Learning and Teaching Notes

Learning and Teaching

Rhonda Seamons' experiences and insights on learning and teaching, emphasizing 'learning by faith' and various pedagogical approaches.

BYU-Idaho and the Restoration

• October 2005: BYU–Idaho leaders visit David A. Bednar.

• Elder Bednar's comment: “The creation of BYU–Idaho is one of the most important educational events of the restoration” (Bednar, 2005, p. 1).

• Focus on 'teaching by the Spirit' but lacking emphasis on 'learning by faith'.

• Becoming a university is a 'signal event' to address 'learning by faith'.

• Seamons' self-directed study on the learning process: teachings of latter-day prophets, discussions with colleagues, and experimentation with students.

• 2008: Summarized findings in a 75-page report.

• Chapter 2 published in Perspective in Spring 2009.

Overview of Teaching Approaches

• Various approaches: experience, research, discussion, lecture, projects, and skills.

• Master Teacher used all approaches successfully.

• Seamons focuses on lessons learned through each approach.

Experience

Zion’s Camp (1834)

• Lord instructed Joseph Smith to recruit 500 men for Zion’s Camp.

• Started with 20, grew to 207 men, 11 women, and 11 children by June 8.

• Daily routine: walking, heavy wagons, limited food, dusty trails, heat.

• Emphasis on spirituality: prayer, Sabbath observance, teachings from the Prophet.

• Not asked to take up arms; some apostatized, others were refined.

• Experiential learning: obedience to God and His prophet.

Definition of Experiential Education

• Teachers engage learners in direct experience and focused reflection.

• Increases knowledge, develops skills, and clarifies values.

• Learners take initiative, make decisions, and are accountable for results.

• Off-campus sites: academic travel programs, internships, student teaching, clinicals, and service learning.

• Preparation begins early and continues throughout the experience.

• New support group of colleagues and mentors.

• Unpredictable: failure, adventure, risk-taking, and uncertainty.

• Willingness to ask questions and seek help is essential.

Personal Example: Trip to Peru (2006)

• Invited by Jeff and Lynda Hawkes to retrieve their son Cody from his mission in Peru.

• Traveled with Lidia Toscano, sister Taunya, and her husband Justin Nelson.

• Travel arrangements, reading assignments, shots, packing extra clothes.

• Learned about travelers' worries, motion sickness, and health concerns.

• Missionaries met them in Lima.

• Churches closed on election day, changed plans to a walking tour.

• Hawkes visited members with Cody, touched by his love for the Saints.

• Seamons noted the power of seeing a missionary complete his service.

• Visited Cusco and Machu Picchu.

• Lidia felt an affinity for the ancient inhabitants; Justin admired the stonework.

• Trip to the floating islands of the Uros on Lake Titicaca, arranged by Javier.

• Visited schools and homes, hugged children, and looked at scriptures.

• Taunya felt humbled; the simple things of the gospel are enough.

• Mishaps: tainted food (raw alpaca/guinea pig), heating complaints, voltage issues.

• Pick-pocketing incident.

• Unexpected powerful learning experiences, pondering the situation of youth.

• A need to reach out and touch more lives through education.

Research

Importance of Research

• Savior employed research with great skill.

• Jesus Christ instructed Nephites to search the words of Isaiah (3 Nephi 23:1).

• The Book of Mormon was written and preserved for us.

• Joseph Smith and Elias Higbee had questions about Isaiah; Section 113 provided answers.

Definition of Learning Through Research

• Develops ability to ask good questions leading to new frontiers.

• Undergraduate research allows students to make an original contribution to the discipline.

• Teachers model study organization, data gathering, and progress review.

• At Church-sponsored schools, teachers can show how the search for truth encompasses all branches of learning.

• Powerful research programs include interdisciplinary courses and learning communities.

Personal Example: Favorite Books (2007)

• Lynette Robertson and Seamons found "The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books".

• Email request sent to 150 colleagues asking for their top ten books.

• Interesting commentary, complaints, apologies, and appendices received.

• Faculty defined "greatest" differently; lists kept changing.

• Some worried about psychoanalysis of their lists.

• Annotated bibliography built with help from Seamons' mother.

• Formula from J. Peder Zane used to tally lists.

• 100 participants invited to hear results.

