I’m a children’s pastor. My job is making things plain for kids. Children’s ministry is the easiest AND the hardest job in the church. It’s easy because most kids want to learn. They want to know. Ideas become adventures. It’s hard because children are limited. They don’t know grown-up words. They’ve only lived a little while. They get lost in abstraction.
With this post I’m beginning a series on effective teaching. Please understand – I am still learning how to be effective. Everything I know has come by accident or from others. In fact, that’s one reason I want to write this series. I want to learn together with you. Will you join me? Can we talk? Comments are open. Your ideas will help, not just me, but all the readers.
So, let’s begin with a definition: Effective teaching changes people.
I could write more, but this is the main thing. When I face my kids this Sunday, I want to help them change. I want them to grow.
1. Effective teaching changes the way people think. Learning that God made me for his glory changes the way I think about life. I want our kids to understand life from God’s angle. Learning is more than knowing, but never less.
2. Effective teaching changes the way people feel. Learning about the cross changes my feelings toward Jesus. I want my children to love Him too. Attitude fuels change.
3. Effective teaching changes what people do. Learning the golden rule changes the way I treat people. I want our kids to act different. Learning is more than behavior, but you CAN tell a tree by its fruit.
So, what do you think? How would you define effective teaching?
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Thanks for the topic, Tony. Once again you have written a post which gets me thinking. I appreciate that!
Effective teaching, in my view, can involve many things and I think you have done a nice job of bringing to light the cognitive, affective and psychomotor learning domains, or as they say in many of the education texts: Know, Feel, Do. The first thing that comes to my mind is Howard Hendricks phrase: “Causing students to learn.” This involves removing obstacles to learning and creating an environment which engages them in the three domains of learning as you so helpfully layed out above. Of course, this is a truth in tension with the responsibility each learner has to engage in the teaching/learning process. However, an effective teacher brings out the best in each student by identifying what motivates them (their learning styles/backgrounds/interests/capabilities/challenges) and crafting lesson plans which cause them to interact willingly with the material based on their level of development and their arenas of interest. This is true for teaching any age level, although there are unique challenges and opportunities with adult learning. Anyway, thanks for the opportunity to share!
Glen,
Your comments are almost always better than my post! Thanks. When I first read Howard Hendricks on teaching a light bulb lit up in my mind – oh that is what I’ve been trying to do. As I continue this series (I have about 20 ideas for posts) you’ll see a lot of Hendricks influence.
I am the director of the childrens ministry of a very new and very small church. I am having a workshop for servants for the nursery, preschool and elementary teachers and asst. I have been praying God brings servants with a servant heart to serve in these areas. I am doing this workshop to train and teach these teachers how to become a more effective teacher.