Attributes and Approaches of Effective Gospel Teachers

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Tuly
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Attributes and Approaches of Effective Gospel Teachers

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I loved this study on how to be an effective gospel teacher. This was put together by Kendel Christensen and Lloyd D. Newell. Check out the survey they put together.

http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/volume-13-n ... l-teachers
Our research findings led us to highlight five attributes and approaches to effective gospel teaching: inviting the Spirit, enthusiasm, knowledge, personal relevance, and preparation. The authors acknowledge that there are many other aspects of effective gospel teaching and that entire books could be dedicated to each. This study focuses on what one sampling of students reported to be most significant and offers the results for readers to consider. It serves as an affirmation of the attributes and approaches to effective gospel teaching that most of us already know are important but that perhaps merit a more intentional reminder in our efforts to incorporate them. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught, “We need to be reminded more than we need to be instructed.”
Interesting findings include the following:

· “Funny” was ranked in the bottom five in the quantitative portion for all three groups (with scores of 3.91, 2.90, and 3.07, respectively), but was in the top ten answers for the open-response questions for both seminary (twenty-five mentions) and institute (ten mentions).

· “Eloquent” was universally rated low in the quantitative portion by all three groups (last for seminary, third to last for institute, and fourth to last by BYU students)

· “Object lessons” and “giving the class time to just think” also rated low in the quantitative portion (bottom third by all three groups).

· “Knows my name” was rated the eighth most important attribute in the quantitative portion by seminary students but was rated in the bottom third by institute students and last by BYU students.

· “Preparation” scored in the top six in all three lists for the quantitative portion (second for institute and third for BYU students).

· Females rated inviting the Spirit, being friendly, bearing testimony, class participation, and “makes me feel loved” at a statistically significantly[19] higher level than males (4.83 vs. 4.73, 4.21 vs. 4.06, 4.05 vs. 3.86, 3.91 vs. 3.69, and 3.80 vs. 3.64, respectively). Males scored “boldness” statistically significantly[20] higher than did females (3.66 vs. 3.35).

· Eloquence, “allows me to share my true feelings,” and class participation were rated significantly higher[21] for those with the highest GPA rating[22] when compared to all the other GPA groups.[23] Eloquence scored 3.63 by the highest GPA group vs. a range of 2.77 to 3.1 for all other GPA groups, “allows me to share my true feelings” scored 4.13 vs. a range of 3.2 to 3.62 for all other GPA groups, and class participation was rated 4.18 vs. a range of 3.5 to 3.77 for all other GPA groups.

· BYU students mention “teaches doctrine, not opinion” as the most important attribute eight times in the free-response section. It is not mentioned once in either of the other groups.

· Students seem to perceive “has the Spirit” and “spiritual” as somewhat different qualities. From what students said in the free-response section of the survey, we understand “spiritual” to be a description of a teacher’s nature, way of life, character, and sense of commitment to the gospel and spiritual things. “Has the Spirit” is taken to mean that when he or she teaches, the Spirit is present and that the Holy Ghost testifies to hearts that what is taught is true.

Looking at both the qualitative and quantitative portions of the results, five attributes stood out as the most frequently mentioned or highest rated among all groups: invites the Spirit, enthusiasm, knowledgeable, personal relevance, and preparation.
Effective gospel teachers give primacy to having the Spirit with them and seeking the Spirit as they teach. Elder Gene R. Cook said, “Who will do the teaching? The Comforter. Be sure you don’t believe you are the ‘true teacher.’ That is a serious mistake. . . . Be careful you do not get in the way. The major role of a teacher is to prepare the way such that the people will have a spiritual experience with the Lord. You are an instrument, not the teacher. The Lord is the One who knows the needs of those being taught. He is the One who can impress someone’s heart and cause them to change.”
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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Tuly
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Re: Attributes and Approaches of Effective Gospel Teachers

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Seek Learning by Faith by Elder David A. Bednar. From a satellite broadcast address to Church Educational System educators given on February 3, 2006.

