In order for programming to be effective, youth leaders must understanding learning theory and apply insights to the way in which they communicate with youth. I recently read a magazine called Marketing Mix and came across the following ways in which there has been a shift in contemporary education:
(1) Rote, passive learning to active, experiential learning.
(2) Teacher dependence to teacher guidance.
(3) Textbook orientation to problem solving, practical focus.
(4) Abstract, curriculum-based to specific, learner-based learning.
(5) Limited independent thinking to maximum creative thinking.
(6) Indoctrination and conformity to voluntary, personal learning.
(7) Competitive learning to cooperative learning.
Each of these principles has implications for the way in which we teach youth - whether it is a Bible Study; a sermon; a youth talk - in fact, any form of communication that seeks to impact youth positively. Further, youth leaders need to understand principles of learning; learning styles and types of learning. Each will be explored in this article.
1. Principles of Learning
During my studies at Damelin Management School into Training, I researched and developed the following set of principles for learning - categorised into various sections:
Principles Associated with the Learner:
A. People Learn Best when they Accept Responsibility for Learning
Learning is an individual process - an experience which occurs inside the learner and is activated by the learner. The teacher manages the learning situation to create optimum learning conditions.
B. People Learn Best when their Rich Resource for Learning is Tapped
Each individual has experience, ideas, feelings and attitudes which should be drawn on in teaching.
C. People Learn Best when they Know what is Expected of Them
When people know what is expected of them, their motivation for learning increases and they know what pace to set for themselves.
D. People Learn Best when they are Motivated to Learn
A motivated learner learns faster and retains more of what he learns. The learner has basic needs that must be satisfied in the learning situation. Learning itself is a self-motivating experience. People learn better when the answer is not obvious - so a key step is showing people that they do not know it all.
E. People Learn Best when they Learn at their Own Pace
Self-pacing is effective because it enables different individuals to respond to a tempo that enables them to assimilate information. Each has their own learning speed, ability and power of comprehension.
Principles Associated with the Learning Material:
F. People Learn Best when Factual Information is Provided
New information must be communicated to the learner or the learner must retrieve factual information from previous learning situations.
G. People Learn Best when they are Involved in Selecting the Material
People learns best when they are involved in selecting and planning the learning material. The things people will want to learn are those things that they personally feel that they need to learn.
H. People Learn Best when what they Learn is Meaningful to them
Learning with understanding is more permanent and transferable than rote-learning. People need ways to summarise and organise what they are learning. Material should be meaningful and the way in which it is presented should be logical, related and sequential.
Principles Associated with the Learning Techniques:
I. People Learn Best when they Use What they Learn
Learning is the discovery of personal meaning and relevance of ideas. When it occurs through activity, action and participation it is better than passive learning. Teaching activities at the verbal level - talking and reading - are passive and restrict participation and learning. The greater the involvement the greater the retention. Active participation enhances motivation, rate of learning and achievement of objectives.
J. People Learn Best when they Practise in a Variety of Settings
Practise in a variety of situations will increase the range of situations in which learning can be applied. Such varied practises will make the learner more resistant to forgetting. Learning that is associated with many situations is more easily transferred from one situation to another.
K. People Learn Best when they Engage in a Cooperative and Collaborative Process
When people come together they stimulate each other=s curiosity, potential and creativity. People learn best when they are given an opportunity to discuss what they are learning. Discussion enhances motivation, reinforces concepts, nurtures communication skills and fosters memorisation and understanding in youth.
Principles Associated with the Learning Environment:
L. People Learn Best in a Comfortable Environment
The environment can enhance or hinder learning. Two aspects of environment are important - the physical and the interpersonal. Physically, temperature, seating, distractions, room selection and fatigue are all important. Interpersonally, the attitude of the leader is important - an open and receptive attitude is important. Jesus honoured his listeners, at times allowing them to come to conclusions which he knew were not best for them (Luke 18:18-30).
M. People Learn Best in Varied Settings
Simply changing the physical surroundings enhances learning potential. Teachers should decide the topic in advance and choose the most suitable location with care. Field-trips and on-location studies are better than learning that is divorced from the real-life situation.
N. People Learn Best when the Teacher Cares About Them
Teachers who show personal and individual attention to learners enhance learning. Teachers must learn the names of the learners, learn about their lives, listen well, be there for them and expect change.
O. People Learn Best under the Guidance of a Mentor
Mentoring involves the investing of life into a person to assist in spiritual growth and personal development. When what is being taught is seen lived out in someone else, learning is assisted.
