Helping Adult Learners Learn - Part 4 - Problem Students

In our last three posts, we examined how adults learn, and why interactive methods are important in that learning process. We discussed practical teaching methods that encourage buy-in from adult students, and we considered some guidelines for implementing those methods.

We might be tempted to think that if we apply the principles of interactive teaching and incorporate some of the methods in our classes, all of our adult students will respond positively. Well…maybe not! Although the majority of your students will enjoy this approach, there will be some who are reluctant to join in, some who just plain refuse to do so and others who want to take over your class! What do you do with these students? Glad you asked!

Reluctant students Not everyone is a born-participator. Some of us prefer to be spectators for various reasons. In some cases, students may prefer to just watch because they are shy or lack self-confidence. They don’t know you or the other students very well and they don’t want to risk looking foolish. (This is why you should never plan skits, role plays or other “performance” methods early in your course!) In some cases, students may feel intimidated about interacting with the opposite sex or by class members with a more dominant personality.

Some students may be reluctant to participate because they lack experience related to the topic. They feel their participation will not contribute to the class

Other students are simply spectators by nature. These are analytical people who learn by watching and reflecting. Eventually, they may want to join the activity, but only after they’ve had time to process it.

So, what do you do with reluctant students? You take the pressure off by giving them permission to “pass” on the activity. You do this before the activity by saying something like this:

“Each small group will prepare and present a brief role play to show us how you would handle a particular discipline situation in club. You don’t all have to perform the role play. Some of you can help with ideas of what to do, or if you’re not sure, just be there for “moral support”.

With those directions from my instructor, my reluctant spirit is put at ease, realizing I can choose my own level of involvement with which I am comfortable. And I might just surprise you by deciding to participate fully! (Note: don’t let other students pressure group members to participate!)

Resistant students The resistant student is a little different from the reluctant one. While the reluctant student is often afraid to participate for various reasons, the resistant student stubbornly refuses to cooperate. What do we do with this student? Change the location of the class next week…and don’t tell him? Tempting as that solution may be, let’s try another approach!

First, be careful not to jump to conclusions about these students—and don’t take their resistance personally. There may be many reasons why they refuse to participate. You have no control over some factors. For example, their resistance may be a result of not feeling well. We all have those days when we would just rather be left alone! It could be that this student is dealing with family or job-related stress. Perhaps this student had a bad experience in the past when he or she was embarrassed in a group activity.

There may be other reasons (that you may have inadvertantly caused) for students to resist an activity. Perhaps this student does not see the value in the activity. (That could happen if you fail to share the rationale behind the activity first!) Maybe the activity itself has not been well explained. If students are confused about what to do, they will be resistant to do it! Another reason some may resist is that the activity is inappropriate for their age, experience or physical capability.

Occasionally, you may have students who have a critical spirit, are argumentative or simply disruptive. If this is the case, you will probably have observed their bad attitude in other ways such as negative body language, rude comments or lack of respect toward you or other students.

What do you do with a resistant student? If the student’s behavior is not disruptive to the rest of the class, leave him or her alone. If you are aware of precipitating factors over which you have no control, let the student know that you are praying for him or her and that you are available if the individual needs to talk.

If the student makes comments that indicate the problem has to do with the activity itself, take steps to correct the problem Most likely other students feel the same way, but are not as bold to let you know! Be certain to explain the rationale for the activity. Ask students if your instructions need to be clarified. Consider whether you may have chosen an activity that is inappropriate for your audience. If so, go to “plan B”!

If the student is disruptive, you need to address the problem privately. Take the student aside at the earliest possible time and tell him or her what you are observing and how it is affecting the group. Ask the person’s cooperation in changing behavior; if it continues, ask him or her to leave.

Dominant students Occasionally we all have students who want to take over the class like a dictator in a third-world country! Sometimes these students just have strong personality styles. They are big-picture people who get impatient waiting for others to catch up. They want to move things along at their own pace.

Other dominant students feel that their superior knowledge makes you somewhat obsolete and that they could do a better job. They seek any opportunity to display their expertise on the subject and can quickly dominate a discussion, buzz group or other activity.

Still other dominant students are just bullies. They want to impose their views on everyone else and aggressively seek to intimidate others.

