Principles of Christlike Teaching: Invite Diligent Learning

Invite learners to prepare to learn.

Skill

Create invitations that help learners prepare for the next learning experience.

Define

After teaching some of His followers in the Americas, the Savior invited them to “prepare [their] minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again” (3 Nephi 17:3). Inviting students to prepare to learn is an essential part of helping them come to know truth for themselves (see Joseph Smith—History 1:20). These invitations provide an opportunity for students to have an experience with a scripture passage or truth before they come to class. Invitations to prepare come in many forms. They are often short, simple sentences that include:

• The scripture passage or truth that will be discussed in the upcoming lesson.

• A way for students to engage with the word of God. For example, students can study, apply, talk about, or ask and ponder questions about what they will be learning.

The Holy Ghost can inspire you both during lesson preparation and the learning experience with invitations that can best help students be ready to learn. The curriculum often has these types of invitations included in the lesson materials.

The models and practices below are general examples. Training will be more effective if models and practice opportunities are connected to the next lessons that will be covered in the curriculum.

Model

1. Sister Mendez wants to help her students feel hope as they study 2 Timothy. She creates the invitation: “As you study 2 Timothy this week, look for verses that give you hope through Jesus Christ and share something you learned with someone else.”

2. Brother Bradshaw is preparing to teach about service using King Benjamin’s discourse. He prepares the invitation: “Find a way to serve someone this week and come ready to share as we study Mosiah 2–4.”

Click here to see a video of this model.

Practice

1. You’ll be teaching about the Christlike attribute of patience in the next lesson. Create an invitation you can give in today’s class for students to come prepared next time.

2. Choose a scripture passage or truth in an upcoming curriculum lesson and create an invitation that prepares students to learn.

Discuss or Ponder

• What are you learning about creating invitations to help students learn?

• In what ways have you seen a learner’s preparation contribute to a learning experience?

Incorporate

• Extend an invitation in an upcoming lesson for students to do something outside of class to prepare for the next learning experience. Evaluate what you learned afterward. Seek feedback from your students to continually improve the invitations you give.

Want More?

• “How Do I Help People Make and Keep Commitments?,” Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service (2018), 197–204

• “The Savior Invited Others to Prepare to Learn,” Teaching in the Savior’s Way (2022), 25

• Jan E. Newman, “Teaching in the Savior’s Way,” Liahona, May 2021, 16–19

Skill

Create a meaningful invitation connected to the lesson outcome to be used at the beginning of each lesson.

Define

Preparing to learn is crucial to gospel learning. One effective way teachers can help prepare their students is by creating a meaningful invitation to be used at the beginning of a lesson. During your preparation, think of your students and what you hope the lesson outcome will be. Ponder what invitation will best prepare them to act and learn throughout the lesson to achieve the outcome and write it in your lesson plan. Creating these invitations can increase students’ capacity to achieve the outcome and can encourage thoughtful sharing.

The models and practices below are general examples. Training will be more effective if models and practice opportunities are connected to the next lessons that will be covered in the curriculum.

Model

• Brother Fernandez will be teaching about the principle of obedience. He wants to help his students recognize that blessings come because of obedience. In his preparation, he writes the following invitation: “As we go through the lesson, look for principles of obedience and related blessings and record them in your journal.”

Click here to see a video of this model.

Practice

Create a meaningful invitation connected to the lesson outcome to be used at the beginning of the following lessons:

• You are teaching 3 Nephi 28, and the outcome you hope for is that students will feel an increased desire to bring others to Jesus Christ.

• Your next lesson.

Discuss or Ponder

• From what you are learning as you practice, what are some characteristics of a meaningful invitation?

• What positive outcomes might your students experience as you help them act on meaningful invitations at the beginning of each lesson?

Incorporate

• Use in class the invitation you prepared in the practice.

• As you prepare additional lessons how can you continue to use this pattern?

Want More?

• “The Savior Invited Others to Prepare to Learn,” in “Invite Diligent Learning,” Teaching in the Savior’s Way (2022), Gospel Library