Bible Students

Eggen and Kauchak (chapter 3)

Planning for teaching is one of the most important aspects of a faithful teacher. This week’s reading especially emphasized that, and discussed some of the best ways to plan by showing examples of planning in action. Regardless of the teacher, planning must happen in order to communicate the lesson well, and engage students well. Planning does not only involve planning what will be taught to the students, but also the work which must go on behind the scenes in terms of personal learning and engagement to be prepared for answering questions. Additionally, the planning of practicing how to ask questions and smoothly transition are essential to be the best teacher possible. 

The teacher must integrate the state standards into an interesting lesson. Planning is needed to turn learning from a chore to a joy. Planning comes in three questions. First, what should the students be learning? Second, how will the students get there? Third, how well did they get there? The last question is a reflective question afterward, which is used to plan more successfully in the future. 

When asking what the students should be learning, clear learning objectives are very important. They do not need to be written down, but the teacher must have a very clear idea of what they want the students to do. The learning objective will act as a backbone and foundation for the whole lesson to be structured around. When there is a clear learning objective, all parts of the lesson can be measured against the objective to see how useful they are. 

How should the students reach the learning objective? The teacher should check the answers students give to both questions in the moment and questions from tests. Additionally, the teacher should see what kind of questions the students are asking in class to gauge their engagement. Lastly, the applications the students are giving about the lessons should be gauged to see how the students are getting to the learning objective. If the objective is a real world skill, the road to learning the skill should involve questions which relate to the real world. When teaching about applied mathematics, the questions should reflect real situations. The students should be shown an example, asked to repeat it, asked questions about it, and then asked to predict something with it. 

Reminding the students about the work from the day before is a helpful way to bring back the important information, as well as naturally builds on the lesson from the day before. The students should be asked what had happened in the demonstration which had just been given, as a way to explore the demonstration and gauge their receptiveness of it. For instance, “What happened here?” or “Why do you think this is happening?” are helpful tools, especially when integrated well into the lesson. 

The teacher should also ask challenging questions, which naturally build on previous questions. The teacher should allow for some time to think when a question is asked, but eventually it may be wise to move to another student. However, whenever possible, the teacher should guide the student chosen on to the correct solution. Questions make it clear that the teacher cares about the students, believes the students are capable, and expects the students to pay attention and apply themselves. 

Being well organized keeps the lesson going.Using precise language is important. Clear transitions help prepare the minds of the students. Routines allow students to have a rhythm and make the classroom smooth. Reminding the students to “keep this in mind” or “listen carefully” demonstrate what is the most important. Teachers must carefully study the topics they are unsure about in order to not be thrown off course by questions and proper engagement. Giving proper feedback is difficult, but giving real feedback pushes students to perform better. When responding to an incorrect suggestion about a solution, the teacher should not simply say no, but rather explain what the student needs to do to get to the right answer. The teacher must help them answer correctly by correcting their tools. 

Young children appreciate open praise more, but older students appreciate private praise. Teachers should check for confused faces to gauge engagement and understanding of the lesson. Teachers should not only have lectures, but a lot of skilled questioning. Teachers should connect the abstract concepts to the real world through questions. Practicing the art of asking questions is extremely valuable. Questions should be asked so naturally that they do not interrupt the flow of the lesson. When questions are done in this way, they can be used as an extremely helpful teaching tool. 

Teachers should call on people who are high and low achievers, boys and girls, minorities and majorities, all equally. Questioning increases student involvement. Prompting must be given to lead the individual to the answer. Immediately after asking a question, waiting a few seconds before calling on someone, even up to 3-5 seconds before calling on someone, and then waiting a few more seconds, is helpful for engagement. The appropriate level of questions is according to the lesson goal. The level of questions will take care of themselves when the goal of the lesson is clear. 

Teacher modeling and care is one of the most important factors to learning, especially with minorities. Teachers need to care well, and need to teach to reflect that. They care about the individuals, and so the individual is able to learn for their own sake, not because they are obligated to. Feedback is even more important with diverse students. Critical thinking must be a natural part of the teaching. Asking how the student knows something is a serious part of teaching to students. The teacher must ask students to provide evidence for their beliefs. 

The teacher must remain alert to ask their students how they know what they say, and when this is effortless it will seamlessly work into the teacher’s lessons. Questions should be answered in the moment when the opportunity to dive in arises. The teacher should be well-studied in their area. Students must be able to give answers without being ridiculed or made fun of. Students will learn models of critical thinking through the teacher.  Overall, this week’s reading has helped to lay a foundation for helpful questions in the classroom. Engagement with the lesson can be greatly aided through the use of asking skilled questions. Additionally, one can gauge the students’ engagement and comprehension through asking questions. Overall, this attitude of student engagement, rather than a plain lecture, is very helpful.