Teaching Process Teaching WoG Parable of the 2 Woodcutters Effective Persuasion Laws of Teacher - Hendricks Laws of Teaching - Gregory Integrating Sources of Knowledge Outside Speakers, Open Topics Alan's Gleanings
bootstrap html templates

The Seven Laws of the Teacher

These are my notes on the video series.  Using the acronymn TEACHER, Howard Hendricks will tell you how to teach with a life-changing impact. 
Teacher
Education
Activity
Communication
Heart
Encouragement
Readiness

Teacher

If you stop growing today, you stop teaching tomorrow.

  1. The PHILOSOPHY that you as a teacher should embrace is that you are a learner. Would you rather have your students drink from an overflowing living stream or a stagnant pool? What have you learned lately?
  2. You must have the ATTITUDE that you have not arrived and always ask, “How can I improve?”  
  3. Teaching involves a RELATIONSHIP between the message and method – the nature of the message determines the nature of the method. Our message is the Word of God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. It is a crime to bore people with the Word of God.

How can you implement the law of the teacher?
(a) By a consistent study and reading program. Get into the Word of God yourself and reflect upon what you read.
(b) By getting to know your students. Not just age-group characteristics but their specific needs.
(c) By intense personal evaluation (of your teaching)

Education

A process of inciting and directing the self-activities of the pupil and
as a rule telling him nothing that he can learn by himself.

Your role as a teacher is a stimulator and coach while that of the student is a discoverer and player. The ultimate test of an educator is what your student does as a result of what you do.

There are exceptions to the discovery process.
  1. When your objective is to save time – no time for discussion
  2. When you are confronted by certain types of students (who need encouragement and support)
    - Beginning student
    - Weak or discouraged student
    - Older student
    - Disadvantaged student 
  3. When you have a student with intense interests - so highly motivated that he takes in everything you feed him and runs with it 
  4. When you have a resource individual – tap his expertise, ask questions and listen to him
As a teacher, you need to have clear objectives. Teach them …
  1. How to think
  2. How to learn
    - Learning is a process so that it can be carried on for the rest of their lives.
    - It is a logical process moving from the whole (synopsis) to the parts (analysis) and back to the whole again (synthesis).
    - It is a discovery process. 
  3. How to work
    Never do anything for the student that he is capable of doing himself else you make him into an educational cripple.

Activity

Maximum learning is always the result of maximum involvement or activity
but only if the activity is meaningful.

Do you agree with the following statements?
  1. Practice makes perfect - Practice does not make perfect only permanence. If you keep practicing the wrong things, you will not improve. Well-guided practice makes perfect. 
  2. Experience is the best teacher - Experience is a good teacher but not the only one. Experience of drugs can be dangerous and a difficult teacher. Properly evaluated experience is the best teacher. 
  3. We learn by doing - But we must make sure that we are not doing the wrong things. We learn by doing the right things and sometimes, we can learn by doing the wrong things.

    What you do results in more than understanding, you change! The goal of Christian education is not knowledge but obedience.

Ancient Chinese Proverb
I hear and I forget;

We remember up to 10% of what we hear


I see and I remember;

We remember up to 50% of what we hear and see


I do and I understand.

We remember as much as 90% of what we hear, see and do 

Characteristics of a meaningful activity
  1. Provides direction but not dictatorship
  2. Stresses on function and application 
  3. Planned with a purpose – What do you want your student to know, feel and do? 
  4. Concerns itself not only with the product but also the process (of learning) and launch the students on a path with no limitations 
  5. Is realistic (life-like)  
  6. Involves problem solving (their problems)

Communication

Establish common grounds with our students

The presupposition is that you have something to communicate and that has 3 components: concept, feeling and action. The evangelical church is strong in communicating concepts but weak in the areas of feelings and actions.
That which we want to communicate must be encoded into words and life because we are not simply communicating a word message but a life message. There are verbal and non-verbal communication (body language and what we do). What you say must be in harmony (congruence) with what you do.
Next, that which you want to communicate must be translated into speech. This involves:
  1. Presentation - (a) Enunciation (b) Voice: volume, pitch and speed (c) Gestures: feel your message and (d) Distractions

    - distractions within the student (attitudes, personal circumstances – all of which you have no control)  
    - distractions within the environment (room arrangement, temperature – which you can control)
  2. Preparation - Your speech must be packaged ... (a) Introduction, (b) Body: use illustrations from your own life and your students’ lives and (c) Conclusion
Your students listen to your speech but note that they can listen faster than you can speak and their minds may begin to wander. Use visuals and analogies help your student to listen.
Students need to decipher your speech into their own words so that the knowledge becomes theirs.
The communication process begins with concept, feeling and action and it ends with the same: concept, feeling and action. The test of your communication is what your students are thinking, feeling and doing as a result of what you do. Ask for feedback – find out what do they know, feel and plan to do.
The purpose of communication is not to impress but to impact; not to convince but to change.

