By Jim Eichenberger
Tell“”At a very basic level, the teacher is called to deliver information precisely and accurately. In doing that, leaders often ask themselves certain questions: Am I pronouncing that name correctly? Do I understand the point of this Bible book? How accurate are the resources I am using? Only when those questions are answered can a teacher speak with confidence.
Explain“”After delivering content, the teacher is called to ensure that learners understand it. The lesson material a teacher uses will have good content, but what if learners ask questions not “in the script”? Teachers need to have reliable information at their fingertips””not pages of deep scholarship found in resources like good commentaries, but a distillation of a passage written by Christian educators.
Apply“”A teacher knows the job is not done when learners understand a portion of Scripture. Teachers need to be able to answer the inevitable “so what” questions in the minds of students. How does the content they now understand apply to them? How does the Bible provide answers to questions they have now?
Critique“”Good teaching should inspire learners to think deeply. While it may be intimidating, teachers know students need to process, evaluate, and even question what they are learning. And when the group is hesitant to verbalize those questions, a teacher needs discussion starters at the ready.
Hold“”Teaching that stops at the end of class may not be teaching at all! The leader knows he or she must provide tools to help learners “hide God”s Word in their hearts,” to use a Bible phrase. That means they must be able to connect new knowledge to old. Where in the Bible can they turn to learn more about what they studied? Is there a simple way for them to remember the big ideas in a Bible book?
Jim Eichenberger is a senior editor at Standard Publishing and led the team that created the Standard Lesson Teacher”s Study Bible. He is also the author of Bible literacy resources from Standard Publishing, including Discovering God”s Story and the latest revision of Training for Service.
Good list! I would add that teachers should always work to uncover and challenge the students’ embedded assumptions in light of Scripture and lead them through the process of wrestling with them.