Dominant behavior that is aggressive and harmful is often, surprisingly, rooted in fear or hurt. These individuals may have deep insecurities about their own ability and use dominance to give themselves some sense of control.

The problem with dominant students is how other students respond to them. Some will simply stop trying to participate, knowing that the dominant one will answer the question or be the group’s spokesperson. Others are drawn into arguments with the individual, taking the class off focus.

So, what do you do as in instructor? When dealing with a dominant student, don’t be intimidated by him or her. You need to be in control of the class session at all times. Always deal with this type of student privately.

If the student is simply one who needs to move ahead more quickly, give him or her an extra assignment that will provide a challenge. Have these students research a principle in Scripture, find statistics online or interview others on a particular topic. Be sure to give them opportunity to report back in class. You may also need to tactfully let the person know that, while you appreciate his or her contributions in class, you want others to have a chance to also participate. Ask the student to help you draw out the quieter students by holding back occasionally on answers.

If you sense the student is dominating just to show off or bully others, you need to take firm action. Do not let this student draw you into a public debate or confrontation. This is a control device that some personalities use to assert themselves. Meet privately with this student and follow the steps given above related to the resistant, disruptive student. Let these students know that their behavior is unacceptable and needs to change.

You need to seek God’s wisdom in dealing with any of these problem people. God knows the deep heart needs of all your students. He may want to use you be a catalyst for change in their lives. Ask God to control your words and attitude by His Holy Spirit, so that you are able to deal with these difficult personalities in love. Pray for God’s protection over your courses and students. Also, look for ways God is shaping you as an instructor through the experiences you gain from working with challenging people.

Have you had experience with any of these problem students? How did you handle it? Click COMMENT below and share your story with us!

Helping Adult Learners Learn - Part 3 - Guidelines

Welcome back for part three in our series on helping adult learners learn. Since we have so much info to share, we are going to expand the series to four parts.

We will address guidelines for using interactive methods in this post and save our discussion on problem students for the next one. So be sure to come back next week for part four!

So far we have considered the way adults learn—how they are self-motivated, need to understand the rationale behind the theory and enjoy interactive methods.

In our last post we examined specific ways to engage adults in the learning process. We looked at four purposes of interactive learning and how to implement them in our training.

Now we turn our attention to guidelines for implementing interactive methods effectively. Using these methods is all about getting adult students to buy-in to what you are teaching, gaining their eager and willing participation in the learning process. There are several guidelines that will help bring students along in this process:

1. Explain the rationale This concept was introduced in the first post, but let’s examine it a little more closely. You will achieve buy in much sooner if you let students know why you are asking them to do a particular activity. Do you want students to perform role plays? Begin by telling them why:

“Each buzz group should talk about the discipline situation on your card and how to handle it appropriately, then you will show us through a brief role play. Pooling your ideas and presenting your role play will hopefully yield some unique approaches to these situations that will be a help to all of us when we face similar scenarios.”

This explanation helps students understand that the role play activity serves a significant purpose in their learning.

Here's another example. Suppose you are planning to give a pre-test. Begin by telling your students why:

“I’m sure many of you have helped newly-saved children begin to grow in their faith. Before we look at our student manual, I’d like to know what you think on this subject. Please take a few moments to jot down three or four things you feel are most important to share with newly-saved children. In a few moments I’ll ask a couple of you to share your thoughts with us.”

With simple explanations like these, students see the purpose or value in what you are asking them to do, and they are more likely to give their cooperation.

2. Ease them into it No one likes to be put on the spot. Performing role plays or skits, giving reports or even participating in buzz groups can be socially risky activities, especially if students do not know you or each other very well. Always use the least threatening methods in the early part of your course. Methods like neighbor nudge or writing down questions to hand in anonymously are easier for people to do in a new group setting. Save the more public methods like shout outs and role plays for later in the training.

3. Match activity with the audience You need to “read” your audience! Note the average age and capability of your students. Older folks may not want to do activities that involve a lot of physical movement; some adult students may have trouble reading or writing quickly; young adults might enjoy methods involving technology.

Older students might enjoy doing a casual Scripture search to examine the biblical basis for a subject, while younger students (who all have cell phones!) might enjoy a text-messaging showdown to see who can text you the answer to a question first!