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2007/09/seek ... h?lang=eng

I suspect we emphasize and know much more about a teacher teaching by the Spirit than we do about a learner learning by faith. Clearly, the principles and processes of both teaching and learning are spiritually essential. However, as we look to the future and anticipate the ever more confused and turbulent world in which we will live, I believe it will be essential for all of us to increase our capacity to seek learning by faith. In our personal lives, in our families, and in the Church, we can and will receive the blessings of spiritual strength, direction, and protection as we seek by faith to obtain and apply spiritual knowledge.

Nephi teaches us, “When a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth [the message] unto the hearts of the children of men” (2 Nephi 33:1). Please notice how the power of the Spirit carries the message unto but not necessarily into the heart. A teacher can explain, demonstrate, persuade, and testify, and do so with great spiritual power and effectiveness. Ultimately, however, the content of a message and the witness of the Holy Ghost penetrate into the heart only if a receiver allows them to enter. Learning by faith opens the pathway into the heart.


Learning by Faith: To Act and Not to Be Acted Upon
Consider the question posed by Heavenly Father to Adam in the Garden of Eden: “Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:9). The Father knew where Adam was hiding, but He nonetheless asked the question. Why? A wise and loving Father enabled His child to act in the learning process and not merely be acted upon. There was no one-way lecture to a disobedient child, as perhaps many of us might be inclined to deliver. Rather, the Father helped Adam as a learner to act as an agent and appropriately exercise his agency.

Implication 1. The Holy Ghost is a teacher from the Father.
But we must be careful to remember in our service that we are conduits and channels; we are not the light. “For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you” (Matthew 10:20). It is never about me, and it is never about you. In fact, anything you or I do as instructors that knowingly and intentionally draws attention to self—in the messages we present, in the methods we use, or in our personal demeanor—is a form of priestcraft that inhibits the teaching effectiveness of the Holy Ghost. “Doth he preach it by the Spirit of truth or some other way? And if it be by some other way it is not of God” (D&C 50:17–18).


Implication 2. We are most effective as instructors when we encourage and facilitate learning by faith.
Notice this implication in practice in the counsel given to Junius F. Wells by President Brigham Young (1801–77) as Brother Wells was called in 1875 to organize the young men of the Church:

“At your meetings you should begin at the top of the roll and call upon as many members as there is time for to bear their testimonies and at the next meeting begin where you left off and call upon others, so that all shall take part and get into the practice of standing up and saying something. Many may think they haven’t any testimony to bear, but get them to stand up and they will find the Lord will give them utterance to many truths they had not thought of before. More people have obtained a testimony while standing up trying to bear it than down on their knees praying for it.”


Implication 3. Our faith is strengthened as we help others seek learning by faith.
The Holy Ghost, who can “teach [us] all things, and bring all things to [our] remembrance” (John 14:26), is eager to help us learn as we act and exercise faith in Jesus Christ. Interestingly, this divine learning assistance is perhaps never more apparent than when we are teaching, either at home or in Church assignments. As Paul made clear to the Romans, “Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?” (Romans 2:21).
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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Tuly
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Re: Attributes and Approaches of Effective Gospel Teachers

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This article is from Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson - Helping Light the Fire to Learn - https://www.lds.org/church/news/helping ... n?lang=eng

With a resurgence in improving our gospel teaching. I have noticed in our stake how some of these approaches can be misunderstood. For example the tip to ask class members to share how their week went, I'm assuming this is more effective at a youth class. Sister Oscarson does have great advice.

As a mother and grandmother my greatest desire is that my children and grandchildren will seek to understand the principles of the gospel and enjoy the full blessings of membership in the Church. In short, I hope they will be truly converted. No matter how much I desire this for those I love, I can’t achieve it for them. Each and every individual is responsible for his own learning and conversion. No one can gain a testimony for someone else.

