I’m going to say something that sounds counterintuitive: The more you, as a teacher, talk during a lesson, the less likely it is that your students will learn.
Now you may be thinking to yourself:
As a gospel teacher you may feel like it is your job to make sure that you cover every bit of content you studied or that is in the manual you’re teaching from. I mean, you’re the teacher! It’s in your title, right?
Sorta. But we may be missing the mark with that line of thinking. Whether you teach Sunday school, seminary, or Sunbeams, you have a responsibility to teach the gospel, but we may need to shift a paradigm or two when it comes to what gospel teaching looks like.
Elder David A. Bednar has said that “We understand that talking and telling alone are not teaching. Preaching the gospel the Lord’s way includes observing and listening and discerning as prerequisites to talking. …
“As we observe, listen, and discern, we can be given ‘in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man’ (D&C 84:85)—the truths to emphasize and the answers to give that will meet the specific needs of a particular [student].:”
Only by observing, listening, and discerning can we be guided by the Spirit to say and do the things that will be most helpful to those whom we serve.” (David A. Bednar, “Becoming a Preach My Gospel Missionary,” Liahona, October 2013).
So, in the words of Elder Bednar and Aaron Burr, Step #1 is…
To really know the needs of our students, we need to start by “listening, observing, and discerning.” Until we know who they are, what they need, and what they already understand, it can be difficult to know what and how to teach. Do our students study at home before coming to class? Have they heard the story or context of this chapter before? Do they have a testimony or a spiritual experience of the principles being taught? What adaptations do we need to make based on their understanding, experiences, etc.? If we don’t know any of these things before we start talking and trying to cover everything we studied, I promise that your class won’t learn much.
So, what will it require to teach them appropriately? You need to care enough about your class to know them personally. You need to listen to them before, during, and after class. You need to prepare with them in mind as individuals. And they need to know that you value them and their experience more than you value the lesson. I know that all of us love those we teach more than we love teaching, but sometimes we get so caught up in our preparation and delivery that we forget that our students are individual children of God with different needs, levels of understanding, and each has something powerful to contribute to our classes.
So, talk less.
Step #2: Let them talk.
This may sound like you’re just letting your students take over the class and that you don’t really need to be prepared, but be careful with that line of thinking. This idea of talking less and letting your class talk more comes straight from the scriptures.
Doctrine and Covenants 88:122 says:
“Appoint among yourselves a teacher, and let not all be spokesmen at once; but let one speak at a time and let all listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken that all may be edified of all, and that every man may have an equal privilege.”
This scripture implies that even though you are the appointed teacher in this situation, you need to let everyone being taught have the equal privilege of speaking in order for edification to happen for everyone. Elder Neil L. Andersen told us why each individual needs the chance to share when he said
“Revelation is scattered among us” (Neil L. Andersen, in “Auxiliary Panels Use New Training Library,” Ensign, Apr. 2011, 76).
If we do too much of the talking, we may be limiting the revelation our class receives. The Lord is teaching all of us, and He is revealing things to every member of the class. By talking too much, we may even be limiting what the Lord teaches us! Maybe our students will say something that changes our life! But if we don’t pipe down, we may miss that chance.
And finally, Step #3: Prepare to Adapt
As we study and absorb as much of the scriptures and lesson prep material as possible, we also need to learn to think and receive revelation on the fly, or as this image puts it:
That’s right, Mr. Grylls. Be ready to adapt. This doesn’t mean that we “wing it” in class. In fact, it means the opposite. We need to be so prepared that we can allow for a little improvisation and adaptation, and our preparation will allow the Spirit to help us connect the dots between the scriptures and our students’ thoughts. If we are too rigid in our plans, we risk running afoul of Paul’s warning to
“Quench not the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).
We must be prepared enough for the Spirit to draw from our memory the truths and scriptures to teach, but we also need to allow our students and ourselves to be led by the Spirit in whatever direction they may need.
So, talk less. Listen more. And be prepared to follow the Spirit.
-Spencer Tatum