DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE TEACHING STRATEGIES2
Reading Response
By
Samson Basil Magara
I.D L 2000503293B
Program: M A in Education
Curriculum and
Instruction
Course :
Developing Effective Teaching Strategies.
Degree Level: Masters
Module Two: Creative Teaching
Methods: Be an Effective
Christian Teacher, pages 172-305
Task: Read through the material in
the chapters listed.
Complete
all the activities and exercises that appear in that
Chapter,
then for each chapter you complete, write at least a 650 word precise in which
you demonstrate your new learning on the chapter of developing effective
teaching strategies.
Chapter 8: Never too old ‘Tell me a story’.
In
this chapter the author Marlene D. LeFever, has explained the importance of
using a story in teaching to both teens and adults. She has also emphasized
that stories ,personal illustrations, life experiences of others, sections from
books, short stories, parables, myths-no matter what the form or who the writer
is, stories help us participate in the reality of the Christian experience .In
this chapter the author tries to
sensitize teachers to the importance of using story with teens and adults, to encourage teachers
to start a file of stories that can be used in their classes and has tired to
give some practice in cutting along story down to size so that it can be used
in a limited time slot. From this chapter I have learnt many insights which I
will use when teaching my students .The following guidelines are of importance
when one is to read and tell stories. First , begin to read yourself , read the
stories of the Bible again perhaps a good and from a modern language
translation or paraphrase .It is also good to read books others have named
excellent .Second , record your voice as you read or tell a story . Rate
yourself later deciding how you captured the feeling of the story, you varied the
speed of your reading; varying your expression so listeners could tell which
character was speaking. The use of pauses to build suspense, enjoying reading the
story. Also read, record and evaluate a second time. The third guideline is to remember
eye contact. You need to be familiar enough with the story and at ease
with the presentation of look
at your students. The other thing is that let your facial
expression conveys part of the
message. Also, let your voice reflect the emotions inthe story. From this Chapter also, I have learnt that it is important that one develops his
own file topics. The story should be edited to fit the classroom time, where it should
e used in an effective way to help students examine truth and learn to apply it in
their lives. This can be done
by beginning reading the story or section out loud. Look
for sections you could delete.
Maintain the time of the story. Right before you cut a
section; reread the last thing
you will read aloud before the cut. Then practice your
edited version. An effective
edit should read smoothly making its point without the
listener feeling the absence
of the deleted portions.
I have also learned that using
secular stories one has to be careful. Choose carefully
what you will use as part of
your teaching plans. What the teacher is mature enough
to handle may be damaging to
an immature student. Pick secular stories very
carefully. Delete what is
inappropriate for discussion. Edit out problems for your age
level or for the spiritual
maturity level of your children.
Also from this chapter I have learned
about the cost of being a writer is thus a
commitment to excellence and integrity.
But for the writer who professes to be a
Christian, there is a
surcharge to be paid. This is the call to sacrifice, service and
Sacrament, recognition that in
using the medium of language we are in fact
employing symbolic of the
word.
Also this chapter, I have learnt
about using parable as a teaching tool. A
parable is the most prominent
literary devise used in Gospels. Parables fill into two
categories . First is a short
story that illustrates a main point, and the other are short
stories that illustrate a main
point, but also have details with specific meanings. A
good parable is like a bad
whiplash.
I have also learnt how to write parables.
I n writing parables one has to
follow steps. First start by
deciding what Spiritual truth your parable will
communicate. Second, decide on
a problem situation around which to build your
parable. Third, limit your
characters and lastly, talk your parable before you write it -
talk through with a friend.
Chapter 9: Discussion: A
learning imperative.
In this chapter the author has
discussed about the importance of discussion as a
learning devise. Students
learn more when they take an active part in the class, when
they add comments, ask questions
of their peers. Discussion is part of any good
teaching plan; discussion may
be generic to youth and adult learning.
From this chapter, I have learnt the
benefit of using discussion in teaching.
These benefits are: Discussion
stimulates interest and thinking, and helps students
develop the skills of observation,
analysis, and logic; Discussion helps students
clarify and review what they
have learnt; students can sometimes solve their own
problems through discussion;
Discussion allows students to hear opinions that are
more mature and perhaps more
Christ like than their own. Discussion
stimulates
creativity and aids students
in applying what they have learnt in everyday situations.
When students verbalize what
they believe and are forced to explain or defend what
they say, their convictions
are strengthened and their ability to share what they
believe with others is
increased.
Also I have learn that the question
or comment a teacher uses to start a
discussion is very important
because it sets the direction of what lies ahead
.Discussion starters that
begin with the words why, explain and what do you think are
usually good because these
words indicate that there is something to discuss. Students
may interact as they answer. When
discussing students not only review what they
have learnt but also analyses
how what they have learned applies to their contemporary
situation.
