Improving Leadership Training at the United States Naval Academy by Utilizing Interactive Multimedia Instruction (IMI)

This thesis addresses several issues identified in the analysis and design phases of the Instructional Systems Development process to develop an IMI leadership program for the Naval Academy. The overarching goal is to provide the Naval Academy with a study that uses current research and existing innovative leadership programs to answer questions that need to be resolved in developing a program consistent with the Naval Academy's leadership training philosophy. The results suggest that an IMI program can be developed that is consistent with the Naval Academy's leadership development program. The IMI leadership program must incorporate learning theories utilized by midshipmen including observational learning and the Experiential Learning Model. Of the leadership training methods reviewed, the most promising include role playing, simulation, and behavior modeling implemented through interactive multimedia instruction. It was concluded that an IMI leadership program must include learning objectives that take into account not only the theories of leadership taught at the Naval Academy, but also the situational components of leadership. Methods for developing scenarios consistent with the many leadership and counseling theories taught at the Naval Academy, linking past decisions to selection of future scenarios, modeling personality, and providing effective feedback to the midshipmen and the Naval Academy for performance measurement are discussed.Naval Postgraduate School Monterey CA is the author of 'Improving Leadership Training at the United States Naval Academy by Utilizing Interactive Multimedia Instruction (IMI)', published 1999 under ISBN 9781423542438 and ISBN 1423542436.