Last summer I went to Education Week with my friend Janice. Yes, Janice, you made it into the blog again. That's what you get for hanging out with me so much! I attended a series of classed called "Great Teaching." It was geared at Seminary teachers for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Seminary is an optional class offered to youth from 9th-12th grade. In Utah, and possibly other places with a high concentration of LDS members, it is taught by professionals. Otherwise it is taught by faithful members, willing to sacrifice sleep and time to teach the scriptures to the youth. This class was taught by Scott Knecht who is a Regional Seminary Instructor with many years of experience. I learned a lot from spending a few hours under his tutelage.
Because of my personality style( a 4 from Dressing Your Truth, a Red/Blue from colors, or a type A) I really want to share what I learned. It changed my teaching in a way that is simple but profound.
I've always enjoyed teaching and have some natural ability. Or call it talent. Or maybe it's a combination of talent and a 4 year degree focused on becoming an educator. Anyway, one of the most important things for any teacher to understand is that the teacher is always a student as well. Learning doesn't end. There isn't a moment when you have arrived at the pinnacle of knowledge- you don't ever really graduate from learning.
So, I was really excited to learn how to be a better teacher. By the way, I currently have a calling as a Relief Society teacher in my ward, which means that I teach the adult women who aren't serving in the auxiliaries for the Young Women( 12-18 year old girls), Primary (3-12 year old kids), or nursery ( 18 months to 3 year old kids). We usually have between 15 and 30 women in attendance. I teach once every other month. In many wards, instructors teach once a month. I like how my ward works.
Ok, so back to what I learned.
The instructor started out by telling us he wasn't going to use any technology that we wouldn't have easily available to us. He used a chalkboard and the scriptures. I was hooked from that moment.
Obviously I cannot use one blog entry to go into great detail about what Brother Knecht taught over several hours. I do need to add that I also attended a class on family scripture study. It was taught by two seminary teachers who helped develop the new curriculum. The teachings from both of these classes went hand in hand, but because Great Teaching focused on being the teacher, I'm going to write about that right now, but I really learned the same concepts in both classes.
In no particular order, following are the
FOUR concepts that really stuck with me:
1. Teach from the inside out, not from the outside in.
Sometimes we are afraid to use the sources provided to us to teach a lesson. I'm talking about the manual and the scriptures. These contain the content that we are supposed to cover. Sometimes, the first time I read a lesson, I have a moment where I think," How am I supposed to teach this?" The lessons contain one generic teaching tip at the end, but no other guidance. And I admit, I have often been guilty of using the technique of teaching from the outside in for most of my gospel teaching past (except for my last two lessons).
Teaching from the outside in means bringing in outside sources or thoughts to make a point and then supporting them with the scriptures and the lesson manual.
Example: - Reading a quote or story you found on facebook or in an interesting book by a really inspiring individual about charity. Then, sharing the scripture from the lesson about charity. This is using a scripture to support the first quote. It's really easy to do. I didn't understand the power that was lost by downplaying the primary sources we should be teaching from. We do not need to be afraid to teach from the materials given. We do not even need to bring in outside sources. It's ok to have some supporting information, but only if the supporting stories and quotes are used to support the scriptures/lesson and not the reverse.
Teaching from the inside out means to share the lesson material, one small part at a time, and then support it with discussion, stories, and testimonies. I was initially afraid to use this method, thinking the class would just stare at me. But, it worked. It is more complicated then simply reading the lesson out loud and asking the questions in the back. If you do this, it will be a boring lesson. FACT. So, you need to do a few more things. Keep reading. I promise this will be worth your time if you try these ideas.
2.
Do not ask for answers. Give the answers right up front. Ask for responses. Try to ask questions that open up the conversation rather than shut it down.
Ask questions that are thoughtful, not devil's advocate thoughtful, but truly thought provoking. Ask questions that allow people to gain a deeper understanding of gospel principles being taught and to share their testimonies of these principles. Asking for answers looks like this:
Where should you aim for getting married? (temple)
How old do you have to be to go on a mission? (18,19)
When was Joseph Smith born? (1805)
Asking questions that have a definite answer sets people up for failure. It makes the class uncomfortable. It is the job of the teacher to GIVE THE ANSWERS before asking questions. And remember that people need time to process questions. It's great to go ahead and put your questions up on the board at the beginning of the class. Give the class time to think about it. The longer, the better.
Here's an example of questions that invite responses:
Ex: We all want to get married in the temple so we can be sealed with our families forever. Does anyone have an experience you would like to share about preparing for your own temple marriage? How does having a temple marriage strengthen you personally compared to a civil marriage? How have you taught your children the importance of a temple marriage? What do you do in your own home?
