Within the Church, there are great opportunities for us to learn from others as they expound on the gospel in a lecture format. Sacrament meeting and General Conference talks provide the chance for speakers to thoughtfully prepare remarks and share them to a listening audience. This style of sharing information, however, is not always the best teaching approach. In the smaller classroom settings during the 2nd and 3rd hour of the block, we have the chance to interact with our listeners and get their input or thoughts on what is being shared. In fact, we are told to do this. Section 5.5.4. of the Church Handbook of Instruction gives this directive to anyone teaching in the church – “Teachers and leaders provide opportunities for class members to actively participate in discussions…”. Having a discussion instead of a lecture while teaching is a more fluid approach that engages the listeners and helps them to discover truth through their own contributions.
In the “Teaching, No Greater Call: A Resource Guide for Gospel Teaching” manual we are told, “Teachers who lecture most of the time or answer every question themselves tend to discourage learners from participating. You should be careful not to talk more than necessary or to express your opinion too often. These actions can cause learners to lose interest. Think of yourself as a guide on a journey of learning who inserts appropriate comments to keep those you teach on the correct path.”
You can find here an entire chapter from that teaching manual devoted to helping us successfully hold meaningful discussions at the following URL: https://www.lds.org/manual/teaching-no-greater-call-a-resource-guide-for-gospel-teaching/lesson-14-conducting-discussions?lang=eng
Our thoughts and prayers are with you as you strive towards following the example of our Savior in becoming a Teacher who teaches in The Savior’s way.
Improve Quality of Our Teaching – Teach as the Savior Taught – Testimony Building, Not Information Sharing
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Doctrinal Mastery brings relevant experiences to Seminary students - 23-JUN-2016
“Our youth are trying to make sense of things and want to know what to do.”
“They want to believe and are looking for understanding to anchor themselves to.”
“They can’t be passive about their beliefs anymore. And we need to help empower them to find answers for themselves so they are solid in their identity and are able to explain and teach the doctrine to others.”
“This is revelation. This is the Lord moving us to a position to educate and develop the rising generation in a more powerful way than we have ever done before.”
“As students rest on the foundation of doctrinal principles, they have the confidence to go forward and try implementing the ideas they learned in seminary in their real lives.”
“I think they are looking forward to learning the doctrines that are being taught so they can apply [them] to the various situations they have encountered in their lives.”
“The Church is really moving to teach doctrine at a young age, and we need to be ready for a generation that wants more.”
“We have to be more prepared than we have ever been before to answer the difficult questions that students bring. … We have to be acquiring spiritual knowledge of our own, so we can be prepared when they come with difficult questions to the classroom.”
“Anyone who has worked with the youth knows that the world is changing and they are being exposed to philosophies and ideas just because of the explosion of the internet and social media.”
“They are being exposed to more negative influences in their lives than ever before in the history of the world, and this is a response, to stepping up to helping them meet those challenges. We need to keep changing, we need to keep progressing, we need to keep strengthening the way we teach and interact with our youth so that they can meet those challenges.”