video or to read a text), and how much focus they place on the various subjects or modules based on their previous knowledge and experience.

Discussion: How Technologies Can Support or Impede Interaction

Technologies in DL can enable the three forms of educational interaction.  As many of the examples given above have demonstrated, technologies can enhance interactions to improve the learning experience of the students.  Adult learners often require flexibility in when, how, and where they interact with content, instructors, and peers and technologies can help provide this.  Technologies can also support educational interactions for adult learners who may otherwise feel isolated by DL. I know from my own experiences during post-graduate studies, the three forms of interactions in DL provided me intellectually stimulating learning experiences when I might not have otherwise had these opportunities e.g., being home full-time with an infant or during the COVID pandemic lock-downs.

On the other hand, technology problems can also impede good interactions.  If technologies fail or cause frustration to students or instructors who may be less ‘tech-savvy’, for example, it can cause negative attitudes which may, in turn, cause them to try to avoid attempting interactions.  Power outages, bandwidth issues, and workplace firewalls (which many of us are far too familiar with!) are all examples that can lead to frustrated students whose abilities are impeded in successfully interacting with content, instructor, or peers.

While there are many technology options available to an educational institution, careful consideration must be given to choosing technologies which enhance and support interactions to optimize learning outcomes.  Any issues with technologies that may impede interactions should be considered beforehand and contingency plans put in place (e.g., pdf versions of downloadable content should be made available to students who, intermittently, may be unable access the Internet due to connection issues or international travel).

In the third and final blog article of this series, I will share some of my doctoral research findings, specifically related to DL interactions and technology within my own organization, the Canadian Armed Forces.

References

Anderson, T. (2003). Getting the mix right again: An updated and theoretical rationale for interaction. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 4(2), 1-14.

Kassop, M. (2003). Ten ways online education matches, or surpasses, face-to-face learning. The Technology Source, May-June.

Shackelford, J. L., & Maxwell, M. (2012).Sense of community in graduate online education: Contribution of learner-learner interaction. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 13(4), 228-249. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1339

Technology-Enabled Interactions in Distance Learning : Part 1/3

On By kimjones12In Education, Training2 Comments

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many traditional in-class courses, quickly, and often out of necessity, made the leap into distance learning (DL). Within different contexts, including academic, government, and military, many educational employees, including designers, developers, instructors, and administrators, made haste in order to rapidly acquire and practice new online skills. Some of these were specifically related to using online technologies, which were often new to the employees, such as virtual classrooms, desktop videoconferencing, and Learning Management Systems. Some of these new skills were related to optimizing training methodologies in an online format. Many of these skills were related to online facilitation, such as providing prompting questions in a threaded discussion forum for asynchronous DL, or, specifically within a synchronous DL environment, skills such as enabling online virtual discussions while simultaneously managing instant chat messages on the side, and enabling group work via virtual breakout rooms and/or collaborative document creation with Internet tools, such as Google Docs.

In these examples, technology has fulfilled a vital role in enabling the further adoption of DL, while providing opportunities for educational practitioners to offer students the three types of DL interactions: 1) learner to content; 2) learner to instructor; and 3) learner to learner (Moore and Kearsley (1996). With acknowledgment for the efforts of our organizations’ technology teams, we have, indeed, come a long way in a short time. The O365 MS-Teams rapid implementation federal-government wide (including DND/CAF) following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic was, in some cases, a training lifesaver!

Long gone are the days of the “correspondence courses” when students received a huge package of course materials in the postal mail and set out on a lonely educational journey on the kitchen table (e.g., many of my more senior CAF colleagues and our Veterans may recall the Officer Professional Development Program (OPDPs) that dated all the way back to the 1970’s). Even earlier than that, as seen in the picture above, children, in the 1930’s, would gather around the home radio to hear school lessons due to the Polio epidemics. We have obviously seen significant changes in technology over the years and it continues to evolve providing new DL enabling tools.

There has been much research in the field of DL regarding the importance of interactions.  In response to a general frustration with the all-too-common boring “page-turner” DL courses, more and more learning practitioners are questioning how educational technologies can help maximize interactions to improve the learning experience of students. Technologies are now successfully being used in educational settings, not only to mimic the types of interaction that we have traditionally used in face-to-face classrooms, but to surpass commonly accepted classroom practices and create new innovative learning experiences for DL students (e.g. polls, online white boards, Internet learning games).          

