Two Different Ways of Teaching

Here is a way to think about teaching the scriptures more powerfully. Do you teach the scriptures "inside out" or "outside in"? Inside and outside both refer to the scriptures and reference where you start and where you spend more time. I will explain both methods.

'Outside-in' is when you use the scriptures as a support for a story or a thought or an experience that you share with the class. You begin class by sharing what you have with the students. A great story will certainly grab the attention of the class - they will be with you and eager to hear your tale. You tell them the story or relate the experience. When the story concludes you say something like "Everyone now turn to the following verses and let's see how they are just like the story I told you."  You have everyone turn to the scriptures to see how your story is strengthened by what you read there.

'Inside-out' is when you use a story or experience to support a clear doctrinal teaching from the scriptures. You begin class by first going to the scriptures. You spend time there and come to understand the context and content, and then discover a principle or doctrine. You have the class chew on it a while, analyzing it together so that it can be understood by all. Finally you move to an illustration of that doctrine in action with a story from the teacher or a student, one that illustrates how it works in real time, today.

Both methods get students into the scriptures but one of them is much stronger than the other. Obviously the 'inside-out' method is stronger because it begins with the scriptures and the lesson is centered on the scriptures and not on my personal life. It starts where the action really is - in the written word of God. Once we have helped students understand a portion of that word we can then help them to rely on it by showing how it works in a real person's life. That person could be the teacher or a student, or both. In the 'outside-in' method the focus is on the teacher and the teacher's story. It could be a great story, one that illustrates a true principle. But if the focus is on the teacher then the scriptures stay unfocused in the minds of the student. They are just there as a backup to a great story.

I have a story that I have used for years to illustrate the doctrine that the Savior has a plan and that His plan will roll out as He has prepared, so we can be confident that we can see the end from the beginning and we have no need to fear because we know how things will end up. My story is about a football game I was watching on TV years ago. It was on a tape delay and so I knew the result of the game as I was watching it. It is a great story and illustrates the doctrine perfectly. I have used that story as the focus of a class and later, when I knew more, I have used it simply as an illustration of a scriptural principle. The second way has worked better every time.

What is needed more than ever is for students to see the scriptures and what they teach as the focus. That would of course include the words of living prophets. The teacher will someday leave the class. The students may or may not remember the great stories but if we can help them learn to dig in and understand the scriptures, they will have that skill forever and it will bless them for the same length of time.

Teaching and Learning is Like a Kaleidoscope

I sat in a class the other day and the teacher posed a question which invited not only responses but perhaps a personal story to illustrate the response. It was a good question and a response came quickly, coupled with a personal story to strengthen it. That was great. Then another similar story came from a different student, followed by yet another of the same kind from someone else and I soon felt like I had reached the saturation point of the same stories. Nothing different was happening in class, just story on top of story, each saying essentially the same thing.

Far too often class discussions become a recitation of the familiar. That's fine and it is certainly not offensive but the longer we stay on only the familiar, the less chance there is of learning anything. You may notice that I did not say "learning anything new." I don't put much stock in learning new things. I am much more excited about seeing old and familiar things in a new way. An effective teacher finds ways to teach well known things with just enough of a twist that it will appear new and thus we will learn. When you see the light come on in a student's countenance then you know you have helped her see things differently.

The kaleidoscope appears to be a simple child's toy, but think of what it is: it is a tube with a chamber into which is placed some colored stones or bits of glass. Also in the chamber are some mirrors to cause reflection. As the light enters the chamber it reflects on the bits of glass or stones to create a pattern with the help of the mirrors. Then, as the tube is turned, even ever so slightly, the stones move and the pattern changes. The light is the same. The stones are the same, and the mirrors are the same. The only difference is the turning, the slight rearranging of the stones. Infinite patterns can come from the same materials if they are turned slightly. That becomes the job of an effective teacher - to turn the cylinder just enough to help us see the same things in a different light, thus adding to our knowledge and wonder.