• Presentation reviewed the reason for the unusual request and excerpts from emails.

• Faculty's top ten list was uniquely Mormon.

Top Ten Books Chosen by Faculty

1. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

2. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien

3. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

4. Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage

5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

6. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

7. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

8. Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

9. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

10. King Lear by William Shakespeare

• Book shares were fascinating and filled with the Spirit.

• Rudy Puzey described reading Les Misérables with his children.

• TL McRae introduced Man’s Search for Meaning, talking about concentration camps.

• Dawn Anderson brought her Lord of the Rings action figures.

• Rebecca Jorgensen shared a testimony of Jesus the Christ.

Discussion

Scriptural Basis

• Savior discussed written records with Nephites (3 Nephi 23:8).

• Discussion about Samuel's testimony of resurrection (3 Nephi 23:9-11).

• Inclusion of passage from Malachi (3 Nephi 24:1).

Definition of Discussion-Based Strategies

• Utilized in literature circles, case methods, and Socratic dialogues.

• Teacher develops readings covering a rich landscape of issues.

• Preparation is essential; students read and study materials.

• Students listen to the Spirit to understand issues.

• Teacher opens discussion with a provocative question.

• Rapid-fire discussion full of analysis, argument, insight, and persuasion.

• Students must be accountable for their contributions.

• Class members work together to seek answers.

• Case method: students succeed by exercising leadership and teamwork skills.

Personal Example: Doctoral Work Discussions

• Provocative discussions with colleagues pursuing doctoral degrees.

• Greg Williams used Seamons' ideas as a conceptual framework for his dissertation.

• Seamons served as an "outside auditor" for Greg.

• Discussion to clarify points, deepen understanding, and strengthen the piece.

• Repeated the process until Greg’s work was polished.

• Positive experience led other graduate students to seek input.

• Learned about nursing education from Donna Funk, creative writing from Kendall Grant, effects of No Child Left Behind from JoAnne Kay, power of cooking from Jeff Hamblin, learning style of Joseph Smith from Greg Wightman, aliteracy from Lynda Hawkes, effective practices of early interventionists from David Allen, impact of the Learning Model from Larry Thurgood, and value of wilderness programs from Josh Holt.

• Rewards in discussing scholarly work with colleagues.

• Wished for more time and opportunities for such discussions.

Lecture

Scriptural Basis

• Sermon on the Mount: remarkable discourse by Jesus (Talmage, 1951, p. 230).

• Parallel sermon given to the Nephites.

• Opening section was "rich in blessing" (p. 230).

• Instructions about purity with "particular directness" (p. 232).

• Dealt with "superiority of the gospel of Christ over the law of Moses" (p. 234).

• Taught about almsgiving, prayer, and "enduring riches of eternity" (p. 242).

• Savior taught "as one having authority" (Matthew 7:29).

• Harold B. Lee referred to the sermon as a "blueprint" for perfection.

Definition of Lecture Format

• Powerful method to transmit information, create interest, and promote understanding.

• Facts or problems are conflicting or confusing.

• Speaker's experience contributes to clarification.

• Preparation involves reading and reviewing materials.

• Learners and teachers see patterns like cause and effect, process and sequence, etc.

• Teacher focuses presentation, chooses effective format, and selects graphic organizers.

• Teacher imparts and models a creative mind at work.

• Inspires reverence for learning, challenges beliefs, and provides motivation.

• Good lecturer uses rhetorical questions, surveys, story-telling, partnering, and quizzes.

Personal Example: Jeffrey R. Holland's Discourses

• 2006: Life became a "perfect storm" with disasters and crises.

• Skipped graduation but felt prompted to attend Jeffrey R. Holland’s address.

• Elder Holland spoke about creating a Zion in Southeastern Idaho.

• Message of hope and inspiration received.

• Several months later, attended BYU Women’s Conference with the Hollands as speakers.

• Hollands spoke about convergence of an important woman with an important moment.

• Stressed gratitude and optimism, preparing the Church for the arrival of the Lamb.

• Elder Holland closed with an apostolic blessing.

• Continued challenges made Seamons feel fragile.

• Elder Holland was the visiting General Authority for Rexburg Idaho East Stake Conference.

• Complimented them for being one of the strongest stakes in the Church.

• Announced that "somebody is struggling."