If you try a method and your students don’t enjoy or benefit from it, don’t automatically assume it’s a bad method. It might be the right method for a different type of group!

4. Give students permission to pass Never pressure adult learners to participate in a method. Letting them know they can pass on the activity removes the fear. Many will participate if they know it’s their own choice to do so.

5. Intersperse activity throughout the class time Look at your material and find natural places to split it into sections. Place an interactive activity between each section. You may want to conclude a section of lecture with a brief (60 second) activity that allows students to summarize what was taught. You may want to begin a section with an activity that helps students connect with the topic, etc. Try not to go for more then 10-12 minutes without some type of interaction. (See part two for method ideas!)

6. Close with an interactive challenge Using an interactive method in your conclusion can bring a class session to a meaningful close and ensure retention of what was taught.

For example, you might ask a question such as, “Think for a moment about all we have talked about in this session. What is one key idea you will put into practice in your next children’s class? Write it down or circle it in your notes, then take a moment to silently commit that plan to the Lord.”

A variation might be to have students tell the person next to them the key idea they received from the class session. Having students tell or write the key idea helps seal that thought in their minds and hearts.

We hope these guidelines will help you as you seek to implement interactive methods in your teaching. Be sure to come back to the Café next week and learn what to do with those rascally problem students!

Helping Adult Learners Learn - Part 2 - Methods

Welcome back to the second in our three-part series on adult learners. In the previous post, we discussed the importance of seeing adult learners differently in some ways from children. Although adults, like children, have different learning styles and enjoy multi-sensory methods, they are basically self-motivated in their learning. We also noted that adults need to know the rationale behind what you are teaching them.

Now let’s consider how to engage adults in the learning process. Most adults, regardless of learning styles, respond to interactive methods of teaching. They need to participate in order to aid learning and retention. While a certain amount of lecture is necessary to convey new information, the lecture needs to be interspersed with activity that allows your adult students to interact with the topic and with each other.

These interactive methods can accomplish at least four purposes: 1) to help students make connections between themselves, the material and fellow students; 2) to discern needs in your students; 3) to check their understanding and retention of key principles; 4) to help students internalize what is taught and implement it.

Such interactive methods aid the “buy-in” factor—raising your students' interest and desire to learn what you want to teach them. Following are a few ideas on how to accomplish each of the four purposes. Much of this material is gleaned from training expert Sharon Bowman. These and many other good ideas can be found in articles on her Web site, http://www.bowperson.com/.

1) Making Connections Students need to connect with themselves and other students regarding the topic. Have them interact with the material and each other right from the start of the session. This accomplishes several things. It acknowledges their prior experience, gives them a chance to show what they know and in some cases, helps them see what they don’t know.

• Connection Question After your introduction and link, you might begin the content for the class on Teaching Children to Pray by saying, “I’m sure many of you have helped children learn how to pray—either your own children or in a classroom. What are some of the key principles you feel are important for kids to know about prayer?” Don’t comment on their answers, just acknowledge them. As you cover the content of the session, you may want to refer back to some of their input.



• Neighbor Nudge Have them turn to the person next to them and tell just one or two things they feel are important to teach children about prayer (without looking in their student manual).
  
  

2) Discerning Needs These are methods that help you understand what information your students may be lacking regarding a particular topic.

• Pre-Test Give your students a short quiz (verbal or written) at the beginning of your class session such as, List five key principles you feel are important regarding classroom discipline or List three reasons why children might respond repeatedly to a Gospel invitation. Student responses will reveal what they know, what misconceptions they may have and what information is lacking. It also helps students realize their need for the information you plan to teach.



• Index Cards Give each student an index card and ask them to write one or two questions they hope to have answered in the class session ahead (no names on cards). Collect the cards and read the questions aloud. At the end of the session, ask if everyone had their questions answered.



• Case Studies Begin your session by sharing one or more case studies concerning the issue you will address in the class (counseling problems, discipline situations, children struggling to memoriae verses, etc.). Let students briefly discuss how they would handle the situation without giving any definitive answers. This again brings their need to the surface, both for you and for them.
  
  

3) Checking Understanding Every so often in a class session, it’s important to check on how your adult students are grasping the material and correct any wrong ideas.

