Teaching Objectives | Train Bible Teachers Blog

Help Students Be Discerning

Posted on May 6, 2016 by TrainBibleTeachers.com — No Comments ↓

Help Students Learn Discernment

Bible teachers need to help their students, young or old, learn to be discerning — to make wise, good, and godly choices. We live in a world that views truth as relative, leaving people to do what is right in their own eyes. But, as God reminds us, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death” (Prov. 14:12).

Bible Teachers Can Do the Following to Help Their Students Learn to be More Discerning:

1) Start with Scripture.

God’s Word is the starting point for discernment. Help people understand the power and usefulness of God’s Word “for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

For more:

Resource Page: How to Teach the Bible’s Content

2) Work toward the practical application of truth to life.

Discernment comes from not just knowing Scripture but using it — “who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Heb. 5:14). To get beyond mere head knowledge to applying truth to life, teachers need to employ methods that show students how to do that. Dramatic play can work well with younger children. Role play and case studies can work well with older children, youth, and adults. You’ll find help with those methods plus others in the Sharpening Your Bible Teaching Methods Resource.

For more:

Resource Page: Application Part of a Bible Lesson – Teacher Training Resources

3) Encourage students to get into the Word on their own.

Teachers must get beyond “spoon-feeding” their students. You cannot possibly cover every need, decision, or obstacle students will face. They need to learn to turn to God’s Word to find answers for their questions and situations they face that weren’t learned in the classroom.

Resource Page: How to Teach Students to Value, Study, Know & Apply the Bible

4) Pray for students.

Teachers can only take students so far. Practicing in a contrived situation is different from applying truth to real life. Remember that while we can’t be there with students every day to help them make the right choices, the Holy Spirit is with them if they have put their trust in Jesus, so pray. They need supernatural power to rise above and consistently make decisions born out of God-centered and love-based discernment. Pray that they live more consistently in line with God and His Word, no matter where they are or who they’re around which requires them to “be transformed by the renewing of their mind. Then they will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12:2).

Resource Pages:

Let’s Not be Shortsighted

Posted on October 16, 2015 by TrainBibleTeachers.com — 2 Comments ↓

Think of the objectives of many Bible teachers:

imparting knowledge rather than discipling for changed lives
getting through that day’s lesson rather than impacting lives outside of class
being more concerned with class activities than outcomes

Teachers might not verbalize their goals as such but the way they teach betrays them. These are shortsighted goals when compared to God’s objectives seen in Ephesians 4:11-14. God desires teachers to go well beyond what happens in the classroom.

God’s Long-range Objectives

Equip People for Works of Service — (Click to enlarge in Pinterest & repin.)

First notice that God’s short-term objective for teachers is to equip people to “do” something not merely to “know” what the Bible says.

Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service

Bible teachers with this objective include an applicational approach into their lessons wherein students are encouraged to not only determine the implication of truth to their lives but also practice doing so there in class. This kind of goal affects lesson structure and methodology.

Second notice that God’s long-term objective is that equipped people affect the growth of the whole Body.

to equip his people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Bible teachers are to impact individual lives so they can do their part helping others, leading to unity and maturity in the Body of Christ. We aren’t merely developing “super” Christians but rather a supernatural Church.

Third notice God’s attention to the outcome of such teaching.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

How we could use such stability, perseverance, and growth to be evidenced in our churches. Bible teachers, it begins with you! Let’s not be shortsighted but rather teach in accordance with God’s objectives.

More about Bible Teaching Goals

Well-Constructed Lesson Aims

Posted on August 2, 2013 by TrainBibleTeachers.com — 6 Comments ↓

Clear about their overall goal of teaching, Bible teachers can then better focus on bringing individual lessons under the umbrella of that objective. For example, if the goal is changed lives, then lesson aims need to include action verbs that depict change not only in head knowledge but also heart attitudes, and behavior.

Help with Lesson Aims for Bible teachers Who Write their Own Lessons

Develop lesson aims that grow out of a study of God’s Word and an understanding of one’s students. Make a well-constructed lesson aim:

Specific … not so vague that it can’t be measured

Student-oriented … not teacher-oriented that it’s more about what the teacher does than the students

Clear … not ambiguous that is causes confusion about what they are supposed to do

Meaningful … not irrelevant to students’ lives that they won’t have opportunity to apply it

Attainable … not so beyond where students are that they must first take other steps to get there

About Lesson Goals for Bible Teachers Who Use a Pre-written Curriculum

Most curriculum from major publishing companies has a lesson aim in what we can call the vital statistics. Know how to tweak those aims so . . .

they go far enough (i.e., in line with the above criteria for well-constructed lesson aims).

they fit students (i.e., where they are developmentally, both physically and spiritually).

Once settled on the lesson aims, everything in lesson should then work toward these aims.

Teaching for Changed Lives Training Sessions

Posted on July 26, 2013 by TrainBibleTeachers.com — No Comments ↓

While there’s no app or Easy Button for teaching for changed lives, Bible teachers can learn about the components that will increase the potential for seeing changed lives. You can help them better understand by making the Teaching for Changed Lives Workbook a part of your teacher training plan.

The Teaching for Changed Lives Workbook, produced by Ministry Tools Resource Center, was developed to be used as a self-study guide for teachers to learn in their own setting, time, and pace. That can be great for busy teachers who do not want to add yet one more meeting into their busy schedules.

How to Use the Teaching for Changed Lives Workbook in Training Sessions

Not all teachers have the discipline to complete such a study on their own. You might therefore plan teacher training sessions using the workbookbook. Here are some ideas:

# of Sessions:

Plan one 3-5 hour session to work through the entire book in one setting. This is particularly good if wanting to jump-start a teaching ministry for newer teachers.

Or, plan five 45 minutes to 1 hour sessions over a period of time. You would then use one of the lessons in the workbook each session.

# of Workbooks:

You can order only one book for the facilitator as a guide in teaching the session.

Or, order enough copies for each individual teacher to have their own workbook to follow along and write in. If doing five sessions, you might want to distribute only the section of the workbook to be used.

(Whether you copy it as a whole workbook or in sections is based on how you wish to use it.)

Use of Workbook:

You can request that teachers do the session on their own first so that when they come together, they are ready to share.

Or, you can have them work on it only in the training session.

(Note: When using this workbook in a group training session rather than as a self-study, it is recommended that you do not provide the input section in the back of the workbook as they will be tempted to look at possible responses rather than think it through on their own. The input section should only be provided to the facilitator.)

Structure for the Session:

How you teach using this workbook could depend on your time factor. The more discussion and participation by all group members, the better. If your time is short, this is when it is most beneficial to have had teachers complete the workbook prior to the session. You can then limit the number of people who actually share but everyone will have at least thought it through on their own.

How you teach using this workbook could also depend on the number of participants. If you have a large group, you might need to employ methods like circle response for one or two word responses, neighbor nudges to share in pairs, several smaller groups for discussion, or perhaps have them write down their responses and only one or two people share. The idea is to maximize participation by the greatest number of group members. The Teaching for Changed Lives Workbook stresses the importance of learner involvement so be sure to put that component into the way you facilitate the training session.

Teaching for changed lives is so important that you would benefit by first making sure all your Christian Education leaders are on this same page. The Christian Education Leadership Team Training Download is a tool you can use for that.