So far, we’ve seen in Deuteronomy 6:1-9,
- what the teaching-learning process is and what’s at the root of it
- what the teacher’s role is in the teaching-learning process
We’ve noted that it’s about getting students beyond a head knowledge to a heart knowledge that results in trusting and obeying God. That will take more than imparting information. We must pierce through to the core to affect attitudes and one’s belief system to make an impression.
Methodology Tips for the Teaching-Learning Process as Seen in Deuteronomy 6:7-8
1) Incorporate variety.
Notice the variety of means in Deuteronomy 6:
“talk about them” – verbal
“tie them as symbols … bind them on … write them on” – visual
Notice the variety of settings:
at home
along the road
Notice the variety of timing and activity:
when you sit at home – passive learning
when you walk along the road – active learning
Resource: Creativity: Variety is One Element Worksheet
2) Think in terms of total session teaching.
Use everything you do as a means of teaching — both the formal and non-formal times. Use what happens before and after as well as in-class. Grab their attention when they first arrive and use everything, even distractions or discipline issues, as learning opportunities. Also remember to make transitions from one activity to another count.
Resources:
3) Make learning relevant to everyday life.
Parents have natural opportunities that bring the relevance, like what happens at home from when they get up in the morning to bedtime. They engage in many activities outside of the home as well. Bible teachers primarily only have short time in a more contrived setting in which to teach so they must effectively use age-appropriate methods that help students work through and practice the implications and applications of truth.
Resource: Make Truths Relevant: Age Level Characteristics & Needs Worksheet
4) Keep reinforcing the lesson’s truths.
Parents were told to, “Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” Talking needs to reinforced with visual reminders. Even though Bible teachers mainly have the session to impress on their students who God is and how His Word affects their lives, there are things they can do to reinforce the lesson’s truths throughout the week. Decide if there are papers or projects that can be sent home. Think about how texting, social media, and the like can be used for follow-up. Determine when it might be appropriate to give them an assignment for the upcoming week that revisits what’s been learned.
Resource: DISCIPLESHIP: Isn’t teaching a lesson enough? Teacher Training Worksheet