WCLL 703 Teaching Approaches and Discipleship Formation

1. WCLL 703Teaching Approaches and Discipleship Formation

2. WCLL 703Teaching Approaches and Discipleship Formation • WORKSHOP OUTLINE • I. Introduction (15 minutes) • II. Teaching Approaches (20 Minutes) • III. Issues for Teaching Children (15 minutes) • Break (15 minutes) • IV. Practice (40 minutes includes presentation time for groups) • V. Closing (15 minutes)

3. II.Teaching Approaches • Information Processing • Group Interaction • Indirect Communication • Personal Development • Action/Reflection

4. A. Information Processing • Focus: cognition/understanding • Rationale: People need ways to structure knowledge, to interpret experience, to frame life. • Description: Believing and Thinking • Role in Disciple-formation: The story becomes my story. • Role of Teacher: manager • Role of Learner: acquirer & responder • Strategies: lecture, inquiry into a problem, posing questions, activities for investigation, learningstations

5. B. Group Interaction • Focus: building knowledge & social responsibility • Rationale: People learn from one another. • Description: Believing & Participating • Role in Disciple-formation: Community is the context for Christian belief & the arena in which discipleship is formed & nurtured. • Role of Teacher: guide and resource person • Role of Learner: sharer of control and responsibility • Strategies: planning, tasks, problem solving, role play, discussion, simulations, research, evaluation

6. C. Indirect Communication • Focus: self-examination & encounter with the truth • Rationale: Truth is a subject that is known through relationship & affects the whole person. • Description: Believing & Encountering • Role in Disciple-formation: Belief rests on relationship with the truth. • Role of Teacher: artistic director • Role of Learner: risk-taker • Strategies: stories, music, parables, drama, movies, poetry, silence, works of art, introspection, free reflection & response

7. D. Personal Development • Focus: development of the self through awareness & expression • Rationale: In a context of acceptance, people can actualize their personal power to become. • Description: Believing & Becoming Aware • Role in Disciple-formation: ownership and integrity of belief • Role of Teacher: advocate & guarantor, facilitator, resource person, reflective counselor • Role of Learner: contemplative • Strategies: safe & accepting context, meditation, personal metaphors, reflection, journaling, artistic explorations

8. E. Action/Reflection • Focus: doing the truth and evaluating action • Rationale: Knowing is most real when it is concrete. • Description: Believing & Doing • Role in Disciple-formation: Christian discipleship is a way of life. • Role of Teacher: companion & process guide • Role of Learner: agent & critical thinker • Strategies—Action/reflection process: 1) Name action. 2) Reflect on action. 3) Recite the guiding story. 4) Identify the dialectic. 5) Frame a response to the dialectic.

9. Issues for Teaching Children: Discussion Questions • What programs does your church have specifically for children? • What are the goals of those programs? • Are children expected to sit still and be quiet in the sanctuary? • Are the pews in your sanctuary child-sized? • Is worship fun for children? • What contributions do children make to your church—are they asked to share their ideas and insight? Do they have jobs to do in church life? Is their input sought when planning is done for children’s programming? • How are children expected to behave at church gatherings?

10. Practice TaskStep 1: Self-select an age group. Step 2: Randomly draw an approach. Step 3: Work with your group to plan a lesson. Step 4: Report on your lesson by either giving a summary or sharing a piece of your lesson. Topic: God as Creator. Time Frame: 15 minutes to prepare; 5 minutes per group to report