My Dashboard for Effective Teaching – Part 1

I became a teacher long before I truly knew how to teach. First, I needed to understand how to learn correctly, because it is impossible to teach without knowing how to learn. It took me many years of struggle as I discovered how to learn and teach effectively. 

Unlike a lecturer or performer, a teacher is not somebody who stands on a podium to deliver a speech or make an exposé. Instead, a teacher is a person who adapts their lessons and learning environment to their students. They are an individual who loves what they share in class and who points the learner to the source of all knowledge and wisdom. 

When I eventually received formal training on Christian teaching and learning, I discovered the joy of integrating faith and teaching. This led me to develop my own dashboard for an effective integration of faith and teaching. Over the next few weeks, I will share the different stages of my dashboard with you. The first portion, which is addressed in this post, covers the things I consider before entering my classroom.

Before Entering Class:

I use inspiration from Scripture to prepare myself to:

• Assess distractions inside and outside of the classroom
• Consider who may be bored, offended, or confused by the lesson
• Affirm how I can apply the lesson to my personal life
• Determine how much current knowledge I have about the lesson 

Then, I utilize inspiration from the Scripture to commit myself to:

• Managing distractions by ignoring them or dealing with them thoughtfully
• Presenting those who are likely to be bored, offended, or confused to God
• Reaffirming the application of the lesson to my life
• Being, along with God, ahead and above current trends

Next week, in Part 2, we will discuss practices that can be carried out during class lessons. 

Author

Juvenal Balisasa

Dr. Balisasa currently serves as Education Director of the West-Central Africa Division. He is an ordained minister of the Gospel. He holds degrees in Agriculture, Religion, Business, and Religious Education. He is married to Victoria, and both are blessed with three young adults. Before now he served the church mainly as a teacher at all levels of education and pastor in education institutions. He is regularly engaged in counseling young people and is passionate about creating, developing, and sustaining Adventists schools.