Comments on: Characteristics of Effective Learning Groups http://grace-ed.org/blog/archives/618 Christian Education, Leadership, and Misc. Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:16:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Marty Canaday http://grace-ed.org/blog/archives/618/comment-page-1#comment-2479 Marty Canaday Sat, 13 Oct 2007 21:54:21 +0000 http://grace-ed.org/blog/archives/618#comment-2479 Yes, I agree. A short attention span is usually the result of a person not being engaged--sitting through a lecture, for example. It's amazing how simple it is to address this issue by using good process. One can be engaged in a 90 minute session and wonder where the time went. Paradoxically, one can sit through a shorter 60 minute session and wonder if the session will ever end! Of course there are those times when we are thoroughly entertained by an interesting speaker who lectures for more than 20 minutes. But the mistake we make with this all-too-often experience is assuming that learning has taken place when it hasn't! And the result is the all-too-often accepted conclusion by most church members that the person who does this is an excellent teacher! Yes, I agree. A short attention span is usually the result of a person not being engaged–sitting through a lecture, for example. It’s amazing how simple it is to address this issue by using good process. One can be engaged in a 90 minute session and wonder where the time went. Paradoxically, one can sit through a shorter 60 minute session and wonder if the session will ever end! Of course there are those times when we are thoroughly entertained by an interesting speaker who lectures for more than 20 minutes. But the mistake we make with this all-too-often experience is assuming that learning has taken place when it hasn’t! And the result is the all-too-often accepted conclusion by most church members that the person who does this is an excellent teacher!

]]> By: Israel Galindo http://grace-ed.org/blog/archives/618/comment-page-1#comment-2475 Israel Galindo Sat, 13 Oct 2007 19:15:54 +0000 http://grace-ed.org/blog/archives/618#comment-2475 I could not agree with you more about the need for a longer time slot than the traditional "one hour" for effective learning. Whenever I get a call from someone asking me to come offer a program for "an hour" I know it's not much more than a "filler" or "infotainment." For an effective training session, or meaningful learning session, the minimum time required is 90 minutes. Yes, people still have a short attention span (15 to 20 minutes), but we're talking about structuing a learning process that will address that issue. I could not agree with you more about the need for a longer time slot than the traditional “one hour” for effective learning. Whenever I get a call from someone asking me to come offer a program for “an hour” I know it’s not much more than a “filler” or “infotainment.” For an effective training session, or meaningful learning session, the minimum time required is 90 minutes.

Yes, people still have a short attention span (15 to 20 minutes), but we’re talking about structuing a learning process that will address that issue.

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