Grow in Teaching Adult Bible Studies
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A free monthly e-newsletter that provides tips, resources, and encouragements for those teaching adult Bible studies.
Featured Article:
The Four Tools—Group Work
June 2020, Volume 5.12Life experiences can be valuable for helping our learners to more fully understand how a segment of the Bible applies to their lives. How do we tap into that experience? Group Work is often the wise way to do so. Past issues of Teach the Word have dealt with the first two tools in the adult educators’ tool box: Lecture and Question/Answer. In this issue Prof. Tom Kock helps us to consider tool #3, Group Work.
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Adult Education: Additum ▾
Curriculum Connection ▾
| 06-2020 | God's Word—The Foundation for Our Family Download Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson PDF |
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| 02-2020 | 5-Minute Bible Studies: For Teens Sample File PDF |
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| 01-2020 | My Brother's Keeper Leader's Guide PDF |
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| 12-2019 | Politics Is Driving Me Crazy! Leader's Guide PDF |
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| 11-2019 | Luther's Large Catechism Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson PDF |
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| 10-2019 | Growing In Grace: Adult Bible Information Course Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson PDF |
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| 09-2019 | End Times: Jesus Is Coming Soon Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson PDF |
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| 08-2019 | Predestination: Chosen in Christ Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson PDF |
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| 07-2019 | Reformation and Martin Luther Reformation: Grace, Faith, Scripture The Word Endures: Lessons From Luther Yesterday and Today The Word Endures: Lessons From the Lives of Powerful Politicians A Return to Grace: Luther’s Life and Legacy |
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| 06-2019 | Pray, Praise, and Give Thanks Teacher's Guide PDF |
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| 05-2019 | Training Christians for Ministry | |
| 04-2019 | Sing to the Lord: A Study of Lutheran Hymnody Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson PDF |
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| 03-2019 | Lord's Supper: The Lamb's High Feast Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson PDF |
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| 02-2019 | Growing in the Word Teacher's Guide PDF - Student Lesson PDF |
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| 01-2019 | Growing in Grace Teacher's Guide PDF - Student Lesson PDF |
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| 12-2018 | From Promise to Glory Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson PDF - Time Line Sample |
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| 11-2018 | The Lyrics of Love - Solomon's Song of Songs Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson PDF / RTF |
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| 10-2018 | We Still Believe and Confess Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson PDF / RTF |
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| 09-2018 | The Glory of Living Under the Cross Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson PDF / RTF |
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| 08-2018 | Lifestyle Witnessing Teacher's Guide PDF - Student Lesson PDF / RTF |
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| 07-2018 | The Narrow Lutheran Middle Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson PDF |
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| 06-2018 | Great Gospel Events in the Lives of Elijah and Elisha Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson PDF / RTF |
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| 05-2018 | 19 Minutes With the Messiah Leader's Guide PDF |
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| 04-2018 | Influencing God's Children Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson PDF / .rtf |
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| 03-2018 | God's People Discussion Guides Leader's Guide PDF - Sample Lesson PDF / .rtf |
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| 02-2018 | How Can They Teach That: And Still Claim to Believe the Bible? Leader's Guide PDF - Sample Lesson PDF / .rtf |
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| 01-2018 | The Glory of Jesus' Suffering, Death, and Resurrection Leader's Guide PDF - Sample Lesson PDF / .rtf |
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| 12-2017 | 19 Minute Bible Studies Sample Lesson PDF / .rtf |
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| 11-2017 | 364 Days of Thanksgiving Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson: PDF / .rtf |
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| 10-2017 | End Times - Jesus Is Coming Soon Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson: PDF / .rtf |
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| 10-2017 | 19-Minutes With Luther: Baptism PDF - RTF |
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| 09-2017 | Reformation: Grace, Faith, Scripture Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson: PDF / .doc Leader's Guide Full Study: PDF - Student Lesson: .doc - Video Segment: Video Segment |
