Do you know what you’re doing?
Many folks who find themselves engaged in the task of congregational education tend to be able to jump right in and keep the programs running. And they do an acceptable, if not admirable, job of keeping things going smoothly. Programs run efficiently, people are happy, and no one complains. But dig a little and it becomes apparent that, for many, there is not much theological reflection or educational thinking below the surface of what may appear to be a successful program. The danger here is that efficiency is not necessarily an indicator of educational effectiveness.
Operating from a pragmatist orientation, those educators can talk about curricular products, techniques, the procedures they follow, and even intangibles like teacher satisfaction, learner enthusiasm, and membership support of the programs. But they likely will get confused if you start asking questions about educational philosophy, educational approaches, process, structure, format, and procedure—those things that are necessary for an effective educational enterprise.
During a recent conversation with a congregational educator he reached a point of frustration when, attempting to come to grips with terminologies, he became more confused the more he thought about the matter. I complimented him on the insight. I asked, “How many other congregational educators out there do you think are even AWARE of these concept categories and their meaning? Most are not even at the stage you currently are: aware enough to realize that they don’t have an accurate grasp of the concepts at the heart of their work.â€
Which begs the question: “Do you know what you’re doing?†Lacking clarity about these concepts how can one be effective in the educational enterprise?
As a habit I stress for my students the importance of using terms correctly in order to facilitate accurate communication, right decisions, and to avoid fuzzy thinking. Below is a chart to get started on working toward clarity about these educational categories. They exist at various levels, but all are interrelated and universal in their relevance to creating an effective educational enterprise. Do you know the difference between a method and a technique? What’s the difference between a process and a procedure? When you encounter a problem are you able to discern whether it has to do with format or structure?
The chart builds from the bottom up, from the more essential and universal to the more particular and minute.
It is important to attain clarity about these categories of concepts. Otherwise, we may be attempting to do one thing while actually doing another. Or, we may not be able to correctly discern what a problem is and how to go about solving it. For example: confusing process with procedure ensures ineffectiveness. We cannot solve a philosophical problem by changing methods. You can choose the right method but fail to apply the right technique.
Date posted: Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 12:05 am | Under category: Christian Education, curriculum, philosophy
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Thanks for the good chart, Israel. I think this is a helpful start to understanding these educational dynamics. However, left only in chart form without any further explanation, the chart may do very little to aid effective understanding. What I would suggest is a case study where these dynamics can be illustrated. Allow me to share the dynamics of a case study and then let’s point out how these educational dynamics are played out. I’ll present scenario one as a traditional, unhealthy Sunday School classroom experience. Scenario two will also be a Sunday School class experience but with significant alterations. Then, we can talk about philosophy, approach, structure, format, process, procedure, method, and techniques that changed or did not change between the two scenarios.
Class Scenario 1:
An adult Bible study class meets for one hour on Sunday mornings. The chairs in the classroom are arranged in a semi-circle. The class averages about fifteen persons in attendance each Sunday. There is no focal point on any of the walls in the room, but at the front of the room is a small table with a chair behind it where the teacher sits. Until everyone arrives the teacher leads class members in informal chat. During this time members get their coffee and pastries. Once everyone arrives the teacher begins the lesson with prayer concerns. After the prayer concerns are shared, the teacher prays or asks someone in the class to offer a prayer. Then the teacher begins the lesson, having now at most thirty minutes for the lesson. Most of the people in the class have not prepared for the session, so the teacher introduces the subject, perhaps with an illustration, and then reads the focal passage. The teacher works through the scripture by lecturing to the class, occasionally asking class members to respond to a few discussion questions. Class members are mostly passive. Since most folks do not share a response, the teacher usually responds to his/her own question. At some point before the lesson ends the teacher quickly summarizes the “lesson” from scripture and encourages folks to apply that lesson to their lives during the week. Since this occurs in the same manner week by week, the teacher is not motivated to prepare and does not come prepared with learning objectives. Most folks in the class, even the teacher, realizes that the experience is rather benign.
The teacher assesses this experience this way: Our class members are not reading their lessons. They do not come prepared. Class members will not respond when I ask them questions. They just sit there and I have to answer my own questions. This curriculum we are using isn’t good. We need to change to something better. Our class members are not arriving on time. I don’t have much time to teach them. I don’t know what to do to make our Bible study relevant.
The class members assess the experience this way: There’s no need to read the lesson, our teacher will lecture and tell us everything we need to know anyway. Besides, we don’t have enough time to discuss things in our class. The teacher occasionally asks us questions but does not allow us enough time to process and reflect in order to share a constructive response. We have little motivation to prepare for the lesson. our class sessions are not relevant. They are actually boring and I’m not all that excited about arriving on time.
Class Scenario 2:
Since the leadership of the church has decided that thirty minutes is not enough time for effective teaching and learning, ninety minutes has been devoted to Bible study on Sunday morning. The teacher has received training on how adults learn and has been encouraged to create a learning environment that is participatory and experiential. Having more time to work with, the teacher comes prepared with learning objectives. This class averages fifteen persons in attendance. The teacher does not have to wait on late comers in order to begin the lesson, because the members have been taught how to prepare for each session and in their eagerness to learn that make sure they are prepared and on time. The teacher begins the lesson with prayer concerns and prayer. Having sixty-ninety minutes remaining, the teacher begins the lesson promptly by framing the discussion. The teacher has been taught that one of the worse things he/she can do is to draw persons into a “void” without enough information that will stimulate and encourage participation. After this time of framing the lesson is completed, the teacher (learning facilitator) leads the group into some participatory exercise by assigning small group work. This varies every week, grouping class members in diads, triads, and groups of four and five. Groups are not always asked to share their work or findings but sometimes they are. The teacher leads the class to debrief their experiences every Sunday, realizing that this is a very important need in adult formation. A brief introduction to the following week’s lesson is given before the lesson is concluded.
The teacher assesses the experience this way: We had a good session today because their was a great deal of participation, good questions were asked, and folks really struggled with some important issues. We may not have arrived at an answer for everything, but we were challenged to think. The class members really brought out some points that I had not considered. I’m a learner, too!
The class members assess the experience this way: Wow, we really had great discussion today. Some insights were shared that really challenged my thinking. I’ll think more about this issue. Gee, where did the time go? I didn’t want the class to come to an end. It really helps when I prepare for these lessons. Our lessons lately have been interesting and relevant.
OK, now let’s talk about the differences in philosophy, approach, structure, format, process, procedure, method, and techniques between these two scenarios.
Which of these educational dynamics are applicable to these two scenarios?
Of those that are, which of these educational dynamics changed between the scenarios and how did they change? Which did not?
Give an example of one or a few of these educational dynamics using the case study to explain it or them.