There is something we can do as parents and teachers and that is to create a learning environment that encourages and nurtures the desire in our children and youth to study, learn, and live the gospel on their own.

We have often been reminded that the home should be the central place for gospel learning and conversion. Parents are the most effective teachers because they are instinctively focused on the needs and challenges of their children and naturally create teaching opportunities to meet those needs. Parents are not thinking about how they can impress or astonish their children as expert educators but are more concerned with engaging their children’s interests, opening meaningful discussions, and reaching their hearts. These are the elements that encourage learning and living. Because a parent has the best interests of their children at heart, they know best how to motivate to action and learning.

So how do those charged with teaching classes at church create that kind of desire to learn? How does a teacher at church light the fire of testimony in the hearts of their learners the way a diligent parent does at home?

Consider two different teaching situations on a typical Sunday at church.

Situation one:

A student comes into a class expecting to be taught a gospel lesson. The teacher is brilliantly prepared with stories, personal examples, creative object lessons, clever handouts, and new ideas and insights that no one has ever considered before. The teacher is entertaining, eloquent, and holds the interest of everyone present for a full 40 minutes. All the students leave the classroom talking about what a great teacher they have just heard.

Situation two:

At the invitation of the instructor, the students come into the classroom prepared to share with one another something they experienced during the past week. The Spirit fills the room as each person briefly shares an experience they had living a gospel principle discussed in last week’s lesson. The teacher encourages class discussion by asking thoughtful and meaningful questions. The students are then invited to read a scripture and discuss with one another a gospel principle and how they can apply it to their own lives. The teacher guides the discussion without dominating it. Everyone participates. Students are given time to write down inspired thoughts and impressions and even personal goals for the coming week. The students leave the classroom excited about the gospel and anxious to read and study on their own in order to understand and better live the principles they discussed that day.

Which situation describes the ideal Church classroom?

While these examples are greatly simplified, they serve to make the point that the role of teaching in the Church is not to entertain with dazzling displays of pedagogy; rather, it is to help individuals take responsibility for learning the gospel for themselves and to awaken in them the desire to study, understand, and live the gospel in their lives. There is a well-known saying often attributed to William Butler Yeats, which says that “education is not the filling of the pail, but the lighting of the fire.” The goal of teaching in the Church is the same as it is at home—a burning testimony.

Both in the home and at church, the focus should be on the learner and not on the teaching. In one teaching resource it suggests some questions that will help a person know what their focus is. A teacher who is focused only on their teaching asks, “What shall I do in class today?” and “What will I teach today?” Contrast those two questions with the teacher who is learner-focused: “What will my students do in class today?” and “How will I help my students discover what they need to know?” (see “The Role of the Student”).

Sister Virginia Pearce, a former counselor in the Young Women general presidency, observed, “The skilled teacher does not want students who leave the class talking about how magnificent and unusual the teacher is. This teacher wants students who leave talking about how magnificent the gospel is!” (“The Ordinary Classroom—a Powerful Place for Steady and Continued Growth,” Oct. 1996 general conference).

Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has pointed out, “Every member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is, or will be, a teacher” (“Gospel Teaching,” Oct. 1999 general conference). Parents are teachers from sunup until sundown, every day of the year. Almost all of us will have specific callings to teach in more formal settings during our lifetimes. We all need to understand the importance of helping our family and class members be self-motivated learners. An ordinary teacher prepares to teach a lesson. An extraordinary teacher prepares to ignite a spark which kindles a testimony and changes lives.
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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Tuly
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Re: Attributes and Approaches of Effective Gospel Teachers

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I have just reread Elder Bednar's - Seek Learning by Faith that is in this thread. I believe repetition helps with understanding anything better. I also understand better why faith is an important component in learning. I feel too often we attend our Sunday classes waiting to be fed and depending on how hungry we are for knowledge and truth we will either have a great learning experience or not. Nevertheless when we bring faith into the class and prepare ourselves by reading the lesson in advance we will have a much richer experience.
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
Ann
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Re: Attributes and Approaches of Effective Gospel Teachers

