Collaborative Learning

Two of the most powerful learning experiences I have had were based on collaborative learning. Collaborative learning is where students help each other learn things that a simple lecture, project, or textbook could not teach. In collaborative learning settings, each student shares his or her gifts to benefit the fellow students. The first experience which I recall was at Drexel University. During my undergraduate education I took a course called “Techniques of Speaking.” Each week, the students would have to present some form of speech. After each speech, the instructor and other students would critique the presentation. I learned so much from my fellow students. After all these years, their names are lost to time and the vagaries of a middle-aged mind. But I do remember that I learned something from most of them. I remember the fellow student who was everything I was not: female, African-American, urban resident, biology major. She taught me that it is possible to effectively use slang phrases even in a formal presentation. There was the theater major who taught us all the importance of timing. And there was the fellow business administration major that showed the class how to make eye-contact with your audience. I hope they each learned something from me.

            Years later, I took a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Here, persons preparing for the clergy (some Jewish, some Christian) came together to learn about themselves, other religious traditions and some of the challenges of active pastoral care. There were six of us and a supervisor and we got together each week to discuss a case which one of us would present. Again, I learned from each of them. Derrick is a Pentecostal minister who is also a quadriplegic taught me about trust in God, even when the answer to our prayers seems to be “no.” Nancy taught me that some people have such broken relationships from their family of origin that even a phrase like “Our Father…” can be painful. Daniel, one of our rabbinical students, taught me the value of disciplined, liturgical, daily prayer; “my people have been at this a long time” he told me.

            And so it goes. We learn from others and we have the opportunity to teach others. I am really gifted in certain areas of my life, but I could use some mentoring in other areas. Others are able to provide the mentoring I need, but need help in the areas in which I am strong. This I believe: that which we learn in collaboration with others, we remember forever. That is why God brings us together in community. From the very beginning God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” (Gen. 2:18, NRSV) And so, God brings us into and keeps us in relationships. Good parents don’t stop caring about and guiding their children when the children turn twenty-one. Daily, I am thankful for my mother’s continued guidance. In the best marriages, each spouse brings different gifts to the marriage and shares them until the parting of death so that the other spouse might be strengthened and encouraged. Jerry shows Eileen how to be a little more optimistic. Eileen helps Jerry be better with follow through. Each of us is a gift from God to others. Each of us needs the other gifts God sends.

I share this with you as we prepare to enter Lent.