\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Process<\/strong> n. 1. the course of being done. 2. a continuing development involving many changes.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Procedure<\/strong> n. 1. a particular course of action or way of doing something 2. the established way of carrying on the business\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \tThere\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a subtle but important difference there. To miss it can lead us astray in accomplishing what we need. In teaching, like in many areas, you can fail by understanding the process but not following the procedure. More often than not, however, we follow procedure and mistakenly believe we are giving attention to process. For example, a good teacher understands the teaching-learning process and creates the appropriate procedure for making it happen consistent to the goal at hand. A poor teacher will become a slave to procedure because he or she fails to understand the dynamic process of the art of teaching and the dynamics of learning. Too often, we believe that in creating and following procedures we allow the necessary processes to take place. In the end, you can take all the right steps, and still get it wrong!<\/p>\n \tThe key to understanding the distinction between these two terms is found in a key phrase in the definition given above. In process, we give attention to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a continuing development involving many changes.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Which hints that while procedure is predictable, process is not. Process has to do with the flowing dynamics and forces at play in any endeavor. It leaves wiggle room for the unpredictable. It respects the serendipity of un-factored data, hidden agendas, mysterious forces, queer cosmic convergences, and Murphy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Law, which says that in any given endeavor, anything that can possibly go wrong, will!<\/p>\n A proper understanding of process helps us see below the surface of the deceptive orderly appearances of lesson plans, timelines, and Gant charts. It accepts that in any endeavor we must be open to changes and challenges because of the unpredictable nature of things which are in a state of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153continuing development.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d But we can say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153trust the process\u00e2\u20ac\u009d because the process will bring us where we need to be\u00e2\u20ac\u201deven when we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not quite sure of where we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll end up. In my experience, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the process that gets you there, not procedure. This shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t surprise us too much, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a great theological concept. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Trust the Spirit,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d we say when we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve run out of plans or there are no procedures to follow. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the journey, not the destination,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d we often say. <\/p>\n \tProcedure can tell us how to pack the bags, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the process that let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s us make the journey in a spirit of adventure. Procedure is helpful, even necessary. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just a tool. And tools can become obsolete in the middle of a project that is ever changing, ever evolving, ever growing. Paying attention to process will allow us to switch tools when needed.<\/p>\n Some years ago one of my boys worked for hours on a work of art on a computer graphics program. When he tried to print out his masterpiece, however, the color printer spewed out a monochrome facsimile of his creation, … Continue reading 
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