You didn't use the suggested worship. Your students joined several other grades in a joint opening devotion led by the Sunday School director.
You didn't use the opening activity. A local news story had captured the interest of your students, so you allowed them to share their thoughts, offered some comments, and led the discussion into the Bible account for the day.
You didn't present the Bible account using drama like the guide suggested. Most of your students are not very outgoing, but they like to draw, so you had them line up at the board and have each one illustrate one paragraph of the text.
You didn't use the scripted teacher talk. Instead you phrased questions in your own words and followed up on insights your students shared.
You did remember the key point and general thrust of the lesson from your review earlier in the week, and you kept to that outline, more of less.
You didn't use the suggest application activity, but instead tied the Bible text back to the local event with which you started.
You didn't sing the suggested hymn in closing, but the text was right on target, so you challenged your students to listen carefully as you played the recording.
You didn't use the closing prayer, exactly. Your students are generally willing to pray petitions expressing their spiritual concerns, so you allowed each of them to offer a short prayer and closed with just a couple of phrases from the printed prayer.
You didn't use the leaflet this week, but you passed it out, and you noticed a couple of the students tucked it into their Bibles. Maybe they will use those daily Bible readings this week.
It was one of the best classes you've taught this quarter. The students were engaged. The Gospel was clearly shared. And the lesson material provided just enough structure and substance to get you started and keep you on track. You were the final editor, making choices and adjustments based on local conditions the publisher could never have anticipated.
Thanks! God bless you as you teach His children His Word!
Showing posts with label teaching skills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching skills. Show all posts
Monday, November 3, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
Formative Assessment, a Critical Sunday School Task
We don't talk very much about assessment for Sunday School. Perhaps that is because most people, when they hear the term "assessment," think about summative assessment.
Summative assessment measures achievement and assigns a judgment, a grade. It is the grade you get at the end of the course in school. It is also all the grades for the quizzes and tests you took that are compiled to make up that final grade. The key here is that the assessment is fixed and immutable at that point in time at which it is rendered. We are judged, and often found wanting.
Formative assessment is different. It is assessment that intends to set the course for continued effort or instruction. It is the pre-test that helps the teacher to understand what the student already knows and does not yet know about a subject. It is the ongoing data from your GPS, telling you how you are doing as you approach your destination. It is the regular checkup with the doctor that suggests changes in diet or treatment for an illness.
One could argue that summative assessment has relatively little value in Christian education. The objective of such training, faith in Christ and life as one of God's children, is not subject to objective measurement or human judgment.
Formative assessment though would seem to be a different matter. When a teacher takes time to determine what a student, or a class as a whole, remembers about or knows about a particular Bible account, the teaching that follows can be more carefully tailored to the needs of those students. When a teacher takes time to investigate how each of the students in a group most enjoy learning or how they learn most easily, activities can be chosen that will capture more attention and accomplish more teaching and learning. When a teacher takes time in the middle of a lesson to check for comprehension, the remainder of the lesson can be salvaged or maximized.
So, forget the final grade! But take time to ask, "What do they know?" and "How am I doing?" Because the important thing at the end of the hour is not how much did I teach but how much did they learn?
God's blessings as His children learn His Word!
Summative assessment measures achievement and assigns a judgment, a grade. It is the grade you get at the end of the course in school. It is also all the grades for the quizzes and tests you took that are compiled to make up that final grade. The key here is that the assessment is fixed and immutable at that point in time at which it is rendered. We are judged, and often found wanting.
Formative assessment is different. It is assessment that intends to set the course for continued effort or instruction. It is the pre-test that helps the teacher to understand what the student already knows and does not yet know about a subject. It is the ongoing data from your GPS, telling you how you are doing as you approach your destination. It is the regular checkup with the doctor that suggests changes in diet or treatment for an illness.
One could argue that summative assessment has relatively little value in Christian education. The objective of such training, faith in Christ and life as one of God's children, is not subject to objective measurement or human judgment.
Formative assessment though would seem to be a different matter. When a teacher takes time to determine what a student, or a class as a whole, remembers about or knows about a particular Bible account, the teaching that follows can be more carefully tailored to the needs of those students. When a teacher takes time to investigate how each of the students in a group most enjoy learning or how they learn most easily, activities can be chosen that will capture more attention and accomplish more teaching and learning. When a teacher takes time in the middle of a lesson to check for comprehension, the remainder of the lesson can be salvaged or maximized.
So, forget the final grade! But take time to ask, "What do they know?" and "How am I doing?" Because the important thing at the end of the hour is not how much did I teach but how much did they learn?
God's blessings as His children learn His Word!
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
What Are You Teaching? or What Are They Learning?
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!
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!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sticky Lessons
I recently fielded a critique from a pastor who was concerned that students in their Sunday School were not retaining the lessons that were being taught. He suspected that the curriculum was at fault. That was hard to hear, but it gets me thinking.
What Makes a Lesson Stick?
What are the keys to memorable lessons? How can we teach so that children retain the stuff we want them to learn? What is is that we want them to remember in the first place?
Gospel First
It is enough, I think, that children come away from Sunday School convinced that God loves them, that Jesus sacrificed Himself so that their sins are forgiven, their life restored, and a place prepared for them in heaven. Yes, I'd love for them to know how to live as God's children. I'd like them to be able to replay the Bible account and provide accurate details, even a week, month, or year later. I'd like them to be able to connect the Bible account to a chronological framework of the Bible, understand its context, and know the broader narrative for which it is a part. But it is enough if the children can honestly sing, "Jesus loves me! This I know, for the Bible tells me so."
Memorable Classroom Moments
What will make the lesson memorable? The possibilities are too numerous to list here, but some that top the list: connect the lesson to the child's life, be relational, involve emotional content, know and cater to the students' preferred learning styles, start with things the students know and add on that foundation with new knowledge that makes sense.
Repetition and Review
Moving knowledge from short-term memory to long-term memory is a subject worth tackling on its own and one that I won't try to write about with some personal study (not enough parked in my long-term memory). But repetition and review are tried and trued techniques. Our Growing in Christ lessons include some deliberate review tools and procedures. I wonder how many teachers skip them? The lessons I edit probably do not have enough specific instructions about review lessons from the last week or the weeks before that. That may be an oversight worth correcting. Growing in Christ repeats most Bible accounts on a three-year cycle; a student who is faithful in attendance will study a lesson three or four times in the course of his or her Sunday School career, each time in an age-appropriate way, building on previous knowledge. That review will reap a harvest. All review, however, depends on that faithful attendance. If I review a lesson three times, but the student is present only once, that's not much review.
So, I'm bold to ask:
What do you do to make Bible lessons stick?
What more can we do as your publisher to make memorable moments happen in your classroom?
God bless your efforts to teach God's children His Word!
What Makes a Lesson Stick?
What are the keys to memorable lessons? How can we teach so that children retain the stuff we want them to learn? What is is that we want them to remember in the first place?
Gospel First
It is enough, I think, that children come away from Sunday School convinced that God loves them, that Jesus sacrificed Himself so that their sins are forgiven, their life restored, and a place prepared for them in heaven. Yes, I'd love for them to know how to live as God's children. I'd like them to be able to replay the Bible account and provide accurate details, even a week, month, or year later. I'd like them to be able to connect the Bible account to a chronological framework of the Bible, understand its context, and know the broader narrative for which it is a part. But it is enough if the children can honestly sing, "Jesus loves me! This I know, for the Bible tells me so."
Memorable Classroom Moments
What will make the lesson memorable? The possibilities are too numerous to list here, but some that top the list: connect the lesson to the child's life, be relational, involve emotional content, know and cater to the students' preferred learning styles, start with things the students know and add on that foundation with new knowledge that makes sense.
Repetition and Review
Moving knowledge from short-term memory to long-term memory is a subject worth tackling on its own and one that I won't try to write about with some personal study (not enough parked in my long-term memory). But repetition and review are tried and trued techniques. Our Growing in Christ lessons include some deliberate review tools and procedures. I wonder how many teachers skip them? The lessons I edit probably do not have enough specific instructions about review lessons from the last week or the weeks before that. That may be an oversight worth correcting. Growing in Christ repeats most Bible accounts on a three-year cycle; a student who is faithful in attendance will study a lesson three or four times in the course of his or her Sunday School career, each time in an age-appropriate way, building on previous knowledge. That review will reap a harvest. All review, however, depends on that faithful attendance. If I review a lesson three times, but the student is present only once, that's not much review.
So, I'm bold to ask:
What do you do to make Bible lessons stick?
What more can we do as your publisher to make memorable moments happen in your classroom?
God bless your efforts to teach God's children His Word!
Monday, January 2, 2012
How Will Your Teachers Grow in 2012?
Effective teachers are the key to strong Sunday Schools.
Yes, curriculum is extremely important, since a flawed curriculum is a huge obstacle for any teacher, especially one with limited background or experience.
But even the best curriculum may fail if the teacher is unskilled, inexperienced, unmotivated, or not well prepared.
So, how will you work to equip your teachers, and yourself, for great Sunday School education in the new year?
Here are some tools to consider.
The Teacher Guide
The Growing in Christ teacher guides are packed with helpful information and tips. If a teacher uses the guide fully and regularly, he or she is likely to grow. In particular, the key point, Law/Gospel points, and biblical commentary on the first two pages of the lesson are packed with potential. I suspect, though, that the teacher who has taken too little time in preparation may be skipping over these gems.
