For the past several years, I have been involved in a discussion group.  We discuss everything from current events to Biblical/Theological/Ministry concepts to personal challenges and successes.  The group of five has a strong bond and we regularly check in outside the meeting as well through text and email.  The meetings we have are a highlight of my week. 

What we’ve come to be is a group using the constructs of dialegomai that are found in the new testament.  The Greek verb dialegomai comes from the root dia– (“through”) and legō (“to speak, to reason”). (Not to be confused with legos that you step on barefooted and are suddenly near-crippled.  Ha!) Its literal sense is “to speak through” or “to reason through.” In classical usage, it carries the idea of dialogue, discussion, argumentation, or reasoning with someone. It differs from simple speech (laleō) or proclamation (kēryssō) because it implies an interactive, back-and-forth exchange, often with persuasive or educational intent.

In philosophical contexts (especially in Plato and Aristotle), dialegomai gave rise to the word dialectic, the disciplined method of inquiry and reasoning by conversation. It is not merely casual conversation, but structured, rational engagement meant to test ideas, uncover truth, and persuade. 

As I’ve reflected on the extensive value my group and its discussion have given me, I began thinking about it in terms of the foundational education benefits.  Truthfully, it is what one of my faculty teams where I serve as Chief Academic Officer has been seeking to develop in its delivery of education to its student body.  They wanted additional ways to mentor and coach students and develop the student’s ability to communicate effectively. 

I did a review of its use in the New Testament and found a number of instances.  It was used primarily by Paul.  The word dialegomai and its forms appear around 13 times in the New Testament, most often in the Book of Acts, and occasionally in Hebrews and Jude. The contexts reveal how early Christian teachers used it as a mode of engagement:

1. Acts 17:2 – Paul in Thessalonica

Paul “reasoned” (dielegeto) with the Jews from the Scriptures in the synagogue.
→ Shows Scripture-based dialogical reasoning, not just preaching.

2. Acts 17:17 – Paul in Athens

Paul “reasoned” daily in the synagogue and in the marketplace with those present.
→ Demonstrates adaptability: dialogue with Jews and Greeks in both religious and public spaces.

3. Acts 18:4 – Paul in Corinth

Paul “reasoned” in the synagogue every Sabbath, persuading Jews and Greeks.
→ Ongoing, systematic engagement across cultural lines.

4. Acts 18:19 – Ephesus

Paul entered the synagogue and “reasoned” with the Jews.
→ Indicates continuing use of dialogical teaching in Jewish contexts.

5. Acts 19:8–9 – Ephesus (school of Tyrannus)

Paul spoke boldly for three months, “reasoning and persuading” about the kingdom of God. When opposition arose, he withdrew to the lecture hall of Tyrannus, where he “reasoned daily.”
→ This is the fullest example: Paul uses dialegomai as a sustained educational method in a school-like environment.

6. Acts 20:7, 9 – Troas

Paul “talked with” (literally dielegeto) the believers until midnight. The long discourse led to Eutychus falling asleep.
→ Shows that dialegomai could extend to structured teaching sessions for believers, not just evangelistic debate.

7. Acts 24:25 – Paul before Felix

Paul “reasoned” about righteousness, self-control, and judgment.
→ Here, dialegomai takes on the tone of moral and theological reasoning before a Roman governor.

8. Hebrews 12:5 (quotation from Proverbs)

“My son, do not regard lightly the Lord’s discipline… nor faint when you are reproved (dielegetai) by him.”
→ God’s discipline is described as dialogical reasoning with his children—correction by way of reasoned address.

9. Jude 9

Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, “disputed” (dielegeto) about the body of Moses.
→ Shows the sense of disputation or argument, even in a cosmic conflict. 

In considering what has happened within my group and what we see in the New Testament, there are several implications for an educational model.  Here are the key educational characteristics of dialegomai:

• Interactive – learning through dialogue, not monologue.
• Scriptural and Rational – reasoning from texts and logic, not blind assertion.
• Public and Private – effective both in marketplaces (public spheres) and schools (structured learning).
• Persuasive – aims at conviction, not just transfer of information.
• Adaptive – flexible across audiences (Jews, Greeks, governors, believers).
• Transformative – connects ideas with moral and spiritual application (Acts 24:25).

In short, dialegomai in the New Testament describes an educational model grounded in dialogue, persuasion, and reasoning toward truth, making it a powerful paradigm for teaching and education today.  In terms of learning theory, dialegomai anticipates what modern frameworks call active learning or transformative dialogue. It treats learners as co-investigators, uses real-life concerns as entry points, and views education as a process of reasoning toward conviction and change.

As InterLearn Institute develops its updated K-12, this model will be part of the conceptual framework.