The Four Tools —Group Work
Life experiences can be valuable for helping our learners to more fully understand how a segment of the Bible applies to their lives. How do we tap into that experience?

Group Work is often the wise way to do so. Past issues of Teach the Word have dealt with the first two tools in the adult educators’ tool box: Lecture and Question/Answer. In this issue Prof. Tom Kock helps us to consider tool #3, Group Work.




Professor Thomas Kock serves at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, Wisconsin, as professor of education and Old Testament and as the director of Grow in Grace. He previously served as a home missionary and pastor in Johnson City, Tennessee.
They never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. — Acts 5:42
Adult Education: Additum
Christ on Screen: The Benefits and Drawbacks of Christian-Based Visual Media in Evangelism and Entertainment

With more biblical visual media available, Bible study leaders make use of videos to teach. In this paper, Tyler Swiderski examines the work put into video production and what’s needed to keep them biblically sound. Bible study leaders may get ideas what video they could use, or not want to use, in their Bible studies.






Teaching Toolbox
Ideas to Make Your Synchronous Online Classes More Fun


Even though some areas of the country have been allowed to have in-person Bible studies, people are asking for online studies using video to continue. In this article, Siva priya Santhanam, an assistant professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado, gives some suggestions for fun activities for online classes. Perhaps one of these can be used or give an idea for another activity to keep learners engaged, learning, and reviewing.


Curriculum Connection

Trust in God is the key building block for families. Our trust in God, or lack thereof, affects the decisions we make and the things we do. Each lesson of this five-lesson Bible study by Jeffrey Bonack challenges us to ask ourselves whether the decisions we make on behalf of our families are based on the foundation of God's Word. This study could be used for a parenting workshop. Below are links to the first lesson of the study that could be used as a stand-alone parenting lesson.




Teaching Tip

To serve today’s students well, it is incumbent upon teachers to understand if, when, and how to incorporate technology into the classroom. While some measure of technology is not only beneficial but necessary for optimizing the education of today’s digital natives, it must be used with care, deliberation, and strategy if the reality is to live up to the promise.



- Sam Bowman in Educating the Digital Native: Teaching Students in a Binge-Watching World
  Teach the Word  is a collaboration of Northwestern Publishing House,
Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, and WELS Discipleship.