Teaching notes used at Life Transforming College international - 501, Introduction to Christian Education.

1. Introduction to
Christian Education
(501)

2. This course provides foundational
teaching for the student to
understand the qualities of good
teachers and how to grow and
develop such qualities in their own
lives. Additionally the participant will
discover how students of all ages
learn, being provided with a base that
enables them to maximise their own
effectiveness as a teacher in both
casual and formal settings.

3. Course Objectives
Upon completing this course, the student
should:
1. Be able to describe that qualities of an
effective teacher.
2. Be able to select appropriate development
paths for personal improvement as a teacher.
3. Be able to describe each of the seven laws
of the learner.
4. Be able to apply the seven laws of the
learner, and so increase their own
effectiveness as a teacher.

4. What different
methods of
teaching can you
think of?
Which do you
find the most
helpful - why?

5. EIGHT WAYS TO TEACH
MULTIPLE
INTELLIGENCES
TEACHING
ACTIVITIES
TEACHING
MATERIALS
INSTRUCTIONAL
STRATEGIES
Linguistic/
verbal
Lectures, discussions,
word games,
storytelling, choral
reading, Journal
writing, etc.
Books, tape
recorders,
typewriters, stamp
sets, books on
tape, etc.
Read about it, write
about it, talk about
it, listen to it
Logical/
mathematical
Brain teasers, problem
solving, science
experiments, mental
calculations, number
games, critical
thinking, etc.
Calculators, math
manipulatives,
science equipment,
math games, etc.
Quantify it, think
critically about it,
conceptualize it,
chart it, graph it,
formulate it
Spatial/
visual
Visual presentations,
art activities,
imagination games,
mind-mapping,
metaphors,
visualizations, etc.
Graphs, maps,
video, LEGO sets,
art materials,
optical illusions,
cameras, picture
library, etc.
See it, draw it,
visualize it, color it,
mind-map it,
PowerPoint it,
illustrate it.
Bodily/
kinesthetic
Hands-on learning,
drama, dance, sports
that teach, tactile
activities, relaxation,
exercises, etc.
Building tools, clay,
sports equipment,
manipulatives,
tactile learning
resources, etc.
Build it, act it out,
touch it, dance it,
tap it, role play it

6. kinesthetic drama, dance, sports
that teach, tactile
activities, relaxation,
exercises, etc.
sports equipment,
manipulatives,
tactile learning
resources, etc.
touch it, dance it,
tap it, role play it
Musical/
rhythmic
Super-learning,
rapping, songs that
teach, etc.
Tape recorders,
tape collections,
musical
instruments, etc.
Sing it, rap it, listen
to it, tap it, music
video it
Interpersonal/
social
Cooperative learning,
peer tutoring,
community
involvement, social
gatherings,
simulations, etc.
Board games,
party supplies,
props for role
plays, etc.
Teach it,
collaborate on it,
interact with
respect to it,
discuss it, role play
it
Intrapersonal/
reflective
Individualized
instruction,
independent study,
options in courses of
study, self-esteem
building, etc.
Self-checking
materials, journals,
materials for
projects, etc.
Connect it to your
personal life, make
choices with regard
to it, meditate on it,
reflect on it
Naturalist Things that related to
the outdoors, plants,
animals, nature.
Outdoor meetings,
pictures, photos,
video, PowerPoint
Visit it, touch it,
build it, watch it,
hike it, camp it,
fieldtrip it

7. Select a story in the
Bible involving
Jesus and in 1-2
minutes tell it to
the class in as
interesting a way as
possible

9. The Law of the
Teacher
Pages 17-36

10. If you stop
growing today,
You stop
teaching
tomorrow

11. If you stop
growing today,
You stop
teaching
tomorrow
What does
this mean?
Is it true?
How would
you express
it “better”?

