Learning styles of Bible study pupils require varied teaching approaches_72604

Posted: 7/23/04

Learning styles of Bible study pupils
require varied teaching approaches

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

SAN ANTONIO–The Bible is powerful, but Sunday school teachers need to vary their methods if they are going to make it stick with their students, according to a Baptist General Convention of Texas youth consultant.

Jane Wilson, a youth Bible study consultant with the BGCT, noted eight general ways students learn.

Bible study leaders who intend to engage young people fully must step beyond their own natural tendencies and use techniques that students relate to better, Wilson said.

This may involve hands-on activities, art projects, dramas or varying verbal presentations, she explained.

Teachers do not have to cater to each style every week, but they need to incorporate several teaching techniques in each class, Wilson noted.

“Bible study should be a place where the word of God is heard and lives are changed,” she said in a seminar during the African American Fellowship/Church Health and Growth Conference.

The learning styles include:

The traditional learning style is verbal, where students study through reading, writing and speaking words. Young traditional learners prosper with stories, debates and essays.

Visual learners grasp ideas by creating pictures or visual representations, such as sculptures.

Reflective students like time to themselves to meditate about ideas before returning with a response.

Physical learners gain knowledge through participation. Dramas, field trips and sports help these youth.

Natural learners enjoy being outdoors and relating stories to their knowledge of nature.

Logical thinkers look for patterns and like to reason their way through difficult questions.

Musical learners express themselves and relate well to lyrics and melodies. Music is highly emotional to them and can carry deep meanings.

Relational students learn by interacting with other people. They hear what others have to say and form an opinion as they hear others' viewpoints.

One learning style does not indicate higher intelligence than another, Wilson said.

It simply reflects the gifts God has given that person, she explained.

By varying teaching styles, leaders are enabling different students to use their gifts in church, she added. Teachers also are allowing Scripture to have a better chance of impacting a student's life.

No matter the style a leader uses, he or she must teach the Bible, Wilson stressed.

She encouraged seminar participants to have a short time designed to transition their conversations from their personal lives to the general topic of the Bible study.

Wilson rounds out a lesson by trying to get students to apply the lesson to their lives.

Sometimes she asks them to commit to an action and write that deed on a note card. That helps the Bible take hold in their daily lives, which is the point of study.

Scripture and the Holy Spirit will do the rest, Wilson said, noting: “The word of God is inherently powerful.”