Generalization

How can we tell if we truly learned something?  It isn't a rote memorization that helps us prepare for a test.  That kind of learning is easily forgotten.  How many of us can really recite all the presidents in order, or name all the state flowers?  Most of us forgot that stuff 20 minutes after we took the test.  We can truly know we learned a concept when we apply it outside of the context we learned it.  This is the concept of generalization.

For example, I once taught students who traditionally have difficulty learning new concepts.  To teach a new skill, I needed to break down a task, teach it repetitively, and in the setting the student was likely to use the skill.  I taught older students, so I focused on teaching the independent living skills they would likely need as adults.  We broke down the task of going to the grocery store into units of instruction.  For math, we worked on the concept of determining which item would be cheaper, and how to determine how many and which dollar bills to use to pay the cost.  For reading, we would work on the vocabulary words of food items, and have them write out a shopping list.  All of the units were taught in the classroom, but the real test for knowledge was if the student understood what to do in the store at the end of the week.



Many times, our students froze.  They could read the word on their shopping list, but they couldn't match it to the words on the signs above the aisle to locate the item.  They often didn't use their eyes to scan the aisle to find cheaper items.  When they got to the cashier with their shopping cart, they didn't remember to put the items on the belt.  When the cashier told them how much to pay, they forgot to get their wallet out, let alone figure out how much to pay.

So many times, I had to help them.

This was not effective in helping them become independent.  They often learned to rely on my help, and did not learn the skills on their own.  They did not generalize the reading and math skills they knew in my classroom.  They had learned dependence.

I wonder if pastors and church leaders think about this as they teach a Sunday lesson.  Do they wonder if the congregation will be able to take the biblical content of the lesson and be able to apply it to their lives to make lasting change?  Or, will the congregation simply acknowledge the message and God only while in the church?  Will they see the concept as only relevant in the Bible?

If we cannot take a truth we learn from the Bible and apply it to our lives, we have not learned the truth.  It's ok to rely on others to help us learn a concept from the Bible, and very important to stay connected to the church to make sure we stay grounded, but it is not ok to remain dependent on others for our own belief system.

Listen carefully to my wisdom;

take to heart what I can teach you.

You'll treasure its sweetness deep within;

you'll give it bold expression in your speech.

To make sure your foundation is trust in God,

I'm laying it all out right now just for you.

I'm giving you thirty sterling principles --

tested guidelines to live by.

Believe me -- these are truths that work,

and will keep you accountable

to those who sent you.

~Proverbs 22:17-21 (MSG)

Make sure you thank the teachers who brought you to the truth as you live your lives in Christ.