You want your students to learn to better connect what they study and what the Bible teaches. You know that room decorations support learning. So, you decide change your room decorations.

Question: What 3 ways will you decorate your room?

 

Here are sample ways to decorate your room:

• A poster of a Bible verse (Micah 6.8).
• A banner with a key Biblical principle, for example, “Love your neighbor.”
• A list of key questions. Here are 4 key questions: Who is God? Who are you? What’s wrong with the world? What’s the solution?

Question: What other ways could you decorate your room?

 

Target Biblical perspective. Decorate your room. Today.

Think of an activity you’re doing. Got one in mind? Good.

Question: Why are you doing that activity?

 

Tip: You need to be able to answer that question for each activity you’re involved in.

 

What should your answer include?

• An activity.
• The goal your activity addresses.
• How working on your goal helps you accomplish your mission.

What does an answer look like?

• I’m updating my curriculum maps for Social Studies 8. I’m doing this because I want my students to experience a coherent curriculum. When my students experience a coherent curriculum, they learn more. And when they learn more, they get equipped to impact the world for Christ.
• I’m fixing a sticky door hinge so that students can get to their classes on time. When students get to their classes on time, they can learn more. And when they learn more, they get equipped to impact the world for Christ.

Bottom line: Clarify how your mission, goals, and daily activities are connected. Today.

Your team is on a mission. First team to make the puzzle wins. Your team has found the edge pieces and has connected them to make a rectangle. And now your team is at a loss.

There’s a gaping hole inside the rectangle.

 

Unfortunately, this puzzle did not come with a picture. You wish it had. Everyone on your team wishes it had. Why? Because knowing what the picture looks like would help your team work more effectively and efficiently to finish the puzzle.

 

Point: In an organization, the mission statement is like the puzzle border. Daily activities are like the pieces that fill in the gaping hole. Knowing how the daily activities are connected to the mission and to each other can help you work more effectively and efficiently.

 

Consider 3 questions:

1. What do you do each day?
2. If you didn’t do your job, what would happen?
3. So, how does your job contribute to achieving the mission?

Find out how your daily activities contribute to the mission. Today.

Sometimes I get stuck. I have a problem, and I can’t find a way to solve it. Then, I remember to brainstorm my options, to think outside the box. In short order, I’m unstuck and on my way to solving my problem. Brainstorming works for me. And I’ve found that brainstorming helps others.

Question: How often do you empower others to brainstorm options?

• Consistently?
• Usually?
• Sometimes?
• Rarely?

Make sure you consistently empower others to brainstorm options. To help others brainstorm options, I like to ask “What are your options?” and “What else?”

 

Question: What action steps will you take to ensure that you consistently empower others to brainstorm options?

You want your 7th graders to connect what they study and Biblical principles. And you want your 7th graders to support their Biblical principles with Bible verses.

Question: How can you help your 7th graders use relevant Bible verses?

 

Answer: By having them reflect on the following questions:

• What Biblical principles did you use?
• What Bible verses did you use to support your Biblical principles?
• What’s satisfying/unsatisfying about the verses you used?
• On a scale of 1-5 (5 being high), how relevant are the Bible verses you used?
• What question do you want to ask me about the Bible verses you used?

Help your students use relevant Bible verses. Ask them questions. Today.

Kim Essenburg, English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan, reflects her assessment results.

 

What assessment did you give your students?

Kim: I gave them an essay (750-1000 words) on “Who are you spiritually, temperamentally, and culturally, and why is this a significant question to consider?”

 

What were your assessment results?

Kim: My students did a good job of responding to the prompt. I was encouraged by their essays. They wrote things like:

“Jesus, my model, influences which cultural values I adopt.”

 

“I thank God for His allowing me to live overseas; I see it as a blessing. I think it was His plan all along to reduce the shyness in me by thrusting me out into the unknown so many times.”

 

“As a human, I am a reflection of God and therefore have value (Gen. 1.27, Matt. 10.31). As a Christian, I am a child of God (Eph. 5.1). These truths are liberating because they mean that I do not need to focus on obtaining value and love—I already have them. Instead, I can work on making others feel valued and loved (I Cor. 10.24).”

