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Dr. G. & Friends  |  

What you should know about Effective Learning groups

We have all experienced effective and non-effective learning groups.

Why is it that some are effective and others are not?

I would argue that learning experiences that provide more time for critical reflection and dialogue result in more effective learning.

Peruse the Christian bookstores and take note of how many resources are now encouraging at least a ninety-minute time frame for group study.

There’s a reason for that: learning takes time!

It takes time to provide the kind of process-learning that yields meaningful outcomes.

 

This is why I feel that today’s Christian educator must challenge the notion in congregational life that all learning events should be planned for an hour.

Check your church’s calendar and jot down the number of educational experiences that are limited to one hour and how many provide more time for learning.

One of the items that would be on my list of essential characteristics for learning would be an adequate time frame that supports dialog and critical reflection.

These, however, are just two of many characteristics that are important.

If you had to provide a list of characteristics that are essential for effective group learning, what would you suggest?

Wlodkowski, in Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn suggested the following characteristics as essential for effective learning in small groups.

 

 

What additional characteristics for an effective learning environment would you add?


* Wlodkowski, R. J. Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990.

Dr. G. & Friends