Sgt. 1st Class Marion Fox stands in front of his class explaining the finer points of master data elements in the Defense Travel System and the Army's General Fund Enterprise Business System during phase one of the 94th Training Division's Finance Senior Leaders Course at Fort Dix, N.J. 

The FSLC is designed to improve students’ practical skills in the field of Army finance, so learning to navigate between DTS and GFEBS is an essential component of ensuring that soldiers get the money they're owed.

Fox, however, is not an instructor, but a student attending his second day of the FSLC.

In accordance with the Army Learning Model, which is based on The U.S. Army Learning Concept for 2015, each student is required to study a particular lesson and then teach a block of instruction to their classmates while course instructors supervise and give advice. The ALM, which implements principles of adult learning, reduces instructor-led slide presentations and emphasizes a more facilitative approach to teaching.

Fox, who’s assigned to the Colorado Army National Guard's Joint Force Headquarters, said, putting together his own lesson plan and then teaching the class gave him confidence, because he understood the material. He said, it also made him better equipped to trouble shoot specific problems, and identify exactly how to resolve certain issues. 

Master Sgt. Maria Ramos, a course instructor, said that by working through the lessons with each other, the students get a much more in-depth education and a richer experience than a simple lecture could provide. 

“When it's one of their own, they get more involved,” she said.  “They know that at one point or another, they're going to be up there, so they try to make it easier for that instructor...they help each other throughout the classes.”