Too often Sunday School teachers and leaders focus too much of their attention on the question "What shall I teach?" than on the question "What will/did my students learn?"
The "teaching" question is admittedly an important question. It is the starting place. It is where so much can and does go wrong as churches make choices about curricula or teachers make choices about activities. Without a great plan for "what I will teach," any lesson has a low chance of success.
But the "learning" question is really the crux of the matter. If I don't take time to know, to assess, what my students learn, I may well have wasted my time as a teacher. The students may have been overwhelmed, bewildered, and clueless, unable to make sense of the material, but too polite to say so. They may have been bored to tears and tuned out completely.
How do I know what they've learned? One of the easiest ways is to ask them. Dialog is a time-honored and reliable method of assessment, but it is not the only one. "Draw me a picture." "Tell me the story." "Let's take this simple quiz." All are possibilities.
How do you know they learned what you intended to teach?
What is your most successful means of assessment?
God's blessings as you teach His children His Word!
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