HOW LEARNING WORKS



How Learning Works in the Enrichment Program

Learning as Formation of Judgment

Learning in the Enrichment Program is organized around sustained inquiry, attention, and the formation of judgment. It begins where questions are taken seriously and understanding is allowed to develop over time rather than being rushed toward conclusions.

The seminars create conditions for concentrated study, dialogue, and reflection—supporting clarity of thought and personal orientation in complex intellectual and practical contexts.

Seminar-Based Learning

Each seminar combines lectures, guided discussions, close reading of texts, and individual reflection. Participants examine arguments, confront different perspectives, and test their own assumptions. Rather than offering ready-made answers, the seminars cultivate clarity of thought, careful distinction, and responsible judgment in complex situations.

Rhythm of the Week

Each one-week seminar follows an intentional rhythm that balances intellectual intensity with time for processing, conversation, and quiet work.

Approximately 20 hours of academic sessions are complemented by 12 hours of Action Learning, integrated into the flow of the week through reflection, dialogue, and shared experience.

Action Learning as an Integral Component

Action Learning is not separate from academic work, but woven into it. It is not a skills module or performance exercise, but an extension of study into reflection, dialogue, and lived experience.

Learning continues beyond the seminar table—in conversations, encounters, and personal reflection—while remaining intellectually serious and demanding.

Faculty and Learning Environment

Faculty members act as interlocutors rather than instructors delivering conclusions. Their role is to frame questions, provide intellectual orientation, and accompany students in developing their own considered positions.

The setting of Villa Steiner matters: a focused environment, small groups, and shared presence over the course of a week are integral to the learning experience.

Learning Taken Seriously

The Enrichment Program understands learning as a practice of judgment, attention, and responsibility—formed over time, in dialogue, and in contact with real questions.