• Reminded them that trials were expected and the Lord knows dark nights.

Elder Holland's Counsel

1. Remember that God loves broken things.

2. Endure, and save yourself for days of happiness ahead.

3. Follow the first rule of seamanship: In the midst of a storm, stay in the boat!

• Received counsel from an apostle three times in less than six months.

• Lectures were inspired and sustained through difficult times.

Projects

Scriptural Basis

• Nephi called to construct a ship (1 Nephi 17:8).

• Nephi asked where to find ore for tools (1 Nephi 17:9).

• Nephi made bellows and tools (1 Nephi 17:11, 16).

• Laman and Lemuel reluctant but assisted after being shocked by the Lord (1 Nephi 17:54, 55).

• Nephi returned to the mount for additional instruction.

• David A. Bednar commented on that building process; The phrase “time to time” suggests to me that Nephi perhaps did not receive everything he needed to know about shipbuilding as he began his task. Apparently he received the necessary knowledge line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little as it was needed. This may be one of the first recorded instances of a Just-In-Time learning process. (1997, p. 6)

• Ship was exceedingly fine (1 Nephi 18:4).

Definition of Project Method

• Students collaboratively solve practical problems.

• Opportunity to work autonomously over significant time, culminating in presentations or products.

• Focuses on applying knowledge/skills and fostering self-confidence.

• Innovation is valued; learners contribute best thinking and creative efforts.

• Direct instruction may precede or be integrated, often at the learners' request.

• Students are actively involved, monitor progress, and reflect upon work.

• Students may realize more instruction is needed to "finish" a project.

Personal Example: Rexburg Children's Museum

• Seamons served on the Rexburg Children’s Museum Board (2003).

• 2006: Stephen George became ill; Seamons handled correspondence with the Idaho Community Foundation.

• Received a $10,000 grant that was supposed to have been spent the year before.

• Persuaded the Foundation to give one additional year to spend the money.

• Visited museums within a 30-mile radius.

• January 2007: Board met to counsel together.

• Seamons presented pros and cons of putting exhibit into various places.

• Eventual decision to put money into the Children’s Room at the Museum of Idaho in Idaho Falls was changed by Shawn Larsen.

• City Council approved proposal to create a children’s museum inside the Teton Flood Museum.

• The real work began!

• Secured permission to salvage wainscoting and flooring from Toai Gakuen with Michael Bone's help.

• Gifford Flooring taught them how to pry up the boards and clean the wood; dozens of volunteers assisted.

• Gifford Flooring crew helped lay the floor.

• BMC West loaned a nail gun and showed how to use it.

• Gary Benson designed and directed the building of a tree; Jim and Kathleen Gordon guided assembling a "tree house" loft.

• Bikers helped install a blackboard and display cases; added old-fashioned desks.

• A one-room schoolhouse emerged; the $10,000 was gone in less than a year.

• Opening month: over 1400 children and parents came to see the "Back to School" exhibit.

• Steve Stewart’s writing classes created exhibits: “Around the World,” “Dinosaurs and Fossils,” and “Holiday Traditions.”

• Community contributed to “The Sounds of Music,” “Rock Hounds,” and “Our Heritage.”

• Creating the museum was challenging and rewarding.

• Valued counsel of Board members, sought specialized help, and listened to unsolicited advice.

Skills

Scriptural Basis

• Lord used skill-based methods to train disciples in performing ordinances.

• Instituted the Sacrament at the final Passover meal (Talmage, 1951, p. 596).

• Demonstrated how to bless and sanctify bread and wine.

• Instructed them on how to eat and drink the emblems.

• Risen Lord instituted the ordinance among Nephites; reinforced the procedure.

• Revealed set prayers and procedures for administering the Sacrament in this dispensation.

Definition of Skill-Based Education

• Focused on outcomes.

• Large skill sets broken down into competencies.

• Competencies may have sequential levels of mastery.

• Skills, knowledge, and attitudes bundled together by the teacher.

• Teacher demonstrates necessary steps.

• Learner given guided practice with feedback.

• Culminating activities involve performances or competitions before expert juries using rubrics or checklists.

Personal Example: Educator’s Visit to Fort Lewis

• Seamons served as dean over the College of Education; Military Science was under her stewardship.