Here is an example. For years I have used a standard definition of righteousness as I've taught: righteousness is being in the right place, at the right time, with the right people, doing the right things. I think it is a good working definition and it is easy to understand. We can get a visual of righteousness just from that sentence. It is not a full definition but it is very useful. Now, would you see it differently if I added Isaiah's metaphor found in Isaiah 48:18 - "...then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea." Isaiah has just turned the kaleidoscope enough that it causes us to see in a new way. How is righteousness like an ocean wave? That is not any of those four things I use in my definition. Is it because righteousness can be constant? Because it can rise up to a large size? Because it is powerful? We can play with those thoughts for awhile and learn something new. For that matter we can play with "peace as a river" too and gain some new insights.

If you went home from a class where those things had been discussed and someone asked what you studied that day and you answered 'righteousness', the inquirer might immediately think they knew what the class was all about, but they would be wrong. You would have personally received some great new insights because your teacher had taken the time to twist the kaleidoscope of learning just enough that you were able to see the same things in a new way. That causes learning. Talking about the same familiar things over and over is review and there is a place for it. But to learn and add to our knowledge we need to blaze new trails of thought. Seeing things differently helps do that.

Unanswered Questions

Karl G. Maeser, a leading 19th century educator, once said, "A great question is often worth ten answers." Think about that for a minute. We generally think of getting answers as the goal of asking questions. The teacher asks, the students answer, and we feel like we are making some educational progress. That doesn't appear to be what he is saying. I think he is saying that the purpose of a great question is to stir up thought that could come back in the form of ten different answers, or comments, or other thoughts or more questions.

An unanswered question creates tension. A teacher can see the tension in the students who avert their eyes, who look away, who put their head down. There is tension in the attempted answers, in the one or two word mumblings. The tension is relieved when a brave student offers a response and the teacher accepts it. The other students breathe a little easier and can now look around with some safety. Things return to normal, until the next question is posed.

But what if the teacher asked a question not to find an answer but just as something for the class to think about. What if the teacher says "class here is a question to think about? Don't shout out anything right now, just think about this and at some time we will come to an answer of it, but not yet." The tension is eased because no one is on the spot and the teacher isn't waiting for the answer. A great question is now hovering over the class and it can be more valuable than the ten answers that might have been forthcoming. How?

I have a dear friend that I discuss gospel topics with. He is very wise and experienced and I trust him. I started this practice with him years ago and this is how it goes. I tell him that I have a question I want to ask but I do not want him to answer. I just want him to tell me if it is a good question, one worth thinking about. We've done this enough that he knows the drill so when I ask a question now he will just tell me either to keep thinking about it or to set it aside because it is not worth the time to ponder. It has been an amazing thing to me to spend time on the questions that are worthwhile. Without an answer they are wide open for inspection. I can spend time over the next days or weeks or even months in many cases with these questions. I can keep a number of them juggling in my mind and then as I read or study other things, as I attend other classes, as I talk to other people, I can start to grab more information that will help me fill in answers. Some weeks will pass in pondering then I will see my friend and tell him that I think I have an answer, or a partial answer, to a certain question. I will share it with him and he will then tell me that I got it or am getting closer. Once in a while I will share an insight with him that he had never considered. The discussion deepens and the conversation continues. He has never told me an answer but has confirmed many that I have shared with him.

That is a long process the way I've described it, but it can be compressed down to a class period or two like this: Ask a question that takes some thought to answer. Here's one from D&C 124:45 - the verse speaks of doing some things that will allow us to "not be moved out of [our] place." The question I would ask is "We know what it takes to not be moved out our place. Where is that place and how do we get there?" Keep that unanswered question hovering as you discuss the verses close to verse 45. Help the class look for hints as to where it might be and what do we have to do to get there. What will inevitably happen is more questions will surface. A multitude of answers will bubble up. The original great question will indeed be more valuable than ten quick answers because it will engender more discussion, more questions, and more answers. It will become a very useful tool to help students understand the scriptures.

The Creative Process

                Teaching is a creative process. Teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ is a creative process that must include the influence of the Holy Ghost in order to be effective.

            The creation of teaching starts in lesson preparation. What is the block of scriptures that need to be addressed today? What are the salient doctrines and principles to address? How will adding content and context benefit student understanding? How can I give my students some level of ‘hands on’ learning that will benefit them, rather than just have them listen to me? Answering those and similar question will yield a lesson plan. You can’t just walk into a class without some kind of written plan that will guide you through and make the time meaningful and useful.

