SIMON PHIPPS

Within learning & development there is a model that we use to explain how people learn in the workplace - The 70:20:10 model .  The model says that:  70% of learning occurs through practical means , through people just doing their jobs. Experimenting, risking, failing, reflecting.  20% of learning occurs through social interaction with others. Coaching, mentoring, blogs, social media.  10% of learning occurs through formal learning . Courses, e-learning, flipped classroom, MOOCs . The numbers themselves are very contested (lets be honest, no research will ever lead to perfectly round numbers like this), but for me, the exact numbers are not really the point.  The point is  a) people learn best by using a variety of methods .  B) people learn most by actually doing things, practically. By risk, experimentation, failure, reflection. For me this is what the 70:20:10 model has to teach us about discipleship .  As Christians we spend so m

The first public speech I ever gave was on being a life long learner. I was 16 and it was at my local church youth group. I spoke about a violinist who was 80 years old and still practised the violin for 6 hours a day. For me a journey of life long learning is integral to the journey of discipleship that we are on - with the word disciple literally meaning learner . In a business context we call this life long learning "Continual Professional Development" (CPD). In business this skill is becoming more and more important with increasing complexity and rising automation rendering most knowledge learned during university redundant within a few years of graduation. In many ways I feel that this is also true in our discipleship journey.  Increasing globalisation and movement into the network era has meant that we are subjected to many more ideas and concepts than we were just a little while ago.  The internet has given us access to exponenti

The Growth Mindset was developed by psychologist Carol Dweck . It has large implications for learning , and in turn, i believe, discipleship . The growth mindset posits that people have two mindsets with regards to their growth: the fixed mindset and the growth mindset (it is important to note that this a spectrum rather than a dichotomy). Fixed mindset This is when someone believes that ability lies in talent . You are either born able to do it, or you are not. You either have the genetic disposition for it, or you don't. Failure is bad as it shows you cant do it. Looking intelligent is paramount. Growth mindset This is where a person believes that, whilst there may be some genetic factors involved, ultimately they can grow as a person and develop their intelligence / skills to better than they are now. Give me an example? Lets take math. Lots of people have the belief that they are just bad at math. There are people in the world who ar

I recently watched a brilliant TedTalk about multi-potentialites , people who are not interested in just one thing, but many things. One benefit that the speaker mentioned was the ability of these people to create new things. To synthesise new ideas, at the intersections between their interests. I thought about my own life as a minister of a church , but also as a learning and development practitioner for a large organisation. I am extremely passionate about both these aspects of my life. I love the learning and development side. I love helping people learn new things that they find genuinely helpful. I love helping people grow into their potential . I love helping people to flourish in their work ; and i love developing people into life-long learners . Equally i love the Church . I love the vision of what the Church is and what it can be. I love the mission of the church to live out the kingdom of God ; and i love the part that i play within t