• Jon Harris asked her to learn more about the ROTC program (2005).

• Made an "Educator’s Visit" to Fort Lewis, Washington, to see Warrior Forge.

• David Magleby's reports of field trips left her reassured.

• Collected at the airport by a uniformed soldier, driven to the base.

• Watched cadets on the Confidence Course.

• Crawled under barbed wire, scurried up high walls, and crossed anxiety-producing platforms.

• Our second stop was a shooting range.

• Soldier handed out ear plugs and Kevlar helmets.

• The colonel demonstrated how to use an M16A2; insert a magazine, and turn off the safety.

• Began to wonder if they were going to actually shoot the M16s.

• Numbered off and told the first group to get into the foxholes.

• The woman before me jumped into our foxhole, waited for instructions from the man in the tower, and commenced firing.

• The commander asked the first group to set their rifles on the ground, walk down range, and write their names on their targets, wanting to see which university did the best job.

• Adrenalin started going; never handled a rifle before.

• Recalled demonstration on how to site, breathe, and squeeze.

• The young lieutenant asked if he could help me into the foxhole; carefully slid into the pit.

• Was able to clip in the magazine by myself, but had to ask the young soldier to help me "turn the gun on."

• Mentally reviewed instructions; began firing; got the gun stuck once.

• Liked the feel of the M16; had a very smooth action.

• Lieutenant said, “I think you might have hit the target a few times.”

• Lieutenant exclaimed, “I think you might have hit it with all 20 shots!”

• The colonel held up her target and announced, “Now this woman’s home is secure!”

• Had passed marksmanship, rappelling, shimmying up logs, and tying knots.

• Grateful for young people willing to put themselves in harm’s way.

• Learned that Elder Holland loves broken things and this is a time for us to endure and remember rule one of seamanship; in the midst of a storm stay in the boat.

Key Insight

• Seamons spoke to Captain Harris and Sergeant Petzinger at BYU-Idaho; When I related the story of my stellar marksmanship performance, Sergeant Petzinger commented, without the least bit of surprise in his voice, “Oh, you must have followed instructions.” And I had. I was able to perform well precisely because I had remembered the demonstration of the colonel who had shown me how to shoot that M16—just as I listened to those who held my life in their hands as I stepped backward off that tall building or as I teetered on a log far above the earth. Those soldiers knew why they had invited me to the Warrior Forge, they knew what they wanted to teach me, and they knew how to present it in a way that would develop skill while inspiring trust and confidence.

Conclusion

• Personal research has reinforced the importance of seeking light and truth.

• Enhanced efforts to follow the Savior and become one of His disciples.

• Blessed the lives of her students.

• Gordon B. Hinckley: “The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth” (D&C 93:36).

• Light and truth become the summum bonum of all true learning.

Foundations of Western Thought

Plato and Aristotle

• Key figures: Plato and Aristotle.

• School of Thought:

  • Idealism: Focuses on eternal ideas.

  • Realism: Focuses on concrete realities.

• Quotes:

  • "Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge."

  • "Only the educated are free."

  • "No study, pursued under compulsion, remains rooted in the memory."

  • "There is nothing in the intellect that was not first in the senses."

  • "Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way."

  • "Excellence is an art won by training and habituation."

Thomas Aquinas

• Key Figure: Thomas Aquinas.

• School of Thought:

  • Thomism: Focuses on faith and reason; officially adopted by the Catholic Church, also called Catholicism.

• Quotes:

  • "We can't have full knowledge all at once. We must start by believing; then afterwards we may be led on to master the evidence for ourselves."

  • "Distinctions drawn by the mind are not necessarily equivalent to distinctions in reality."

  • "He who acts against his conscience always sins."

Martin Luther

• Key Figure: Martin Luther.

• School of Thought:

  • Protestant Sectarianism: Focuses on reason and faith.

• Quotes:

  • "Unless I can be instructed and convinced with evidence from the Holy Scriptures or with open, clear, and distinct grounds of reasoning … then I cannot and will not recant, because it is neither safe nor wise to act against conscience."

  • "To do it no more is the truest repentance."

  • "The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship."

Søren Kierkegaard

• Key Figure: Søren Kierkegaard.

• School of Thought:

  • Existentialism: Focuses on choice and accountability.

