Download or read book How to Develop Critical Thinking Skills Within the Army's Officer Eduction System (OES) Earlier in an Officer's Career written by Joseph Blanding and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Critical thinking skills are required by strategic leaders to solve complex problems in an environment teeming with uncertainty as illustrated in the latest Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). More often than not, strategic leaders do not foster those critical thinking skills until later in their military careers. Past chiefs of staff across the Department of Defense have expressed concern about the abilities of strategic leaders to manage multiple tasks simultaneously while meeting future demands. Often, early in one's career, junior leaders are limited with thinking critically due to their experience level, time span, and tapered curriculum of the Basic Course and Captain's Career Course (CCC). The curriculum at Command and General Staff Officer's Course (CGSOC) and the War College includes critical thinking. However, it is less than sufficient for collaring the complexity of the full-spectrum operating environment. Attendance at the CGSOC and the various War Colleges is restricted to the top percentage of officers. Thus, the development of critical thinking skills is necessary at the Basic Course and CCC since all officers will attend these schools. Investigation of the phenomenon indicates that the development of critical thinking skills is not a focus at the Basic Course or CCC. As a result, the Army desires to explore how to refine the Officer Education System (OES) in order to enhance the critical thinking skills of the officer corps much earlier in their careers? To answer this question, a qualitative hermeneutic inquiry was conducted that focused on strategies to develop/improve critical thinking skills of officers at the Basic Course and CCC. Three conceptual strands guided this inquiry: 1) The Army's Officer Education System (OES); 2) Critical Thinking Skills; and the 3) Development of Critical Thinking Skills. Documents are the only source of data and content analysis was used to code the documents in order to provide meaning of the phenomenon under study. v Four major themes were revealed as a result of the process: 1) Creating a safe environment; 2) Factors associated with critical thinking; 3) Underprepared Teachers; and 4) Ineffective Instructional Practices. Six recommendations were formulated as a result of the findings: 1) Assign a complex problem to members of the Basic and Captain Career Course for solutions; 2) Provide an opportunity for officers to attend civilian classes focused on developing critical thinking skills; 3) Consider reculturing of the Army in order to facilitate critical thinking at all levels of war; 4) Implement research based strategies within this study at the Basic Course and CCC; 5) Implement teacher development to facilitate critical thinking skills; and 6) Conduct future research to assess the value of Critical Thinking courses at the Army's CGSOC and War College. If implemented, the recommendations of this study can have a positive effect on the likelihood of strategic leaders possessing refined critical thinking skills capable of solving complex problems encountered at all levels of war."--Abstract.