• 60 Second Pop-Ups At the end of a section of notes, give the class 60 seconds to pop-up and give one response each to a question from material already taught. Use a kitchen timer to count down the seconds. This can also be a good review or summarization activity at the end of a class session or to review a previous class.



• Shout Outs This is quick, verbal brainstorming. Give students a list to recall (IPEAR steps, five steps in giving an invitation, etc.) and have them shout out the answers. Don’t take time to discuss answers, just get them as quickly as you can.



• Stretch Questions After completing a section of material, have students stand to stretch, then tell them they must earn their seats back by giving answers to a question.



• Break Questions When a break is coming up on the schedule, tell students they must give 10 key points from the material just covered before they can take their 10 minute break.

4) Making it Stick It’s one thing for students to answer questions in class, but it’s another to get them to internalize the material for future use. You need to think about how to move adult learners from theory to practice.

• Think It – Ink It At the end of a section or of the class session, give students a few moments to reflect on what was taught, then ask them to write down two or three key points they got from the material and how or when they will implement them.



• Take-Aways Close your session by asking volunteers to stand and state one or two key ideas they will take away from the class session. This is a good way to review the material as well as learning what your students consider important points.



• Challenge Question Hand each student a card with a challenge question to answer such as, The most important idea I will take from this class session and use in my next children’s class is (fill in the blank). The act of writing down their response helps to seal it into their thinking. It also helps them see that their learning is not over at the end of class, it has just begun.

Well, that’s a lot to chew on! In next week’s post, we will have the third and final part in our series on Helping Adult Learners to Learn. We will wrap up this topic by considering some guidelines for using these methods, and what to do with “problem” students. So be sure to come back to the Café next week for part three!

Helping Adult Learners Learn – Part 1

Are your TCE courses suffering from Boredom Syndrome? How can you tell? It’s easy! Just look for the following signs:

1) Your students arrive five minutes before the coffee break—and leave shortly thereafter!

2) You show up late for class one evening and no one realizes you weren’t there!

3) Your teachers start giving strange excuses for not coming to class like, “I had to rotate the tires on my vacuum cleaner” or “I had to take my child to the doctor for his annual Yellow Fever vaccination.”

4) The silk ficus tree in your classroom has been wilting ever since your TCE course began!

5) You look up the word “boring” in the dictionary—and find the date and time of your TCE course listed there!

If you’ve been seeing these or other signs of Boredom Syndrome, it may be that you are not meeting the real needs of your adult learners.

We don’t lose our learning styles as we grow older. We don’t lose the ability to learn through our senses. Adult learners can quickly grow bored with an overuse of the same, tired methods. Most adults enjoy interactive methods as much as kids do, as long as those methods are appropriate to their age and experience level.

Take a few moments some time and look through your lesson plans, making note of the methods used. If you’re like most IOTs, you’ll probably find that you tend to use a certain few methods in most of your classes. We often fall back on those tried and true techniques we’re comfortable with like lecture, buzz groups and neighbor nudges. All of these are perfectly good methods. But even a great method can become boring if it is overused.

Hopefully, you realize that teaching adults is a little different from teaching children. Childhood learning is largely teacher-directed. Children listen and learn what the teacher says they must learn.

Adult learners are self-directed. They don’t want someone talking at them or down to them. They are generally motivated by a need they want to fulfill and they enjoy discovering for themselves.

Adult learners have a wealth of personal experience they bring to their learning. They don’t necessarily take what is said at face value, but tend to test what they hear against their own experiences.

Adult learners need to understand the rationale behind what you are teaching them. In other words, they want to know more than just what to do or how to do it. They need to know why. Your TCE instruction should be filled with answers to the why questions: Not just that we need to teach children that they are born with a sin nature, but why that teaching is crucial; not just that they should teach children to pray for missionaries, but why they need to do so. Answering the why questions takes you beyone the written notes and gives depth to your teaching.

Adult learners need to see the relevance of what you are teaching them. How can they use this material in their current role or task? What they do in class needs to be more than just an academic exercise. They don’t want to store up knowledge they will use “someday” – they want information and skills they can use now.

So, what are some effective, interactive methods you can use to spice up your TCE courses, reduce boredom and make sure your adult learners are truly learning? You’ll have to come back to the Café next week for part two!

