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Sunday School Revolutionary

Sunday School matters. Be revolutionary!

Balanced Diet of Sunday School/Small Group Teaching Methods, Part 1

July 10, 2007 by Darryl Wilson Leave a Comment

Should parents allow children to eat only the foods they prefer? If they only like ice cream and french fries, would that be acceptable? Of course not! Their health would suffer from such an unbalanced diet even with a vitamin supplement. Parents discover the foods children prefer and try to continue to expand that variety so balance can be offered.

In the same way, Sunday School teachers should discover learning style preferences (ways attenders learn best). Teachers do so in order to be even more effective in leading them to meet God in Bible study and communicating the truth of God’s Word. But revolutionary teachers also continue to expose learners to a variety of teaching methods in order to expand possibilities of achieving balance while addressing preferences.

Dr. La Verne Tolbert is adjunct professor at Azuza Pacific University‘s Haggard Graduate School of Theology, Director of Christian Education Ministries at Crenshaw Christian Center in Los Angeles, and Founder and President of Teaching Like Jesus Ministries. Dr. Tolbert has written a great book entitled Teaching Like Jesus: A Practical Guide to Christian Education in Your Church. Her focus on principles from Jesus and practices for ministry is a needed blend in churches. She has given me permission to share a “Show, Tell, Do” activity from her book that can be helpful to Sunday School teachers and small group leaders.

This is the first page of the full “Show, Tell, Do” chart from pages 66-67. The second page will be shared in my next blog entry. Place a checkmark in the column that best describes that teaching method. Note: Several of these activities may fall into two or even three categories. Choose the category that is dominant.

Show
Tell
Do
 (Visual)
 (Auditory)
(Kinesthetic)
1.
Conduct a demonstration
2.
Display a clip from television
3.
Do no-talk teacher* (see book)
4.
Prepare a speech or lecture
5.
Use an overhead projector
6.
Have small-group discussion
7.
Complete this story
8.
Write a skit or play
9.
Play games
10 .
Take a trip
11.
Make a poster
12.
Listen to a testimony
13. Sing a solo or group song
14.
Go for a hospital visit
15.
Listen to a song on a CD
16.
Draw or color
17.
Visualize or imagine
18.
Paraphrase a passage
19.
Read in unison
20.
Do question-and-answer
21.
Discuss in neighbor nudge
22.
Cook a meal/eat a meal
23.
Say a sentence prayer
24.
Conduct an interview
25.
Have a puppet show
26.
Keep a journal
27.
Tell an account with flannelgraph
28.
See a movie
29.
Complete a puzzle
30.
Play the Bible drill
31.
Memorize a verse
32.
Repeat the Bible account
33.
Make arts and crafts
34.
Take a test

How many of these methods have you used? In a class of six people, you will usually find all three learning style preferences (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic) present. Work to offer a balanced diet of the teaching methods you use. In Part 2 of this series, I’ll share the second page of this activity. Let me offer a challenge Dr. Tolbert shared on page 65,

Remember that the worst teaching method to use is the one you use all the time!

Also, let me challenge you to get her book. She offers lots more practical help. Don’t be mediocre in your teaching. Be revolutionary!

Related posts:

Learning Styles in Adult Sunday School

Take the Challenge: Outgrow Your Current Sunday School/Small Group Ministry

Add a New Teaching Method This Week

Principles for Transformational Small Group Bible Study

Filed Under: Small Groups Tagged With: La Verne Tolbert, learning styles, show tell do, teaching, Teaching Like Jesus, teaching methods

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