Anyone who has been involved in teaching knows the concern: "How do I help these students learn the material? What is the best way to teach them?" This is the question of instructional methodology (to use education-speak). What are the most effective ways to teach our students?
There are many variables here. For example, it's possible to teach a high school economics class entirely by presenting lectures to the students (although I wouldn't advise it). But you wouldn't teach an elementary school art class by simply lecturing about art - you would have the students do art. Different subjects require different methods. And different students need different methods. One student can learn very well by listening carefully to the teacher, while another one needs to see things like notes on the board.
There's no way I can give definitive answers here about how to teach a class. But what I want to do is give a few examples of the variety of teaching methods in the Bible. Conservatives in education often believe that "the Biblical" way of teaching is by lecturing. After all, we have Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, we have Paul teaching the churches by letters (which are somewhat like written lectures), we have God speaking authoritatively from Mount Sinai and through the Old Testament prophets. So it is assumed that Christian school teachers should lecture. But is that all the Bible presents about teaching? Let's look at some other examples.
There are many variables here. For example, it's possible to teach a high school economics class entirely by presenting lectures to the students (although I wouldn't advise it). But you wouldn't teach an elementary school art class by simply lecturing about art - you would have the students do art. Different subjects require different methods. And different students need different methods. One student can learn very well by listening carefully to the teacher, while another one needs to see things like notes on the board.
There's no way I can give definitive answers here about how to teach a class. But what I want to do is give a few examples of the variety of teaching methods in the Bible. Conservatives in education often believe that "the Biblical" way of teaching is by lecturing. After all, we have Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, we have Paul teaching the churches by letters (which are somewhat like written lectures), we have God speaking authoritatively from Mount Sinai and through the Old Testament prophets. So it is assumed that Christian school teachers should lecture. But is that all the Bible presents about teaching? Let's look at some other examples.
- Project-based learning - Sometimes Christians have railed against projects as time-wasters, or (especially with group projects) as a pooling of ignorance. Maybe projects have been tolerated as a fun diversion for the students, but not something for real learning. But consider how Jesus taught his disciples in Luke 10. He sent 72 of them out to the villages to preach. He gave them some rules to follow ("Carry no moneybag, no knapsack..."). He told them what to do if they encountered various situations. Then they went out on the project. Later they returned and reported on what they saw happening ("The demons are subject to us in your name"). And Jesus then used that as a learning experience ("I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven"). Could Jesus have delivered the same instruction simply by lecturing them ("My kingdom has come and Satan is cast out")? Sure - and it would have taken a lot less time. But would the disciples have learned the instruction as well? Probably not. Taking the time to engage in the project helped them learn and internalize what Jesus was teaching them.
- Questioning - Look at Jesus in Matthew 16. "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" The disciples gave various answers. Then, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus then affirmed his answer. Why did Jesus go through the questions? He already knew what people said about Him. He also knew what his disciples thought about Him. But Jesus asked them questions to make them think, and to help them see the contrast between what people thought and what the Holy Spirit taught. It would have been faster for Jesus just to turn to His disciples and say, "Listen to me: I am the Christ, the Son of the living God." But the process of questioning was more effective in getting the disciples to understand what that meant. So in the classroom - the teacher will ask students questions to force them to think through the material (not just to see if they're listening). It takes more time than lecture, but it's more effective for learning.
- Puzzles - Consider the book of Proverbs. Solomon is instructing his son, and says he wants his son to understand "the words of the wise and their riddles" (Prov. 1:6). Sometimes the best way for someone to learn something is to figure out a puzzle, problem, or riddle. The teacher might be tempted to just tell students what the right answer is, or to tell them every step in some process - it would certainly be quicker. I am a church organist, and one thing organists have to learn is how to choose different combinations of sounds ("stops") to make a certain effect. An organ teacher can tell a student, "For this piece, pull out these four stops." But the student won't learn what to do when he sits down at a different organ, with a different set of stops. But suppose the teacher says, "You try out different sets of stops and see which combination works best." The student will go through trial and error, trying to find the right set of stops. That student will know much more about the sounds of the organ - he has tried most of them out. So it is in the classroom. The teacher might often say, "Here's a problem. I want you to see what you can figure out about it."