Post by Ann »

I agree. Thanks for being a great example of this (reading/preparing the lesson in advance even when you are not scheduled to teach).
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Tuly
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Re: Attributes and Approaches of Effective Gospel Teachers

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I appreciated this talk given to CES teachers by Elder Gerrit W. Gong - I loved all of his nine points.
https://www.lds.org/church/news/elder-g ... S_xLIDyC-1_
“In a world full of thorns and thistles, the Savior blesses us with manna—daily bread—His sacramental promise that we might have life, hope, joy, and have them more abundantly,” Elder Gong said.

Drawing from the New Testament, Elder Gong showed a video recounting the experience of the Savior, “the Bread of Life,” feeding the multitude with only a few loaves and fishes.

“What did you notice, feel, and learn as Jesus Christ feeds each of us, and all of us?” Elder Gong asked. “Were the loaves like manna, sweet as coriander and honey? How did two small fishes feed us—fill us—all?”

Elder Gong shared nine things to help a person better understand, draw closer, and become more like the Savior.
1. Our Savior is moved with compassion.

“Many of our Savior’s miracles begin with His understanding and compassion,” Elder Gong said. “Our Savior knows our hearts and circumstances. He is filled with compassion for our hopes and hurts, our desires and needs.”

Sharing examples of the Savior found in the scriptures, Elder Gong spoke of the Savior’s ability to receive, teach, and heal people.

“Through His ministry our Savior is moved by compassion—compassion for the leper, compassion for the man’s son possessed with a foul spirit, compassion for a widowed mother whose only son had died. Our Savior teaches us to be like the good Samaritan who had compassion on the man wounded and left for dead. … Our Savior begins with compassion. He concludes with gracious kindness.”

2. Our Savior starts with what they have.

“Wanting to feed the multitude, our Savior starts by asking His disciples what they have,” he said. “He is Creator of the world, Lord of heaven and earth, yet He starts with what they have, from where they are.”

The Savior is able to take what a person has and make it enough.

“Do you ever look at who you are, at what or who you have to teach, and wonder how what you have can possibly be enough?” he asked. “Perhaps, like the disciples, we look at our few small loaves and fishes and marvel, ‘But what are they among so many?’”

In a classroom, teachers invite students to contribute in class where some students offer more, some less.

“As learners and teachers (and we are both), we begin with what we have, with who we are now. He can then magnify us and multiply our efforts,” he said.

3. Our Savior proceeds in an orderly manner.

Unlike a busy crowd of people shoving and grabbing without any regard for another person, the Lord is organized and cares for every individual.

“In the Church we speak of a pioneer company,” Elder Gong said. “We speak of a company worshipping in the temple. To us, the word company denotes an orderly group with a higher shared purpose.”

4. Our Savior expresses gratitude.

“He took the loaves and fishes, and ‘looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake,’” Elder Gong taught. “Creator of heaven and earth, the King of kings Himself gives thanks before He divides the loaves and fishes and multiplies them among them all, ‘as much as they would’ eat.”

5. Our Savior feeds the disciples and has them feed the multitude.

“It is order, but it is more than order,” Elder Gong said. “It is strengthening the shepherds so the shepherds can strengthen the sheep. It is teaching the teachers so the teachers can teach the students.”

That is a divine pattern—a great gift of spiritual giving and receiving—used throughout the scriptures and the Church.

“Knowing we will teach helps us to learn,” he said. “In teaching others to learn, we learn to teach.”

6. Our Savior feeds the 5,000 and the one at the same time.

Miraculously, the loaves and fishes were divided and multiplied so that all were able to eat and be filled.

