It is tempting some days, as you approach the end of class, to quickly wrap up your lesson, immediately have prayer, and let students fly out of the classroom.
The last few minutes of class, though, can be a great opportunity to help students summarize what they learned that day.
Here are a few suggestions from Roben Tororyan, a faculty member at Fairfield University in Connecticut (in "Reminders for Improving Classroom Discussion," The Teaching Professor, November 2006, p. 3), in order to effectively use time at the end of a lesson. She recommends asking students:
"Did you learn anything, or are you left thinking about anything?
"What struck you?
"What do you want to remember?
"In general, use open questions ("what" and "why") over closed questions ("Is this clear?" or "Does that make sense?") to give practice putting complex ideas into language.
"At [the] end of class, give a "minute paper" or ask for the "muddiest point" and begin the next discussion by reviewing what students wrote about the previous one."
By setting aside a few minutes at the end of your lesson, you can help make the last few minutes of class some of the most thought-provoking for your students.
The following statement has been attributed to Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965, the physician, musician, and humanitarian who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952):
"Example is not the main thing in influencing others... it is the only thing."
President Hinckley once commented to bishops (Ensign, November 2003, p. 60) that:
"You are... their teacher, their example, whether you wish to be or not."
...and so are Seminary teachers!
Elder Delbert L. Stapley gave this advice to gospel teachers (Conference Report, April 1969, p. 44):
"A wise man, when asked to list three cardinal points that exemplified the lives of the great teachers of all time and that would be a guide to new teachers, said: "First, teach by example. Second, teach by example. Third, teach by example."
In April General Conference 1999, Elder M. Russell Ballard (Ensign, May 1999, p. 85) noted that:
"As parents, teachers, and leaders, it is our solemn duty to set a powerful, personal example of righteous strength, courage, sacrifice, unselfish service, and self-control. These are the traits that will help our youth hold on to the iron rod of the gospel and remain on the straight and narrow path."
May we each be blessed to recognize and remember the influence that our example is having on our students.
Ours is a noisy and seldom silent world. The scriptures often illustrate the benefits that come from deep and quiet pondering.
I recently read an interesting article on this topic by Faye Marsha G. Camahalan ("Learning the Lessons of Silence," The Teaching professor, June/July 2006, p. 2):
"The lessons of silence." I found these four words in Lao Zi's book, the "Tao Te Ching." I have been ruminating over them lately. In our modern society more and more individual fear stillness. In our classrooms, fewer students apprecaite the sound of silence. Their faces light up when I give them animated lesson presentations but wilt whenever I ask them to pause and think about the ideas we have just considered. Outside my classroom, I seldom see them minus headsets, earphones, or cell phones. ...
"Deep learning is a product of profound reflection. ...
"Students lead busy, stressful lives -- silence can relieve that stress and change the climate in the classroom. My efforts to teach students the lessons of silence have had some positive results. Students understand situations better. They feel more confident about their ability to cope and so they respond more thoughtfully and less emotionally. I have few students whining, dismayed, confused, and panic stricken and more students acting like confident, empowered learners."
Hopefully we can teach our students to appreciate silence and the opportunity to ponder the truths of eternity.
The "Thinker's Guide" by Richard Paul and Linda Elder includes this thought-provoking comment:
"Don't be a mother robin -- chewing up the text for the students and putting it into their beaks through lecture."
Please substitute the word "scriptures" for the word "text" and reread the quotation above again.
One of our goals as gospel teachers should be to help students learn how to study the scriptures for themselves. We can, and should, help, guide, model, and share, but we must fight the urge to be a "mother robin."
Working in Seminary is one of the best-kept secrets in the church!
I was first asked in 1983 to serve as a CES Volunteer in Seminary as a home study teacher in Indianapolis.Since that time until now I have been involved, almost continually, with Seminary and Institute in one form or another.I have taught Seminary in Indiana and Virginia, and my wife taught Seminary in New York.I have also enjoyed the privilege of teaching Institute in New York and northern Virginia.
When our family moved from Kansas to Virginia in 1995, I was asked to teach early morning Seminary.It was an Old Testament year, and I started making handouts, quizzes, and activities for my students.There were six Seminary classes meeting in our church building, and the other teachers started asking for copies of my materials – which I gladly copied for them.
Within a few months, though, I was soon receiving requests for copies from teachers outside of our stake.One of the teachers I taught with encouraged me to print the pages, shrinkwrap them into a resource packet, and offer them for sale.I did, and our small family business Scripture Mastery Resources was born in 1996.
Since 1996 I have created two scripture mastery packets for each Seminary year.Teacher requests also led to the creation of Picture Clues, Old Testament Spanish, and “All Seminary” scripture mastery resource packets.I have also co-authored two Book of Mormon Readers Theater volumes (available on CD) and an “All 100” Scripture Mastery CD that contains hundreds of scripture mastery pictures, 48 scripture mastery screensavers, and 100 scripture mastery computer jigsaw puzzles.We also distribute some recently released scripture mastery CDs – “Mastering the Scriptures” and the “LDS Scripture Rock” CD and karaoke series.
Church Education plays a large role in my life.Vocationally, though, I am a colonel in the United States Army with almost three decades of active duty service.I have spent a majority of my career involved with education – serving as an Assistant and then Associate Professor at the United StatesMilitaryAcademy at West Point and as a Professor at the NationalDefenseUniversity in Washington, DC.
I served a mission in Great Britain (England, Cornwall, and Wales) in the mid-1970s and have served in a wide variety of church callings as we have lived in Utah, Indiana, Germany, Illinois, Virginia (three times), Kansas, and New York (twice).I married my BYU college sweetheart, and we have four great children and two adorable granddaughters.
This blog is intended for Seminary teachers (early morning, home study, and release time).Each newsletter is also posted each week on my website (www.KenAlford.com).There you will also find archives of previous newsletters from 2001-2006.
