Triangulated Learning

I remember learning about triangulated learning two years ago in my HSLI Mentor Preparation Class when Renee Sedlacek taught the class for a day. Initially, I just remembered the triangle and that each side represented a certain aspect of leadership. After refreshing myself about the triangle through the assigned reading in ID 315, I now remember that the three sides represent: traditional learning, peer learning, and service-learning.

In the reading, the article defined traditional learning through the context of instructor-led discussion of materials assigned to the students and listening to lectures. This reminds me a lot of what the standard education system in the United States is. Additionally, when I was in Argentina, this type of learning was emphasized even more. The assigned material is the most important part to this learning. For some people, this might be a great way to learn about an event or theory. However, this type of learning can be insufficient when learning about issues because the person may not really understand the conditions of the problem. For instance, people can talk about poverty and see homeless people on the streets, but they cannot really learn about what it is like to be poor by reading books and listening to teachers speak. It takes experiences to really understand the complexities of some issues. This could be in the form of actually hearing the first-hand experiences of someone else or doing service where the issue may be at large. These two alternatives to traditional learning are the other two sides of the triangle: experimental or service-learning and peer learning.

In my opinion, Wartburg does a really good job at bringing all three sides of the triangle together - that is one of the reasons that I love Wartburg. Of course, there are classes where we are assigned homework and many times we have to sit an listen to lecture (of course, there are a number of participatory classes as well). Service-learning is definitely promoted through the Orange Corps - Wartburg's Service Trip program. Students for groups in order to go serve communities across the nation and address their needs. It is through giving back and being in the various environments that the students get the opportunity to learn. Other organizations try to emulate the same learning style such as Habitat for Humanity, Best Buddies, and VAC. In terms of peer learning, one of my favorite programs at Wartburg is the High School Leadership Institute. Through this program, college students teach and mentor high school students about leadership and how they can take those lessons of leadership and apply them to their own service project at home. The high school students learn from college students - people who might be like them - about leadership. Then, they can apply those lessons in a service-learning manner.

For me, I think it is important to remember all of these various learning strategies when trying to teach people about a certain issue. Not everyone learns the same way, so sometimes taking another approach might be better than trying the same lesson over and over again. Additionally, in order to be an effective leader, it is essential to be able to adapt to various situations as well. Ultimately, education is important to leadership because then people know what the goal is or what they are fighting for. Therefore, to all leaders, it is important to remember each side of the triangle!