Frog-Eating 101!

What is the hardest task facing you today? This week? Is it a phone call you need to make? A lesson plan you need to write? A pastor or principal you need to visit? If you’re like most people, your tendency will be to put that task off as long as possible.

We have a way of rationalizing why we can’t do the task just yet: "I need to wait until I have more uninterrupted time" "I need to do more research first" "I’ll do it when I’m more..." (fill in the blank—awake, rested, energized, calm, etc.) We know deep inside that, in the time it takes to rationalize the dreaded task away, we probably could have completed it!

Brian Tracy wrote an interesting little book with the provocative title, Eat That Frog! He based his book on one of historical American humorist Mark Twain’s witty observations about life: “If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that it’s the worst thing that/s going to happen to you all day long.”

Tracy points out that our “frogs” are those biggest, most important tasks that we tend to put off. Yet they’re often the ones that can have the most positive impact on our lives or work. He suggests seeing those difficult tasks as a personal challenge. If we can make ourselves “eat that frog” first, it will give us energy and momentum for the rest of our day. Tracy says that completing a difficult task triggers endorphins in the brain, flooding our system with energy and well-being, similar to the effects of physical exercise.

Tracy recommends three “D” steps in eating that frog: decision, discipline and determination. First, make a decision to develop the habit of task completion. Habits are developed through practice and repetition. Once a habit is formed, it becomes automatic and easier to do.

Second, discipline yourself to do the hard thing first. Make that call, write that lesson plan, make that visit—whatever the difficult task, do it now! Fight every inclination and rationalization to procrastinate.

Third, determine to see it through. Sometimes we get a good start, but then we run out of gas partway through and the task remains unfinished. If you lose momentum halfway through, it may be even harder to start again. Determine to keep going and not give up until it is done.

May we add a fourth “D” word to this list? That would be dependence. No matter how disciplined and determined we are, we will surely fail without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Doing difficult tasks is hard. Doing them in the flesh is impossible! (Study John 15:1-8, especially verse 5.) Ask God to give you the “want to” to get the job done. Ask Him to help you stay focused and to see it through to the end. Then, get to work!

So…what frogs are awaiting you today? With God’s help, you can do it. And when it’s done, you'll be toadally glad you did!

Has God given you some wisdom in frog-eating? Click the COMMENT link below and share with us what you have learned.

Are You Giving Effective Leadership?

Leaders can have tremendous effects upon followers. Their impact upon the organization they lead (or the Teaching Children Effectively™ course they teach) can be profound and powerful. Fiedler and Chemers, whose extensive research on leadership has become classic, found that “The quality of leadership more than any other single factor, determines the success or failure of an organization.” Such a statement should be sobering to us as instructors of teachers as we stand before our students and train them to evangelize and disciple children. Did you realize that you and I share a vital responsibility in the success or failure of Child Evangelism Fellowship® and within that, the TCE™ courses?

What makes a leader effective? What are the qualities that keep him or her on the cutting edge? Although leadership has been a topic of intense debate and much speculation for thousands of years, there are several leadership qualities which surface again and again in research literature. Recently I did an in-depth study about effective leadership. Let me share three qualities that stood out.

1. The ability to communicate The ability of the leader to communicate positively with followers is of utmost importance. In our leadership role as IOTs, we must communicate a vibrant forward-looking vision, a vision of multiplying ourselves so that we can reach more children with the Gospel. As leaders we must be able to present an appealing vision which emphasizes the values, strategies, and mission of the group in such a way that our students and other followers will be motivated to support the effort. This in turn gives the leader more credibility with followers and motivates them to higher levels of achievement. There is no doubt that good communication skills contribute greatly to a leader’s success. How are you communicating with others? Will you commit to increasing your communication skills for a more effective ministry?

2. A high concern for people Effective leaders are concerned about the well-being of people. According to research, one of the three qualities critical to a leader’s success is a caring, responsible, and respectful attitude. He or she has a special sensitivity toward the needs of followers and the situations that may affect them. He or she is friendly and considerate, showing concern for their needs and feelings, demonstrating trust and respect and treating them fairly. Are you working to increase this type of concern for your students and co-workers?