12. If you stop
growing
today,
You should
stop
teaching
tomorrow

13. If you stop growing
today,
You stop teaching
tomorrow
(you teach from the
overflow of your life)

14. •Some teachers try
substituting personality or
methodology
To paraphrase this principle:
•You cannot communicate
out of a vacuum
•You cannot impart what you
do not possess
•If you don’t truly know it -
you can’t give it

15. •You, the teacher, have
to primarily be a
learner
•You have to grow -
to change - to develop
greater
understanding and
new insights
•You have not ‘arrived’
yet

16. But grow in the grace
and knowledge of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ.
2 Peter 3:18

17. As a teacher you must
continually ask yourself
the question,
“How can I improve?”

18. As a teacher
are there
areas should
you be
continually
growing in?

19. Hendricks cites a
college professor
who was ‘always’ at
his desk studying.
The professor told
him,
“I would rather have
my students drink
from a running stream
than a stagnant pond”

20. Hendricks cites a
college professor
who was ‘always’ at
his desk studying.
The professor told
him,
“I would rather have
my students drink
from a running stream
than a stagnant pond”

21. “Everyone who is fully
trained will be like his
teacher”
Luke 6:40b

22. •As a teacher does that
verse motivate you to
change?
What does motivate you to
change?
•If you want to minister to
others first you have to let
God minister in you
•“Human personality is the
vehicle of effective
teaching” (p. 19)

23. The Search for Teachers
•What ‘qualifications’ would you look
for in a teacher for Sunday school?
•Would they be different for a teacher
during the main Sunday church service?
•What of a cottage prayer (or home
group) meeting leader?

24. •Faithful - in what they have done
•Available - no need for arm twisting
•Teachable - willing to learn
Their knowledge is not the first
consideration
Most people need building up in order
to take on a teaching role

25. Bad ways to select a Sunday
School Teacher
•Begging for help -
because no-one has
volunteered even after
other appeals
•Arm Twisting - e.g.
making it sound so easy
(just read the material)
•Last minute
desperation - take anyone

26. Making Change
•How have you changed (+ve)
- in the last week, month, year?
Be very specific
•Frontiers, questions,
interests, mental energy...
•You can’t teach an old dog
new tricks - thankfully you are
not old, a dog, or learning
tricks

27. “Effective teaching comes
only through changed
people - the more you
change the more you
become an instrument of
change in the lives of
others. If you want to
become an agent of
change, you must also
change.” (p21)

28. “Forgetting what is
behind and straining
toward what is ahead, I
press on to win the
prize for which God
has called me
heavenward in Christ
Jesus”
Philippians 3:13-14

29. This was near the end
of Paul’s life
Correctly related to
the past - not overly
enamoured or defeated
by failures
Learn from the past
- don’t live in it
Press on in the present
- don’t relax or sit back

30. Growth: the Larger Picture
Jesus is described in
Lk 2:52
And Jesus grew in
wisdom and stature,
and in favor with God
and men.
4 areas of growth -
not simply spiritual

31. Wisdom what is it?

32. Wisdom what is it?
In the Biblical sense, wisdom is the
"ability to judge correctly and to follow the
best course of action, based on knowledge
and understanding"
Lockyer

34. True wisdom is always consistent with
the two great wisdom themes of the
Bible: reverence to God, our Creator, and
respect for all persons, everywhere.
http://www.twopaths.com/introduc.htm

35. You should be growing;
intellectually
physically
socially
as well as spiritually
Don’t spend time comparing yourself to
others - growth is individual and is
affected by many factors

36. “Lord, how am I doing?”
e.g. Values and habits;
some should be retained
some should be refined
some should be rejected
Simply make sure you are in the process
Make sure you are not succeeding
at doing the wrong things

37. Your Intellectual Dimension
Hendricks suggests
3 ways to grow
intellectually

38. 1. Maintain a Consistent Study
and Reading Programme
If you find reading alone doesn’t change
or contribute - try reading and then
reflecting on it - adjust the time so it is
50% reading 50% reflection

39. Read people - they are amazing!
When you are with someone significant:
Keep your mouth shut except to ask
penetrating questions
Pick peoples brains, take advantage of what
they know or have experienced

40. Edgar Watson Howe
once Joked, “No Man
would listen to you talk
if he didn’t know it was
his turn next.”
Understand the
incredible value of
becoming a good
listener.

41. Reading and Preaching
Quotes taken from John Stott’s ‘I Believe in
Preaching’.
“None will ever be a good minister of
theWord of God unless he is first of all
a good scholar.”
John Calvin

42. “He who has
ceased to learn has
ceased to teach.
He who no longer
sows in the study
will no more reap
in the pulpit.”
Charles Spurgeon

43. “The preacher’s life must be a life of large
accumulation…..He must not be always trying
to make sermons, but always seeking truth, and
out of the truth which he has won the sermons
will make themselves….Here is the need of
broad and generous culture. Learn to study for
the sake of truth, learn to think for the profit
and the joy of thinking. Then your sermons
shall be like the leaping of a fountain, and not
like the pumping of a pump.”
Phillips Brooks