Also from this chapter I have
learned that no two people in a discussion are
exactly alike. Each has
biological and psychological needs, drives, and patterns for living
past experiences, and creative
abilities. Each should be encouraged to contribute in
personal and unique ways. No
one should be allowed to monopolize the conversation
. The success of a discussion
depends on the people involved and the topic they are
discussing not on external
variables such as the room arrangement. Even so, the
leader should try to make the
classroom as conducive as possible for discussion.
Also from this chapter, I have learnt
that there are many different ways to
structure a discussion. All
have group interaction as their goal. All provide an
opportunity to share in the
learning process, using different structure can add surprise
to a discussion. It can mix
people in unique ways. It can allow new people to talk.
We have total class discussion,
buzz groups, brainstorming, forum discussion,
panel discussion, debate,
floating panel, mixed group discussion, parent teen
wisdom exchange and interview.
It is important that after discussion you evaluate
every class period in which
you use discussion. Ask yourself questions to help
determine the success of your
discussion time. Ask yourself in what ways did this
discussion contribute to your
students understanding of today’s lesson were you
have
to consider each student individually.
In what specific ways did the students teach?
themselves during the discussion;
if each person was not involved, what can I do
next week to correct the situation,
in what ways did content play a role in the
discussion.
Chapter 10: Case Study: Chunk
of Reality in the classroom.
In this chapter, the author
has tried to explain the meaning of case study. She
explains that a case study
must be a true situation in which a problem is presented.
Names and some places be changed,
if any necessary, but the essentials facts must
remain the same .A case study
is a short dramatic situation based on actual facts
involving actual characters
who are faced with actual problems that need solving. In
a case study, the class reads
the case and discusses it. In this chapter the author also
has tried to explain that both
teens and adults react positively to case study .One of
the strongest aspects of a
case study is that participants rarely find out what really
Happened. Students are left to
grapple with the issues.
From this chapter I have learnt useful
insights which I will use to help in my
classroom teaching. On case
study I have learnt I have learnt that it has many benefits
to the students. When we use
case study with adults and teenagers, we can expect
some of the following things
to happen. First, people will be exposed to others who
have problems similar to their
own, and realizing the seminaries, they may apply the
biblical solution to their own
situations. Second, students will re evaluate Sunday
school. Case study can be a
tool of real world training; Third, students will become
more tolerant: fifth,
scriptures become real to students who get involved in the total
study and sixth, with role play,
people who participate in case study increase their
decision - making skills. They
learn to analyze the case, make a decision, and
consider the consequence of
that decision.
The other important insight learnt
from this chapter is that the first thing a
teacher will want to do with a
case study is read it at least three times, becoming
familiar with the characters.
The other important point is
to determine the issues .It is essential that one knows
what issues are obvious in the
case study. It is also essential that also essential that
you determine which issues
will relate to your students.
Also another point I have learnt is
that it’s quite difficult to teach a case study
because the teacher can never
really be sure what direction the students
will
take...As long as the teacher lectures, the teachers is in Complete Control. The
teacher determines what material is being
presented and in what in order.
In the Case Study Method, however, teachers
surrender their sovereignty
while still maintaining control of the discussion. I also
learnt that there are certain
steps the teacher needs to make the case experience
successful: a) Muster the funds: Consider specific
things your students might want to
bring up; decide what your
particular learning objectives will spare discussion;
present the case to the class.
Also I have learnt that when presenting the case, the
techniques to use are; use of scripture;
interrupt the case at different points for
discussion; interrupt the case
for learning activities.
From this chapter I have also learnt
the typical case study pattern that is used
by most case writers. First we
have the introduction which is a few paragraphs;
second is the transition,
which is a bridge between into the events that led up to the
crisis
point where the story started. Materials
for cases can be found (a) live a case (b) read the articles that make good
cases in secular magazines (c) newspapers are great case study sources and (d)
History is full of case studies
Chapter 11: Creative Writing:
Helping Students save their thoughts
In this chapter the author has
written about how difficult students find writing. They
find it a challenging thing to
do in class and most of them hate it .The writer in this
chapter has given suggestions
on how to break through these negatives, and the
benefits from self expression
through writing.
From this chapter I have learnt many things which are very useful and
which are
very useful and which will aid
me in teaching my students in class how to write
.There is ways to break
through their negative feelings to discover the joy of
communicating on paper. The
first step is breaking through the negative which can be
achieved by doing the
following. ; 1) begin with a fun writing idea, keep it small and
insignificant: 2) stress that
writing in class is just talk written down. 3) Give the
option to write or think and
then share 4) Don’t make written
comments about
spelling or punctuation.
