Learner Directed Learning

Dear WCIU Colleagues and Friends,

Recently we welcomed four new students into our program. 

Today I signed diplomas for two graduates.

Last week our faculty and leadership spent a full week digging deeply into our curriculum and its foundational premises, looking ahead to how we more effectively use the treasures we have been given to mentor more effectively.

We began with an hour looking at Luke 5 through 10, listening to the scriptures to see how Jesus mentored and trained. We wrote insights on the board and left those notes on the board all through the week, returning regularly to refresh our memories and allow those words to shape our thinking and planning.

One of the major efforts we are making is an increasing shift toward "learner directed learning". In the words of our Vice President for Academic Affairs, Paul Pennington, we want to shoot from seeing our faculty as "the sage on the stage" to being the "guide on the side". 

And as we look at Jesus' own teaching style, we see frequent use of provocative questions, mysterious stories (told to provoke further questions rather than to make something clear), and learning in the context of doing. 

How does WCIU incorporate more of this in the future? That is our focus for our next months.

For the flourishing of all peoples....

Kevin