Can technology usher in a return to real teaching?

People fear the introduction of technology into education and its classrooms. However, perhaps its ability to deliver content will free instructors to teach, challenge, develop, and shape thinking in new ways… the way that used to characterize teaching.  Think about it: Much of traditional teaching has been the ‘banking’ method (Paulo Freire) – where the instructor has this information and by talking nonstop for 50 minutes, supposedly deposits it in the students’ minds.  And whether real learning has happened is anyone’s guess.

So, to challenge our fears a bit, read this blog and then watch this video:

In my observations of youth ministry groups, we leaders have fallen into this trap too, relying solely on the “youth talk” as our exclusive form of teaching.  Making young adolescents have to sit in rows for anything longer than 10 minutes while an adult lectures seems to miss the mark of how they learn.  Rick Lawrence, author of Shrewd (one of my favorite leadership books of 2012), once campaigned for the end of the “youth talk.” 

As I’ve allowed this to affect my own teaching approaches, it’s forced me to open up to my students and ask them about their learning from my teaching.  It has been a helpful process to understand the range of learning approaches within my groups and classes – and it’s forced me to adjust my teaching.

I would recommend this for youth ministry leaders:  Sit with 4-5 kids from your youth group and make them a one-time advisory group and ask them the following three questions:

When do you learn the most in our youth ministry?  (Followup:  what have you learned this year so far?)
What is important for me to know about how youth learn in our youth group?
How can we improve so that you and other youth learn more and in more meaningful ways?
(Bonus question)   If you were in charge of the teaching part of our youth group, what would you change?

For me, I’ve discovered that my teaching needs to be visual, varied (change methods every 7-10 minutes), and immediately meaningful for students’ lives.  The last part has been the biggest challenge of the three. But, if students can, in their minds, discern how it applies to their lives or future lives as they learn, they will work harder to make sure they ‘get it.’  Usually.

I watched a great example of this Wednesday night at a local youth ministry. Instead of doing a ‘talk’ on dating and sex, the youth pastor involved technology and formatted the stage like ESPN’sPardon the Interruption. So, a large amount of content was taught, but in 5-minute segments (with a lot of humor and interaction among the 3 people on stage) and with audience feedback and questions as well.  It was no wonder that the 150+ youth stayed engaged for the entire 40 minutes as they covered the 7 different but related topics.

Here’s the kicker why we don’t often do this:  It takes more work, more preparation, more creativity, and it’s riskier. But it’s worth every effort.

The challenge from the research on young adult faith lays out the issue: Youth ministry teaching hasn’t taught that much so far, at least in a way that students can articulate their faith or live it out beyond their high school days.  What if we taught in ways that a) made them interact and articulate their faith and b) found the teaching meaningful to their everyday lived-out lives?

That’s what I want to do.

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