44. “If I had only three years to serve
the Lord, I would spend two of
them studying and preparing.”
Donald Grey Barnhouse

45. 2. Enroll in Continuing
Education Courses
Courses to improve not only content
but skill.
Most important is your own personal
Bible study programme - you need a
strong input of the Word of God

46. “Many of us who are “under” the
Word of God are not “in” it for
ourselves - getting into it and letting it
get into us”
Hendricks (p. 27)

47. The impact of the teaching ministry
can be immense:
????????????
2 Timothy 2:2
It is a ministry of multiplication -
passed on from generation to
generation

48. 3. Get to know your students
Become an authority on the needs and
characteristics of their age group - then go
beyond that and study your students individually,
find out as much as possible about them.
Pray for your students in specific (not general)
ways.

49. Be careful never to
label a student
Do not base your opinion
of them on one
observation or comment
Beware of having favourites
Beware of forming a
negative opinion based on
energy levels of the child
or difficulties they cause
you

50. Your Physical Dimension
Are there areas
of the physical
part of your life
that are not
under control?

51. “The physical dimension is often the area
evangelical Christians neglect most
consistently.The reason:We’re prone to
deny our humanity. So we’re forever
prostituting the body...(By the way, if you
want to know the area of greatest need in
your Christian life, try looking at passages
you have not underlined in your Bible”
Hendricks (p. 29-30)

52. Money - is it under control, do you
spend too much, are you in debt?
Material Possessions - a man from a
rich family was asked how in the midst of
such wealth he was not overcome by
materialism, he answered,“My parents
taught us that everything in our home was
either an idol or a tool.”

53. Use of Time - who, or
what, is planning your use
of time?
Sex Life - bad news, this
applies as much to singles
as to married people!
Thought Life - what do
you fill your mind with?

54. Diet - if I walked
into your church
drunk you would
never let me
preach - if I walk in
fat you feed me
more

55. Exercise - it has
been suggested
that a regular,
systematic exercise
programme can
add 5-15 years
to your life

56. Sleep - how much do you get / need?
Do you need a change of pace?
Your body is the temple of the Holy
Spirit - do you treat it as such?

57. Look at the grid below: Is your life balanced,
or in need of correction?

58. Look at the grid below: Is your life balanced,
or in need of correction?
How much time
do I spend with
people?
How much time
do I spend alone?
How much time
do I spend at
work?
How much time
do I spend at
play?

59. Look at the grid below: Is your life balanced,
or in need of correction?
How much time
do I spend with
people?
How much time
do I spend alone?
How much time
do I spend at
work?
How much time
do I spend at
play?

60. Look at the grid below: Is your life balanced,
or in need of correction?
How much time
do I spend with
people?
How much time
do I spend alone?
How much time
do I spend at
work?
How much time
do I spend at
play?

61. Look at the grid below: Is your life balanced,
or in need of correction?
How much time
do I spend with
people?
How much time
do I spend alone?
How much time
do I spend at
work?
How much time
do I spend at
play?

62. Your Social Dimension
Do you on socialise with Baptists (only
with people who agree with you?)
What non-Christian friends do you have?
What efforts are you making?
Do you have friends in different age
groups?

63. A close friend is someone who
...knows everything about you, yet
totally accepts you
...will listen to your most heretical ideas
without rejecting you
...and knows how to criticise you in a
way you will listen to
Is your husband / wife your best friend?

64. How am I doing?
“The unexamined
life is not worth
living”
Just because you have
been teaching (or doing
something) for a long
time it does not mean
anything - only that God
is gracious.

65. “Experience does not
necessarily make you
better; in fact it makes
you worse unless it is
evaluated experience”
Hendricks (p. 35)

66. Just because you have been teaching (or
doing something) for a long time it does not
mean anything - only that God is gracious.
The good teachers greatest threat is
satisfaction - the failure to keep
asking,
“How can I improve?”

67. Maybe a better question is,“Lord, how
am I doing - in the light of what you
want me to be?”
Self examination should be based on 3
questions:
1.What are my strengths?
2.What are my weaknesses?
3.What do I have to change?

68. “The process of change is essentially
the process of changing habit patterns
- if you do something once you can do
it twice - do it twice and you can do it
three times - do it three times and
you are beginning to make a habit of
it”

69. This has been another
presentation
from http://rdcramblings.com/
Bet you can’t wait
for the next one