The Impacts of the Socratic Method and Andragogy on Adult Bible Classes
This chapter addresses the potential use of the Socratic method and andragogical teaching methods in adult Bible classes in parish education. There exist many correlations between Socratic teaching strategies and andragogical philosophy, most notably the assumption that adult learners trend towards thinking of themselves as self-directed learners with a variety of experiences and the capacity to learn through dialogue with facilitators and each other. This chapter first outlines adult Bible classes in the isolated context of Christian parish education as community or non-formal education. Then, the chapter highlights the methods of a particular study in which pastors were trained in Socratic and andragogical methods and then observed for an extended period of time. Conclusions from the study include how Socratic and andragogical methods potentially help to increase learner self-reflection and engagement in similar contexts to the featured study.