Teaching for Higher Levels of Learning

1
Teaching for Higher Levels of Learning

• Sunday School
• Teacher Training

2
TEACHING

• What do I hope to accomplish with my teaching?
• What am I expecting my class to learn?
• How can I create an atmosphere which encourages
  faith education?

3
Lets take a look at a sample activity. Were
going to read a section from Colossians. Then
well look at how we might break down the study
into increasingly higher levels of learning.
4
COLOSSIANS 3

• So if youre serious about living this new
  resurrection life with Christ, ___________.
• Pursue the things over which Christ presides.
• Dont shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed
  with the things right in front of you.
• and be alert to what is going
  on around _____.
• Be alert to what is going on
  around Christ
• See things from his perspective.

Act Like It
CHOOSE
GO AFTER
LOOK UP
you
Get The BIG PICTURE
No, not you!
-- thats where the action is.
5
COLOSSIANS 3

• (Were skipping down a bit now.)

6
COLOSSIANS 3
dress in the wardrobe God picked out for
you And regardless of what else you put
on, wear love. Its your basic, all-purpose
garment. Never be without it.
QUICK to FORGIVE an OFFENSE
COMPASSION
QUIET STRENGTH
KINDNESS
HUMILITY
CONTENT with 2ND PLACE
EVEN-TEMPERED
DISCIPLINE
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
7
Blooms Taxonomy
Creating an Inviting Atmosphere Intentionality
E
evaluation
S
synthesis
A
analysis

• Lets look at education as building blocks. We
  start at the basic levels as a base on which to
  build.

A
application
C
comprehension
K
knowledge
8
Creating an Inviting Atmosphere Intentionality

• Teaching at Higher Levels of Learning
• Knowledge (lowest level of learning)
  observing and recalling information
• list, define, tell, describe, identify, show,
  quote, name, (who, what, when, where)

Knowledge List the elements of the new
wardrobe God has picked out for you.
9
Creating an Inviting Atmosphere Intentionality

• Teaching at Higher Levels of Learning
• Comprehension understanding information
• summarize, describe, interpret, contrast,
  predict, distinguish, discuss

Comprehension Describe a situation in which
someone was quick to forgive an offense.
10
Creating an Inviting Atmosphere Intentionality

• Teaching at Higher Levels of Learning
• Application using information
• apply, demonstrate, complete, solve,
  examine

Application What are some areas in your life in
which you are quick to forgive? What are areas
in which you are unforgiving?
11
Creating an Inviting Atmosphere Intentionality

• Teaching at Higher Levels of Learning
• Analysis organizing information into
  component parts
• analyze, separate, order, explain, connect,
  arrange, compare

Analysis What makes it easy to forgive? What
makes it difficult to forgive?
12
Creating an Inviting Atmosphere Intentionality

• Teaching at Higher Levels of Learning
• Synthesis using information to
  create new ideas
• combine, modify, rearrange, substitute,
  plan, create, design, invent, what if?

Synthesis Create a plan (3-step, 5-step, etc)
that would help a person be forgiving in
a difficult situation.
13
Creating an Inviting Atmosphere Intentionality

• Teaching at Higher Levels of Learning
• Evaluation assessing the value of
  new ideas
• assess, decide, rank, recommend, convince,
  judge, support, conclude

Evaluation Will your plan work?
How can your plan be improved?
14
LETS TRANSLATE THIS TO CHILDRENS SUNDAY SCHOOL

• Lets make a list of the new wardrobe God has
  picked out for us.
• Complete the following Love is __________.
• If your friend said something mean to you, what
  could you do that would be loving?
• If you were going to have a new friend over to
  your house, tell me the first thing you would do
  when they got there.
• What would be the next thing?
• Lets make a list of five things that we would
  do to let them know that we were friends.

15
LETS TRANSLATE THIS TO CHILDRENS SUNDAY SCHOOL
I want everyone to draw a picture of a boy or
girl wearing pants, a shirt, a hat, and shoes. Do
not color the picture. Were just drawing.
Now I want you to decorate the clothes as if
they are the wardrobe that God has picked out
for us. Maybe the hat is . Maybe one sleeve is
.
You decide.
Hat of Humility
Sleeve of Compassion
Now tell me how you decided to design your
new wardrobe.
Pants of Kindness
16
So What Does All This Mean?

• It means that we need to move past simple
  knowledge and comprehension in our lessons. We
  need to lead our classes into deeper
  conversation and learning.
• It means that people are able, valuable, and
  responsible and should be treated accordingly.
• It means that we need people, who are
  intentionally inviting, to create places,
  policies, processes and programs specifically
  designed to invite development

17
Teaching for Higher
Levels of Learning

• Teachers do not try to reach the highest level of
  learning with every single lesson.
• Different lessons lend themselves to lower levels
  of learning you dont want to force it.
• Consider reaching some of the higher levels at
  least once or twice over the course of a specific
  unit of study.

18
WORKING MODEL of SPIRITUAL FORMATION
Worship
Service
Small Groups