For an example of how the end product might look for a one-year freshamn
levle Scripture course, click here.
| 1. |
Definition: Techniques and strategies for effective
teaching of theology, for setting age-appropriate goals and using a variety
of techniques designed to implement cognitive, affective and behavioral
growth and change (educating the whole person in theology). |
| 2. |
Use a variety of methods or teaching techniques (see our
online resource, Categories
of Learning Activities)
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Statistics: Students are unable to recall 95% of straight
lecture material within 2 weeks!
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Principles:
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engage more than one student sense at a time
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respect variety of learning styles
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Examples:
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lecture: 15-18 minute limit
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Studies indicate this is the upper limit of a 15-18 year old's attention
span.
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interactive presentation: question and answer
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small group discussion
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task-oriented and structured by you with some mechanism for report-back
or turn-in
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5-10 minute limit
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collaborative or paired learning: best used for projects assigned out of
class time
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role-playing
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learning games/simulation: check out Benziger resource manuals
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guest speakers: be very careful about whom you choose; know what their
agenda is
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true-false quiz with immediate feedback (graded or not; use it to shatter
myths, etc.)
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prayer experiences: some planned by you, some student-planned; some in
classroom, some in another place
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story-telling
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AV's
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| 3. |
But maintain familiar structures and clear expectations
for student behavior. |
| 4. |
Assignments and Grades
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Be sure you (and they) know what the desired outcome is for classroom activities
and projects; set student-oriented behavioral objectives.
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Have assignments and evaluation techniques match your
teacher-oriented
goals; and try to evaluate more than just cognitive growth (though
that is the easiest thing to evaluate).
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Be familiar with the hierarchy of thinking skills (Bloom's taxonomy or
others), or think through ahead of time to see if you evaluate more than
just "recall" on tests and quizzes (they can be objective and still
test higher thinking skills).
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Number of assignments (graded) and tests/quizzes from 8-12 per quarter;
approximately 1-2 per week. Be sure to define class participation.
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Have high expectations but give lots of high grades.
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There are a variety of programs available for processing grades; click
here to see one such program for MAC, Rodus'
Grades.
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| 5. |
Relating to Parents
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Be careful and be kind; parents of adolescents are scared; they
also may fear that theology is not the same as when they were in high school,
so perhaps the values you teach are not theirs, so . . . don't intimidate,
don't prove them wrong, don't trample on their values or world-view --
though you can challenge it or disagree with it.
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Involve parents; don't be afraid to call them about behavior problems;
to ask them to be guest speakers; to have or introduce an interactive parents'
night at your school, and to let them know what and how you teach; shatter
THE MYTH.
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