Last week at our two-day EHS Consultant Training, Wendy Seidman shared Bloom’s taxonomy of how people learn to help us understand why it takes so long for individuals and church/ministry cultures to “get” EHS. The following is her adaptation of Bloom’s classic work on the process people need to move through to really “get” something like EHS:
1- Aware. People hear about EHS for the first time (e.g. Sabbath, slowing down, past’s impact on the present, grieving, learning to feel).
2- Ponder. People think about it, trying to understand or sort through issues as they gather more information. At this point they don’t have a clear inclination for or against it. (e.g. They continue reading, listen to messages, go through the EHS Course, learn a few EHS Skills, talk about Sabbath with others).
3- Value. People think it’s important, find value in it, and commit to it, saying, “I really believe in this EHS stuff.” They begin to do a few new things such as EHS Day by Day, Sabbath, EH Skills 2.0 in a few relationships, or lead an EHS Course group.
THE ACTION/BEHAVIORAL GAP
4- Prioritize. This is the largest, most important shift for people (assuming they get over the action/behavioral gap). Now they have to shift their time, schedule, and energy to make EHS a priority in order to live consistently with their new value.
5- Own. At this point, they live EHS consistently. All their decisions and actions are based on it. Their life and values are now congruent and they have become “unconsciously competent.”
For further information on Bloom’s seminal work on how people learn, go to:
