Bible class never really ends. The teacher may finish the day’s lesson, the buzzer may ring, the students may go home, but the Bible study, or at least thinking about the Bible, should never end. Deuteronomy 6:7-9 tells when people should think about the instructions of God:
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on our foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
In other words, all the time. The Word of God is something to carry in the forefront of a Christian’s thoughts. It is what directs his other thoughts and actions. It is something to meditate on every day, all the time. A Bible class should reflect that by giving the students a point to think about as they leave class.
The ending point is a question that does not need to be answered before the bell. It can be given, in fact, just after the bell rings. It should reflect the main point of the lesson and give the students something they may want to study that week and even talk about with their parents (or their spouses and friends).
This ending question can be more personal and can challenge the students to look at some truth in a new way, or at least with a little more depth. For example, after a lesson on patience, a teacher might ask: “Remember the person you gave as an example of patience? What makes them patient, and how can you be more like that person this week?”
Bible study helps Christians understand what God wants and makes them into His people. Bible teachers who take their responsibility seriously and work to improve their teaching skills help people become more Christ-like in their thoughts and their actions. They help all Christians write the words of God not just on plaques outside their doors and on needlepoint frames on their walls, but on their hearts. They have a great responsibility, but they also have a great reward for helping people get to Heaven.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
How to Teach a Better Bible Class: Let the Silence Hang After a Question by Josh Hardin
Most teachers are nervous if they ask a question and no one responds. If there is a moment of silence, it must mean the teacher is not doing his or her job. After all, a classroom is a place where information is exchanged, and in order for that to happen, someone has to talk. So teachers often ask a question and then answer it themselves if no one responds in a few seconds. Silence, however, is not a bad thing. Silence can be a useful teaching tool.
The previous two articles focused on how to get students to think and how to ask thought-provoking questions. When a thinking question is asked, the students will need time to think. This will result in a period of silence. That type of silence, however, is a productive silence. That silence may be the most useful part of the class because the students are not using their mouths or listening to the teacher. Instead, they are using their brains. So teachers should let that silence hang for a few moments and give those brains time to work. (And give their own brains and ears a moment’s peace.)
This may be uncomfortable for some teachers. Thoughts may run through their heads. “Maybe I need to explain some more so they will understand.” “Maybe I need to tell them the answer so they will know it.” But if a teacher gives in to those things, the students will not have time to figure it out on their own. Not every moment should be filled up with talk. Some should be filled up with thought.
There may be times when no one answers even after a few moments of silence. There are a few things a teacher can do that are better than just answering the question and moving to the next part of the lesson. One of those things is to call on someone. There are students in every class who are thoughtful enough to have a solid answer most of the time even if they don’t speak up. A teacher can call on one of these students to break the ice once in a while.
Another thing a teacher can do is to rephrase the question. Maybe no one understood what was asked. If no one responds to, “When you hear the word ‘peace,’ what do you think of?” the teacher can rephrase that to, “What images come to mind when I say the word ‘peace?’”
Finally a teacher can give an example. If no one responds to the rephrased question on peace, a teacher might say, “For instance, peace is the opposite of war.”
This will give the students an idea of what the question is about and give their brains something more to work on.
Silence in a classroom should not be feared, but should be used instead to let the students work their brains and learn how to think.
The previous two articles focused on how to get students to think and how to ask thought-provoking questions. When a thinking question is asked, the students will need time to think. This will result in a period of silence. That type of silence, however, is a productive silence. That silence may be the most useful part of the class because the students are not using their mouths or listening to the teacher. Instead, they are using their brains. So teachers should let that silence hang for a few moments and give those brains time to work. (And give their own brains and ears a moment’s peace.)
This may be uncomfortable for some teachers. Thoughts may run through their heads. “Maybe I need to explain some more so they will understand.” “Maybe I need to tell them the answer so they will know it.” But if a teacher gives in to those things, the students will not have time to figure it out on their own. Not every moment should be filled up with talk. Some should be filled up with thought.
There may be times when no one answers even after a few moments of silence. There are a few things a teacher can do that are better than just answering the question and moving to the next part of the lesson. One of those things is to call on someone. There are students in every class who are thoughtful enough to have a solid answer most of the time even if they don’t speak up. A teacher can call on one of these students to break the ice once in a while.
Another thing a teacher can do is to rephrase the question. Maybe no one understood what was asked. If no one responds to, “When you hear the word ‘peace,’ what do you think of?” the teacher can rephrase that to, “What images come to mind when I say the word ‘peace?’”
Finally a teacher can give an example. If no one responds to the rephrased question on peace, a teacher might say, “For instance, peace is the opposite of war.”
This will give the students an idea of what the question is about and give their brains something more to work on.
