Important Learning Theories for Formation Leaders

Last week, I made the case for why we should talk about our pedagogy with the people we teach, form, and lead. This week I want to say more about some of the mental tools that should be in any teacher's toolkit for thinking about and enacting robust faith learning.

I obviously think this stuff is pretty important, but I know it can also be a little dry. So I think I'll do one of these theory surveys periodically. Don't hesitate to make requests in the comments!

Constructivism

• Key Figures: Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky
• Big Idea: Learners actively construct new meaning based on existing knowledge and new experiences. They either assimilate (think: file away) new information into their existing mental frameworks ("schemas") or accommodate (think: revise/adapt) their schemas to incorporate insight raised by the new information. Social interaction can catalyze this process, especially via support from a knowledgeable guide. The so-called zone of proximal development is a domain of achievement that is possible for an individual only through such support.
• Prompts & Strategies
  • Help learners notice ongoing accommodation ("What surprises you here?")
  • Create regular opportunities for peer engagement
  • Scaffold activities that may be unfamiliar (provide process guides, etc.)
• Takeaways for Formation Leaders
  • Remember that faith formation, like all learning, is deeply personal. Resist the temptation to control the process. The transition from "sage on the stage" to "guide on the side" is often especially difficult for religious leaders.
• Learn More: I've written about it before, but there's a famous book chapter by Edith Ackermann that engages with these ideas very richly and is available in the (pricey) anthology below.

Situated Learning

• Key Figures: Jean Lave, Etienne Wenger
• Big Idea: In many domains of practice, people learn by actively participating in the activities of that domain. An efficient analogy might be to say that situated learning is like a highly informal apprenticeship where the role of the mentor is distributed among the most experienced members of the community. The situated learner gradually joins the community through participation, first around the edges (hence: "peripheral participation") and gradually closer to the center.
• Prompts & Strategies
  • Help learners make social connections to individuals and communities who can guide their deepening participation and growth
  • Design practical learning opportunities that are authentic to the kinds of problem-solving and other project- or process-based work that happens in the domain of practice
• Takeaways for Formation Leaders
  • There's a highly fleshed out model of growth and belonging called "The Wedge" that I first received from my former boss, and Christian formation giant, Lisa Kimball. I now read it as essentially a congregation-based map of how situated learning works in faith communities.
• Learn more: Situated Learning is a pretty interesting and reasonably accessible read.

Problem-Posing Education

• Key Figure: Paulo Freire
• Big Idea: Too often, education functions in a so-called "banking model," where an expert makes deposits of knowledge that "fill up" the minds of the learners. If the power dynamic implied by that gloss makes you nervous, then you're already getting the gist of the critique here—namely that education in this mode is more likely to be a tool of social control and reproducing hierarchies. Freire's proposed alternative is one in which the learners participate significantly in shaping shared inquiry, with an eye toward solving highly relevant problems in a humane and liberating way. One of the most powerful educational traditions that has emerged from Freire's work is youth participatory action research (YPAR).
• Prompts & Strategies
  • Identify realistic and appropriate ways to share power with participants in the learning spaces you convene, including power to choose what problems to pose
  • Provide appropriate resources and training for learners to engage in robust inquiry with the potential to make a difference for their lives and community
• Takeaways for Formation Leaders
  • The Latin American movement known in English as base ecclesial communities (from comunidades eclesiales de base) is deeply connected to Freire's approach. There's a lit review / ad break in my dissertation that unpacks some of this a little bit.
  • (Y)PAR is actually a pretty cool methodology to bring into faith settings. My pal Steve Thomason used this methodology in his congregational mission and leadership dissertation.

You'll notice that each of these theories leans really heavily on the word that means so much to my approach to teaching and leadership: participation. In my view, the single most important goal we should bring to learning and growth experiences in faith contexts is to make the shift from telling about to supporting practice.

It's hard to argue that advice doesn't jibe with how Jesus went about forming the very first disciples. Let's go and do likewise.