The Sunday School Spot Web Site
CPH is working to improve this site in the new year, but it even now has some wonderful opportunities for growth. One of best are the "Seedlings" podcasts. These weekly recording are highlighted on the first page under the Teacher Spot tab. where a link brings up a 20- to 30-minute discussion of the next Sunday's lesson. Former editor Pam Nielsen shares her wisdom with Sunday School teachers each week courtesy of the folks at Issues, Etc. (We failed to post podcasts in about six of the last 52 weeks, but we plan to do significantly better in 2012.)
Teachers Interaction
If you are not yet providing this magazine for your teachers, by all means, consider it for 2012. Teachers Interaction is the only magazine devoted specifically to strengthening the Lutheran Sunday School teacher for the crucial task of teaching God's children His Word. I will happily send a sample copy to anyone who would like one. Post a comment to this post, or e-mail me at tom.nummela@cph.org.
Teacher Meetings and Training Opportunities
How do you train your teachers? Are teacher meetings and training courses a thing of the past? I'd love to hear what you do in your congregation along these lines.
God bless your task in the year ahead.
Yes, curriculum is extremely important, since a flawed curriculum is a huge obstacle for any teacher, especially one with limited background or experience.
But even the best curriculum may fail if the teacher is unskilled, inexperienced, unmotivated, or not well prepared.
So, how will you work to equip your teachers, and yourself, for great Sunday School education in the new year?
Here are some tools to consider.
The Teacher Guide
The Growing in Christ teacher guides are packed with helpful information and tips. If a teacher uses the guide fully and regularly, he or she is likely to grow. In particular, the key point, Law/Gospel points, and biblical commentary on the first two pages of the lesson are packed with potential. I suspect, though, that the teacher who has taken too little time in preparation may be skipping over these gems.
The Sunday School Spot Web Site
CPH is working to improve this site in the new year, but it even now has some wonderful opportunities for growth. One of best are the "Seedlings" podcasts. These weekly recording are highlighted on the first page under the Teacher Spot tab. where a link brings up a 20- to 30-minute discussion of the next Sunday's lesson. Former editor Pam Nielsen shares her wisdom with Sunday School teachers each week courtesy of the folks at Issues, Etc. (We failed to post podcasts in about six of the last 52 weeks, but we plan to do significantly better in 2012.)
Teachers Interaction
If you are not yet providing this magazine for your teachers, by all means, consider it for 2012. Teachers Interaction is the only magazine devoted specifically to strengthening the Lutheran Sunday School teacher for the crucial task of teaching God's children His Word. I will happily send a sample copy to anyone who would like one. Post a comment to this post, or e-mail me at tom.nummela@cph.org.
Teacher Meetings and Training Opportunities
How do you train your teachers? Are teacher meetings and training courses a thing of the past? I'd love to hear what you do in your congregation along these lines.
God bless your task in the year ahead.
Monday, July 11, 2011
What Do You Hear? Part 1
Imagine that you recorded one of the recent Bible lessons you taught. You pressed "Record" when the first student arrived and "Stop" when the last one went out the door. Now, play that tape back in your mind. What do you hear?
Do you hear mostly your own voice? Giving instructions. Reading from the Bible. Asking questions. Leading the students in prayer. Do you hear mostly voices of the students? Answering questions or asking questions of their own. Reading. Singing. Praying. Talking to each other. Do you hear silence? Do you hear chaos?
What should you hear? How would an excellent lesson sound? Many years ago, Rev. Locke E. Bowman, Jr., a gifted Christian educator and president of the National Teacher Education Project, taught me to be aware of the Teacher Talk to Student Talk Ratio.
It's a simple calculation. Divide the amount of time during which the teacher talks by the amount of time students are talking. If the teacher talks for 45 minutes and the students talk for 15 minutes the TT/ST ratio is 3. If the amounts are equal, the ratio is 1.
What does the TT/ST ratio in your lessons tell you? Would you rather it be high, more teacher than student? Low? Why?
I invite you to ponder this one for a few days! I promise to return to this topic next week with some further thoughts of my own.
Do you hear mostly your own voice? Giving instructions. Reading from the Bible. Asking questions. Leading the students in prayer. Do you hear mostly voices of the students? Answering questions or asking questions of their own. Reading. Singing. Praying. Talking to each other. Do you hear silence? Do you hear chaos?
What should you hear? How would an excellent lesson sound? Many years ago, Rev. Locke E. Bowman, Jr., a gifted Christian educator and president of the National Teacher Education Project, taught me to be aware of the Teacher Talk to Student Talk Ratio.
It's a simple calculation. Divide the amount of time during which the teacher talks by the amount of time students are talking. If the teacher talks for 45 minutes and the students talk for 15 minutes the TT/ST ratio is 3. If the amounts are equal, the ratio is 1.
What does the TT/ST ratio in your lessons tell you? Would you rather it be high, more teacher than student? Low? Why?
I invite you to ponder this one for a few days! I promise to return to this topic next week with some further thoughts of my own.
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