Students discovering their ability to
communicate through writing gives them a
sense of achievement that few
other teaching methods can match. To give the
students to achieve this, the
teacher should always 1) choose assignments that help
students stabilize in their
own minds what they believe; 2) Encourage the students to
keep many of these assignments
as a permanent record their thoughts, ideas and
decisions 3) Students may be
challenged to more original thinking as they hear how
their classmates express themselves.
4) Students can come to appreciate the different
ways people learn to communicate,
verbally or sharing on paper. 5) Students preach
to each other in stronger
terms through their writing than you would ever be able to
preach at them, writings of
teenagers are strongly moral. 5) encourage creative
homework writing homework
assignments 8) Use creative writing as an out read.
From this chapter also I have
learnt that when students write in class, always given
them an opportunity to share
what they have created. Sharing for most students is
part of the learning process. Creative
writing can alert you to the problems and issues
That are vital to your
students .The writing will take the form of poetry, mostly
Biblical forms where the
students should be exposed to simple parallelism and a
Acrostics
which are important aspects of Hebrew
poetry and Old Testament poetry.
Also it is important that when
picking poems to read to your students; look for poems
that share true emotion, poems
that have blood in their veins; don’t rule out poems
that are not pretty: look for
poems that are fresh; choose poems that teach; check the
content.
Also I have learnt that students
should be encouraged to write their prayers as a
response from them on the
lessons they learn. Allow enough time for them to do the
writing. The writing should be
extended to letter writing which is the simplest and
least used form of writing.
Ideas like letter writing are really projects that demand
time and out of class
participation by students. Projects are important parts of
teaching and a wise teacher is
always looking for the one that is just perfect for his or
her class. Often students can
finish a story as a homework assignment. Homework
story starters can be more
involved than ‘What if ‘situations done in class. It is ideal
if each student can have a
copy of the story starter to take home. This writing will
have to progress to Bible
review newspaper where students will complete to help
Them review what they learned
from the unit they have just completed against the
others to give the most
complete and interesting newspaper coverage of the events
they have just studied.
Chapter 12: Joyful Noises
In this chapter the author,
has written about the importance of music in the process
teaching. Music plays a part
in our worship experience, and it should also be playing
a positive part in our
teaching process. Music is a language. Its learned, and many
adults and most teenagers
today speak it without an accent. But there is a real
problem over seventy percent
of the human ear develops between the ages of three to
seven. The sounds the ears
hear within those early years are the native sounds that
will not be erased by
subsequent experiences. This means that some teachers,
particularly in youth classes,
do not speak or understand the same musical language
as their students.
From this chapter I have learnt
many ideas which are useful and which will
help me carry out the teaching
process. The first thing is that music is an important in
the teaching process. It is
not an easy job finding the songs that are perfectly suited
for the lesson. So the only
option is to try and write a song using words to familiar
melodies. The class can either
work together to write the song or work in small
groups to produce many stanzas.
They brainstorm possible sentences and phrases that
would fit the music score and
finally pick out what they want their song to
communicate.
Also from this chapter I have
learnt that choral reading is good when you
really can not sing or talk. Choral
reading for anyone, singer or not, is a wonderful
way to share praise with each
other as a class and with the entire congregation as part
of the corporate worship service.
In choral reading, people talk, rather than sing.
They have most of the options
a singing choir has. There can be duets, solos, and total
choir.
The other thing I have learnt from this
chapter is scriptural choral reading. The
good in using scriptural
choral reading is two fold, you want students to study God’s
word for them, and also want
to give them a vehicle for sharing what they have
learnt with others. Neither of
the goals can be honestly met if students don’t become
personally involved in the passage.
The students should limit themselves to; this
limitation will help them dig
deeper. Only after students have studied the passage is
it time to begin working on
the choral reading.
Also from this chapter I have learnt
that before you try and develop a choral
reading with your class, go
through the whole process by yourself. The process
being study scripture;
consider how you might write the basic choral reading, mark
sections for emphasis;
practice with your choral reading group outside your class
setting and evaluate their
response to hearing scripture in this form.
The other thing which is important is
that music can be used with choral
reading. This can be done by
asking a musician in your class to play music that fit’s
the mood of what is being
spoken or use recorded music that can be played as an
appropriate background to the
spoken words. The students could write a chorus that
would be sung several times
during the choral reading. The chorus should be
scripture only. This excellent
way to commit Bible passage to memory.
Chapter 13: Art: What colors
are in God?
In this chapter the author has
suggested the ways to use color and form in teaching.
Teachers may need to allow
others the opportunity to point out the color in God
.Because we are teachers most
of us are quite verbal and we tend to pick methods for
our classes with which we are comfortable.
Verbal methods feel more right. We
limit ourselves and our
students when we use only familiar, safe ways to teach.
From this chapter also I have learnt that
a good way to expose yourself to color
is to participate in color
bible study. The emphasis being that your color choices
and patterns or designs you
scribble should work together to express moods, emotions
and attitudes. Among the tools
that God can use to breathe life into our teaching is art
. We must be careful not to
limit ourselves and our students to art that requires no
thought or effort to understand.
