Teacher Development Skills
Help learners seek, recognize, and understand truths in the scriptures.


“Help learners seek, recognize, and understand truths in the scriptures,” Teacher Development Skills: Teach the Doctrine (2023)

“Help learners seek, recognize, and understand truths in the scriptures,” Teacher Development Skills: Teach the Doctrine

Principles of Christlike Teaching: Teach the Doctrine

Help learners seek, recognize, and understand truths in the scriptures.

Skill

Create student self-evaluations that help them recognize their current understanding and abilities about scripture study skills.

Define

Self-assessment is an important way students learn to exercise agency and take ownership of their learning experiences. Frequently having students assess their scripture study skills will help teachers know what type of learning experiences to create to help learners become self-reliant in their scripture study. These evaluations take many different forms, such as scales, open-ended phrases, or self-rating. They allow teachers to help students (1) evaluate their current scripture study experience, (2) identify what improvements they would like to make, and then (3) select a study skill that will help lead to their desired outcome.

Model

The following are models of different types of self-evaluation concerning scripture study skills:

  • On a scale of 1 to 10, how confident do I feel about finding Jesus Christ in every chapter?

  • I think I could be better at finding Jesus Christ in every chapter if I …

  • A study skill that could help me find Jesus Christ in every chapter is …

Click here to see a video of this model.

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Practice

Develop a student scripture study skills self-evaluation that includes the three elements listed in the “Define” section. Invite someone to review it and share how helpful they think it would be.

Discuss or Ponder

  • What are you learning about the importance of helping learners assess their own scripture study skills?

  • How can helping learners evaluate their scripture study skills increase their capacity to have a more meaningful experience with the word of God?

Incorporate

  • Invite students to self-assess their personal scripture study skills on a weekly basis between now and the end of the school year.

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Skill

Consider assessment questions to carefully choose media, personal stories, and object lessons.

Jesus holding coin

Define

Elder Neil L. Andersen cautioned seminary and institute teachers to “be careful with your choice of media, personal stories, and object lessons. Used effectively, they add interest and depth. If overly emphasized, they can distract from your teaching. The method can overshadow the message” (“The Power of Jesus Christ and Pure Doctrine” [address to Church Educational System religious educators, June 11, 2023], Gospel Library). Teachers can heed this counsel by considering assessment questions that help them carefully determine their choices. The following are examples of questions you could ask yourself:

  1. Does this add interest or depth in a way that does not overshadow what is being taught?

  2. Will this help the students understand the content of the lesson?

  3. Will it take too much time?

  4. Does it connect the class to the Savior and the message or draw us away?

When teachers pause during lesson preparation to reflect on what they intend to use by way of media, stories, or object lessons, the Holy Ghost will help them be careful and not distract from the intent of the message.

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

  • Sister Treu is preparing a lesson on Alma 5. She wants to share an object lesson. As she structures the activity and gathers the materials, she asks herself the following question: “Will this object lesson connect the class to the Savior and the message or draw us away?” She decides that it will connect the students to Jesus Christ and puts it in her lesson plan.

Click here to see a video of this model.

1:11

Practice

  • You are preparing to teach the principle of prayer. You have a video produced by the Church about prayer you would like to share. What questions could you consider to decide if you will use this video? Use one or more of the questions above or one of your own to decide if you will use the video or not.

  • For an upcoming lesson, identify where you might use media, personal stories, and object lessons. What questions could you consider to decide what to use?

Discuss or Ponder

  • What did you learn or feel as you practiced this skill?

  • What difference would it make in the learning experience to take time to assess your use of media, stories, and object lessons?

Incorporate

  • Each time you prepare a lesson, take the time to pause and consider your purposes for using media, personal stories, and object lessons. Be willing to change and adapt as the Spirit directs.

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