Take time before the lesson to think of great questions. Ponder and pray to make sure you have picked the right ones. You only need a few great questions for a 30-45 minute class. Great questions invite conversation and testimony. This leads up to the next point.
3.
The teacher is not really the teacher. The teacher is the architect of the lesson. The true teacher of the Gospel is the Holy Ghost.
The goal of every lesson needs to be to invite the Holy Ghost so the class members can feel the Spirit and be edified. How do you invite the HG into the lesson?
-Every lesson is about the Savior, even if you think it isn't. Remember that.
-Teach the doctrine. Keep it simple. Don't try to embellish the lesson, rather try to explore it as a class.
-Follow these four steps. 1. present the doctrine. 2. strive to understand what it means. This can be accomplished by cross referencing, pondering, discussion, quotes from conference or prophets. . .whatever it takes to truly understand what is being taught. 3. tell/invite others to tell stories that support the doctrine. 4. Bear testimony (yours or a class member)
4. Help the class members feel comfortable, safe, and valued.
-I talked a little bit about this before with the types of questions you ask. Ask questions that invite discussion and personal sharing rather than questions that set people up to be right or wrong. This can be a hard change to make, but if you think about it, when somebody answers the question "What should you do when you need guidance?"with "Read your scriptures." we don't feel the spirit. It's boring. Everyone already knows the "answer."
But, if the teacher said," (Reads a scripture)We are taught in the scriptures that when we need guidance we can turn to the scriptures for answers. Would anyone like to share a story from your life of when you needed guidance and you turned to the scriptures and got an answer?"
Those stories will be personal testimonies of the principle "If you need guidance, you can find answers in the scriptures" and the Holy Ghost will testify to all who are willing to feel it that it is true.
-Some people do not like to talk in class. Changing the questions you ask and how you ask them might not be enough for them to want to talk. One way to help them participate is to occasionally invite class members to share with their neighbor or a small group. Never cold call on a person who is not comfortable talking. You could ask them earlier in the week so they can be prepared and also have a chance to say yes or no privately. Some people do want to talk, but feel shy. Pay attention to the class members. Watch for body language indicating that someone really wants to share. Someone playing with their hair or ear or looking intently at you might be a sign that they are thinking about something they want to share. You can carefully invite these students to share. Look at the person and say something like" Do you have a comment to share?" Or just point at them with a question in your eyes? If the response is a no, accept that without any further prodding.
-Most importantly, make sure the class members feel like they are important. When I taught last Sunday I put a quote up on the board. It was something Brother Knecht said "Great teaching is a great conversation with students that leads to great learning." Without the students, there is no lesson. You are not teaching "your" lesson. You are teaching the gospel to people. I told my class that there was one of me and 30 of them, so they had 30 times the responsibility to make sure the class was great. And it was great because a lot of people shared their ideas and testimonies. As a teacher, make conscious choices to let your students know that you value their thoughts. Go beyond a simple "thank you" at times. Maintain eye contact. Do not look at your lesson or the clock while someone is sharing. Validate their comments by summarizing what they said. If someone says something you loved, tell them. If you felt the spirit very strongly, say so. If you are going to use an idea yourself, admit it. If you never thought of something that way, share that. One great idea Brother Knecht uses sparingly is when someone makes a comment that just really is what the lesson is all about and brings the Spirit so strongly, that touches everyone, he will say,"I think you were here to make that comment today in this class." Whatever you say, be genuine. However you say it, if it is heartfelt, the class members will really know that you value them as equal participants in the lesson.
So, that's it. 4 things.
1.
Teach from the inside out, not from the outside in.
2.
Do not ask for answers. Ask for responses. Ask great questions that open up the conversation rather than close it down.
3.Make sure to invite the true teacher to the lesson- the Holy Ghost.
4.Help the class members feel safe, comfortable, and valued.
That's all.
I didn't have oodles of time to prepare for my last two lessons, but I used my time to study the lesson, to think of good questions, and to make sure I was presenting the material from the inside out.
Based on the responses I got and also on the feelings I felt, I know that by using these techniques we were able to invite the Holy Ghost to teach us the things we needed to learn. Participation was high and the feeling in the room was of acceptance, love, and sisterhood. The ideas are simple, but they really work. They don't require anything fancy, although it's fine to have videos, music, handouts, visuals, cookies. . . you get the picture. These are all good, but they aren't necessary. They aren't vital. The Spirit is vital. The Gospel is vital. Conversation is vital. And safety is vital.