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| 06-2017 | Timely Topics, Timeless Truths, Set 2 Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson: PDF / .doc |
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| 04-2017 | The Word Endures Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson: PDF / .doc |
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| 03-2017 | A Study of World Religions Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson: PDF / .doc |
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| 02-2017 | Conversion Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson: PDF / .doc |
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| 01-2017 | Civil Government Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson: PDF / .doc |
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| 12-2016 | The People in David’s Life and in Yours Leader's Guide PDF - Student Lesson: PDF / .doc |
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| 11-2016 | Our Christian Response to Blessings and Challenges, Part 1 Table of Contents and Lesson 4 of Leader's Guide PDF |
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| 10-2016 | The Word Endures: Lessons From the Lives of Powerful Politicians Table of Contents and Lesson 1 of Leader's Guide PDF |
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| 09-2016 | The Word Endures: Lessons From Luther Yesterday and Today Leader's Guide Sample PDF |
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| 08-2016 | Flowers in the Desert Lesson One (before class) PDF - Lesson One (during class) PDF |
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| 07-2016 | Idols We Never Knew We Had Student Lesson PDF / .doc - Leader's Guide PDF / .doc |
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| 06-2016 | Timely Topics, Timeless Truths (Set 1) Student Lesson PDF / .docx - Leader's Guide PDF / .docx |
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| 05-2016 | God's People Discussion Guides - David Student Lesson PDF - Leader's Guide PDF |
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| 04-2016 | Families of the Bible Student Lesson PDF / .rtf - Leader's Guide PDF / .rtf Devotional Readings PDF / .rtf |
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| 03-2016 | My Vocation in Christ - Kenneth Cherney Lesson 1 - My Vocation Is the Role in Life to Which God Has Called Me Student Lesson PDF / .rtf - Leader's Guide PDF |
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| 02-2016 | The Bloodstained Path to God - Daniel Habben Lesson 6 - The Sabbath, the Spring Festivals Student Lesson PDF / .rtf - Leader's Guide PDF Torah Symmetry Chart |
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| 01-2016 | The Glory of Jesus' Suffering, Death, and Resurrection - Richard Gurgel Lesson 1 - Jesus and His Disciples in the Upper Room Student Lesson PDF / .rtf - Leader's Guide PDF / .rtf |
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| 12-2015 | Families Under God - Kenneth Kramer Set 3, Lesson 4 - Be Patient with Members of Your Family Student Lesson PDF - Leader's Guide PDF |
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| 11-2015 | Prayer - Kenneth Cherney Lesson 3 - Elements of a Well-Rounded Prayer Life Student Lesson PDF / .doc - Leader's Guide PDF / .doc |
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| 10-2015 | The Gospel to Share - Robert Koester Lesson 1 - The Good News We Have to Share: Heaven Student Lesson PDF / .doc - Leader's Guide PDF / .doc |
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| 09-2015 | Hard Sayings of Jesus - Joel Siefert Lesson 3 - The Upside-Down Kingdom Student Lesson PDF / .doc - Leader's Guide PDF / .doc - Promotional Toolkit Samples PDF |
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| 08-2015 | Baptism - John Koelpin Lesson 2 - The Baptismal Service Student Lesson PDF / .rtf - Leader's Guide PDF |
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| 07-2015 | Fruit of the Spirit - James Aderman Lesson 9 - Seof Control Student Leson .doc - Leader's Guide & Promotional Material PDF |
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| 06-2015 | Teaching Christian Values to Our Children - Mark Zarling Lesson 1 - Esteemed in Christ Leader's Guide PDF |
Teaching Toolbox ▾
Archive ▾
Video Extras ▾
| 12-2018 | From Promise To Glory - The Patriarchs |
| 09-2017 | One Authority - Scripture Alone |
| 04-2017 | Interview with Prof. Paul Koelpin |
| 12-2015 | Interview with Paul Nitz - Part 5 |
| 11-2015 | Interview with Paul Nitz - Part 4 |
| 10-2015 | Interview with Paul Nitz - Part 3 |
| 09-2015 | Interview with Paul Nitz - Part 2 |
| 08-2015 | Interview with Paul Nitz - Part 1 |
Teaching Tips ▾
| 06-2020 | To serve today’s students well, it is incumbent upon teachers to understand if, when, and how to incorporate technology into the classroom. While some measure of technology is not only beneficial but necessary for optimizing the education of today’s digital natives, it must be used with care, deliberation, and strategy if the reality is to live up to the promise. | Sam Bowman |
| 02-2020 | Stand when presenting new content, sit when facilitating dialogue. One should probably be sitting more than standing if this guideline is followed. Sit down with your students when possible and become a learner among learners. Although with large groups this may not be possible (as you need to be able to see everyone), the desired shift in power can still be communicated by inviting learners to engage with the learning rather than only the teacher, and encouraging dialogue with each other and themselves rather than only with you. | Jeanette Romkema and Dan Haase from Global Learning Partners |