RELATED: More on "Verbal Communication" » »

Heart

Teaching that impacts is not from head to head but from heart to heart.

The Jews used the term "heart" to express the totality of personality — intellect, emotions and will.
  1. Intellect - the knowing component
    As a teacher, what are you learning? The teacher must primarily be a student. What are some new inputs you have received? If you do not know it, you cannot give it. 
  2. Emotion - the feeling component
    What are you excited about? Too many Christians only get turned on by the trivial. 
  3. Will - the doing component
    The opposite of ignorance in the spiritual realm is not knowledge, but obedience. To know and not to do is not to know at all.
Socrates summarized communication using three words:
  1. Ethos (character or credibility)
    Ethos establishes your credibility - Who you are is far more important that what you say or do. People listen or do not listen to you because of who you are. People must trust you. As a teacher, ask yourself: “What kind of person am I?” 
  2. Pathos (compassion or emotions)
    Pathos involves arousing the passion of your students ... their motivation comes out of their emotions. To arouse their passions, you need to establish rapport and relationship with your students. People do not care what you think until they know that you care. If you love them, they will be more eager to do things for you.

    All learning begins at the feeling level. If your students have a positive attitude toward you, they will accept what they hear. If a negative attitude, they will reject your message because they had rejected you. 
  3. Logos (content)
    Logos requires a gathering of evidence, helping us to engage the mind and gives understanding. It gives a reason for actions. You want students to think so that they can see how logical and reasonable the action is.
RELATED: More on "Logos, Ethos and Pathos" »»

The teaching-learning process is inseparable. If the learner has not learned then we have not taught. As a teacher your effectiveness is determined or tested by what the student does as a result of your actions. Learning is change - a change in the student's thinking, feeling and behavior (mind, emotions and will).
Four ways you can put these components into practice in your teaching:
  1. Know your students so that you can meet their needs. This will take time and effort; you have to pour your life into people.
  2. Earn the right. Credibility precedes communication. Be an example to your students. 
  3. Personal involvement with students before and after class. You impress from far but you impact up close and personal. Note: This is related to 1 above. 
  4. Become vulnerable before your students. People need to see you when you are real. Note: This is related to 2 above.

Encouragement

Teaching is most effective when students are motivated.

There are two types of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic. As the teacher, you can only work on the outside and you hope to trigger intrinsic motivation and develop the student into a self-starter.
How to motivate?
  1. Create a need – Your task is to surface real needs (at the subconscious level) to the conscious level as felt needs . To surface real needs, use the Word of God and their experiences (expose them to challenges) 
  2. Develop responsibility with accountability 
  3. Structure their training experience
    Stages of (skill) training: telling, showing them a model (demo), practice in a controlled situation and doing in a real situation. You don’t learn how to swim by reading books. 
  4. Intensify personal relationship – you cannot impact someone across a chasm 
  5. Provide recognition and approval
Have confidence in the Holy Spirit to change people. 

RELATED: More on "How to Motivate" » »

Readiness

Learning tends to be most effective when students come adequately prepared.

Value of good assignments
  1. Precipitate thinking – a kind of mental warm-up before class
  2. Provide foundation upon which you can build
  3. Develop habits if independent study
Characteristics of good assignments: (1) creative and (2) thought provoking

Predictability and impact have high correlation. If your students can predict your methodology, the lower is your impact so be unpredictable and keep them guessing!
Problems encountered in applying this law
  1. People come unprepared - So what do you do?
    (a) do it in class and
    (b) tap their experiences 
  2. People lack confidence - So what do you do? Show them how  
  3. One person dominates the class - So what do you do?
    (a) Express appreciation in his contribution
    (b) Solicit his help to get the rest of the class participating and
    (c) Call on him (to speak) 
  4. People are afraid to participate - So what do you do?
    (a) Encourage them to participate and affirm them when they do
    (b) There are no stupid questions only unanswered questions!  
    (c) Gradual experience: start with self-discovery, neighbor nudging or sharing then class participation
    (d) Exercise great patience: rephrase question and wait - people are uncomfortable with silence and
    (e) Give them notes 

© October 2011 by Alan S.L. Wong