Dec
22
Written by:
Different Voice
12/22/2008 7:00 AM
Are you getting the most out of your teacher trainings? One way to explore this question is to ask yourself what happens after a teacher training event. How do you take the next logical step...or do you? Here's an example...
Suppose your congregation uses the Rotation Model for your children's Sunday school program, and you change stories about every month. You could easily create a teacher training meeting led by a pastor or another excellent teacher in which in-depth biblical background is provided to the teachers who attend. That way, everyone is on the same page when it comes to the interpretation of the story, and you give teachers the opportunity for deep study and reflection that they may not be able to get if they are frequently teaching a class. But then, take it to the next level...
Write up notes from the training, and email them to the teachers who couldn't attend you meeting. Next level...- Create a listserv for the teachers, who can be in dialogue about the lesson, share and brainstorm ideas, or reflect on what went well and what didn't go as planned. Next level...
- Have the pastor use the Rotation story as the text for the sermon on the first week of a new Rotation. Next level...
- Create a monthly newsletter for parents that shares with them the in-depth biblical background on the story and suggests ideas that they could do together as a family. Next level...
- Share your training sessions on YouTube (as this guy did) so other churches will benefit from them as well.
The time you invest in your teacher trainings is certainly important, but you become an even better steward of your time when you find ways to share that information with your whole congregation. So, take a moment to reflect on the trainings you do. How can you take them to the next level? Share your ideas by posting a comment.
~ Tim Gossett