| 01-2020 | Learners need to know when they will need to use the new content. If you can highlight that they will need it this week when they are at work, in their home, or out with their friends, engagement will be higher. You help this by: 1) always being specific about the time and place something can be used i.e. “This week when you are at work, you could…” 2) making final decisions at the end of a session specific to their day-to-day life. i.e. “Think of decision you need to make at the end of this week, …” | |
| 12-2019 | Remember what it is like to learn something for the first time. Give students time to process information and answer questions. Know that it is fine for students to make mistakes if they can learn from them. Realize that learning can be hard work, even for the most motivated students. | |
| 11-2019 | When the blahs strike, I try to look for a way to completely—albeit temporarily—abandon correctness, coverage, consistency, or control in favor of getting students engaged. Besides all the good learning that results, I feel a pedagogical rush when my students turn on their brains and produce new knowledge. We all get engaged, and we all move a bit closer to learning “happily ever after.” | E. Shelly Reid, Assoc. Prof. and Dir. of Composition George Mason University |
| 10-2019 | “Find out what your group knows about a topic before you begin a new lesson. Divide them into teams of four and present the topic. Ask them to brainstorm and list as many ideas or questions as they can come up with in a given amount of time.” | Catherine Rasmussen, Extension Professor University of Minnesota |
| 09-2019 | “To promote effective retrieval, at the end of class ask students to put their notes away and force themselves to remember what was covered.” | James Lang, Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Assumption College |
| 08-2019 | When advertising and promoting an upcoming Bible study, present specific benefits the learners will get through the course. Growing in faith and knowledge of the Word are obvious gains of a Bible study, but naming some blessings might help. For example, when promoting a study of 1 Corinthians, you might list what kind of problems can exist within a Christian congregation and note that the study will teach how God handles them. | |
| 07-2019 | Moving around the room in three-dimensional space is something that a flat image on a screen can never achieve. The enthusiasm and energy of a teacher who is moving around to be close to the students send a clear message: “This is great material that is worth learning.” | |
| 06-2019 | If you don’t have a suitable answer to a learner’s question, don’t try to stumble through an inaccurate response. Simply say, “I don’t know—let me get back to you.” Then, after class, you can take the time you need to determine the proper answer and return with it for the next study. Trying to fake that you know an answer when you truly do not causes your credibility to crumble, and you can end up making a big mess of things. Being honest about not knowing shows that you are human, and coming back with a solid answer shows that you care. | Modified from an article at Teaching for Learning at McGill University |
| 05-2019 | To tap into people’s experiences and to encourage them to more thoroughly explore a text and how it applies, ask questions that have multiple correct answers. For example, “Which verses from 1 Corinthians 15 give you the most encouragement?” will generate more discussion than “What does 1 Corinthians 15:58 say?” |
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| 04-2019 | In order to avoid becoming a stuck and stubborn teacher, a successful educator takes time to reflect on their methods, their delivery, and the way they connect with their students. Reflection is necessary to uncover those weaknesses that can be strengthened with a bit of resolve and understanding. | |
| 03-2019 | When teaching adults, youth, and older children, try to ask “open-ended” questions: questions that may not have a single answer. Stay away from “closed-ended” questions: questions that can be answered with a simple, regurgitated answer, or a “yes” or “no.” For example, instead of asking, ‘How many loaves of bread and how many fish did Jesus have when he fed the 5000’ (a closed question), ask, ‘Jesus had only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish when he fed the 5000. For what reasons might God have told us the exact amount of food he had at the beginning?’ (an open question). Be patient when waiting for answers. Count to five or ten slowly to yourself. If you answer your own question, then learners will learn to let you do so always! Give your learners time to think before they answer the question. |
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| 02-2019 | Make a list of favorite practices of your past teachers that helped you to learn. Make another list of your least favorite practices of your past teachers. Incorporate the former ideas and avoid the latter, unless it would help the teaching process to bring in some of the unpleasant practices. | |
| 01-2019 | Don’t fear silence! Learners will eventually talk. While we may think the silence is long, learners need time to process your questions and come up with answers. Give them a chance to think and they will eventually talk. In fact, you may want to silently count slowly to 10 or 15 to force yourself to wait long enough for students to think and respond. | |
