A Teaching Philosophy

With over thirty years of experience in vocational ministry within the Christian tradition, my pedagogy is grounded in five core values that together create learning environments that are engaging, informative, and, most importantly, transformative. These five core values are wisdom, inclusion, fun, creativity, and generosity. My core strategy for implementing these values, which I call the Pedagogical Plot^[i], relies on creating a plotline that can be used in a variety of pedagogical contexts. The Pedagogical Plot functions by first introducing an appropriate amount of mental tension or ambiguity, then sparking curiosity that fuels engagement through the resolution of that tension, and finally applying principles to the broader pursuit of the learning participant. For leaders engaged in a workshop, it might be their pursuit of current objectives. For the Sunday worship service attender, that pursuit might be living a life focused on peacemaking. The pursuit of the learning participant may be tied to their personal, professional, or academic development. This philosophy flows from my commitment to creating learning environments focused on transformation—environments that cultivate grit, curiosity, and the power of character in participants.

Paul Tough laid the groundwork for my pedagogical philosophy in his 2012 book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character. While Tough is primarily concerned with children’s success, his work serves as a precursor to trauma-responsive education, and the principles he unpacks function as guides for encouraging academic success not only for children but for learners of all ages. Tough argues that what matters most for academic success—and success in general—are not the cognitive skills measured by IQ tests, but rather “a very different set of qualities, a list that includes persistence, self-control, curiosity, conscientiousness, grit, and self-confidence” (Tough 2013, 78). He later writes that these same traits are invaluable in college, the workplace, and life more broadly.

My goal, then, in creating a course, class, or seminar is to use pedagogical tactics that align with the ultimate goal of transformative education: the development of grit, curiosity, and character beyond the specific topic being explored. This is the “why” behind my pedagogy. In his highly influential book Start with Why, Simon Sinek argues that the most inspiring and innovative leaders begin with “why.” The same is true of pedagogues. The “why” that drives my pedagogical work is the transformation of people into more determined, curious, and high-character individuals, regardless of the subject being taught.

There is no attention without tension. Curiosity is the threshold to transformation, and it arises out of tension. That tension may take the form of a complicated physics problem, a theological paradox, or a somatic response to a new experience. Curiosity is desire—the desire to resolve tension—and it moves us toward transformation. The Pedagogical Plot centers on the intentional building of tension and the process of resolution through the exploration of wisdom and the movement from theory to practice.

Developing a pedagogical plot for a class, course, seminar, or other learning environment involves five key questions. Acting as a facilitator through these questions helps create a transformative learning environment:

1. How have we encountered and experienced the subject matter in our lives, in ways that are shared or not shared?

Here, the subject matter is introduced, and participants are invited to situate themselves within the material. How do we experience this material in our lives? What are the assumptions that keep us at equilibrium mentally with the material?

2. How have we encountered and experienced the subject matter in ways that produce tension in our world?

This question begins to build curiosity and establishes a strong “why” for the subject, increasing participants' engagement. Here, tension is created by revealing cracks, inconsistencies, or unresolved experiences related to the subject matter. What is at stake if the status quo is maintained as it relates to the subject?

3. What wisdom has been applied to this tension in the past?

Who has been working to find innovative responses? What has been helpful in resolving current tensions? What has been neglected, and where are the opportunities for alternative forms of knowledge? Here, “expert” voices are introduced—often the information learning participants are being invited to metabolize.

4. What can we contribute to the knowledge pool?

What might we add through exploration, conversation, and research to move wisdom forward? This question invites participants into active contribution and deeper internalization of the material.

5. What happens next?

How might this learning advance individual goals? Does it make the world better? If so, how? Are we learning to live more fully into this wisdom? Here, participants are invited into a vision of the future shaped by newly acquired insight and understanding.

These questions can guide movement from settled, to unsettled, to resettled states. These questions can be use to design a course, as well as within individual class sessions and learning exercises. Assignments may intentionally linger within one set of questions before progressing to the next. As participants move through this arc—from settled, to unsettled, to resettled—a pedagogical plotline emerges that sparks curiosity and, when the environment allows, fosters deep engagement with both the material and one another.

This brings me to the five core values (wisdom, inclusion, fun, creativity, and generosity) that shape learning environments participants experience as empowering, accessible, and hopeful. If the Pedagogical Plot represents the “what” of transformative learning, the five core values drive the “how” of the learning environment and the delivery of the plot itself. These values determine the atmosphere in which transformative learning takes place. 

Wisdom seeks more than knowledge or memorization; it guides decisions about how material is presented, how pacing is adjusted, and how participant needs are discerned. Wisdom looks beneath the surface, attending to what may be present in participants who are struggling. It is insight hard-won through experience. 

Inclusion is the second core value shaping how material is presented and received. Inclusion honors the diverse ways learners show up and makes learning accessible and relevant across multiple positionalities by removing barriers and celebrating difference. 

Creativity opens up possibilities. It manifests in variety and allows for multiple pathways to demonstrate learning, acquire knowledge, and cultivate wisdom. 

Generosity is also central to a learning environment oriented toward transformation. Generosity appears in positive assumptions about learners, assessment practices that value more than simple knowledge regurgitation, encouraging feedback, and time invested in participants beyond the formal learning space. 

Finally, fun is core to both who I am and how I teach. Laughter and joy ease fear and anxiety. I work to create environments where material is taken seriously, but where we do not take ourselves too seriously. When pedagogical tools are implemented wisely, inclusively, generously, creatively, and joyfully, they form a holistic learning environment that balances content with context—one in which transformation can occur.

I have implemented this pedagogical philosophy in the writing of lectures, group courses, professional seminars, sermons, and classroom lessons. Regardless of context, this theoretical and philosophical framework creates learning environments in which participants move from settled to unsettled to resettled while imagining futures informed by applied learning. Hands-on activities, films, primary and secondary sources, creative group projects, and reading lists are only as effective as their placement within the pedagogical plot and the values that guide them.

Notes & Bibliography

*Please note that AI was used for grammar, punctuation and spelling edits.