I think there is a general consensus that elders quorum lessons are usually painfully bad. I have a few thoughts on why this is.
First, elders quorums are generally large--too large. With smaller groups you get more of a discussion dynamic. With a larger group, you get one of two results. Either there are fewer commenters and they are eccentric in some way, or there are too many comments that take the lesson off on tangents, or bogged down on one particular aspect of a lesson.
Second, elders quorums are too diverse. You have people in their 20s up to their 50s. People with kids, and people without. Married and not married. It's harder to teach to a diverse audience.
Third, elders quorums usually get the leftover room for their meetings, so they are frequently in the gym or on the stage. These are places of high traffic and echo, making it harder to pay attention to the lesson.
Fourth, elders quorum instructors are not always the best. Most of the talented teachers are teaching young men or other classes, or they happen to also be talented leaders, and so serve in a leadership position.
Despite these difficulties, I think that there are a few keys to a good lesson.
First is good participation. A good instructor gets participation with questions. but not just any questions--and this is the key--they ask good questions.
What makes a good question? First, the answer to the question can't be too obvious. This happens all the time. If the answer is "read your scriptures" or "pray regularly" then you have asked a bad question.
The question also should get at the heart of the lesson. It should be in the "trunk" of the tree, so to speak, instead of calling for speculation.
It's good if the question has an answer. Sometimes this is impossible because the best discussion questions will not have one answer. Still, I think that the instructor should have a model answer in mind, and should use that answer to move on to another topic.
In my mind a good lesson goes like this: (1) topical instruction (perhaps supported by authority) (2) good question (3) discussion of question (4) instructor's answer to question (perhaps supported by authority) (5) segue to next topic. Lather, rinse, repeat.
The other key element to a good lesson is story telling. The keys to making stories work with the lesson are: (1) the story has to be topical--like a really good illustration of something in the lesson, (2) its better if it actually has happened to the instructor, and (3) the story should be well told (not too long, not too short).
A lesson with a few good questions and one or two good stories will pretty much be a good lesson.
Every good lesson should also have a short testimony at the end.
I think if instructors spend their time thinking of a few good stories and a few good questions, and proceeded in this manner, EQ lessons would be a lot better.
11 comments:
Interesting topic. I was in the elders quorum presidency before we moved from Utah and we talked about this quite a bit as our lessons were particularly awful.
Location was definitely a major problem in that case. We were in the a gym half filled with chairs for the large Sunday school class that was also held there. Part of the problem was that priesthood opening was also there, so the elders were all spread out and some wouldn't move any closer when the lesson began.
The interesting thing is that the Sunday school teacher was likely the best gospel teacher I'd ever seen despite a large room and diverse audience. There was a bit of the same people commenting every week, but he still made it work. I've wondered about what made him so good.
Part of it was definitely the questioning as you mentioned. I really hate it when teachers ask bad questions and then seem a bit annoyed that they don't get good answers. Often they ask decent questions but need to give a little more wait time.
What I think it really came down to for this Sunday school teacher (other than his years of experience as a seminary teacher), was 2 1/2 things. 1 1/2 of it was that he had a strong testimony and shared it enthusiastically (not overly excitedly, but authoritatively), and the other part was that he was always well prepared (which included focusing on a simple teaching that got at the heart of the lesson).
I think the latter is another major area where elders quorum teaching often falls short. Sometimes it's because a member of the presidency has to fill in last minute, but too often it's the regular teacher who hasn't done much more than read over the lesson. Good preparation can be a time consuming thing for a weekly Sunday School teacher, but most elders quorum instructors only have to teach once or twice a month.
Not to put all the blame on the instructors though; there can be much more done to effectively train gospel teachers. I don't think that being a master teacher comes naturally for many people and the teacher trainings that I've seen were not usually well done either.
Plus some of the onus falls on the members of the quorum itself. I'm guessing that elders are less likely than other groups to have read the lesson ahead of time and are not coming well prepared to participate themselves. If the group is prepared the lesson could go well regardless of who is standing up in front.
A good teacher can certainly overcome the obstacles presented in an elders quorum. You make a good point that Sunday schools actually have more of the bad ingredients, and yet are usually better. Maybe that just shows that the problem rests more with the elders than any outside forces.
Testimony and preparation are prerequisites to a good lesson. I have a few instructors in mind, however, from my last few wards who seem well prepared and seem to have good testimonies, but who do not give great lessons.
I think it comes down to this issue of asking good questions. They are scared to lose control, so they ask questions where the answer is obvious or requires a short factual answers (who was the first X) instead of deeper gospel questions that requires some analysis. but deeper questions cause the participants to think about the answer, and thereby engage in the lesson.
