Category Archives: Training Sessions

Here’s an example of how to use circle response in Bible teachers training to help them assess their teaching. The session encourages them to look beyond their own assessment, and even beyond how students feel about their teaching, to God’s perspective.

About the Circle Response Method

Circle response is a method you can use to get everyone participating in a minimally threatening way. How personal the type of response you request could depend on how well your teachers know each other. Each person may only respond with one word, phrase, or sentence, depending on what you set as the criteria. The statements or questions used should generate more than one kind of response.

1. Prior to the session, arrange seating in a circle.
2. Start with the person who tends to be more outgoing and go around the circle having each group member give his/her response to your statement or question. Do not allow comments until you get around the circle.
3. Summarize their responses and follow up with discussion and/or added input.

Training Session to Help Teachers Assess Their Teaching

First go around the circle for responses to the following statements. Move from one statement to the next without providing commentary or allowing comments.

• In one word, express how you feel about your teaching.
• In one word, describe how you think your students feel about your teaching.

Next make observations about their responses. For instance, you may be able to note how some teachers used similar words to describe their teaching from both points of view while others used very different words for each. After making your observations, ask the following:

What criteria did you use to determine your responses to each statement? (Allow for some responses.)

Now reflect on how you think God feels about your teaching. (Give them a few moments of silence to reflect.)

What criteria would God use to assess your teaching? (Allow for some responses.)

Since His Word provides the standard, let’s reflect on some Scripture verses that should guide us in the way we teach. (Start by asking for some Scripture verses that have been meaningful to them. You can add into the discussion with verses listed in the post, Bible Verses for Bible Teachers.)

Teacher training often focuses on teaching skills. God, however, is most concerned about our hearts. Use this training session to make that point.

Introduction to a Training Session about Effective Bible Teaching

Raise your hand if you want to be an effective Bible teacher. That’s God’s desire for you as well. Look at 2 Timothy 2:15.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

Based on that verse, what teaching skills will it take to be effective in God’s eyes? What are other tasks that will make teaching more effective? (List responses on a white or chalk board, piece of poster board, or other means.)

While all these tasks from preparation to presentation and follow-up of the lesson help lead to effectiveness, God’s Word lets us know that God is most concerned with something else. (You can distribute the references to have different group members look up and read the verses from their Bibles, have the verses already typed out on sheets of paper for different individuals to read, or project verses for all to read together.)

1 Samuel 16:7
Proverbs 21:2
Matthew 12:34
Luke 6:45

Based on these verses, summarize God’s assessment of what matters most.  (Let someone give a summary. It should basically be that who we are, not just what we do matters most.)

Delving Deeper into Being Effective Bible Teachers

Now let’s make a list of qualities related to “being” that God deems important. (Using the following passages, make a list of qualities teachers need to “be” that will lead to greater effectiveness. Use the same means of making a list as you did earlier and display the list next to the first list.)

Galatians 5:22-23
Colossians 3:12-14
2 Peter 1:5-7

These qualities of “being” will help us “do” what we should do more effectively so let’s go deeper to personalize it to ourselves as teachers. (Give everybody a blank sheet of paper.)

Look at the list of what you must “do” to be effective. Which task do you seem to struggle with the most? (Have them write down what they personally struggle with the most at the top of the page.)

How might the “being” qualities help you to be more effective or more productive in accomplishing the task you just listed? (Give them a few moments to think about this question and write down their response. Then, ask at least a few of the teachers to share with everybody, allowing others to add into the assessment of how the qualities would help them. If time, you could break into groups of two or three for sharing. You could give this example: If struggling to take the time to adequately study and prepare, self-control, as seen in Galatians 5, will help us be more disciplined in setting aside the needed time and sticking with it, saying no to distractions, etc.)

Wrapping Up the Session about How Being Helps Us Do

We have seen how the qualities God looks for help us “do” the tasks we need to do as teachers. Here’s something we need to remember: God isn’t asking us to conjure up these qualities on our own.

Look back at Galatians 5:22-23. How does it begin the list of qualities? (Wait for a response.) — “But the fruit of the Spirit is …”

Now turn back to 2 Peter 1. The list of qualities began in verse five, but look at what verse 3 states: “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness …”

To “be” the kind of teacher who makes a difference, God must be the One at work in our lives. We need to yield what we have on our papers to the Spirit to build these qualities in our lives. We need to pull on His power. Remember, Philippians 4:13. — “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

(Divide into pairs. Partners should swap papers, read what is on the paper, and then pray for that person. Suggest that they take their partner’s paper home and commit to praying for one another, perhaps even asking each other how it is going in upcoming weeks. If that seems too threatening for your group, you could simply ask teachers to write out a prayer for themselves on their paper. Suggest they commit to praying similarly over the next several weeks.)

Following up the Session with a Reminder to “Be” an Effective Teacher

Face it. We’re prone to forgetting. Think about how to remind teachers of these truths beyond the training session. It can be something simple like sporadically sending Scripture used in the session through text, e-mail, or social media.

At the end of the session, you could distribute the Be-Attitudes for Teachers Devotional Guide Download, suggesting teachers do at least one lesson a week.