<p> This study examined three different instructional delivery modalities in order to identify the best practices for training and education of military personnel from the Department of Defense (DOD) in preparation for supporting civilian authorities during emergencies, disasters, and catastrophic events. This quantitative research sought to identify the best practices for military education recognizing the instructional delivery that results in the highest student academic performance and the highest level of personal learning satisfaction in order to identify program effectiveness and maximize the use of educational budget for DOD.</p><p> The population for this research study consisted of nine hundred students (n=900), divided into three groups of 300 students who graduated from the US Army North (USARNORTH) training program for Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA) course level II, conducted from 2012 to 2014. Each group was composed of five courses of 60 students each who have completed the Defense Support to Civilian Authorities (DSCA) program via one of the three instructional delivery methods: face-to-face instruction, n=300; digital instruction, n=300; or web-based instruction, n=300. This study used secondary data collected from 2012 to 2014 from students’ academic final grades and satisfaction survey feedback to identify the best instructional methodology. The finding after conducting all statistical analyses reveled that in fact the overall, type of instruction significantly affected participants’ reported course satisfaction and course success, even when controlling for educational level, branch of service, gender, and instructor teaching experience. Based upon the findings, participants who received face to face instruction had higher course success (final grades) than did participants who had web-based and digital instruction. Participants who had face-to-face instruction also reported higher course satisfaction than did participants who had web-based and digital instruction. When examining the differences between digital and web-based instruction, parametric and nonparametric findings suggests that when controlling for demographic covariates, participants who had web-based instruction were more likely to report higher satisfaction responses than were participants who had digital instruction. However, the results were mixed between webbased and digital instruction for course success. Finally, the results of this study provide a better understanding of the most effective instructional approach and practical contributions that could improve current military education modalities and enhance instruction delivery by supporting face to face education as the instructional method that provides a higher level of students ‘success and satisfaction which can be used to justify allocation of funds and resources for educational programs for DOD which is currently impacted by a ten-year cut in spending due to caps instituted by the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 (Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR2014). xviii</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3690543 |
| Date | 27 February 2015 |
| Creators | Manrique, Daniel R. |
| Publisher | TUI University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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