Here is a teacher training session you may freely use with your church’s Bible teachers.
Intro: Forced Choice Activity
Which would you prefer … attending a lecture with visual aids or without?
If you would prefer attending a lecture without visual aids, go stand on the left side of the room. If you would prefer attending a lecture with visual aids, go stand on the right side of the room.
(Undoubtedly all will go to the right side. If not, almost everyone will go to the right side.)
Why do you suppose everybody (or, almost everybody) is standing on the right side?
(Let several people respond before having them sit down.)
Key Points for Using Audiovisuals in Teaching:
1) God made people to learn audiovisually.
(Write the point at the top half of a white or chalk board. Then below it, draw a circle and divide it similarly to the one below. Put the percentages in as you speak.)
God made people with five senses through which we interact with our environment and hence learn. Studies show that how we learn breaks down this way:
3% through our sense of smell
3% through our sense of taste
6% through our sense of touch
13% through our sense of hearing
75% through our sense of sight
Obviously using all of the senses, where possible, would yield the greatest impact on learning. But, at minimum, if we are going to teach the way God made people to learn, we must try to engage people not only through the sense of hearing alone but also visually … audiovisually.
2) God Himself communicates audiovisually.
(Write the point on the other half of a white or chalk board. Discuss the following questions. List their responses to the first question below the point. You will find input in this article that you can add to the discussion if not already stated by group members: God Communicates Audiovisually)
- What are some examples of God communicating audiovisually?
- Why do you think God communicates audiovisually?
- In what situations might God be against the use of visual aids?
- What does all this infer for us as communicators of God’s Word?
If using audiovisuals is so important in teaching, then it is vital we learn to use them well.
Follow-up:
You will need to order the Tips for Choosing & Using Audiovisuals Worksheet in reproducible format so you can make a copy of it to distribute to each person. The worksheet provides an acrostic with the word AUDIOVISUALS wherein each letter in the word gives a tip.
How to use the worksheet:
You could send it home with them to read through and complete on their own.
If you have sufficient time, you could go over the tips together and then have them break into pairs or triplets to work on the two exercises. If your group is small, you might want to do this together. To benefit from the exercises it is essential the tips are first reviewed.