Education and discipling in a performance-based or rote learning context

Abstract

An ethnographic study in Nepal explores traditional cultural patterns of teaching and learning and asks how these patterns are also evident in teaching and discipling in the Nepali church. Pedagogical practices are analyzed to demonstrate the use of a performance-based model based on rote learning. It includes the interpretive context, modeling and observation, practice, performance, and evaluation. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for education or discipleship, including reviewing the place of questions, mistakes, “cheating,” and introducing innovations.