Hours this week- 1(Sunday School)
This week was interesting because our teachers were gone with their son. Their son has a problem with his eye and has had eye surgery. Anyway, we had a collaborated class with some of the seniors in high school and their teacher/youth minister. It was interesting to see the difference between a teacher from the high school level and our teachers who are used to dealing with college age students.
Our class is usually pretty student lead and student driven discussion. However, I could tell a big difference in the style of teaching this week. This week we had a much more example driven, less interactive class. It was a lot of the teacher talking about the topic and less about us relating and discussing our own lives. This is something that I think is super important for all to learn in leading Sunday School or any kind of teaching setting. There is obviously a difference in how one teaches high schoolers versus college aged students. I guess what I am saying is that based on the setting, the people, and the topics, there is always more than one way to do things correctly.
Another thing that I noticed was that when he did try to get people involved and engaged, he always went and called on the same group of people. If you are going to call on people to get them engaged, you need to do it with more than just a few of the class or else it becomes a discussion between the teacher and those few whom they are engaging. It leaves the rest of the class feeling “left out.” This did not help to keep the attention of the those whom were “left out” or keep them engaged so as to gain anything from the lesson. These are the things that I have learned this week in observing our class.
Questions for this week:
How do you know when the teaching style you are using is not working? At what point are you almost “required” to change how you teach? Is it when people begin to say that they are not “getting anything from class?”
Having a blended class was different. Is it a good idea to bring two completely different classes together as one? Especially different age groups?
1. I believe that you'll know when the Spirit prompts you or that you find that you are ineffective. Yes you are required to do what is necessary to change so that you can teach them.
ReplyDelete2. Yes, it is a good idea. One cannot be fully rounded if you cannot function properly when put with another group.
Joey
1. I agree with Joey. A lot of it needs to be Spirit-Led. You can usually tell if people are into it by their body language, or things like that.
ReplyDelete2. Absolutely... I'm a firm proponent of diversity. Anytime you can bring new viewpoints to the table, as long as it's in a welcoming, non-judgmental setting, it can only be beneficial.
Danny <><