***This is partially a teaching report, and then again it is a sort of hybrid because not everything on the regular teaching report applies to this experience I had in teaching on this trip.
Tyler Klein 1/20/09
Teaching Report 1 (took place 1/18/09)
Time Spent: 1 hour (the spiritual emphasis part of the retreat)
A. My Lesson
For this trip I prepared a challenge form Acts 2:42-47 on the Fellowship of Believers. My purpose was to encourage the unity of the group, by giving them the reason for our fellowship, Jesus Christ and the life he lived and died for us. He did so for us to be able to come to God without any barriers. I encouraged them to be like the body of believers in Acts, not because it is part of our do/don’t list, but because we want to show Christ to others. I hope that they would want to come together in fellowship, and to reach out to others because of Jesus in a new way that would impact their schools and communities.
B. Breakdown of Time
6:00 – 6:15 – Assemble: The kids all got changed from the activity of the day, and assembled in the main room. During this time they had snacks and talked with each other while waiting for everyone to arrive.
6:15 – 6:35 – Challenge: After everyone was there, I prayed for God to work through what he had presented me with to share with them. Then I had one of the youth read the passage and I went on to explain the passage and give the account of Jesus life and what the implications for us were. I challenged them to live for Christ, no one else, and to change the perceptions others have of Christians by becoming more like Christ and by acting like the body of believers in Acts 2:42-47.
6:35 - 6:40 – Prayer: After I had finished I asked them to pray silently and to talk to God about where they were at with him, to let the Spirit lead them where it would.
6:40 – 7:00 – Small Group Split: After everyone was done praying, I had them split up into groups and discuss and write down on bookmarks I had made for them two things.
1. The first was one thing they could do to build fellowship within their own group.
2. The second was one thing they could do to show Christ in a new way to their peers.
C. Response:
There were 16 youth on the trip, and from what I saw and heard the kids responded very well to the lesson. The entire time they were very attentive and respectful, and they looked like they were focused on what I was saying. The all were silent during prayer, and then they split up quickly, and for quite a long time together talking about what I asked them to in their groups. Other sponsors said that they heard the youth talking well of it. One kid said that he was tingly (funny I know), and then I got to speak with my unsaved brother-in-law afterwards on a deeper level than I’ve ever been able to because he hung back with me. So I think the response was good, because they actually responded by saying that it was good and that it made them think. I got that comment from several.
D. Supervising Teacher’s Evaluation:
The youth pastor, Brandon, had asked me to help on this trip and to do this, and as my mentor he thought it was best for my first time teaching in this capacity for him to be out of the room so I wouldn’t feel pressured. I told him that wasn’t necessary, but he insisted. I wish I had feedback from him, but another sponsor, my wife Jena, told me that it went really well except for the fact that when I’m teaching about something serious that my voice goes a certain type of monotone. I wanted Brandon’s feedback because I value his opinion greatly, and I want to improve at sharing Jesus with others. So that was a little disappointing.
E. Things I did well
1. I think I kept their interest by not going too long in the lesson, it enabled better attention.
2. I think they could see I was genuinely concerned about this topic, and they respected that.
3. It seemed like they listened better because I had loved on them for the entire trip, and because of that love they listened. So my witness was in the right place with these kids.
4. I gave them something concrete to do or to take away from the lesson by giving them the bookmark and by having them write goals on the back.
F. Things I could improve on
1. I need to speak more energetically, less monotone.
2. I didn’t like sitting down while doing that type of teaching, it caused too much nervousness and twitching, which caused me to lose my train of thought on one occasion.
3. I didn’t explain what to pray about or for in a specific enough way, they could have just been daydreaming.
4. I said like one key-phrase too many times, even though it was important.
G. Questions
1. What is a good way to engage the youth during the lesson, because if I ask questions there would be a good chance of crickets sometimes?
2. Should I have had the prayer been separate in different areas, or should I have done what I did and kept everyone sitting in the same area praying to themselves?
3. What can I do that is productive when I’m twitching instead of losing my place?
H. Summary:
I believe this was a great experience for me. Not only did I get a chance to teach like we are learning to do in LCE but I got to apply some of the things I’ve learned already by teaching so early in the semester. I will now feel more comfortable when I teach in actual Sunday school, and I have some ideas of how to improve or to refine my technique. I will try to do more active things and have it be less of me talking. I only wish I had had more preparation time for this lesson, but because I was slamming it in with all the homework I had to do to stay on pace with classes it didn’t get as much as I wanted to give it. But I did the best I could with the time I had, and I know God was pleased with my obedience, because this definitely wasn’t an easy thing to do because missing class, having to deal with all kinds of arrangements while I was gone, and trying to get notes from others isn’t something I really enjoy doing. I thank God for this opportunity, and I hope that he continues to mold me into the teacher he wants me to be through experiences, practicum’s, and LCE class.
I am also including a picture of the bookmark that I passed out.
Response 1/22/09 : to myself
ReplyDeleteRe: Question on getting youth engaged: I don’t really know what to tell you, it is very early in this practicum process. I would say try to better understand the context of your group first of all. If you have more mature youth in your group you could probably be alright with a few questions from them, but if they aren’t then you probably would get crickets. I suggest using some sort of specification, like, how many of you eat pizza… and have them raise their hands sort of thing. Or ask simple questions, or try to include a physical motion in your lesson that they can do whenever you talk about that certain thing. Just some thoughts, hope they help.
Re: Question about what to do instead of twitching: This is a little tricky, because pretty soon you will feel much more comfortable teaching like that, it’s just a matter of experience. You probably settled down after a few minutes I assume, but until then, try to possibly have a paper clip or something in your hand so you’re moving that instead of your notes or your Bible. Pray that God would get rid of your nervousness too, God wants you to do your best for him.
1.Response: Engaging Youth.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you mean when you talk about having difficulty getting teenagers to respond or participate. Many times this is because of self-esteem. Kids do not want to be laughed at, rejected, or corrected. I think by spending time with the kids throughout the weekend, you would have eliminated any sense of intimidation they may have had the day before.
A couple of suggestions for interaction during the lesson would include dramas, video clips, and power point slides. As we all know, this is a generation of multimedia and technology. Depending on the balance of junior high and senior high students, dramas or puppet shows may be out of the question. All kids will be captivated by a recent movie clip (lesson relevant of course). Visual aids will encourage the students to pay attention to the lesson. Time for response could be given in the form of group questions. “Everyone who... Stand up.” Perhaps that would lead to more verbal responses in following questions.
2.Response: Group vs. Individual Prayer
Considering your situation, I think it was fine for the youth to stay where
they were to pray. With only sixteen youth, there is not to much of a need to split them up. There are more things to distract them away from the group setting than there are individually. Maintaining the same atmosphere is good for a small group prayer time. As you said, clearer directions for their prayer could have been given to ensure their concentration of something relevant, but your decision to keep the group together was a good one in my perspective.
- Phillip Telfer