Training Meeting May 22, 2014

Weekly Training Meeting

May 22, 2014

Evaluate how you have been with the invitation extended 2 weeks ago, to do weekly and daily planning. 

Think of what you learned from Brian Kohler’s meeting last week

• are we living everything that we are teaching
• if the missionaries aren’t helping their investigators, are we helping the missionaries
• teach lessons in chapter 3 as simply as possible. Simple, Powerful and Clear

Verily I say unto you my friends, I speak unto you with my voice, even the voice of my Spirit, that I may show unto you my will concerning your brethren in the land of Zion,many of whom are truly humble and are seeking diligently to learn wisdom and to find truth. 

-D&C 97:1

Objectives:

• Help you to understand the role that agency play in your personal learning
• Help you to understand how to cultivate an environment where true learning can take place for your missionaries

The object of our mortal existence is to learn

-Brigham Young

The plan of salvation is composed of two elements 1 learning by faith and 2 learning by experience 

-Elder David A. Bednar

Take this Survey

On a scale of 1-10 rate yourself 1-10 rate yourself 1-very little 5-somewhat 10-always

Secularly

• I thoroughly enjoy the learning process I am immersed in at college?
• I act in a school setting and am not acted upon?
• I am a active participant in my current classes?
• I understand how the Lord views my whole education?

Spiritually

• Throughout the day I ponder about what I studied earlier?
• As I study my scripts, ideas come to my mind that have not occurred to me before?
• I record my spiritual impressions and ideas?
• I fall asleep as I study?

I look forward to my personal religious studies?

MTC

• I am an agent that acts instead of being acted upon in the classroom?
• I am an active participant in zone meetings?
• I am an active participant in weekly training?
• My missionaries take responsibility for their learning?
• My missionaries Learning occurs by the Holy Ghost?
• My missionaries expect to learn from the Holy Ghost?
• My missionaries are aware of how they can improve their learning?
• My missionaries have a vision of what they need to learn?
• My missionaries learn from one another and I learn from them?

What are trends you are seeing? 

Look at your two lowest scores, think about why they are and how you can improve. 

Quotes:

Write any descriptors or adjectives about these quotes that define or describe true learning

“The Holy ghost is the teacher who kindles within us an abiding love of and for learning.”

“None of us… knows enough. The learning process is an endless process. We must read, we must observe, we must assimilate and we must ponder that to which we expose our minds. You cannot afford to stop. You must not rest in your development… there is so much to learn and so little time in which to learn it.”

-Gordon B. Hinckley

Learning always requires action

“Learning and living the gospel of Jesus Christ requires us to:

• read and study the scriptures and the teachings of living prophets and apostles- as agents not objects.
• pray and ask in faith and submit to the will of the father as agents and not objects
• worship and serve God with all of our heart, might, mind and strength- as agents and not objects,”

“I do not know of a principle more central, important, or essential to spiritual learning that the principle of acting as agents and not being acted upon as objects.”

“Joseph loved learning. He loved knowledge for its righteous power. Through the tribulations which had surrounded from the day when first he made known to a skeptical world his communion with the heavens, he had been ever advancing in the acquisition of intelligence. The Lord had commanded him to study, and he was obeying… His mind, quickened by the Holy Spirit, grasped with readiness all true principles, and one by one he mastered these branches and become in them a teacher.”

-George Q. Cannon

“Paint” a picture of two things (maybe discuss with someone):

• What you looked like and how you felt in your last zone meeting 
• What you looked like and how you felt in your least favorite college class

• The best teachers in the world are those that are the best learners. Great learners know what the learning process looks like and when it is and isn’t happening. 
• As the best teachers you should know what true learning looks like.
• What can we do when missionaries aren’t truly learning?

What are true indicators of learning? 

(Class Insight)

• excitement
• creativity 
• discovery is happening
• participation (with class and companion)
• humility
• gratitude
• willingness to help
• edification between learner and teacher

3 components that will allow for true learning to take place:

Capturing 

Expanding 

Teaching

What does it mean to capture?

(Class Insight)

• Missionaries are engaged and focused
• Retaining information
• grasped with readiness
• preparation
• in the moment
• flow- totally in the moment and everything else is completely oblivious, everything is focused towards that issue, time is irrelevant
• Focus
• Using agency to think ponder write discuss gain new knowledge 

What does it mean to expand something?

(Class Insight)

• Add upon
• New perspectives
• never satisfied, don’t settle
• understanding of detail
• New, not a replication

What is the role of teaching at this point?

(Class Insight)

• Simplify the info they have received and expanded upon
• engraining and gaining new understanding
• solidify
• organization of thoughts

What do you do if you are seeing a missionary who is not truly capturing?

• If they skip the expanding step and go right to teach. 
• If they capture incorrectly then they will be teaching their investigators incorrectly

What would happen if you saw a missionary who had correctly captured a lesson, expanded upon it and was now teaching? What would that look like?

• It would be evident in the investigator.. if the investigator starts to expand then the cycle has been met

The missionary must have to have a true desire to learn ALSO a teacher who understands this cycle… the missionary needs to capture, expand, then teach

How can we capture the missionaries and expand their knowledge and teach them differently than they have learned their through seminary or other church classes?

• teach powerfully enough for them to have an “ah-ha” moment but simply enough for the missionaries to truly understand

“We've got to learn to see the ideal and teach to the exception”

What are some things that make an effective demonstration?

• Objectives have to be aligned
• Give them context: Who you are teaching? What part of the lesson are you in? How many lessons have they already received?
• centered on P.I.’s
• Get rid of Physical Barriers- get your missionaries in the movie so they can feel it and see what it’s like to be inside

When your missionaries capture, make sure that they have the proper utilities to act as an agent. They should have their scriptures, paper, a pen… 

Practice giving a demonstration to your missionaries. Are they capturing what you are trying to teach? Re-practice. 

Based on what you have been taught incorrectly- what are you teaching incorrectly? Regarding- Fundamentals? Training Model? BOM Reads? Feedback and Evaluation?

How can you change it?

Invitation:

• Pick one of your lowest score of the survey and start working on it
• Get your ZCs to be in your class this week or in the coming 2 weeks to watch a demonstration that you do. Have them help you evaluate capturing, expanding and teaching.

Teachers that are floating

Starting next Monday, Zone Coordinators will be doing workshops on these things each week. ZC will give you an assignment for everyday of the week, you will spend the first hour preparing for the workshop, second hour go to the workshop and practice and then in the third hour you will take what you have learned to the classroom and apply it. 

Weekly Training Next Week:

Meet together and practice individually receiving insights and revelation from the Book of Mormon