For the past couple of days I’ve been thinking about Edgar Dale’s ‘Cone of Learning.’

I suggested in a post a couple of days ago that Dale’s ‘Cone’ might have something to tell us about how we do spiritual formation with students.

In my post yesterday, I looked at the top end of the cone – the end that suggests people learn best through actively participating in what is being taught – and suggested that we might see this most noticeably through the short-term mission experiences we provide for our students.

Today I want to focus in on the other end of the ‘Cone’ – namely, the end that suggests that passive learning methods [ie. reading, listening to someone else, or even looking at pictures] can be some of the least effective learning methods practiced. When any one of these methods are practiced alone the retention rate is incredibly low.

I wonder how many of our ministries fall into these categories?

Hopefully not many! But is that because we’ve planned intentionally… or did we just happen to get lucky in how the program came together?

Consider what the ‘Cone’ suggests about discussion… a 70% retention level.

So we add to a reading group [or a students charge to read their Bible daily] a chance to converse with someone/s about it regularly… and what they retain jumps by 60%!

Or we add a discussion element to what Benson Hines refers to in a recent post of his, “the classic ‘sing and speak,’” – our weekly large group gathering – an opportunity to:

• break into small groups to discuss the message,
• or a chance at the end to ask questions,
• or the encouragement to seek out the speaker after the service – or later on in the week – to follow-up,
• or even the opportunity to participate in a small group with a curriculum designed to co-inside with message for the week

… it increases the rate of retention by 50%!

I wonder if there aren’t some simple, yet creative ways in which we shape some of our more passive programs such that the potential for impact is significantly increased…

I mean, who doesn’t want that for their students… right?

We want our students to be more than just ‘hearers of the Word…’ We also want them to be ‘doers of the Word’!

How have you seen this to be true in your ministry with college students?