Interaction in DL Defined

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, interaction can be defined as a, “mutual or reciprocal action or influence” (Interaction, 2022).  The previously shared three types of interaction remain true whether we discuss the traditional classroom setting or DL. An asynchronous DL course, that has little to no interaction with an instructor or other learners, may have its uses in certain circumstances and may be effective if done very well, but, from my own experience, is often less interesting and engaging. Anderson (2003) supports this in that he stated, “deep and meaningful formal learning is supported as long as one of the three forms of interaction (student-teacher; student-student; student-content) exists at a high level. The other two may be offered at minimal levels, or even eliminated, without degrading the educational experience. High levels of more than one of these modes,” however, “will likely provide a more satisfying educational experience” (p. 3).  This has been my experience. When possible, maximizing all three of these types of interaction is a worthy goal for instructional designers, developers, and instructors, if/when budget and time permit.

Two other types of educational interactions in DL have been postulated by educational theorists.  Hillman, Willis and Gunawardena (1994), interestingly, suggested that ‘learner to interface’ is another important type of interaction. Soo and Bonk (1998) also suggested ‘learner to self’ as another form of interaction in education.  It can be described as the reflections that the learner has regarding the course content. Reflective learning will surely be a future blog topic, as I am an enthusiastic believer in its value.

In the second part of this blog article, I will discuss, in more depth, the three types of interaction in DL and how technologies can either support or impede them. In the third part of this series, I will share some of the findings from my own doctoral research (Jones, 2020), i.e., 1) the importance of incorporating interactions in DL, and 2) DL technology in relation to learner satisfaction, both within the Canadian Armed Forces professional development context.

References

Anderson, T. (2003). Getting the mix right again: An updated and theoretical rationale for interaction. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 4(2), 1-14.

Hillman, D. C., Willis, D. J., and Gunawardena, C. N. (1994). Learner-Interface Interaction in Distance Education: An extension of contemporary models and strategies for practitioners. The American Journal of Distance Education, 8(2), 30-42.

Interaction. (2022). Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interaction

Jones, K.A. (2021). Satisfaction of Canadian Armed Forces Regular Fores Members with their Distance Learning Experiences [Dissertation]. Athabasca University.

Moore, M., and Kearsley, G. (1996). Distance Education: A systems view. Belmont, CA.: Wadsworth.

Soo, K. S. and Bonk, C. J. (1998) Interaction: what does it mean in online distance education? Paper presented at the Ed-Media and EdTelecom 98 Conference, Freibourg, Germany.

Doctor of Education Dissertation: Satisfaction of Canadian Armed Forces Regular Force Members with their Distance Learning Experiences

As my first blog post and on the two year anniversary of my successful defence, I am pleased to share with you the synopsis of my doctoral dissertation, along with the link to the full version. I graduated in 2020 with a Doctor of Education degree (EdD) in Distance Education from Athabasca University with a dissertation titled, “Satisfaction of Canadian Armed Forces Regular Force Members with their Distance Learning Experiences.” I will surely have further musings about the results of the research, as well as my own personal learning journey towards its completion, in future posts. I share with you here the synopsis. The link to the full dissertation is also below if you wish to explore more. I also have a shorter summary version (~10 pages) available (upon request) that was published as a scientific letter by the Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC).

Abstract:

The use of distance learning (DL) as a training and education delivery method has been on the rise within the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) as a way of optimizing funding to the training system while still maintaining a high standard.  Since research has shown relationships between student satisfaction and various positive outcomes, such as training retention and readiness to transfer learning to the workplace, the satisfaction of CAF learners is an important area of inquiry. This research explored the satisfaction levels of CAF members with their DL experiences, how different variables related to that satisfaction, and how military-specific considerations affected members’ DL experiences. 

This mixed methods research involved a sample of CAF members who had completed, within approximately the past three years, one of seven CAF professional development courses/programs that were delivered via DL or in a blended DL and classroom format.  The study used a two-phase mixed-methods research design that included data collection in the form of an online survey distributed to 1310 CAF Regular Force members, which yielded 368 usable questionnaires, followed by 12 follow-up interviews.   Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and correlation analyses, as well as factor analyses and multiple regression.  Qualitative data were analyzed using coding frequency analyses and thematic content analysis, which added depth concerning CAF members’ personal experiences. 

The findings showed a relatively high level of satisfaction, but that given the choice between delivery modes, a much higher percentage of members would choose classroom over DL.  The exploration of demographic, course quality, support, and perception variables in relation to overall DL satisfaction shed some light on potential reasons for these findings.  Recommendations were provided to encourage continuous improvement of CAF DL programs.

Click to access JonesSatisfactionofCanadianArmedRegularForceMemberswithTheirDistanceLearningExperiencesApril2020.pdf

On By kimjones12In Education, Military, Research7 Comments