by Sam Brock

This is just a common sense list. I have no study to prove my point. I am guessing there is some research that I could quote, but just take it for what it is meant to be—a common sense list. First, the concept of “ideal” gives me a mental picture of a world with out weeds, homework, and traffic. It almost seems a goal that is unattainable and yet still something we hold up high. Ideal also implies that there is a state that is less than ideal. Sometimes we say something like, “Well, that’s life!” or, “that’s good enough.” Learning is the process of gaining knowledge. I’m sure there is an entire book on the learning process, but let’s just use the common sense concept that if I now know something that I didn’t know earlier, I have “learned.”

As a manager who is constantly trying to grow our people, I am very interested in how to improve the learning process. If our people are learning, we are hopefully getting more efficient and effective. Better than a faster computer is a person who knows how to use the old one. We need to become students of learning and how to help our folks learn.

Three Ingredients of Ideal Learning

Structure—when I was in grad school, I began to wonder why I would pay someone to assign so much reading and make me write so much. The structure to be in class, sitting at my desk with notepaper and pen out is the structure I need to be in the right frame of mind to learn. I know that you can learn in your PJs laying in your bed, but I believe you will learn better in a more structured environment.

Interaction Between Student and Teacher—learning is very possible without student-teacher interaction, but it is not ideal. Lack of interaction is what we call a book or DVD. I have lots of books, but I know that I could learn even more if as I was reading I had the ability to raise my hand and ask the author a question. As it works now, I just put a question mark in the margin and continue on. The ability to ask your teacher a question in the learning process allows
the teacher to adjust his speed of teaching, correct a misperception, update the lesson to the current moment, fill in gaps in students’ knowledge, and not go on to the next point until the current point is understood. For the student, this interaction allows for clarification, rabbit trails, and customization of the lesson based on the student.

Interaction Between Students—in grad school, we had this one guy who was smart. Not just smart, but really smart. We had no doubt who was going to get the A. Interaction between the students is something as simple as, “I missed that, what did he say?” to something as complex as a group project in which the learning process is dependent on the work that others do. If you’ve ever been in a class where someone asked a question and you thought to yourself, “that was a good question,” you are realizing the value of other students; the interaction they are having with the teacher is helping you learn even more.

So here is the million dollar question: Is it possible for your ministry to be an ideal learning center? Yes! Don’t let your mind wander to Ivy League campuses or high tech board rooms. Set aside the room, set aside the time, and become the teacher. Learn something that your team needs to know and then share it. Keep your lesson no longer than 15-20 minutes each week. Involve your team in questions and discussions. Let them add to the class, ask them questions, get their input. Do it for a year! You will be amazed at how many things you can learn during this time. I’m warning you upfront, this is hard work. It is hard to keep learning, but the investment in your team is well worth it.