Are you learnable?

July 17, 2006

This past Thursday Chris Ward, student ministries director at Chapel Hill Fellowship, spoke to us about learnability.

To start off, he talked about three different types of learning: fact learning, which is just the basic retention of facts; transformative learning, where something stirs within you, taking time to change you - it’s like marinating steak, with time, you change the nature of the steak, but even after the flavor has changed, it’s still a steak; and emotional learning which is reflected in our circumstances and being able to adapt to our situation.

Here are some high level thoughts from the rest of the talk:

Why learning is vital:
“Is it possible to be a disciple and not be a learner?”
Success demands we are learners because it is a process in which we naturalize certain behaviors, priorities, values and relationships.
Technology has ignited a speedy change in our culture and we need to keep up!

There are some blocks to learning:
The pretender: the art of fashion (appearance); in our effort to appear a certain way, we can often neglect the need to learn. For example, a young individual may pretend to know more than he/she does to appear qualified for promotion.
A disorganized life/out of rhythm.
Being tired or depressed.

Things that create a good learning environment:
Cultivate an attitude of wonder. As children we enter the world naturally curious beings. With time and knowledge, that curiosity is suppressed. We need to embrace and pursue the unknown.
Rhythm of life. Pursue rest, meditation and silence.
Clearly articulate your mission, values and talents and use them as “hooks.” If you know who you are, where you’re going and what you’re good at, you can learn with those ideas firmly planted in your mind. For example, if you desire to be a strong, Christian leader, everything you read could be read with that context.
Practice.
Seek out teachers.
Focus less on restraints and more on possibilities.
Don’t have to hit a homerun every time you get up to bat.

This week, ask yourself these two questions:
What person do you feel most afraid of failing in front of and why?
What person do you feel most comfortable failing in front of and why?
These two questions will help expose those barriers to your learning.

Thanks to everyone who came and we’ll see you Thursday! Come prepared to share your thoughts, experience and wisdom on burnout!

Posted in Recap