• Quotes:

  • "O Luther, you had 95 theses . . . The matter is far more terrible—there is only one thesis. The Christianity of the New Testament does not exist at all. Here there is nothing to reform."

  • "There is nothing with which every man is so afraid as getting to know how enormously much he is capable of doing and becoming."

  • "A possibility is a hint from God. One must follow it."

John Dewey

• Key Figure: John Dewey.

• School of Thought:

  • Pragmatism: Focuses on problem-solving.

• Quotes:

  • "A problem stated is well on its way to solution."

  • "Skepticism: the mark and even the pose of the educated mind."

  • "Education is a social process; education is growth; education is not preparation for life but is life itself."

Learning and Teaching Philosophies

• Idealism

  • Proponent: Plato

  • Quote: "Only the educated are free."

  • Students: Minds, souls, and spirits capable of emulating God.

  • Focus: Eternal Ideas

  • Approach: Lecture and Test, "Show the Pattern"

  • Goal: Know, Identify, Describe, Define

  • Method: Readings, Online Discussions, Self-evaluation, Presentations, Take-home Tests, Essays, Oral Exams, Conferencing, Fundamentals, Note-taking, Recitation, Multimedia Presentations, Concept Paraphrasing

  • Assessment: Multiple Choice Tests, True/False Tests, Short Answer Tests

  • Teacher: Disseminator of Truth, Intellectual, Scholar, Skilled Communicator, Professional, Pedagogue

  • Motivation & Discipline: Factual Statements, Orderly, Directive Statements, Certain

• Realism

  • Proponent: Aristotle

  • Quote: "There is nothing in the intellect that was not first in the senses."

  • Students: Sensing beings who understand the world of things.

  • Focus: Concrete Realities

  • Approach: Skill Practice, "Perform with Exactness"

  • Goal: Assemble, Produce, Show, Demonstrate, Coordinate, Participate, Cooperate, Organize

  • Method: Role Plays, Project Method, Cooperative Learning, Problem-based Learning, Team Activities, Peer Review, Progress Checks, Group Tests, Competitions, Scientific Method, Performance Contracts

  • Assessment: Festivals, Drills, Rubrics, Checklists, Rating Scales

  • Teacher: Supervisor, Collaborative Partner, Facilitator

  • Motivation & Discipline: Modeling, Democratic

• Catholicism

  • Proponent: Thomas Aquinas

  • Quote: "We must start by believing."

  • Students: Beings with souls in the likeness of God.

  • Focus: Faith and Reason

  • Approach: Read and Discuss, "Reason Together"

• Protestant Sectarianism

  • Proponent: Martin Luther

  • Quote: "To do it no more is the truest repentance."

  • Students: Beings with souls in the likeness of God.

  • Focus: Reason and Faith

  • Approach: Independent Research, "Seek for Wisdom"

• Existentialism

  • Proponent: Søren Kierkegaard

  • Quote: "A possibility is a hint from God. One must follow it."

  • Students: Free individuals capable of responsible choices.

  • Focus: Choice and Accountability

  • Approach: Experiential Learning, "Go and Do"

• Pragmatism

  • Proponent: John Dewey

  • Quote: "A problem stated is well on its way to solution."

  • Students: Evolving beings who interact with the environment.

  • Focus: Problem Solving

  • Approach: Group Projects, "Listen to Counsel"

  • Method: Field Work, Simulations, Internships, Service Learning, Academic Travel

  • Assessment: Interviews, Portfolios, Debriefing, Journals, Reflections, Self-directed Learning, Individualized Curriculum, Review of Literature, Book Shares, Case Method, Socratic Dialogue

  • Teacher: Transformational Leader, Change Agent, Shaper of a New Society, Silently Looking On, Optimistic, Reflective Artist, Appraiser, Introspectionist

  • Motivation & Discipline: Questions, Flexible

God’s Love for All Mankind (Statement of the First Presidency, 1978)

• Great religious leaders (e.g., Mohammed, Confucius) and philosophers (e.g., Socrates, Plato) received a portion of God’s light.

• Moral truths were given to them to enlighten nations and bring understanding to individuals.

Joseph Smith

• One of the grand fundamental principles is to receive truth from wherever it may come.

• We should gather all good and true principles; otherwise, we shall not come out true “Mormons.”