3. The empowerment of followers A leader who empowers others works hard to develop and strengthen the capabilities of followers. This involves training. Every time we train a student to use the Wordless Book or to present a Bible lesson or to hold a Good News Club® we are empowering them to have a vital part in the ministry of CEF® and to have an impact in the lives of boys and girls. We are multiplying ourselves in others and empowering them to do the task. It seems like we automatically fulfill this quality of effective leadership as IOTs, however, will you ask God to make you continually more effective in this area?

As an instructor of teachers and a leader, you play a crucial role in Child Evangelism Fellowship and in the Teaching Children Effectively program. The success or failure of the organization is determined by the quality of leadership. Therefore, leadership is not a subject to be treated lightly. May God help each one of us to be ever mindful of continually developing our skills: the ability to communicate, a higher concern for people and the empowerment of our students to reach children for Christ. As a result, we will be more effective at working together to make a greater impact on our world through impacting the lives of the world’s children!

Martha Wright
Vice-President of Education

Thinking of Illustrations

Coming up with good illustrations requres a lot of thought, and thinking is hard work! Remember the old Winnie the Pooh cartoons where poor Pooh is walking around in circles tapping his forehead and muttering to himself, "Think, think, think!" That describes a lot of us as we try to keep our teaching fresh and relevant for our TCE students.

During the IOT advanced training held at our CEF International Conference in May, we enjoyed an evening called Instructors' Cafe Live. It was a fun evening of chatting, eating and idea swapping. There were various tables set up to discuss different topics of interest to IOTs. One of those topics was illustrations.

The facilitator of the illustration group kept notes on what was shared regarding finding, filing and using illustrations in teaching TCE courses. A request was made that we publish the notes from that group in particular. Following are the random ideas that were compiled from those discussions.

1. What makes an illustration effective? It relates to the topic; real life situations; something demonstrated in the lives of the children I’m teaching (GNC); a quote that inspires me personally; if I can visualize it in my head (this helps me understand it better); if it speaks to my heart first; illustrations that are current—not outdated; something that God has taught me or I have gone through (good to use for the devotions); personal events with children.

2. How do you file illustrations? Have a file folder in my drawer & put them in when I find them; when I find them I put them in my lesson plan or file folder on the corresponding TCE subject; have a file on the computer that has illustrations and testimonies; on my computer my files are divided by TCE class subject; have an illustration pool file on the computer where new illsutrations are stored by subject. When one is put into a lesson plan, it is removed from the pool; have a notebook and write down things I hear, then file them.

3. Where do you find your illustrations?

• The Instructors' Cafe


• Country Living magazine (funny things kids say)


• E-mails with quotes, statements from various people


• Our Daily Bread or other devotionals


• Reader’s Digest


• Google search for kid related stories


• E-Sword (has a section of illustrations)


• sermonspice.com (video clips)


• The Story File by Steve May (an illustration book)


• Children’s Defense Fund reports


• Nwspapers (look for local statistics related to children (ask someone clip newspaper articles for you)


• reverendfun.com (cartoons)


• religioustolerance.org


• Quotations from Children’s Bible Essay’s


• The Speaker’s Quote Book by Roy B. Zuck (good to use for introductions & illustrations)


• Things that kids say in club (note: have a helper write it down for you)


• Pastor’s sermons


• Answers in Genesis


• Liberty Counsel (lc.org) for updates on school happenings


• Other IOTs


• Books used in personal reading (devotional, biographical and personal experience books are good);


• Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations by Paul Lee Tan.

4. How do you keep from repeating illustrations or overlapping with other instructors? Only use an illustration for six months so you keep updated/fresh; if another IOT in my TCE course uses one of my illustrations I refer back to it and try to tie it with my class; before I teach, look over my lesson plan and try to update and improve on my illustrations; change at least one illustration each time i teach; discuss with co-workers what intro/conclusions & illustrations each are planning to use so there is no overlapping;

An additional note on using quotes as illustrations: Try to find some background information on the person you are quoting so TCE students have a frame of reference for the quote they are hearing (i. e. who exactly was William A. Ward, who said so many insightful things about teaching? Google his name and find out!)

We hope these ideas are helpful and have perhaps made you think about how you find, file or use illustrations. If you have anything to add to these ideas, please click the COMMENT link below and share them with the rest of us!