Too many Sunday School teachers focus on their teaching style instead of focusing on the various styles of learning of their members.  If we teach with only style that we are confortable with we will miss out on truly making disciples.

There are many different learning styles and teachers need to know those styles of their members.  If you know the learning styles of your members and plan your teaching based on those styles, I guarantee that the content of your Bible studies will improve.

Visual

A visual learner will be best taught if your teaching is seen.  These type of learners love to take notes and fill in the blanks.  They usually sit in the front of the class or near the teacher.  Their dress and appearance is usually neat.  If they are bored they will find something to watch.  They love lessons with illustrations and language that is full of imagery.  The use of colors will also aid in the process of learning.

Auditory

Those that are auditory learners enjoy hearing and listening to lessons.  They are not concerned with what goes on in the front of the classroom.   Their clothes may not be color or style coordinated but they can thoroughly explain their choices in attire.  You will sometimes see them humming or even speaking to themselves and they often read aloud even when they are alone.  They remember and learn by verbalizing the lesson to themselves. 

Kinesthetic

These learners love to do and touch.  They are very active will need to be near the door or an open area.  They will communicate through gestures and the use of their hands.  They will remember what is done but have difficulty remember the details of what has been said or seen.  They love to tinker and will begin to move around when they are bored.  They will rely on what they know or have experienced.  The use of meaningful learning activities will aid these learners in their growth and development as a follower of Christ.   These learners also appreciate physical encouragement like a handshake or a pat on the back or even a hug.

Did you recognize your learning style?  As you are developing your Bible study for this coming week, try to remember these styles.  Reflect  on the members of your group and seek to develop a lesson that focuses on how they learn instead of merely focusing on your style of teaching.

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Dr. Tim S. Smith serves as the Specialist of the Sunday School and Open Group Ministries of the Georgia Baptist Convention.  Visit their website at ssog.gabaptist.org for more information and other resources to aid your Sunday School.

What is the worst teaching method? It’s the method you always use. Most of us fall back on one style of teaching week after week. If you want to keep your members interested and engaged, you need variety. Try something new (to you) to communicate biblical content.

As you teach, your goal is not to tell your class everything you know. Your goal is to lead members to interact with the Scripture and discover for themselves what the Lord is saying. Biblical truths that member discover for themselves will have more lasting impact on their lives.

Here are some ideas for communicating biblical content.

• Ask questions about biblical content. Ask questions that members can easily answer from the text such as “What three things did Jesus say to the religious leaders.” This helps members interact directly with the text. Content questions are a starting point; you will need other types of questions to help members apply biblical truth.
• Develop others. Enlist someone ahead of time
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  to give a brief report about the text such as historical setting, a key idea, or a difficult interpretative issue.

• Use various translations. If your class is like most, members come with a variety of Bible translations. One way to shed light on the meaning of the biblical passage is to allow members to read from the various translations.
• Use smaller groups. Unless your class has three persons or less, you can use smaller groupings of the class to allow members to interact more directly with the Bible. Assign each group a portion of the Scripture with a list of appropriate questions; then let them report back to the whole class.

Biblical narratives (stories) create more possibilities for creative teaching.

• As you use smaller groups, have the group tell the story to the rest of the class and answer questions about the story.
• Tell the story in your own words, rather than reading it.
• Use dramatic reading. Assign parts and have them members the Scripture passage as a drama.

Let me encourage you to try something new. Too often I’ve heard, “My class would never do that.” However, when they tried a new teaching method, they were pleasantly surprised by how it was received. Your class may be tired of the same old thing. What is one new idea you could use this week as you communicate the truth of God’s word?

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Bob Wood is the Church Growth Ministries Team Leader, Baptist State Convention of Michigan. His desire is for churches to be more intentional about fulfilling the Great Commission.