To: Stephen
From: Caleb
Subject: Practicum Report 2
Time Spent this Week: 2 Hours total (SS=1; AM worship=1)
My class this week
Confusion: There was a little bit of a miscommunication which resulted in the lesson for Sunday school not being prepared. Luckily for us the study that we are doing is right out of a Serendipity Bible, so Kevin was able to go get some of the Bibles. This turned out to not be that big of a problem, but it could have been a very big problem.
The Lesson: The lesson for this week was based on James 2:14-26 which is a passage based on faith without deeds. Kevin asked me to read the passage to start out the lesson, so that we all knew what the passage was talking about. After the scripture was read Kevin then had some questions for the class to think about and answer. Kevin did a very good job at using some of the questions in the Serendipity Bible, but also making up his own challenging questions for the students to answer. This class that we are teaching can be a little bit difficult at times with getting to answer the questions that are asked. So needless to say it was a lacking in conversation at first. Then Adam finally spoke up and said pretty much that he did not think that we needed to do good things to get to heaven, but rather that as Christians we should want to do good deeds simply to show Christ in us. The three girls that were there were Chelsea, Rebecca, and Rachel. Rachel was just a visitor on Sunday, and I do not think that she was comfortable enough with everybody to really voice her opinion. Chelsea and Rebecca added little comments every once and a while, but for the most part they did not talk much.
Questions:
1. Should have I offered more of my opinions, or should I let the “students” answer them?
2. How do I as the “helper” of the class encourage the students to answer the questions?
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RE: 1. Offering Opinions. Being in a position of leadership, but not necessarily in charge of the study, leaves you in an interesting place there Caleb. To not have the input of everyone present robs the group of potential insight and diversity. To control the stage though, robs the group of that just as well and excludes them from the study. It's a fine line to walk, but when their is little discussion going on, your voice can be very useful. It may just fill the void of no talking, or it may catch someone's attention, in which case you may end up getting the conversation going. It's important to remember that while you may be in a position of leadership in the study, you do not know all the answers and can learn just as much as the students can. As such, your thoughts can only help the group as well as yourself in the long run of the study.
RE: 2. Getting the Students to Talk. As mentioned previously, your job is a leader in the study. You are not always the leader of the study for that week, but you a leader in the group nonetheless. This means that while you are valueble part of the study and can learn as much as the students can, your primary job is to teach them. I would the task of getting the students to answer questions is probably more important than your dilemma of whether or not you should have offered your opinion. Sometimes offering your opinion is the best way to get them talking. You may disagree with someone and set off arguing against you. Likewise, you may get someone who will affirm your view. The most important thing to do though is to get them to talk. No matter how you do it, whether it be by your comments or by asking questions that lead them toward the answers you may be seeking. Guiding them where you want them to go without just simply telling where to go is always the best way to solve this problem of a lack of involvement.
-Kevin
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