 

“I have a bad habit of comparing myself with others and feeling insecure, but now I realize that God gives each person a precious gift. Knowing this, I began to gain confidence in what I like and am good at doing, such as music and making people feel welcomed.”

 

“Being a student at Christian Academy in Japan has transformed me spiritually. Although my family is not Christian, being in a Christian environment has led me to become a Christian….”

Here’s a set of DRAW questions you can use for a discussion of “How can you give your students opportunities to think through answers for themselves?”

Define: Get the facts defined.

During the last week or unit, what opportunities did students have to think through answers for themselves?

 

Respond: Get the facts responded to in terms of feelings/experiences.

1. When you were a student, what excited/concerned you about thinking through answers for yourself?
2. What excites/concerns your students about thinking through answers for themselves?
3. What excites/concerns you about your students thinking through answers for themselves?

Analyze: Get the facts, feelings, and experiences analyzed.

1. How does thinking through answers for yourself impact your learning?
2. How does thinking through answers for themselves impact students’ learning?
3. How does thinking through answers for themselves impact students connecting what they study and what the Bible teaches?

What’s next?: Get next steps considered.

1. How can you provide opportunities for your students to think through answers for themselves?
2. How will you provide opportunities for your students to think through answers for themselves?

 

Here’s a set of DRAW questions you can use for a discussion of “How can you design assessments so that your students connect a Biblical perspective with their lives?”

Define: Get the facts defined.

In the past week or unit, what connections did your student make between…

1. Course content and life?
2. Course content and the Bible?

Respond: Get the facts responded to in terms of feelings/experiences.

1. What’s comfortable/uncomfortable about having your students connect course content and life? course content and the Bible? course content, the Bible, and life?
2. What’s comfortable/uncomfortable for your students in terms of connecting course content and life? course content and the Bible? course content, the Bible, and life?

Analyze: Get the facts, feelings, and experiences analyzed.

1. How does making connections impact student learning?
2. How does connecting course content and the Bible help students apply a Biblical perspective?

How might connecting course content, the Bible, and life help students apply a Biblical perspective?

 

What’s next?: Get next steps considered.

What questions can you ask your students?

How can you use questions to help your students love God?

You want to achieve your goal. And you want to take action now! Ever feel like that? I have. I like the energy, but I don’t necessarily like the results.

Why? Because when I take action without reflecting on my current reality, I forget to take into account things like family plans and my overall workload. What happens? I achieve things I don’t want (like family disharmony and personal fatigue), and I don’t achieve my goal.

 

Question: How often do you empower others to explore their current reality?

• Consistently?
• Usually?
• Sometimes?
• Rarely?

Make sure you consistently empower others to explore their current reality. What helps me do this is asking open-ended questions:

• What’s happening?
• How do you feel about this?
• How is God using _______ in your life?
• What are some other ways to look at this?

Question: What action steps will you take to ensure that you consistently empower others to explore their reality?

You want your organization to improve. You know that to improve, your organization must carry out its improvement plans. And you know that for your organization to carry out its improvement plans, your stakeholders must be involved.

Question: How involved are your stakeholders in organizational improvement?

 

To get an idea of how involved your stakeholders are in organizational improvement, take the following assessment (which targets school stakeholders). Rate each item, using the following scale:

4: Consistently • 3: Usually • 2: Sometimes • 1: Rarely

• Students support the improvement plans.
• Parents support the improvement plans.
• Staff support the improvement plans.
• Leaders support the improvement plans.
• Students are involved in implementing the improvement plans.
• Parents are involved in implementing the improvement plans.
• Staff are involved in implementing the improvement plans.
• Leaders are involved in implementing the improvement plans.
• Stakeholders support and are involved in implementing the improvement plans.

3 questions:

1. How involved do you want your stakeholders to be in organizational improvement?
2. How can you increase stakeholder involvement in organizational improvement?
3. What are you going to do?

Bottom line: Pursue excellence. Get stakeholders involved. Today.