PREPARING THE TEACHER

Good teaching begins with the preparation of the teacher. To prepare yourself as a teacher you should pray ... study ... review ... and model.

Pray. Pray for yourself. Pray as Moses prayed, "Let my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, as the droplets on the fresh grass and as the showers on the herb." Deuteronomy 32:2. Pray for your teaching partner if you have one. Pray as you prepare each lesson. Pray that you will understand and master each lesson‘s content. Pray for your preparation of the lesson plan. Pray for your teaching of the lesson ... for clarity, accuracy, enthusiasm, conviction, and most of all for the Spirit's work. Pray for your students. Pray for them by name. Pray that they will understand the lessons ... apply the lessons to themselves ... and multiply the lessons to others. Paul's prayer for the believers in Colossae is a great example. "For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light." Colossians 1:9-12.

Study. This obvious ingredient of good teaching covers two aspects of the lesson. First, you must know the material thoroughly. Learn the lesson for yourself. Examine each part of it ... think about it ... remember it. Study each section, chart, and map. Read and study the verses that are referenced. Know the lesson as a whole. Know the details. Master all of it. The second part of studying involves preparing the lesson plan. Knowing the lesson for yourself is different than knowing how to teach it to someone else. Guidelines for preparing the lesson plan are on the next pages of this appendix. Studying is hard work. It takes time. There are no shortcuts. "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15.

Review. After you have prepared the lesson and the lesson plan, review them many times. Reviewing the lesson and the lesson plan is very important to good teaching. Reviewing several times (or maybe even a few dozen times) makes the lesson your own. Doing this gives you thorough knowledge. Thorough knowledge produces confidence and comfort in teaching. When you thoroughly know the lesson, you can concentrate on the student getting it right ... rather than on you getting it right. Review the lesson every time before teaching it. You may be teaching it for the 5th, 15th, or 50th time ... but your students may be hearing it for the first time. A final review just a few minutes before teaching can be a big help.

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Disciplemaking 1, copyright 2003, is available free from www.MyDisciplemaker.org where you can study online or print free copies. You may copy this course, any any part of it, for free or at-cost distribution ... without change to the content ... and with this copyright policy attached. Published by www.ActsOneEight.org. Bible Quotations are from the NASB unless noted.