When preparing a Bible lesson, teachers will get to a point where they need to consider methodology. Even those using a pre-fab curriculum need an awareness of how to choose methods as what’s in the lesson plan may not always work well for their particular class or setting.
Top Two Basic Criteria for Choosing Bible Teaching Methods
While other factors do matter, answers to the following questions usually set teachers on the right track.
1) What method(s) best fit my objective?
2) What methods best suit the age I teach?
Click below to read more about methods for the broad age bracket you teach:
- Methods for Preschoolers
- Methods for Grade School Children
- Methods for Grade School Children
- Methods for Adult Bible Classes
Other Relevant Criteria for Choosing Methods
Certainly the above two criteria aren’t the only factors to take into account. But, they are a good starting point. Once teachers find a method that accommodates the above criteria, they can often adapt it to other classroom factors. For example:
- Finances and available resources might be an issue but you can often make or borrow materials if you don’t currently have the means.
- Logistics like your room and group size, time, and proximity to other classes enter into the equation but you can often make adjustments like breaking the class into smaller groups, taking turns, relocating for part or all of the session, etc.
- Openness of students toward different methodology can be increased by slowly introducing changes, figuring out a way to make sharing within a method less threatening, etc.
We would be remiss not to consider a final factor in choosing methodology — the teacher’s skill level. It’s being listed last because that certainly can be remedied through training and practice. The only way to gain experience with different kinds of methods is to use them. We may not be able to change all of the other factors to make a method work but we sure can change ourselves by taking time to learn more.
Resources to help with Bible teaching methodology:
The 10 page Tips for Choosing & Using Bible Teaching Methods Worksheet, adapted from the Sharpening Your Bible Teaching Methods Resource, asks questions that help Bible teachers think through 12 factors to take into account when choosing methods. It also provides basic definitions for 57 different methods from which to choose.
The next resource will not only help teachers choose the best Bible teaching methods but also gain an understanding on how to use specific methods:
The 190 page Sharpening Your Bible Teaching Methods Resource not only defines the 57 different methods but also runs each of them through the 12 group factors giving helpful tips to effectively use the methods. In addition, it contains five different charts for a quick overview of what methods work best based on:
– age level (preschool, grade school, teen, adults)
– category (impressional, expressional, group interactive)
– group size (individual, small, mid, large)
– learning objective (knowledge, attitude, behavior)
– time required (under 10 minutes, 10-15, 15-30, 30-60)
I want to learn more about teaching methods.
How good that you want to learn more about teaching methods, Cung Nei Rem. You’ll find a page with links to some resources on methodology that could be helpful at: Bible Teaching Methods – Teacher Training Resources If you want help with specific methods, look in the list in the ‘teacher training resources categories’ section on that page.
I am student teacher at Yei teacher training center. Could you send me step by step The methods of teaching The Bible.
Hello, Alex. In addition to what you read in this post, let me point you to an article on our main site, Bible Teaching Methods. It doesn’t provide a step plan but does give you with an example of factors to consider when choosing methods for teaching the Bible. If you’re looking more for steps for developing a lesson, you’ll find some helpful articles listed at: Bible Lesson Preparation & Planning – Teacher Training Resources