Immersive PME: Building Habits of Mind Beyond the Classroom

Abstract

Classroom Professional Military Education alone is insufficient to provide the requisite cognitive capability to design, plan, and command major operations and campaigns.  Professional Military Education is a topic of constant discourse. Taking the education beyond the classroom by adding case studies, war game techniques, and field studies develops field grade officers’ intuition, knowledge, analytical planning skills, and commanders’ empathy. This article covers a campaign of learning to build upon traditional andragogical methods by incorporating vigorous techniques to immerse war college students in the art of decision-making at the operational level of war.

Staff ride programs engage students intellectually and physically, foster critical thinking and collaborative planning, and enhance their understanding of the operational level of war. This article details a three-step process by which to design, deliver, and assess staff rides as part of a continuum of learning in the Professional Military Education process. The focus is on immersive learning experiences, practical applications, and the development of cognitive skills necessary for military operations. The article concludes that a carefully constructed staff ride program places students in the decision-making process through an intense, immersive experiential education to deepen their understanding and application of operational art.