Abstract:

In modern education, there is an increasing emphasis on the ability to act in complex, unpredictable situations and make decisions that require creativity, critical thinking, and team coordination (OECD, 2019, Thornhill-Mille et al., 2023). These competencies are also essential in military education, where they are developed consistently through tactical decision-making processes and training based on real, often extreme situations (Teixeira et al., 2024). At the Military Academy of Lithuania, a combination of tactical decision-making and creative problem solving (CPS) methods is applied in some university study modules, aiming to develop cadets' ability to act in uncertainty, generate innovative ideas, and make responsible decisions. This integration of methods is based on the SQF-MILOF (Sectoral Qualification Framework for the Military Officer Profession) (2020) competency model, which defines the professional, leadership, strategic thinking, ethics, collaboration and creativity skills required of officers of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. This practice reveals that military education methods can be successfully adapted to civilian education, especially in the areas of creativity, critical thinking, and acting in uncertain situations.

The research question: How can situation-based tactical decision-making principles be integrated with the CPS methodology to strengthen student creativity, ability to act under uncertainty, and effectiveness of decision-making? The study examines how tactical thinking structures can be applied in university modules, how CPS stages align with tactical decision-making processes, and what insights emerge from the experience of the Military Academy of Lithuania in combining these two approaches.

The research data were obtained using cadet feedback questionnaires collected during the Public Management module, which applies group work combining tactical decision making and CPS in analysing current public management and defence system situations. The questionnaire consists of closed and open questions. The research assesses such aspects as: realism and uncertainty of the situation; team dynamics - roles, communication, joint decision-making, leadership manifestation, and ability to coordinate actions; application of CPS method; application of tactical decision-making principles; role interaction and ability to coordinate decisions between different actors; individual progress of participants (situation analysis skills, decision-making under uncertainty, reasoning, leadership, and personal confidence).

The results of the study showed that the combination of tactical decision making and CPS methods provides new opportunities to develop creativity. The experience of military education shows that creativity means not only generating ideas, but also the ability to act, react, and make decisions under dynamic and unexpected conditions. Cadets noted that situational training with tactical decision making and CPS helped them to understand problems more clearly, generate alternatives faster, and coordinate the team more effectively. They also identified the strengthening of the abilities to solve problems with limited information, communicate in a team, assessing risks, flexibly to changes, combining different opinions, and apply creative solutions in situations without a clear answer.

Keywords:

Creativity, situational learning, tactical decision-making, creative problem solving, military education, Lithuanian case.