| 12-2018 | One of the principles of learning is that immediate application improves learning. As soon as possible after you teach new content, have the students think about and verbalize how they can apply the new and relevant information to their lives. | |
| 11-2018 | Most adults have job and family responsibilities that keep their schedules full. Though you want the class to be comfortable and conversational, don’t waste a lot of time on small talk. Be prepared to move the class along so students won’t feel that you are wasting their time. | |
| 10-2018 | Many of the people you will teach may not have been in school for many years. They might be hesitant to ask questions. Experienced teachers have found that asking, “What questions do you have?” elicits many more questions than asking, “Do you have any questions?” That slight change in wording implies you are expecting questions. Then pause for seven seconds to give people the opportunity to construct their questions. | |
| 09-2018 | Take five minutes at the end of each class to ask students to summarize the ideas presented, to apply information to a new situation, or to write their reactions to the day's class. Doing so throughout the course can help you know what you can do to strengthen your teaching. | |
| 08-2018 | Consider using e-mail or text messages between class sessions to generate comments or questions for discussion. Out-of-class discussions can increase the interest level and class participation. | |
| 07-2018 | Take advantage of the pre-class lull by posting a thought-provoking question or statement for students to see as they're filing in. This helps get them ready to learn, so that when the class starts, you're off and running. | |
| 06-2018 | Many television series start each week's episode with a recap of what happened the previous week. It's a good strategy for faculty as well, and it can help refocus students' attention and get them ready to learn. | |
| 05-2018 | Be well organized. A lesson that flows logically will be easier to follow. Hand out a list of ideas for topics that you plan to cover so that students can see where you have been and where you are going. | |
| 04-2018 | Respect the fact that the members of your class will have differing learning styles. Learn about the various styles, and try to include questions and activities that will appeal to people with a variety of learning styles. | |
| 03-2018 | When you are concluding your presentation of a section of Scripture, ask real questions that guide the students to dig into the content of the section. Use "Does anyone have any questions?" only occasionally. | |
| 02-2018 | Consider using e-mail to encourage class participation. Send one question for class participants to consider during the week and to whet their appetites for the next session. | |
| 01-2018 | In class discussion, when no amount of rephrasing a question or waiting for a student response elicits any, say, "Help me understand what makes that a difficult question to answer." | |
| 11-2017 | Good teachers take time to learn. It not only broadens the pool of knowledge they can share and thus makes their classes more interesting, but it inspires enthusiasm for the topic. Enthusiasm tends to be contagious. | |
| 10-2017 | Shift your focus from "covering" to "uncovering" content. In the process, you'll get students engaged in analysis, application, and problem-solving. | |
| 10-2017 | About 75% of what we learn comes through the sense of sight. About 13% comes through the sense of hearing. When an instructor uses words alone, students will remember some facts. When the instructor uses pictures alone, students remember more than three times as much information. But if the instructor uses both words and pictures, students will retain more than six times as much information. |
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| 09-2017 | The article accessed in the Additum section discusses the development of lessons by looking first at your goals for the lesson. Today’s teaching tip is that you discuss your goal for each session with the class. Adults will be motivated to study a particular course if they understand how they will benefit from the study. For example: If your goal for a lesson on the Lord’s Supper is that the students will understand and be able to articulate the rationale for the doctrine of close Communion, express that goal. You might do that by giving an example of a time when that knowledge could be important to them. | |
| 06-2017 | Remembering Information. At the end of the class, ask class members to summarize key thoughts that you taught or discussed. This activity helps move class content into the long-term memory. | |
| 04-2017 | If the class material is weighty and detailed, adults will benefit if you "chunk" the information. Chunking refers to the approach of breaking long strings of information into chunks or smaller units so that the short-term memory is better able to assimilate the information. | |
| 03-2017 | To encourage class members to think about the Bible study throughout the week, consider giving a take-home assignment. It may simply be a thoughtful question that will serve as a hook to lead into the next lesson. It could be an assignment to look for applications to what they discussed in class in the news stories of the week. You might want to send the question/assignment home on a small note that participants could put up on their refrigerators. You may also take it one step further and use this as an impetus for spiritual discussion within the family. Ask the participants to discuss a question with a spouse, friend, or family member. To make this most effective, you may need to make it a regular practice so the class members get into the habit. |