            In II Nephi 32 there are two verses that look strikingly similar but are talking about two different things. The first is verse 3 where it says “…feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” Two verses later, in verse 5 we read this: “…if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.”

            The verse 3 phrase “tell you all things” seems to indicate that the words of Christ are the scriptures. Those are the standards that hold true through the ages. They guide us – “tell us” – how we should act and what we should be doing. That’s why we feast upon them. The verse 5 phrase that the Holy Ghost will “show unto us all things we should do” is more of an everyday, tactical revelation. Scriptures teach us the doctrines and principles that we need to know to govern our lives, but the Holy Ghost shows us along the way how to implement those in practical ways. We need both sources of input to successfully negotiate our way in this life.

            So it is in a classroom full of students. We enter with a lesson plan that we have created for that particular situation. That plan will ‘tell us’ what to do. We can’t be rigidly bound to it but neither should we just try to talk our way through the hour with no real preparation. We need to have a guide before us. However, rarely does the class go as planned. Detours abound as we deal with real people in their own real situations. That’s why we need the Spirit with us, to show us how to proceed in a class. It may be to stay on this point a little longer, or to move on a little quicker. It may be to call on a student who rarely participates but one who looks like they have something to say. It could be to leave a certain student alone on this day. She may be struggling with something unknown and unseen by the teacher and just needs space. How will we know any or all of these things? The Spirit can show us and with that knowledge coupled to the lesson plan we have in hand we are able to create a classroom environment and a lesson that is edifying and useful for all.

Do You Need a Source or a Resource ?

When I was a brand new, full time seminary teacher I went to a training meeting. I was eager for it. One of the men doing the training had set up, on the table in front of him, a stack of all of the resources available to us as teachers. There were resource manuals for both teacher and student. There were maps and dictionaries and volume upon volume of selected readings that would help teachers. I recognized most of it and was grateful for it. I needed all the help available to me and had studied from most of these sources. The teacher held up each one and described it and the good it could bring to the lesson. There were lots of appreciative nods.

Then he held up a set of scriptures in one hand and with his other hand pointed to all of the things on the table and said "Which do you really need?" I remember thinking that I really needed them all. He let us think about it for a bit then said "Could you teach effectively if all you had was your set of the scriptures and nothing else?" I knew at that time that it would be very difficult for me to do it that way.

Fast forward now many years ahead. Our stack on the table would be much higher. It would include not only all of the printed materials available but also everything you could find on the internet. You and I both know that we can search on the internet for anything and find mounds of information. How much of it is useful and true is open to debate but there is no debate that there is more than we can possibly study and incorporate into a lesson. So how do you decide how much to study, how much to incorporate, and how much time you will allot to your lesson preparation.

I'm going to suggest that most of what we see as resource material is not very useful in lesson preparation. It may be useful in study and pondering for ourselves, but when it comes time to prepare a specific lesson for me to teach to my specific class it is not useful. So much of what I have seen on the internet is someone else's interpretation of a lesson, someone else's idea of what the scriptures mean and how to present them. I can't teach that with any power. I can only teach with power what the Spirit teaches me to teach that day to those students.

In very real ways we cheat ourselves and our students out of a personal experience when we delay our study and preparation and then at the last minute take something that someone else has created and try to make it our own quickly. One of the great blessings of being a teacher is to have so many people from whom to 'borrow' ideas and things. I've used lots of things that I've taken from others but only after I've allowed it to soak into my thinking and given it enough pondering to own it and make it my own.

We should not allow the resources to take the place of the source and the source is the scriptures. That is where we turn and that is where we should spend the bulk of our time. Resources are useful as backups, not as the beginning of preparation. When we turn first to the source we position ourselves to be able to teach with power and authority. That will carry into the hearts of students and all will be edified of all.

Why Make a List

I recently was in a class and watched a teacher do a very 'teacher-like' thing: he made a list on the white board. He had the students read a passage, then went back with them to pick out certain things from the passage that answered a question he had posed, and he then listed the responses on the board and he had his list. He stood and looked at it and looked at the students and said "There it is - there are the answers".