Silence in a classroom should not be feared, but should be used instead to let the students work their brains and learn how to think.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
How to Teach a Better Bible Class: Ask Open-Ended Questions by Josh Hardin
The first thing to do in order to lead a good discussion class is to ask open-ended questions. Nothing kills a discussion like a question to which everyone knows the answer. No one wants to speak up, because it is obvious that no one should have to. When someone finally does speak, they say one or two words and then go silent. No one else says anything, because there is nothing else to be said. Discussion over.
Open-ended questions, however, can allow a discussion to build. They allow the class as a whole to work through the thought process of answering the question. The students have to think through to find the solution rather than trying to determine just what the teacher wants to hear. The teacher acts as mediator for the discussion. He or she makes sure everyone stays on the subject and that the class continues to move forward. The teacher also makes sure that the students see the problem with a biblical mindset and think through it in God’s way. Certainly, there will be some answers that are not quite right. The teacher can see how the student might have arrived at that idea and guide them back to looking at it in the proper light. Once a discussion has gone far enough, the teacher can summarize the good things everyone has said and move on to the next questions or passage of Scripture.
Here’s an example. In a class about the Exodus, a teacher might tell the story about Moses going up on Mount Sinai to receive the law from God. Meanwhile, down below, the people melt their gold and make an idol of a calf, which they praise as being their god. Moses comes down off the mountain and smashes the tablets of the Ten Commandments in anger.
The teacher asks: “Did the people sin by making a Golden Calf?”
A student answers: “Yes.”
Teacher: “Should they have done that?”
Student: “No.”
Teacher: “Should we worship idols today?”
Silence.
Someone finally says: “No.”
End of discussion.
Teacher goes on reading and making comments.
Instead of asking those yes or no questions, the teacher could have asked open-ended questions to make the students think. “Why do you think the Israelites made a calf to worship right after they had seen God’s power bring them out of Egypt?” “Why did Aaron agree to build the calf?” The students’ answers may also give rise to other questions that can be discussed.
With these types of questions, the students have to think through why the Israelites did what they did. What were they thinking? What was their mindset? Did they really believe that calf, which they just made, brought them out of Egypt? Most importantly, how do we avoid falling into that same type of mindset and thinking today? The class thinks through the problem together, the teacher makes sure that people stay on the right track, and the students learn to evaluate problems and figure out biblical solutions on their own, even when the teacher is not around to give them the answers.
It may frighten some teachers to ask open-ended questions. Students may give some answers the teacher does not expect. Students may ask some questions the teacher cannot answer. But it is important to remember that no teacher has all the answers, and it is okay to say, “I don’t know. I’ll have to do some more study on that.”
It takes more work to teach using open-ended questions, but the class itself is easier because the teacher talks less, and the students actually learn more and are able to examine the Bible in a way that will help them think like God wants them to.
Open-ended questions, however, can allow a discussion to build. They allow the class as a whole to work through the thought process of answering the question. The students have to think through to find the solution rather than trying to determine just what the teacher wants to hear. The teacher acts as mediator for the discussion. He or she makes sure everyone stays on the subject and that the class continues to move forward. The teacher also makes sure that the students see the problem with a biblical mindset and think through it in God’s way. Certainly, there will be some answers that are not quite right. The teacher can see how the student might have arrived at that idea and guide them back to looking at it in the proper light. Once a discussion has gone far enough, the teacher can summarize the good things everyone has said and move on to the next questions or passage of Scripture.
Here’s an example. In a class about the Exodus, a teacher might tell the story about Moses going up on Mount Sinai to receive the law from God. Meanwhile, down below, the people melt their gold and make an idol of a calf, which they praise as being their god. Moses comes down off the mountain and smashes the tablets of the Ten Commandments in anger.
The teacher asks: “Did the people sin by making a Golden Calf?”
A student answers: “Yes.”
Teacher: “Should they have done that?”
Student: “No.”
Teacher: “Should we worship idols today?”
Silence.
Someone finally says: “No.”
End of discussion.
Teacher goes on reading and making comments.
Instead of asking those yes or no questions, the teacher could have asked open-ended questions to make the students think. “Why do you think the Israelites made a calf to worship right after they had seen God’s power bring them out of Egypt?” “Why did Aaron agree to build the calf?” The students’ answers may also give rise to other questions that can be discussed.
With these types of questions, the students have to think through why the Israelites did what they did. What were they thinking? What was their mindset? Did they really believe that calf, which they just made, brought them out of Egypt? Most importantly, how do we avoid falling into that same type of mindset and thinking today? The class thinks through the problem together, the teacher makes sure that people stay on the right track, and the students learn to evaluate problems and figure out biblical solutions on their own, even when the teacher is not around to give them the answers.
It may frighten some teachers to ask open-ended questions. Students may give some answers the teacher does not expect. Students may ask some questions the teacher cannot answer. But it is important to remember that no teacher has all the answers, and it is okay to say, “I don’t know. I’ll have to do some more study on that.”
It takes more work to teach using open-ended questions, but the class itself is easier because the teacher talks less, and the students actually learn more and are able to examine the Bible in a way that will help them think like God wants them to.
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