BLOG 4/1/13: ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING … AND SERMONS

Let me chase a crazy question here. First of all, we have a generation emerging who have cut their teeth on iPhones, on mobiles, and have access through their apps to a vast array of information, and have connections through social networks internationally, so that even language is no longer a barrier, since that other languages can also be accessed by the click of a button.

Then, let me enter the fact that we have also learned a whole lot about how people receive and process information. We know that a straight over-the-board lecture is the least effective way to communicate information. More and more instructors (college professors, etc.) are posting their lectures on-line and inviting comments and questions. Enter on-line classes, what with on-line chats and community groups, and the possibility of interacting with others in the context of a professor’s previously posted lecture.

Next: It is now fairly commonly agreed that the emerging millennial generation prefers participatory learning in which they are part of the process. They want dialogue, and the freedom to be an engaged part of the educational experience.

Those who have researched and developed all of this understanding are not denying that there is still a very essential place for face-to-face contact with a teacher, and personal interaction with others in the classroom experience.

Toss in the whole fascinating dimension of such on-line learning, which is designated asynchronous, which means that the learning experience is not captive to a schedule. The distance/on-line person can go off and have lunch, do household duties, then come back and pick it up where he/she left off. The chats with others in the distance-learning group, likewise, can take place without the personal interruptions making much difference. It means that you can go and look up information in the midst of the experience. The desired result is to most effectively communicate information, both in the giving and receiving dimensions of this. It can engage me with the professor, or with other participants halfway around the world.

One of the startling results of the research by one of the pioneers, who is a professor in a California university, is that students, who took a course on-line, with this kind of asynchronous potential, did better on the course than those who took the same course in a traditional classroom. Subsequently, further studies showed that perhaps a combination of both was the most desirable and effective long-term.

Got it?

So here’s my question: It has to do with our tradition in the church of a preacher standing in a pulpit and delivering a 20-40 minute lecture, called a sermon. Are we missing something here in reference to those who are ostensibly the recipients of the sermon? Is the preacher missing key points? Is the sermon unrelated to anything in my life that I can identify?  Do I have any way to raise questions, or offer additional information? What if the sermon sucks? Is the preacher responsive to criticisms, suggestions, questions, or contributions? Am I a passive captive to a tradition, or is there some way I can be a participant in the process of having the word of Christ dwell richly in our community, and in my life?

I often sit in a congregation and look at all the young adults looking at their iPhones or iPads and know that some of them also have three different versions of scripture on those, or a commentary by N. T. Wright … or they may be tuned out, or streaming some other really helpful preacher from somewhere else on their mobiles.

There are some really good examples of  teaching-pastors who have risen to this challenge. Its an idea worth chasing, I think. To be continued …