A Systems Approach for Learning to Learn Together In Situ

This monograph documents the scientific and technical initiative conducted from March 2008 to March 2010 sponsored by the Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG). The purpose of this effort was to help define and develop a novel approach to institutional training and education (OBTE*) that reconceptualized outcomes in terms of behavioral manifestations of Army values. The key contributions of the initiative are that (a) the gap between Army instruction and Full Spectrum Operations can be viewed in terms of the relationship between singular focus on tangible, near-term objectives and the resulting effect on intangible attributes valued by Army leaders; (b) everything that is done in Army training and education has an impact on this relationship whether one addresses it or not; (c) this impact can be understood and described, allowing leadership to make informed decisions in terms of verifiable observations and valid scientific reasoning; (d) OBTE is an approach that can be utilized to inform leaders at all levels on the direction their unit is moving in the development of leadership traits, problem solving skills and intangible attributes; (e) the approach can be verified and validated; and (f) it can bring specifications for tasks, conditions, and standards into a closer and more complete correspondence with doctrinal requirements for training and education in the Army. These contributions are believed to lay a foundation for continued development of training and education practices to support the complexity of military operations in Full Spectrum Operations.

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* The term Outcomes-Based Training & Education (OBTE) subsequently was changed to Adaptive Soldier Leader Training and Education (ASLTE) to avoid confusion with private sector initiatives in "outcomes-based education" that are fundamentally different.