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Communities of Formation

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 As is (hopefully!) obvious by the title of this blog, 'formation' is a key educational category for me.  I'm not as interested in what someone learns as how  that learner is affected: how will the student change?  Will they learn a new skill?  Connect previous knowledge to new knowledge? Will they become uncomfortable with past lived assumptions?  Will they be energized towards a certain way of life? In a sense, all education is towards a way of life, a practiced philosophy.  We are never just loading students up with "content" nor are we just influencing one part of their existence - education is always holistic, as humans are always whole.  What we teach the mind affects the body (no one has ever learned in a bodiless way - even Descartes was embodied while he thought); how we train the body affects the soul; and so on.  At the same time, learning is never a totally individual endeavor, as we are not just individuals: we all come from cont...
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Tiny Habits & Spiritual Formation

 In a recent episode of the " Coaching for Leaders " podcast, Dave Stachowiak  interviewed BJ Fogg , the author of Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything .  While there are many good things in it, I was particularly intrigued by what Dr. Fogg called the "ABC Process" - to make behavioral changes, big or small, requires (A) an anchor point, (B) a tiny behavior, and (C) an instant celebration.  The "anchor moment" is something that you are already doing, whether brushing your teeth, driving to work, or tucking into a meal.  It is the "anchor" upon which you'll hang your "tiny behavior," some small, manageable change to how you act (doing one pushup, flossing one tooth, meditating for one minute, etc.).  The key to making this behavior change into a habit, though, isn't through willpower or self-force; rather, it is the third part, the "instant celebration."  By recognizing that you accomplished the goal, n...
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A Conversation with the CCO about Adult Online Education

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Curiosity and Online Education

Reading:   How Humans Learn  by Joshua R. Eyler (WVU Press, 2018) Curiosity is an essential feature of how we learn.  Not only does it take us to new places (what Eyler refers to as 'novelty'), but it also is inherent in how things stay fresh for us - allowing us to concentrate for years and years on the same questions in our various disciplines.  While this first chapter in the book concentrates on engendering curiosity in our students, it is worth pushing farther: how do we sustain curiosity in our students and in ourselves?
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