If I would sum up what I have learned from Lois E. LeBar’s teaching-learning process, I would use the following words; Change, Need, and Process.
The teacher’s goal for the learner is to produce change. We can only say that the student really learned if there is a change in his/her behaviour. If there’s no change, learning did not take place. Let me share with you what I have encountered several years ago about the concept and process of learning when I attended a specific training called Instructor of Teachers with Children’s Ministries Institute. Learning was defined as the process by which a motivated subject changes his behaviour, with a certain permanence, to overcome the obstacles and achieve the goal that satisfies his motivation. From that definition, I identified there three elements that are required in the learning process.
- Motivated person
- Goal to reach
- Obstacle or barrier
Let me use this example to shed light about the three elements.
A child tries to pick an apple from a high tree branch.
Motivated person: child
Goal: the apple
Obstacle: the height of the tree branch
Possible solutions: throwing a rock, looking for a stick, shaking the tree
He sees a ladder, brings it over to the tree, climbs up and reaches the apple. He has now learned that when something is beyond his reach, he will use a ladder to reach it.
I think that these elements are helpful in understanding the process of learning. If we will use it in the formal school setting, learners must be really motivated to really learn and pass a particular subject. His goal is to pass at the end of the school year. Obstacles may include laziness, dullness inside the classroom, having hard time understanding some topics and many more. If the learner is not motivated, this is where the teacher must identify the reasons why. The teacher must understand the needs of the learners. This time, let me also share the concept and process of teaching which I also learned in CMI. Definitions of teaching include imparting knowledge, producing change, and guiding in the discovery of truth. From that definition, there are also three elements required in the teaching process.
- Stimulate adequate motivation in the students, leading them identify both felt and hidden needs.
- Guide them step by step so they can differentiate and integrate the appropriate solutions.
- Help them apply for themselves the generalized knowledge which will permit them to alter transfer the learned behaviour to other situations.
With the above process, I think that teaching is stimulating, guiding and helping the student to change, to be transformed according to an ideal or a given pattern. The role of the teacher is as important as the role of the leaner in the process.
LeBar’s concept of teaching-learning process is a must see for the Christian teachers. This is helpful to identify the roles and tasks of a teacher in a Christian perspective.
Let me end this by sharing this quotation I learned from CMI.
In Christian teaching, the Word of God is the standard, the Lord Jesus Christ is the ideal, and the Holy Spirit is the One who transforms.
jadenyael 