2. Learning Styles
Small group leaders, in fact anyone teaching anything to anyone, make a great mistake when then think or teach as if everyone learns in the same way. In fact, there are a number of different styles of learning. Jim Burns mentions four styles of learning: Innovative (feeling), Analytic (watching and listening), Common Sense (thinking) and Dynamic (doing). Peter Honey identify four styles of learning based on the learning process: Activist, Reflector, Theorist and Pragmatist. One of the most common approached is one that identifies three main learning styles:
A. Visual
Visual learners exhibit the following traits: (1) concept-oriented; (2) "can you show me what you are talking about?"; (3) need to see the "big picture" before focusing on details; (4) like to see information written down; (5) need to form a mental picture of something to learn it; (6) like timelines, flow-charts, maps, diagrams, illustrations; (7) like written assignments; (8) often very aware of their physical environment; (9) often decorate, organise their work space; (10) like transparencies, PowerPoint when learning and teaching; and (12) rewrite, re-organise, re-read class notes.
B. Auditory
Auditory learners exhibit the following traits: (1) linear, structure-oriented; (2) "please tell me what I'm looking at"; (3) need to learn the details first, then build a concept; (4) like to hear and say what they learn; (5) need to understand the facts/logic of something to learn it; (6) often ask detailed questions when learning; (7) like to talk out problems, (8) remember what they hear and tell others; (9) like class discussions, when teachers explain things; (10) often distracted by noises, but talk when quiet; and (11) need instructors to speak clearly, accurately, and pleasantly.
C. Kinaesthetic/Tactile
Tactile learners exhibit the following traits: (1) experience and emotion-oriented; (2) "let me try it myself"; (3) need learn it their own way, building facts and concepts in an unstructured way; (4) like to learn by trial and error, not afraid of making mistakes; (5) like to get a emotional "feel" for a skill or topic first; (6) like to make things, do projects, need open lab time, like poetry; (7) often take notes to keep their hands busy, rarely re-read their notes; (8) often fidget in class, labelled as behaviour problems; and (9) like instructors who are enthusiastic about their subject.
Implications:
One of the most important implications of learning styles is just to be aware that they exist - just know that people in your small group don't all learn and retain information in the same way. Then you need to make use of different media and formats to create a learning environment that caters for the broad range of learning styles. Here are some specific implications: (1) People are different when it comes to learning - they are strong in some styles and weak in others. (2) Try to identify what the learn styles of the individuals in your group are. (3) To help everyone in a group learn, we must use all the different styles. (4) Most people tend to teach in a style that they learn best with.
3. Types of Learning
A. Individual Learning
People work alone and strive for their own personal success in the process. What one discovers does not benefit anyone else.
B. Competitive Learning
People work and respond alone and they strive to be better that anyone else in the learning process. One person's success is another person's failure.
C. Active Learning
Active learning revolves around an experience - the more people are involved in the experience the more they learn from it. This is learning through doing: simulation games, role-plays, service projects, experiments, research projects, group plays, mock trials, field trips. Jesus was an active teacher: ie. foot-washing, feeding and healing. More than providing an experience (which would be simply busy-learning), active learning is focussed through a debriefing process: reflection (How did you feel?), interpretation (How is this experience like some aspect of your life?) and Implication (What will you do about it?). The last step moves learning into action. Stephen Briggs in Evangelizing Today's Child, September/October 1994, speaks of active learning as a five-step process: (a) approach (an activity that guides the student's focus to the lesson topic), (b) exploration (students study the passage to learn fact: the who, what, when and where of the Bible lesson), (c) discovery (reflective questions are used to help students discover main truths in the passage), (d) appropriation (opportunities are provided in the class for students to put the truths into practise) and (e) assuming responsibility (students go out to live what they have learnt).
D. Interactive Learning
This type of learning, also known as cooperative learning, occurs when people work together in pairs or small groups to accomplish shared goals. It honours the fact that people can learn from each other, not just from the teacher. Peer teaching is one form of interactive learning, where people teach each other. Interactive learning is learner-based, not leader-based, it promotes positive interdependence, it allows people to discover, it leaves no one out and it builds interpersonal skills and relationships. Harold Stevenson shows the values of interactive learning: "Asian elementary schools are not highly competitive. Children are eager to display what they know, and they are challenged to learn what is being taught rather than to surpass other children. One of the secrets of Asian schooling is the strong identification pupils feel with each other and with the school".
Individual and competitive learning are the least effective while active and interactive learning are the most effective.
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