Factors in Learning

Here are some of my thoughts on factors in learning. Some of my experiences come from my work at the Missionary Training Center. The factors important in learning that I chose are to do it, and making the learning relevant.

Do it

Too often teachers will lecture to the students. We sometimes feel as a teacher that I have knowledge and my goal is to transfer that knowledge to the students. Students can be seen as a sponge and like water they will just soak up all the knowledge I tell them—the traditional “chalk-talk”.

Learning is not passive, but rather active. Elder Bednar said it this way, “…experience has enabled me to understand that an answer given by another person usually is not remembered for very long, if remembered at all. But an answer we discover or obtain through the exercise of faith, typically, is retained for a lifetime. The most important learnings of life are caught—not taught” (“Seek Learning by Faith,” Ensign, Sep 2007, 60–68).

Rather than learning about a topic, a learner needs to be able to do, and to participate. They need to be able to become. For example, a missionary can never “be” a missionary if they just listen all day to their teacher for 15 hours each day. An article on social learning states, “Mastering a field of knowledge involves not only ‘learning about’ the subject matter but also ‘learning to be’ a full participant in the field. This involves acquiring the practices and the norms of established practitioners in that field or acculturating into a community of practice” (John Seely Brown and Richard P. Adler, “Minds on Fire”, http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM0811.pdf, 19).

Until missionaries do what missionaries do that they begin to become missionaries. For example, missionaries teach. Therefore, in the MTC missionaries should teach because missionaries are teachers, and teaching is a big part of their curriculum and what they do in the field.

One example of this is the Faulkes Telescope Project, sponsored by the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network. The project allows students collaborate with scientists. The students can control telescopes in Australia and Hawaii to do their own research and collaborate with expert astronomers. Students have made “…small but meaningful contributions to astronomy” (John Seely Brown and Richard P. Adler, “Minds on Fire”, http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM0811.pdf, 24).

Make it Relevant

I think one of the failures in teaching is where we teach learners concepts that are not relevant to them. The learner should not have the question unanswered, “Why should I learn this?” A teacher must help the learners see how a concept is relevant to them, how will it help them, or why should they learn it. When a learner understands the “why”, his or her level of motivation to learn increases.

I think we see this with things like food storage. When hard times come, demand for food storage items increase. More people start getting their food storage ready when they can see a need for it. Likewise, when a student knows he or she will present a topic in front of the class, they want to do better on the presentation than he or she would do otherwise.

One reason I mention relevancy as a factor is because of my work at the MTC. In the MTC missionaries have 3 – 10 weeks to learn to be a missionary and do what missionaries should do in the field. We tell them the doctrine they should know, how they should teach, how they should plan, how to study, how to use the Book of Mormon, teach by the spirit, etc. I have no doubt that missionaries are motivated to learn, in fact, I don’t think you can find a more motivated group of learners. However, I think what is missing is relevancy. We teach them all these things they should do, but the one important element is why they should do it. Yes, we tell them why, but until they are actually teaching someone and trying to “invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel…” (Preach My Gospel, p. 1), do all the concepts taught in the MTC really begin to make sense. When they get to the field and begin teaching people is when the missionaries really see the “why”—whey must they plan, set goals, know the doctrine, etc. Until someone starts asking a missionary questions about the doctrine they believe, a missionary won’t see the importance of knowing it themselves. In the MTC no one is challenging their doctrinal beliefs.

Several years ago, a young man was struggling with his testimony. I invited him to volunteer with me in the Referral Center once a week for about 2 months. There in the Referral Center people would call in and request offers from the media campaigns the Church would run, like a Book of Mormon or video.

I remember one of the calls the young man received which I listened in on. After some conversation the man asked, “Do you believe in Christmas?” The young man answered, “Yes, we believe in Christmas.” “Do you practice polygamy?” “No”, was the response, “We stopped that a long time ago.” Then the next question was, “Why are you called Mormons?” The young man paused for a moment and thought about it. Then looked at me and while holding the phone so the caller couldn’t hear he whispered, “We’re called Mormons because of the Book of Mormon, right?” I whispered back to him, “Yes, that’s right.”

After we were done at the Referral Center that day, I asked him how he was liking the experience. He responded, “Boy, have I got a lot to learn!” I’m sure his parents had told him he ought to learn the gospel before, but he didn’t see the need for it then. However, once he was put into a situation where people were asking him questions about it, he could see why he needed to study the gospel more. I might add his level of motivation to learn also went up because learning the gospel suddenly became more relevant.