“This is a miracle we teachers seek—to teach our whole class and each person in the class. This requires attending to the 5,000 and the one. It invites addressing general concerns and individual needs. And, beyond balance, it invites the spiritual miracle that that with which we begin will become enough.”

7. Our Savior ensures nothing is lost.

Beginning with gratitude for what a person has helps ensure nothing is lost when he or she concludes.

“Heaven’s economy does not waste,” Elder Gong said. “Everything is drawn on in the beginning; nothing is left to be lost in the end.”

By participating in the process of revelation—asking, receiving, recording, pondering, obeying, asking if there is more—a person is able to build on what he or she has and then receive more.

8. With our Savior, we end with more than we began.

Like the loaves and fishes, “a miracle of spiritual multiplication is that, with our Savior, we end with more than we began. We end with more love, more learning, more inspiration, more kindness than when we began. Spirit-filled teaching comes back as breath upon the water—like loaves and fishes, with more than we began.”

9. For those with eyes to see and ears to hear, our Savior teaches and testifies of sacramental abundance.

“His is a world of loaves and fishes, of abundance,” Elder Gong said.

Sharing other examples in the scriptures of the Savior providing nourishment—the woman at the well to whom the Savior declares Himself as “living water,” to those whom the Savior told He is “the bread of life,” and to His disciples with whom He shared the sacrament—Elder Gong said that the Savior promises that those who partake of His offering “shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled.”
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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Tuly
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Re: Attributes and Approaches of Effective Gospel Teachers

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I have enjoyed studying the "Come Follow Me" manual. As well as these articles on teaching.
Tips on teaching like the Savior from the Young Men, Young Women and Sunday School general presidencies
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-fa ... sidencies-
If youth understand the inherent power of doctrine to transform lives, they will realize that all scriptures, all questions, all discussions, and all supplemental resources (such as pictures, music, videos, analogies and the like) used in teaching need to focus upon and support the doctrine and its application in the lives of those they teach.

The Lord has taught us that the doctrine is to be taught “by the power of my Spirit” (Doctrine and Covenants 43:15). But how does one get the Spirit to teach? President Henry B. Eyring gave this promise during a CES Satellite Training Broadcast on Aug. 10, 2003: “If you teach doctrinal principles, the Holy Ghost will come.”

In addition, spiritual power is related to our love for those we teach, our worthiness, our humility, the intensity of our prayers, and the degree to which we prepare. Speaking during a BYU devotional in 1990, President Eyring said he once asked President Harold B. Lee, “How do I get revelation?” President Lee responded, “If you want to get revelation, do your homework.”

Youth will receive revelation and the Spirit to teach as they do their “homework” — discovering the needs of those in their class, pondering the doctrine to be taught, sincerely asking for the Lord’s help and taking the time to organize a teaching plan. When youth teach the doctrine with love and by the Spirit, they teach with power and authority of God.
Sunday School general presidency talks about how to approach 'Come Follow Me' 2019 curriculum
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-fa ... ulum-48696
Taking responsibility
With teachers having received the “Teaching in the Savior’s Way” training for several years, Brother Durrant sees the new curriculum as an opportunity to apply those principles — loving those being taught, preparing by the Spirit, teaching doctrine, teaching by the Spirit and extending invitations to class members to act.

“With the new curriculum, we’re all being invited to take responsibility for our own learning,” he said. “And a teacher can assist in that process.”

Combining the “Teaching in the Savior’s Way” principles with the 2019 integrated “Come, Follow Me,” study of the New Testament makes for “a marvelous example and prime opportunity … not just to teach the doctrine but to see how the Savior taught,” Brother Durrant said.

Brother Callister underscored that the manual’s topic statements are not simply factual statements but doctrinal statements — not simply “Jesus went into the garden of Gethsemane” but rather “Jesus suffered in the garden of Gethsemane so He could pay the price for our sins.” All subsequent materials in the manual — stories, questions, videos and more — align with the doctrine being taught.
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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