Some great teachers with extensive knowledge can lecture, but few laymen have the sort of requisite knowledge to make that work.
I'm with you that questioning is a huge part of a good lesson. And actually this Sunday school teacher of which I spoke was more of a lecturer than discussion leader.
This is speaking from my educational philosophy, but I think we actually give good lectures more credit than they are due. They hold our attention, but I don't believe they have as lasting an effect as something in which we participated personally.
I am a new eqp and struggle with the role i would love to give tintilising lessons and NOT see the brethren nodding off, I am terrible at asking questions and would love to see a long list of good questions hehe, I have lots of good stories and need help with edifying my brethren
Hey Bonzo Kaye,
I ended up looking at this same old blog post around the same time as you. I am a fellow Elders Quorum President. As the previous commenters have mentioned the best place to start is with a knowledge and testimony of the gospel which can only be obtained through daily study and actions that we take through prayer and in our duties and daily lives.
The most important thing that I have found about teaching anyone is that love. The Savior always taught with love, and our teaching can be so much more heartfelt and wonderful when we are teaching someone we love.
The best way that I have found to thinking of good questions to ask during lessons, is mainly by asking myself the questions that come to mind. Normally, you can weed out the bad ones. This takes preparation though which sometimes if we are teaching a last minute lesson can be difficult.
One of the greatest resources I have found is in the manual Teaching, No Greater Call. You should be able to get a copy from your Bishop or Branch President. Or on Lds.org at https://www.lds.org/manual/teaching-no-greater-call-a-resource-guide-for-gospel-teaching. I especially enjoyed Part E which talks about Teaching in Leadership positions, and the lessons that follow are all wonderful. Take some time to study them.
There is so much we can learn about teaching and I am not the best at putting forth the lessons I have learned into this comment or in text form. Any and all lessons I have learned through my study and through my meetings is all in that manual. My personal experiences won't be in there, but I know that it is a true and wonderful reference. Take time to prayerfully study the manual and invite your counsellors and instructors to do the same.
Remember, Love those you teach, Prepare through study and Prayer, and Follow the Spirit. I wish you many blessings during your time as Elders Quorum President and many opportunities to teach and serve. We all have something we need to accomplish in regards to our Quorum Members. Someone that needs us specifically. We may not always feel like we were the best choice, but there is always going to be someone in our lives that only we can touch and the Lord has placed both you and I in the position to best serve them in our callings. Good luck with your teaching!
Sincerely,
Braden
I love this discussion! You point out several valid factors that put the teacher at a disadvantage before the class even begins.
One thing I'd like to share is something I picked up when I was preparing to be a seminary teacher (which, as a side note, didn't pan out for me): In preparing a lesson, the teacher often asks, "What am I going to do for 40 minutes?" A better question may be: "What are they (the elders, students, etc.) going to do?"
Trying to envision how the participants will be engaged has helped me tremendously. (And I--at 30 years old--have to teach the high priests. Take every obstacle mentioned thus far in EQ and double it.)
Is the class just going to passively listen in hopes that learning will just "happen" to them or can I get them involved somehow? Will they be answering questions? Will they be looking up scriptures? Will they be talking to the person next to them in mini discussions? Will they break out into smaller groups for discussions? Will they be reading parts of the manual out loud? Will they take a minute to ponder? Share stories? Share testimony? You get the idea.
Yes, the teacher is the instigator and director of all of these activities, but it all starts with the question: What should THEY be doing during class?
Thanks for the discussion and good luck to everyone!
Nice to see people still commenting on this blog post almost 5 years after I wrote it. It appears to be one of the most searched-for topics I've written on that no one else has.
I guess I should do more Mormon or elders quorum blogging.
It is the difference between being a presenter and a facilitator. In essence that is what we are doing when we teach. We are facilitating learning by others. We all learn better when we are coming up with our own answers instead of having someone simply tell us what those answers are.
To be prepared is to understand what you want your audience thinking when they leave and clearly knowing what type of experience you will create to FACILITATE that learning.
Mic drop
This is helpful. I've found that there are lots of tips for primary, nursery, Relief Society, FHE, but everything I came across for EQ were basically 'read the manual'. So this is a nice change :)
Thank you for this!
I agree with the points brought up and would add the following thoughts
1) In my experience in family wards there is usually plenty of thought and question put into "how are the youth/children doing?" "we need to teach them well" but we often do not remember or give that same focus to adults who need excellent teaching and learning equally as much
2) We readily acknowledge the importance of preparing for, and improving teaching though we do not give the same attention to improving learning. Teaching and learning are two separate elements to classroom edification.
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