Category Archives: teaching

Quarterlies

Posted on June 15, 2007 by vellison

This past week I received an e-mail from one of our adult Sunday School Classes. The facilitator had e-mailed the class about the possibility of using new literature – one that had quarterlies. Reading that word, “quarterlies” did something to … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Education, Sunday school, teaching | 4 Comments

Active learning

Posted on June 1, 2007 by igalindo

One major drawback to teaching in Christian education is the unwarrented, and often unintended, practice of setting ourselves up for inactive, non-participatory, learning. Many teachers of adults tend to shy away from challenging their class or group to participate in … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Education, teaching | 2 Comments

Give me routine!

Posted on May 28, 2007 by igalindo

I had a friend in college who dreaded going home on the weekends. The problem was that he never knew what he’d find in terms of the living decor and arrangements. It seems his mother had a penchant for creative … Continue reading →

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Getting the right answer wrong

Posted on May 25, 2007 by igalindo

One of the most unfortunate practices I see often in instruction is when a teacher’s goal is to get “right answers” from students. This is not to say that getting your students to get it right is wrong–in fact, it’s … Continue reading →

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Less is more

Posted on May 24, 2007 by igalindo

When it comes to effective teaching, “less is more.” While the brain is an amazing information and multi-sensory processor, it can only effectively learn one new thing (concept) at a time. The maximum number of “bits of information” the mind … Continue reading →

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I used to believe . . .

Posted on May 15, 2007 by igalindo

I’ve always found it fascinating to see how difficult it is for adults to appreciate children’s cognition. It seems as if when the brain makes those leaps from one stage of cognition to another we develop a sort of cognitive … Continue reading →

Posted in children, Christian Education, teaching, world view | 1 Comment

What Bruner said

Posted on May 11, 2007 by igalindo

In 1966 Jerome Bruner, Harvard psychologist and educator, wrote: There is a dilemma in describing a course of study. One must begin by setting forth the intellectual substance of what is to be taught, else there can be no sense … Continue reading →

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You learn what you need at the time you need it and not before

Posted on May 10, 2007 by igalindo

I often start my workshop presentations by saying, “Don’t take notes. It won’t help you.” (in fact, I start out most of my seminary class sessions that way). I tell the participants to trust themselves to learn what they need … Continue reading →

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Teaching concepts

Posted on May 9, 2007 by igalindo

Concepts are some of the most powerful components of learning. In fact, concepts attainment is necessary for deep understanding—if you don’t grasp the concept, you don’t really understand. This is a challenge in teaching in part because most people don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in children, Christian Education, teaching | 1 Comment

How NOT to explain things

Posted on May 8, 2007 by igalindo

In a previous post (“On metaphors, analogies, and rigid thinking”(April 20th, 2007) I wrote about the limitations inherent in metaphors. I stated that while metaphors can be helpful to introduce a concept we do people a disservice in leaving them … Continue reading →

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