Best advice on writing

Posted on October 2, 2007 by Israel Galindo

I’ve had several conversations with people about “how to write” lately. That topic seems to come in waves and in seasons. Over the course of several weeks all of a sudden it seems people get interested in the matter of writing, becoming a writer, or beginning a writing project. I’m never sure about how to help people who come for advice on writing. While I’ve published a few books and write a lot, I don’t identify myself as “a writer.” For me writing is more about having an opportunity to think than it is about getting my name in print, or feeling like I “have something to say.” More often that not, writing for me is a cathartic mind dump. Or, as I kid, “It helps stop the voices in my head.” Continue reading →

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Educational Shibboleth: Learning styles

Posted on October 1, 2007 by Israel Galindo

I first became fascinated with the concept of “learning styles” when in high school. And in graduate school I wrote a 55-page paper on the topic, covering the studies, research, and applications of learning styles in education.

But over the years much of what I’ve seen printed and applied related to “learning styles” have seemed to me to be misunderstandings and misapplications of the concept. As happens often the interpretation of what studies and research actually report tends to be overstated, naively interpreted, and ultimately, misapplied. (And nowhere do I find that to be truer than in the literature related to Christian education).

I know I’m skating on thin educational ice here. The concept of Learning Styles (LS) falls under my category of “things people fall in love with.” And we all know the risk of trying to reason with people who are in love with their ideas. Continue reading →

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A. E. Bell, Telephones, and Praises

Posted on September 28, 2007 by Israel Galindo

The following is from the book Myths: Fact and Fiction about Teaching and Learning by Israel Galindo. How well do you know fact from fiction?

Myth: Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Continue reading →

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Perry’s Cognitive Development Theory on Moral Development

Posted on September 27, 2007 by Jon

This topic is definitely of interest to those of us in the realm of church work. You might be familiar with James Fowler’s Stages of Faith which serves us well when looking into the spiritual development of individuals. William G. Perry, Jr. wrote about his theory in a 1968 work, “Forms of Intellectual and Ethical Development in the College Years: A Scheme”. Continue reading →

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Should you kill that small Sunday School class?

Posted on September 26, 2007 by Israel Galindo

An educational staff person recently asked me about a problem often encountered in the Sunday School program. She had a class of (older) adults whose Sunday School class averaged around 3 persons (but not always the same three persons!). These kinds of classes bring up several administrative issues for those leading a Sunday School program, like (1) they occupy one whole classroom so arguably, not good stewardship of facility space, (2) they bring down the average Sunday School attendance figure (gasp!), (3) they tend to be a “closed” group and therefore are not good at welcoming or reaching out to new people, (4) this size group raises legitimate questions about educational effectiveness (What are they really doing in there? Are they teaching the curriculum?). Continue reading →

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Questions for Evaluating Curriculum Literature

Posted on September 25, 2007 by Israel Galindo

We’re just at the start of the new fall Christian Education year in our churches (and, as Vanessa pointed out, the fall “new year” has more to do with adapting to the secular calendar than to the ecclesial calendar). But it won’t be long before most resident Christian education staff and program leaders will begin to hear complaints about the curriculum. Most of those complaints will be along the lines of “It’s too hard to use,” “The kids don’t like it,” “I don’t like it,” etc. Admittedly, while whether one “likes” something or not does not necessarily have anything to do with whether it is effective, the pragmatic reality of having a volunteer corps of teachers means that one needs to give due attention to such complaints. Continue reading →

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Second Generation

Posted on September 24, 2007 by jbennett

Evangelical activist for social justice Ron Sider wrote his book The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just Like the Rest of the World? a couple of years ago. In the July/August issue of Books & Culture: A Christian Review John G. Stackhouse, Professor of Theology and Culture at Regent College in Vancouver, takes Sider to task for his book’s shortcomings, but ends his critique with some challenging words of interest to educators in the church. Continue reading →

Posted in books, Christian Education, congregational life | 1 Comment

Lions, Hyenas, and Teaching

Posted on September 24, 2007 by Israel Galindo

The following is adapted from the book Myths: Fact and Fiction about Teaching and Learning by Israel Galindo. How well do you know fact from fiction?

MYTH: The lion is the king of the jungle because of its dominance as a hunter over other animals. Continue reading →

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Teaching Suffering

Posted on September 20, 2007 by GregR

Scott Bader-Saye’s forthcoming book, “Following Jesus In A Culture Of Fear” deals with the issue of the protection of God. In an excerpt published in the July 10, 2007 issue of Christianity Today, Bader-Saye tells the story of a young man who is dying of cancer named Steve who receives a letter from a woman telling him that she knew it was God’s will for him to be healed, all he had to do was believe. Steve replied to her in a letter saying, in part, “I sincerely hope that if my cancer continues to grow, no one will see it as a failure of my faith in God, but that perhaps people can see me as faithful even if I die while I am still young. I do not claim to understand God’s will, but I do know that I am in God’s hands, whether in life or in death.” Continue reading →

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Tony Buzan on learning HOW to learn

Posted on September 19, 2007 by Israel Galindo

I recently spent a couple of days leading seminars and workshops. At the start of each workshop I would tell the participants, “I want to begin by telling you what I tell my students at the start of my courses and each lecture: ‘Don’t take notes. It won’t help you.’” That usually results in two reactions: laughter from most (those who know what happens to most of those notes we take at conferences once we get home), and a moan from a few others (those who will have trouble letting go of how they were trained to listen to a teacher in class). Continue reading →

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