1. Methods should be compatible with the content, the context, and the people in the educational sitting. When selecting methods to use, we need to give attention to the content we are teaching, both what is being learning and how we want it to be learned. For example, when teaching about prayer or some reading on prayer would be a limited choice of methods. To be compatible with our content and what we want to accomplish, interactive and participative menthols the engage people in playing are needed.
We also need to attend to the context. When selecting methods, we need to think about the physical resources available to us and the kind of setting in which we are working. We are selecting an incompatible method when we choose to play a community-building game that requires a lot of movement and space and our church school class is located in a tiny room filled with tables and chairs. We need to either change our space or choose a more compatible method.
Knowledge of the people we seek to educate is critical when selecting methods. We need to understand the various learning styles present among our students. We need to pay attention to the physical limitations they have. For example, small children have difficulty with activities involving fine motor skills. They haven't yet developed these. When we decide to use an art project with them that contains many small pieces and requires a high level of finger and hand dexterity, we are not paying attention to the need for methods that match the students. Compatibility is an important for choosing methods.
2. The broader your repertoire of methods, the better. A variety of methods is important. One of the key reasons for this has to do with the people we educate. As mentioned above, we need methods that are compatible with the people we educate. Since our participants come with many different learning styles.
Visual learners need to see picture, illustrations, videos, displays, demonstrations, and have the opportunity to image while they are learning. Auditory learners need opportunities to listen and to verbalize. Using recordings , music, lectures, discussions and other activities that involve hearing are important for these learners. Kinesthetic learners need to be physically engaged, participating in role plays and interactive games, using hands-on activities that involve their whole bodies in learning. With different learning styles and different abilities present in our congregations, variety truly becomes the spice of life, bringing energy and increasing the opportunity for learning to occur.
3. It is important to think through and practice a new method before using it. We need to have some familiarity with a method or technique before we use it. We need to have a sense of how the method works and how people might respond to it. Methods can take on a life of their own, and thinking through the possible responses and outcomes is important.
I became very aware of how a method can take on a life of its own when I use technique like guided imagery. I remember using this method in a class on family ministry once. People were exploring their families of origin, and during the guided imagery experience, one of my students remembered an instance of abuse in her childhood. This had been a buried memory, and it was quite painful to call it to mind. Without some understanding of the method and knowledge of what might happen when used, I would have been unprepared to help the student and the rest of the class deal with this and come to some learning through it.
When exploring new methods, it is helpful to seek the advice and coaching of those experienced with the methods. Participating in workshops where you can learn new methods and observe an experienced teacher or educator using such methods is an excellent way to add to your repertoire while gaining the knowledge and experience you need about how a method works.
4. Remember that the purpose of a method is to help people learn. It may seem that I am stating the obvious here. Of course, methods are to help people learn. Why else do we use them? Why, indeed. It is a good question and one that we need to explore. What purposes beyond helping people learn could influence our selection of a method?
Let me name three reasons I've seen at work in the selection of methods for teaching, purposes that can blind us to whether a method is appropriate for a particular educational setting. I believe that we sometimes choose methods (1) because " we've always done it that way, " (2) in order to " look good, " and (3) to duplicate an experience.
There are times when we use methods in the church because we are familiar with them, not because they help us teach in ways that our students can learn. We have simply always done it that way and have not stopped to ask whether it is really the best way to help our participants learn what they need to learn.