and I have now realised the Secret of Studying Theology.
1. speak using questions aka "good morning, class. Is it a good morning? What makes this a good morning?"
2. ask questions ALL the time "Is it time for morning break? At what time do we usually reconvene? How do you feel about coming back at 10.35am this morning?"
3. leave questions hanging tentatively in the air, with a sideways lean of your head and a smirk, I mean, smile on your face
4. use the phrase "ah, but..." a lot
5. use praise involving the word "question" such as "that's a good question"/ "well thought out question"/"interesting question"
6. gently correct using the word "question" i.e. "is that a valid question?"/ "unusual question" NB "Interesting question" can be used in this context too
This is SO different from my background in education. Teenagers want the ANSWERS. They want absolutes. They want FED information. I am in a culture warp, adjusting from information provider to novice thinker. For the first few weeks of this class I wanted to grab my lecturer by the lapels and growl "just tell me the answers, man!" but he's hooked me in; drawn my attention, drugged me into thinking deeper, examining assumptions I had always made; auditing other views; causing me to re-examine the basic tenets of my faith. An amazingly skilled man indeed. Not a lot makes me almost 100% silent for 3 hours.
I recognise excellent learning and teaching approaches practised too. At the start of the class, he explains where we're going. He recaps and summarises so that we start with what we already know. {A la...ascertain what a child knows and teach him accordingly} He picks up on inaccurate learning or incorrect terminology/categorising and corrects it within the context of an "ordinary" class.
I'm very glad to be doing this class at this moment in time.
Hey! Just what I try to get my students to realise - they're co investigators with their pupils.
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