Part of my work in global missions involves facilitating education and lifelong-learning opportunities for field-personnel, individuals and churches as we participate together in the Mission of God.  For the past 3 years I have been using Dialogue education methodology that I learned while studying at Fuller Theological Seminary.  Here is a review of a great book on the subject.  If you are interested in this, let me know.  I am glad to talk about using this methodology in your context.

CITATION OF REFERENCE
Vella, Jane Kathryn. 2008. On Teaching and Learning: Putting the Principles and Practices of Dialogue Education Into Action. The Jossey-Bass higher and adult education series. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

 INTRODUCTION
In this book, Jane Vella reveals how we can design training of all types using 7 design steps of dialogue education (:32).  Dialogue education encompasses listening, sharing of experience, sharing of reaction to new information, and the sharing of our unique worldview, so that all that all—teacher included—participate in learning.  This approach shifts the emphasis from the teacher—knowledge holder and giver—approach, to a dialogue approach where learning occurs through the self-reflection and communal sharing of each individuals experience and the sharing of each individual’s reaction to new concepts encountered in the leaning tasks.  Vella builds the dialogue education model on twelve principles.  Theses twelve principles (found on page 83) are based on the idea that adults learn best when they apply new knowledge and information in relation to their life experience.  The task that the teacher works toward is designing a course structure in such a way that set learning tasks occur in an intentional sequence and learning occurs.   

PROACTIVE QUESTIONS
My proactive review of this book led me to ask the following questions:

• Is there a starting point or critical foundation upon which dialogue education rests?

 It is easy to assume that anything named “dialogue” education would be more of an “open” system of education.  Surely, such a method would include nebulous dialogue and random focal tasks all used in hope that everyone involved would feel good about themselves.  The fact of the matter is that dialogue education rests upon an intentional structured system.  Vella’s very definition of dialogue education states this, “Dialogue education is a structured system that evokes spontaneous and creative responses to the open questions in a learning design” (:11).  The structure is the point.  It is the structure of the course or training that facilitates learning.  Structure ensures accountability for the teacher and is the space needed for transformation and learning.  Vella writes of several “F concepts” that demonstrate the use of structure (:11).  Among these are, framing—structure frames the learning, focusing—structure focuses dialogue, freeing—structure frees the learner from uncertainty and fear, fusing—all the elements of design fuse together for learning.  Dialogue education is specifically structures though seven design steps—who, why, when, where, what, what for, how (:31).  

• What are the four elements in a learning task?

Structure is essential in dialogue education and the seven design steps ultimately enable the teacher to structure learning tasks.  Vella defines a learning task as “an open question put to a small group, with all the resources they need to respond” (:53).  These learning tasks ensure that the learners are the focus of in their own learning.  Vella names four main parts of a learning task.  The first is inductive work—contextualizing the new content.  The learner connects the core-concepts of the new material to their everyday life.  Then the learner is tasked with movement from familiar to not familiar.  The second part of a learning task is input—the new content presented.  Presenting new content is not learning but leads to learning when engagement and implementation—the third part of a learning task—occurs.  This is where open questions help to facilitate learning.  The final part of a learning task is integration—taking the new content away into work, home, etc…

• What are the challenges/concerns of designing for online learning?  

The online environment presents unique challenges and concerns for learning.  However, Vella writes that the process of design for dialogue education is particularly valid in an online environment.  She does offer suggestions for each design practice when facilitating an online course.  It is particularly important to have a well-developed structure and presentation of the overall sequence of learning followed.  This helps distance learners develop trust, assurance, and safety.  It is also beneficial to have set times for dialogue and interaction via chat, VoIP and phone for added instruction and feedback.  It is important to have clear tasks that lead to online dialogue in small groups so that isolation does not occur and the learners stay accountable to the structure.  Vella reminds us that the use of both online and off-line learning contexts together can be extremely useful and lead to learning.

SUMMARY
In an almost too casual way, Vella cuts to a root problem, “We teach the way we have been taught until we stop long enough to examine how we are teaching and decide to do otherwise” (:xv).  Dialogue education offers the possibility for deeper discipleship, leadership, and missional engagement from the church.  This is only possible if we pause, question our assumptions regarding knowledge, power, teaching, and the direct correlation between these assumptions and our theology.