Are you experienced?

In her book, The Church as Learning Community, Norma Cook Everist proposes Eight Facets of Learning and related methodologies to teaching to a diverse audience. When considering my own stylistic preferences, it's fairly obvious that I prefer an experienced-based environment and struggle within a study-based environment.

Educational environments that feature experience as the basis for learning tend to employ are variety of tactics including expeditionary learning, field education, dramatization, role playing, simulation, and case study (p. 104). I have always valued opportunities to get my hands dirty in the process of learning. Learning by doing (and making mistakes) has proven invaluable for me over the years. In particular, I am an avid seeker of case studies in which others can do the learning for me and I can glean the results.

On the other hand, study-based learning tends to provide me with the most challenges. I struggle to find the patience or focus for long periods of self-guided work. Learning that requires route memorization or lengthy research often fails to capture my attention for sustained periods of time. I prefer to roll up my sleeves, start producing work, evaluate the results, tweak the approach and retry.

Perhaps these preferences are a result of the environments that I've been passionate about for the last 20 years or so. You can't learn about wine & food by just reading about it. You have to get in there and taste it. I'd like to think there's a way to approach Christian education in a similar fashion. I look forward to finding that way.