This month we begin a new series of articles entitled “Five Things.” Each month, we’ll interview a practitioner of Christian Adult Education to learn about their educational philosophy, books they’ve read, advice they’d give to other educators, and their perspectives on teaching the Word. This month features Professor Tom Kock, who teaches Education at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.
FIVE resources you’d recommend for educators who teach adults.
In no particular order . . .
- Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach by Jane Vella
- Taking Learning to Task by Jane Vella
- Make It Stick by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, Mark A. McDaniel
- Faculty Focus e-blog
- Teach the Word Newsletter
FOUR individuals who were instrumental in your development as an educator and why.
- Prof. David Kuske, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary
“We owe a debt a gratitude to Dave Kuske as a synod . . . he had a huge impact.”
- Ed Jones, Train the Trainer workshops
“A couple of the things that students are familiar with from my classes, like APSBAT and SETPI, come from Ed Jones.”
- Prof. Daniel Deutschlander, Northwestern College, Martin Luther College
“Dan Deutschlander taught me about the importance of passion. You could tell that what he taught was not just in his head, but in his heart. This was something that he loved, and he wanted you to love it too.”
- Mom and Dad
“They taught me the importance of growing in the Word and to desire to teach it to others with excellence.”
THREE pieces of advice that you’d give to experienced pastors who want to grow in their teaching skills but aren’t able to attend a formal Summer Quarter class.
- Consider the growing number of online courses offered by Grow in Grace along with in-person satellite courses where the professor and the content come to you.
- Collaborate! Talk to guys you respect as adult education teachers and ask what has worked well for them. You can still have your own personal style even when implementing techniques that others have modeled. Don’t be afraid to exchange a video of you teaching with a brother in the ministry and exchange feedback as well.
- Don’t be afraid to try stuff! Experimentation can be intimidating but often results in the greatest growth. Challenge yourself to grow in some way in the educational realm, and then try one technique/approach every year.
TWO differences in the seminary’s education program between the time you were a student and today.
In general, the students probably receive more hands-on opportunities today than years ago. These would include . . .
- Writing two adult Bible studies already in the Middler year, and teaching a portion in class.
- Writing a four-lesson adult Bible study series in the Senior year, and teaching a portion in class.
ONE technique educators could implement in their next adult Bible Study to better engage learners with the content.
- Always answer the “Who cares?” question for adult learners. In other words, make sure they can leave your class with a solid answer to “How has this time in the Word helped me today?” That might come from a specific summary question at the end. There are other ways you might design a lesson that helps learners answer the “Who cares?” question, such as asking open-ended questions, asking questions that have multiple possible approaches for answers, or asking questions in a conditional voice, so as to allow people to explore a variety of answers: “For what reasons might person A have reacted this way?”
Thanks to Professor Kock for sharing his expertise on a topic that is obviously dear to his heart. Look for more “Top Five” interviews with a variety of individuals in the upcoming months.