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Episode 117: Leading a Study
Teaching Skills and Tools
Episode 117: Leading a Study
Teaching Skills and Tools
Usually you think about teaching truth from the Word at a Bible study but how do you teach how to be inquisitive? To make observations? To grab a Bible Dictionary, when needed? Today we look at introducing and reviewing skills and tools in an authentic study environment.
Teaching Bible Study Skills
Teaching Bible Study Skills
The Skills: The curriculum should include much more than simple content. This Bible study is meant to create an authentic learning environment. This means that, as the participants are studying the Bible, they should also be learning how to study so that when they are by themselves they should be able to search for answers or work their way through a book. The objective is to create an environment where the student is the one doing the work and the “teacher” is more of a guide to foster this learning. If the leader provides answers as fast as the questions are given, the students will not learn to search for them. There are both general skills that are applied almost universally, and then very specific skills that are only used in certain instances. Part of the teaching process is letting the students learn when to use these specific skills when studying the Bible.
Generality: General skills would be skills that can be applied to practically any study. These need to be regularly implemented in the study, if not used every single time. First comprehending the text before applying it, is a skill that many do not know. Identifying the general flow of thought usually provides significant insights to a book or passage. Using critical thinking to create good questions from the text will promote and generate learning, but this must first be taught to most of those who participate.
For more information, check out our episodes on Basic Bible Study Tools!
Episode 1: Tips and Tricks - Basic Bible Study Tools
Episode 2: Tips and Tricks - Basic Bible Study Tools
Specificity: Specific skills deal with the many elements within the diverse aspects of studying. Sometimes you find yourselves in a sermon, a parable, typology, dealing with an apparent contradiction, or a highly debated passage, etc. Each of these need to be examined under specific light and will not just come naturally to those studying it the first time. These are not skills that need to appear every time you study a passage, but the first time they are needed there should be a time where they are walked through how to study these things specifically. After they have learned, if the need arises again, all they need is a review to implement that same skill to their studying.
Teaching Bible Study Tools
Teaching Bible Study Tools
The Tools: Bible tools are similar to skills. There are some that can be used throughout many studies. I have a concordance and Bible dictionary for each group every time the study is going on. These were the first tools the participants were taught how to use. As the study continues, more and more tools are introduced, including: atlases, reference books, commentaries, etc. All have their proper use. For example, I believe good commentaries can be enriching resources given by godly individuals as they had studied the Bible by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, and should not be discarded. However, I do not think that they are to be used for quick answers without previous study. So I had to teach those in the study to treat commentaries as a secondary resource and not an answer key. Both the skills and the tools are important for them, not only to have, but to know when to use throughout different studies.
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