How they Want to Get There

Last week I introduced 3 questions to help your students/small group leaders: 1) Where are they? 2) Where do they want to go? and 3) How do they want to get there?  This week we focus on that third question.

My GPS system allows me to specify if I want to avoid toll roads or if I prefer Interstates to county roads. The designers of these systems have figured that some people prefer quick, others prefer short, and others prefer scenic. In the same way, your class or small group represents different preferences. Some prefer experience, some prefer story, and some prefer logic.

I was reminded this morning that information alone is not enough to bring about change. The Surgeon General’s warning has appeared on cigarette packages for decades and some young smokers have never touched a cigarette package without that warning label. However, many have not quit because the information alone is inadequate to motivate change.

I am taking an online class and one assignment was to ask 3 people to rate your listening ability on a scale of 1-10. All of the family members I asked gave me a “6” largely because I hear the facts but don’t listen to the emotion behind it.

Ask your learners what they prefer—words/stories, thoughts/ideas, or experiences. Some leaders have found their most productive lesson of the year is when they actually DO something compassionate rather than just talk about compassion. Few people can remember an outline from last Sunday’s sermon, but they remember a story told 5 years ago. Others “check out” when the group goes off on rabbit trails of individual stories and are frustrated until you “get back to” the lesson (maybe the stories ARE the lesson).

I am learning that a skillful teacher doesn’t look for students who learn according to his preferred method, but a skillful teachers looks for methods appropriate to the preferred learning styles of the learners.