While learning practical skills are not the whole story, and there are theological issues that we must learn to study well and while the issues of how our spirituality regulates and promotes good study needs to be talked about, I believe it is good to start at practical dimension. We will begin by looking at some clarifying ideas and ways of thinking that help us learn how to learn.
A good place to start is with the way people learn. Much has been said about learning styles and much has been written. Within the education field it is something of a hot topic, at last count somewhere around 50 different types of learning styles have been promoted in academic circles. Such typologies should be tempered with prudence and be taken with a little salt.
Seminary professor, William Yount in his book “Called to Teach” outlines three basic learning styles. Yount describes each orientation by the lable, "head, heart, or hands.” First he teaches People learn differently. Reminding us the natural way we learn best is not universal but balancing that with the truth; our natural way is not the only way we should learn. The Professor holds that Learners falls into one of three categories, head-thinker, heart-feeler, and hands-doer. Yount explains, “Thinkers are looking for meat to chew, new ideas, and new ways of looking at the world. Feelers are looking for gifts to receive and share, relationships with new friends, and personal relevance. Doers are looking for a project to finish, ‘let’s get the job done, done right, and in the quickest way possible.”
Interestingly, the body analogy also reminds us of a forgotten aspect of personal growth. If we want to be one whole person (head-heart-hands) we need to open ourselves to develop all three areas. It is fascinating and insightful when you find yourself in one of the groups but that should just as clearly remind you of the area that needs growth. Jesus and the whole of New Testament teaching compels us at various point and in different ways directs us to develop each area. a good learner can learn from head, hands, and heart experiences. While one way may be more natural, proficiency in all three will open you to be a life learner able to take in lessons and truths throughout the whole of your journey on earth and not limited you to just those occasions when it best suits you.
For refelction
What is your dominate learning styles?
When have you been a fast learner?
thinking about a subject
doing a task
sharing with others
How could you promote growth in your weakest style?
How can knowing your style help you get more out of reading the bible?
How does knowing your style help you structure a bible study?
How does knowing your style help you in applying what you learn?
End notes
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William Yount, Called To Teach (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1999), 136.
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