From: Adam
To: Randi and Kelly
Subject: Practicum Report #4
A. Time Spent this Week
10/14/07- 2 1/2 hrs. (SS=1 hr; AM Worship= 1 1/2 hrs)
B. My Class this Week
This week’s symbol of the Holy Spirit was circumcision. That’s right; I had the honor of explaining this one. Normally, there is a picture of the symbol on the handout page, but as you could guess there was no picture for this one. I taught on how the Holy Spirit gives us an inward desire to love and obey God. It is the Holy Spirit, not us, that cuts out sinful desires of the flesh and places in us a humble dependence on God. It is the Holy Spirit’s work, not ours.
Steve taught once again on the compassion of Christ. His format is a clear and systematic way of looking at the Scripture passages he has picked out. He has a handout printed out every week in a table form. For example, this time he had the Scripture verses on the left column of the table and three questions on the top row of the table. The three questions are: “Who was shown compassion?”, “How did Christ show compassion?”, and “What Response was given to Christ’s Compassion?” As we answer the question, Steve asks more questions and fills in details about the passage. He knows a lot about the culture of the people at the time, which is very helpful to understanding the passage.
I am finally beginning to get people’s names. These are some of the new names I have learned that participated this Sunday:
1. Lydia
Lydia was very involved this class period.
2. Lydia
No, I did not make a mistake. There are two Lydias. One is a freshman, and the other is a senior.
3. Diana
4. Jess
5. Kristen, Aaron, and Michelle
These three are friends from IWU who are all three nursing majors. They said they had a huge workload this week. For the most part they were quiet during class, but Steve called on each one of them to either answer and question or read scripture. Even though they did not voluntarily participate, they did so willingly when asked and were able to contribute meaningful answers.
8. Morgan
9. Alyssa
Alyssa prayed to begin class. She remained attentive the whole time.
10. Connie
I met Connie the first week this year, and she is very faithful and is good at contributes to the team.
11. Guy at the end of the row
I really need to learn his name, but he finally participated today! He answered one of the questions toward the beginning of the class. I did notice later that he drifted off.
C. My Questions this Week
1. I will be teaching the Sunday after next. Should I follow Steve’s way of teaching with the table, or should I bring in more class discussion? I guess I am a little nervous doing it Steve’s way because he is so knowledgeable and can also lecture on a subject. Should I do it this way to get practice with more a lecture type class, or should I do it the way I feel more comfortable with more discussion and interaction?
2. What kind of structure should I provide for the class? I am afraid that the class will expect me to teach exactly like Steve does, which is impossible. How do I present my unique teaching in a way that the class will understand and be able to learn from?
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1 comment:
1. RE: Following leader’s way of teaching or your own. I know what you mean when you say you are nervous about teaching, especially when the leader usually does an amazing job. His tables that he makes for the class sessions sound incredible, but that is how he seems to get the point across to the class best. If you are better at presenting the lesson through discussion and interaction, then I think you should stick with that. I often get wrapped up on how others are doing things instead of using the gifts God gave me to lead other people to Him. I am not saying you should never use a table, because it isn’t your gift. What I am saying is that you need to go into the class in a mind set that I want to present this information the best possible way for the Lord and not put too much focus on how others do it. Find time this next week to pray about what God would want you to do to lead the class.
2. RE: What structure to use to teach the class? As I stated in your last question, I think we get too concerned about teaching exactly how someone else does. If you do this without putting your unique ability into your lesson, you will probably blow it. You are yourself, not the teacher! I encourage you to use things you have learned from Steve, but that does not mean you have to make it just like his lessons. What have you noticed through the classes you observed that the members did not connect well with? I know it may seem there wasn’t a time, but even good teachers fail sometimes. How could you improve even his teachings? We are students that sometimes understand the needs of students better than the leader. Take that into consideration as you prepare you lesson.
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