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| 02-2017 | If the subject of your Bible class is rather complex or requires a lot of context, such as an explanation of the historical setting, avoid cognitive overload. If student pages contain long text sections, try to incorporate numbered or bulleted lists. Or, you may be able to break these sections into smaller units that students can process more easily. | |
| 01-2017 | At the end of your class, you might ask the participants to take five minutes to write a summary of what they learned or to write a reaction to the class. An alternative would be to present a hypothetical situation and ask them to apply what they learned to that situation. As they think through the class discussion and write their responses, they will be transferring what they heard into long-term memory. | |
| 12-2016 | Vary your daily presentation. One-way communication holds your audience's attention for about 20 minutes. Vary what you do (talk, listen, move about, use materials, etc.) and what your students are asked to do (talk, listen, move about, use materials, etc.). | From the U of Nebraska-Lincoln, Office of Graduate Studies |
| 11-2016 | Adjust your teaching speed to meet the needs of the older learner. . .be conscious of the rate at which material is presented. Be aware of offering too much information too fast; regulate the flow of information accordingly. | Deborah Davis in The Adult Learner's Companion: A Guide for the Adult College Student, 2nd ed. |
| 10-2016 | Think/pair/share is always a good standby for engaging students. Take it a step further with think/pair/share/square in which two groups then have to reach agreement with the other groups. | Ken Alford in What Works and What Doesn't When Teaching Large Classes |
| 09-2016 | In class discussion, when no amount of rephrasing a question or waiting for a student response elicits any, ask, "Help me understand what makes that a difficult question to answer?" | Linda Shadiow, Teaching Professor Conference Advisory Board |
| 08-2016 | Most television series start each week's episode with a recap of what happened the previous week. It's a good strategy for faculty as well, and it can help refocus students' attention and get them ready to learn. | Ike Shibley in 23 Practical Strategies to Help New Teachers Thrive? |
| 07-2016 | Take advantage of the pre-class lull by posting a thought-provoking question or statement for students to see as they're filing in. This helps get them ready to learn, so that when the class starts, you're off and running. | Tyler Griffin in What Works and What Doesn't When Teaching Large Classes? |
| 06-2016 | Lower-level questions need not be simple yes-no questions. For example, if the content describes a four-step process, rather than getting students to simply restate those steps, you can have them select which step is their favorite or state which they think is the most important and why. | Online Classroom |
| 05-2016 | Doing group work well requires planning, maintenance, closure, and reflection. It also requires problem-solving and conflict resolution skills. Research shows that it can be worth the effort, as it improves outcomes and satisfaction. | Claire Howell Major in Choosing and Using Group Work Activities in the College Classroom |
| 04-2016 | Shift your focus from "covering" to "uncovering" content. In the process, you'll get students engaged in analysis, application, and problem-solving. | Nicki Monahan in Taming the Monster: Rethinking the Role of Content |
| 03-2016 | Use your eyes to encourage more student interaction and engagement during discussions. When a student begins talking, if they are only looking at you while making their point, start with eye contact and nodding to them, but then start looking at other students. This has four benefits: (1) It cues them to consider other students as they talk. (2) You can see how well other students are tracking the discussion. (3) The student who's talking receives subtle feedback on when to stop. (4) It encourages other students to reply directly to their peer's comment. | Ray Cramer, IslandWood |
| 02-2016 | Allow chaos. Students should learn to tolerate some uncertainty and vagueness in the learning process. "Figuring it out" is part of the learning. | Berlin Fang in "How to Avoid Being a Helicopter Professor" |
| 01-2016 | When it comes to integrating technology into your teaching, don't use the most complex technology available, but rather use the simplest technology to accomplish what you need. | Tyler Griffin in "How Can I Use technology to Improve Learning?" |
| 10-2015 | Other Guidelines for Writing and Setting a Learning Task | Paul Nitz |
| 08-2015 | Group work in the classroom: types of small groups | Univ. of Waterloo |
| 08-2015 | 4 Tips for Working With Small Groups | Daniel Schroeder |
Miscellaneous ▾
| 05-2016 | Revelation 1-3, Lesson 7 | Stephen Geiger |
| 05-2016 | Revelation 1-3, Lesson 6 | Stephen Geiger |
| 04-2016 | Revelation 1-3, Lesson 5 | Stephen Geiger |
| 03-2016 | Revelation 1-3, Lesson 4 | Stephen Geiger |
| 02-2016 | Revelation 1-3, Lesson 3 | Stephen Geiger |
| 02-2016 | Revelation 1-3, Lesson 2 | Stephen Geiger |
| 01-2016 | Revelation 1-3, Lesson 1 | Stephen Geiger |
| 07-2015 | Same Sex Marriage Bible Study (1 Lesson) Student Lesson PDF / .doc - Leader's Guide PDF / .doc |
William Monday |
| 04-2015 | Treasure in Jars of Clay: The Synergy Between the Instrumental and Ministerial Causes in God's Plan of Salvation |
Jonathan Hein |
