Some years ago my family and I visited a theme park for a day of fun. From my view, we would gain the maximum fun by following a prescribed and strategic plan aided by a map and a schedule. It was a good plan. (more…)
“When is your baby due?” Have you ever asked that question only to deeply regret it moments later? My wife and I have made it a point never to ask a seemingly expectant mother when her baby is due. Everyone is embarrassed when the “mother-to-be” replies that the baby is now at home with Dad. (more…)
Every teacher has experienced the frustration of sensing that his or her learners didn’t get it. That is, they either failed to connect with the lesson at all, or they disconnected from the lesson sometime during the study. In either case, the caring teacher wonders, What happened? What went wrong? Why didn’t my learners get the lesson?
The honest teacher may need to face the reality that he or she, not his or her learners, is the “rock” causing the teaching to be a hard place. Teachers, like learners, can have a cold countenance, callused heart, closed mind, or critical spirit. In this case, learners suffer the most, but the teacher suffers too. (more…)
Many regions of the U.S. are beautiful to live in (especially during the fall season), but gardening is sometimes difficult in even the most magnificent areas. The ground often seems to have more rocks than soil in it! Every push of the shovel is met with a sudden stop against a rock. Do you ever find yourself spending more time picking rocks than planting seeds? (more…)
1. Attend an Impact Teaching Seminar. Learn how to be a more effective teacher and “ignite your passion” for ministry. (more…)
Some teachers seem to be naturally creative. With no apparent effort they regularly stun the rest of us with their ideas, solutions, and the neat things they make. Indeed, God has blessed some people with creative talent. (more…)
Every teacher is creative! Teaching, by nature, is a creative activity. Lessons are created. Teaching methods are created. Answers to learners’ questions and solutions to learners’ problems are created. (more…)
If you want to learn what’s involved in adding a room to your home, who would you want to teach you—a professional builder or your handyman neighbor next door? If you have been assigned to convert your company’s current accounting software system to a new one, who would you want to teach you—a trained computer systems expert or your Uncle Henry who dabbles in computers?
The point is, if we want to learn how to do something well, we have to learn from an expert, not a novice—from a master, not a beginner. (more…)
Good questions require learners to think. Consequently, a learner’s best answer is going to come after a bit of contemplation. Give your learners more time to think about key questions in your lessons by giving them the questions ahead of time. (more…)
