WHINSEC Instructors continue their professional development

By Milton Mariani RodriguezOctober 25, 2021

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Eduardo J. Larumbe and Maj. Assad A. Raza participate on the Contemporary Learning Experience Design distance learning training. Offered by the Mission Support Center of Excellence (MSCoE), G-3 Academics, Learning Experience Lab Community, the course takes a student centric approach which takes into account students and their unique needs to better facilitate learning. The course took place from Oct 18 to the 22.
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Eduardo J. Larumbe and Maj. Assad A. Raza participate on the Contemporary Learning Experience Design distance learning training. Offered by the Mission Support Center of Excellence (MSCoE), G-3 Academics, Learning Experience Lab Community, the course takes a student centric approach which takes into account students and their unique needs to better facilitate learning. The course took place from Oct 18 to the 22. (Photo Credit: Milton Mariani Rodriguez) VIEW ORIGINAL
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn,” Alvin Toffler

FORT BENNING, GA – During the week of October 18 to the 22, several of WHINSEC instructors took advantage of distance learning training offered by the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence (MSCoE), G-3 Academics, Learning Experience Lab Community.

“WHINSEC’s Center for Faculty and Staff Development (CFSD) requested the training. Its purpose is to provide our facilitators with alternate didactic tools in the event that a situation merits that we deliver the Common Faculty Development – Instructor Course (CFD-IC) in a blended (resident & Non-resident) format,” said Gabriel Ossa, Instructional Systems Specialist supervisor.

The objective of this course is to develop your skills around improving Army learning experiences using contemporary design and facilitation techniques. Facilitators use these techniques to help their students make connections between the instruction and the practice. By implementing learning techniques, which draw upon students’ experiences, both in and out of the classroom, it helps them develop specific significant skills.

“The Learning Experience Design (LXD) takes a student centric approach which takes into account students and their unique needs to better facilitate learning,” said U.S. Army Maj. Assad A. Raza, instructor with School of Professional Military Education.
Mr. Jose R. Quiñonez, Instructional Systems Specialist with WHINSEC's Center for Faculty and Staff Development participates on the Contemporary Learning Experience Design distance learning training. Offered by the Mission Support Center of Excellence (MSCoE), G-3 Academics, Learning Experience Lab Community, the course takes a student centric approach which takes into account students and their unique needs to better facilitate learning. The course took place from Oct 18 to the 22.
Mr. Jose R. Quiñonez, Instructional Systems Specialist with WHINSEC's Center for Faculty and Staff Development participates on the Contemporary Learning Experience Design distance learning training. Offered by the Mission Support Center of Excellence (MSCoE), G-3 Academics, Learning Experience Lab Community, the course takes a student centric approach which takes into account students and their unique needs to better facilitate learning. The course took place from Oct 18 to the 22. (Photo Credit: Milton Mariani Rodriguez) VIEW ORIGINAL

During this course, the WHINSEC facilitators: explored and conducted team-building activities, discovered contemporary methods of providing learning experiences; developed a military course framework using rapid learning experience development techniques; and defined adjustments to those techniques required for online training.

“LXD is a great tool that could be implemented quickly at WHINSEC. It complements the Experimental Learning Model (ELM) and enhances students learning experience to better retain information and successfully meet learning objectives,” added Raza.

Fellow WHINSEC instructor and course participant, Army Lt. Col. Eduardo J. Larumbe was extremely impressed with the training.

“A great experiential workshop!” The ability of the facilitators to provide contextual challenges in which each of the participants were able to decide and develop flexible and alternative solutions to our current learning environment, was excellent,” said Larumbe.
Diagram of the contemporary learning experience design.  A dynamic process that takes contemporary design and facilitation techniques in order to improve Army learning experiences.
Diagram of the contemporary learning experience design. A dynamic process that takes contemporary design and facilitation techniques in order to improve Army learning experiences. (Photo Credit: Milton Mariani Rodriguez) VIEW ORIGINAL

The integration of contemporary learning experiences into military learning brings to life the vision expressed in the Army Learning Concept and empowers military learners with deeper and lasting learning to help them perform better in the tasks they are to master. Supporting the faster time to mastery is essential for mentally agile service members in the challenging roles they find themselves navigating.