That is something we have all done. There is something comforting about a list, something that says 'we have done our digging and right before our very eyes is the organized result of that digging'. I liked his list and thought that the digging had been fruitful to this point - but then I wondered what he would do with the list, because if you don't do something with it, it is not very helpful at all.

When I was a boy we would go to Knott's Berry Farm and every once in a while would be allowed to pan for gold at the little attraction set up for that. The operator would give us a pan and show us how to dip the pan into the running water and sand and gently shake it to find the gold flakes. They would appear and then the nice man would put them into a little clear container with some sand and we could show the world that we had indeed found our gold flakes. We could take the container home and put it on a shelf and look at it. But that was all and after a short while it was meaningless. It would have been more meaningful to take the gold and create something, but there was never enough and even if there had been, who knew what to do with it?

Lists are like the little flakes of gold. Unless we do something with them they lose their meaning after a very short while. 

Making lists seems like a good exercise to help students dig but it is only the beginning of a good thing, not the end. The next question is what will you do with the list on the board? Here are a couple of ideas.

1. You could ask students to identify the most meaningful thing on the list for them and then discuss how each student sees it a little differently.

2. You could use the list to illustrate a progression in the thinking of the writer, to show how an idea goes from a starting point to a fully developed idea.

3. You could create the list at the beginning of class and then use it as the outline for your teaching, following point by point the lessons you want to highlight.

4. You could use 2 lists from similar passages to do some compare and contrast exercises and see how an author views things differently at different times.

I know that there are other things you could do with a list but the important thing is to do something with it. Otherwise, you just have a little container with unused flakes of gold. 

Healthy Tension in the Classroom

If you want to accelerate learning for your students it is helpful to create a little tension in the classroom. Tension needs resolution and the process of trying to resolve a problem and ease the tension opens up the mind to learning new things, not just remembering old things. I am not speaking of tension between people but the tension of ideas coming together with enough force that we must deal with them and figure out what they are saying and what it means to us. Here are two examples:

1. I was recently in a very good class where the lesson was a part of the book of Daniel from the Old Testament. There are a couple of stories that are very familiar in that book. One of them is of the three young men who are ordered to bow down to an idol or face the consequence of being burned alive. The highlight of the story (for me) is their statement of refusal, found in verses 16-18 of chapter 3. In essence they state that they are not going to do this and they know that their God can deliver them but even if He doesn't they still won't bow down.

Well, you could read those verses and simply say "What a great example of faith" and move on. No one would disagree with that and it would supply some inspiration but give you very little to think about besides 'I need to be more like that'. We need to find a way to leverage the inspiration into action and creating some tension with questions is the way to do that. You could ask some of the following:

• Why do they use the word 'careful'? Shouldn't you be careful when you speak to a king especially if you are not going to obey? (remember that 'careful' means "full of care" and what they are saying is that it doesn't bother them to say this. How can they be that strong when their lives hang in the balance? What do you consider worth dying for?)
• Where did they get the idea that their God would save them? They are looking at a very hot furnace, directly in their view. That is a reality and still they cling to the idea that God can pull them from it. How did they arrive at this point? Can anyone arrive at the same point? How?
• Is it faith or ignorance to suppose that although God can save them but He might choose not to?

All of those questions, and others like them, can create some healthy tension that will enhance learning.

2. In the Shakespeare play King Henry the Fifth we are treated to a well known speech ("we few, we happy few, we band of brothers") by the king as his forces prepare for battle against the French at Agincourt. They are greatly outnumbered and yet the king refuses the idea of more help and more troops, even offering to send home any that are afraid to fight:

"O do not wish one more 

Rather proclaim it through my host

That he which hath no stomach to this fight, 

Let him depart; his passport shall be made

And crowns for convoy put into his purse:

We would not die in that man's company

That fears his fellowship to die with us."

At the end of reading that you could say "Wow, that is a powerful speech" and just move on. It is inspirational, but again, if that is all it is we won't be moved to action, to deeper understanding, and ultimately to change our lives for the better.

What if you asked a couple of questions just to create some healthy tension, to stir things up, questions like this:

• Is Henry confident or cocky?
• Does Henry have a death wish not only for him but for his men?
• Would you be more or less willing to follow a man like that?

You will get discussions, thoughts, more questions, and ultimately more learning if you clearly give your students a reason to think and give them some tension to resolve.