I am a big proponent of discussion-centered teaching in the gospel classroom. The following is the premise, preparation, and method of presentation I use when I teach. It fits my personality and experience.
Discussion-Centered Teaching
Underlying
Assumptions:
1)
People come to class to have an experience more than to just learn
something.
2)
All people have a desire to be heard, listened to, understood, and
validated.
3)
The more
a person participates the greater the experience.
4)
When a
person formulates thoughts and feelings into words and then expresses them,
there commitment level to those ideas, principles, and ideals are
strengthened. The less time between
formulation and expression the better.
5)
The
here, me, and now is always more impactful than the there, them, and then.
6)
Experiences
expressed by the person who had the experience are more powerful than reading
about it, or having another read or tell about it. Therefore, it is more powerful to experience
the thoughts/feelings of those who are in attendance than those who are not
(living or dead).
7)
Teachers
are more effective when they facilitate the comments of others rather than
their own.
8)
To
maximize the effect of a discussion-centered class, a safe environment must be
created.
9)
The
Spirit is freer to influence and operate when the pace of the class is not
forced.
10)
No
teacher can individualize the lesson to each person in attendance, only the
Spirit can.
11)
It is
more important for the teachers to prepare themselves than it is a lesson.
12)
Questions
are the best method to stimulate discussion.
Especially questions that make you think, explore, look inward, ponder,
and pray. Follow-up questions aid in
this process.
13)
The Lord
through the Holy Ghost will make sure everything that needed to be covered in
the lesson material will be covered. As
mortals, we don’t know what those in attendance need to hear and experience,
but the Spirit does. Trying to micro-manage the process will hinder the
Spirit’s influence on the process and those in attendance. If allowed, it will flow without compulsory
means.
14)
It is
more important that class members experience the love, peace, and influence of
the Spirit than that everything in the manual is covered.
Preparation.
To
have the maximum classroom experience the student’s preparation needs to be as
extensive as the instructors. The following are the steps I use to prepare
for a gospel
lesson (as a student or instructor).
1) Start
a week ahead.
2) Read
and study the manual or scriptural assignment.
3) Read
and study scriptural cross-references and support material.
4) Write
down as many principles as you can find in the assigned lesson or required
reading.
5) Pray and ask what
principles you should focus on for the coming lesson.
6) Ponder, pray, and meditate
on these principles during the week.
7) Draft (8-15) questions
based on the lesson manual or scripture assignment that will facilitate
discussion around these principles.
8) At the end of the week
formulate your thoughts and feelings and write them down.
9) When you go to class leave
all reference material, quotes, pictures, maps, notes, slips of paper, etc,
behind. Bring only your scriptures and
list of questions.
Presentation
When I teach my focus is on drawing people out, facilitation
of discussion, and delving deeper into a handful of principles selected from
the lesson material. It is important to
be relaxed and patient. Here are some of the rules I go by.
1) Begin
with asking the class if they have anything they would like to share from their
preparation for today’s lesson. Did
anything touch them or stick out for them from studying the lesson manual or
reading assignment? What insights were
gained or questions arose in their lesson preparation? Are there any questions they would like to
put to the class (the whole class time might be taken up in this process, if
not then ask your first question)?
2) Start
on your list of questions. Ask your questions one at a time. Never let a question go unanswered and never
answer your own questions or even those of others. Do not promote the premise that the teacher
is the source or final authority for answers or questions.
3) Let
the class dictate the pace and direction by remaining with the discussion of
each question you or others ask until there is no more comments or hands raised
pertaining to the present question, before moving on to the next.
4) Facilitate
discussion. Draw people out and listen patiently. Ask follow-up questions, especially to those
who give stereotyped answers. Always
thank people for their comments. After
each comment ask for more comments from others.
Whenever you ask a question or for more comments, be calm, be patient,
use silence to give class members the space to formulate their thoughts and
feelings. Ad-lib, if class member
comments trigger additional questions in your mind, then ask, and encourage
class members to ask questions.
5) Have
your spiritual antenna up. Don’t be afraid to call on people who do not raise
their hand, if the Spirit dictates. Look
in people’s eyes to gain discernment, if you notice that a person has just had
an “ah-ha” experience, immediately call on them by asking if there is anything
they would like to share. Personal
revelation is enhanced if expressed.
The Spirit will let you know whether to go forward or back off.
6) Focus
on creating a safe and real environment.
A feeling of safety is created when we are patient and don’t rush
people, people will feel valued if we are interested in what they have to say,
and the underlying message will be communicated that they are more
important than the content of the lesson.
7) If
we are real, it creates the opportunity for them to be real. For example, if we can see we are losing the
interest of the group, then stop and say, “I seem to be losing you, what did I
do wrong, what can I do to get you back?”
People will instantly come to your rescue. Realness will facilitate a “we are all in
this together” atmosphere. When we assume a role there will always be a
barrier. Being real is attempting to
express what you are thinking and feeling in that very moment, and this will
mirror the behavior you want from class members. People, whether they know it or not, are not
coming to class to learn, but to experience
the gospel, to feel the presence of the Spirit, and to express what is
inside. The more you can assist in
bringing it from the there, them, and then, to the here, me and now, the
greater the experience will be.
8) Testify
as often as prompted, and encourage others to testify as prompted.
Discussion-centered teaching is an approach that is easily
learned and mastered. Even if you don’t
think you have fully mastered it, I firmly believe you will be more effective
than the most practiced and experienced gospel teachers who employ the
traditional style of lecture and fast paced over-programmed unilateral flow of
information.