Also from this chapter I have learned
the importance of art in society. We need
to respond to our generation,
not only in words but also in our own participation. We
need to encourage youth and
adults who are talented artistically to increase their skills
, to be Christians who are artists.
From this chapter also, I have learnt
were to find art to use in class. This
art can be found from the
following sources: artwork that is included in the
curriculum teaching packets;
From libraries who have a lending service; most
museums have postcards of
their most popular paintings: the reduced table at
bookstores: Subscribe to art
magazines designed for art teachers .
The best way to carry out a
project is to blend it with the lesson aim and be part of
the on going teaching process.
Projects should never be busywork. They are
important tools teachers can
use to introduce and involve students in the Christian life
to better understand how they
can work for God as members of His family. Projects
can be done by any of the following:
drawing of the coat of arms: color developing
an original color game for
your class: using a mathematics puzzler: doing tan gram
art: using torn paper designs:
using water colors: using paper sculpture; use of any
symbolic diagrams; making an
identity tag; use of paper clip; use of photography;
use scripture lessons with slide.
Also, I have learned that humor is
important in our Christian education
programs. Cartoons play an
important role in this. The easiest way to use cartoons in
the class is to keep a file. When
a lesson is on a subject in your file bring your
cartoons to class and post
them or pass them around. File topics include: family,
consequences of actions;
temptations areas; and so on; school (or work) situations
; male and female roles; life
style and self -image.
The easiest way to use cartoons in
class is to find ones that have something to
do with your subject and cut
off the Captions. Let the students fill them in .Students
can draw their own cartoons. Sometimes
you’ll find a real cartoonist who
can draw
humorous cartoons as part of
his or her class preparation and participation.
There are two ingredients which
bring the scripture to life. One is looking at
its meaning for long periods
of time and the other is to recognize the presence of the
guide who is none other than
the Holy Spirit. These are the guarantees we hold that
will bring to life seemingly
inanimate objects.
Chapter 14 Teaching without
walls
In this chapter the author has written about
the use of the internet in learning.
Internet is changing how we
relate to people. It is a powerful tool in the hands of
Computer literate people; In
future this communication tool will be used in reducing
fear, use internet for class preparation;
use internet in class and the new technologies
is part of the unfolding of
Gods creation.
From this chapter I have learned that
internet has become a very popular way of
learning. Children are at ease
with the technology and youth leaders in today’s world
need to have computer knowledge.
Also from this chapter I have learned
that not all people are happy with the
knowledge. For many people
this communication tool induces fear. It breaks the
teaching paradigms they have
used for years. Internet is a new teaching tool that has
powerful teaching potential. There
are several things people can do to reduce their
fear of change and computers;
make internet friends; watch someone else using their
computer; honor your ideas by
coming up with lots of ideas on how you would use
the internet; catch the student’s
enthusiasm; spread news to others in the church
about what you are doing; do
something just get started.
From this chapter also I have learned
how to use the internet for class
preparation. The internet can
be used for class illustrations; using clipboard art, you
can create wonderful
worksheets for students; can be used to share with others how
current news can be applied to
scripture immediately sometimes as it is happening;
give students a chance to what
you need to know, not only with you but with other
teachers of their level;
Resources such as maps different versions of the bible and
commentaries are available on
the net; Mentoring; Marketing testing of new ideas
and methods before and after
you use them by asking others on the net to share their
experiences.
I
have also learned that the internet can be used in class. Some of the following
ideas can or will have to be done at times other than the normal teacher. These
are; two classes in one, net work with students in another school, town etc;
Graffiti, electronic style, set up an ongoing discussion group where students
can share ideas about God ; collaborative learning, many students learn best
when they work together; missions today, through email teaching about missions
moves into this decade; Homework, use family’s on-line facilities to research a
topic and bring the information to class; students can send their ideas and
their questions to a respected Christian for evaluation; Denominational
publication; college next, search the internet for colleges that have the
majors that best meet the teen’s needs.
This
chapter also teaches other uses the computer can be put into. These are;
Designing books, students could write biographies of people who helped build
their church; It can be used for parent/teacher contact; it can be used for
correspondence; Technology has enabled students with a wide range of
disabilities to participate fully in mainstream classes and to develop skills
previously considered beyond their capacities.
Also
from this chapter I have learned that every technology has its cautions, and it’s
built in dangers. Computers and the internet all can be used effectively as
communication tools for Jesus. Turned inside out, those same delivery systems
can be used to teach concepts that are diametrically opposed to the Gospel. As
Teachers, we must have the willingness to examine what is new and pray for
wisdom a bout whether it should be used t share Jesus, and if so , how it can
most effectively used.