What sort of class lessons appeal to you? - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

Archaea · 04-15-2008, 04:46 PM

All of us have attended lessons we didn't appreciate and I assume we attended some we appreciated.

What characteristics do you find make for a good lesson?

other than preparation.

Indy Coug · 04-15-2008, 04:50 PM

People sharing experiences of 'likening the scriptures unto themselves'. Applied religion to me is much more interesting than theoretical religion.

Spaz · 04-15-2008, 04:57 PM

Some requirements for me:

1. The teacher must not be an ass. If he/she is sharing opinion, they should say as much when they say something.

2. The teacher needs to show humility. A teacher dictating the gospel to the class will lose me faster than anything else.

Outside of that, on the teacher's side, there's not much he/she can do to engage me. Being well-prepared, and having pesonal stories relating to the subject are always helpful.

JohnnyLingo · 04-15-2008, 04:59 PM

I like teachers who can involve the whole class in discussions.

Nothing worse than a teacher who goes through the manual, asks the "what did Enos say in verse 3?" questions, gets a response after twenty seconds of awkward "everyone knows the answer so no one wants to speak up," and moves on to the next question in the book.

On the other hand, if the teacher can get many of the class participants to give their thoughts and then allow others to respond... that's a much better class, in my opinion.

DrumNFeather · 04-15-2008, 05:03 PM

I prefer strictly read arounds...

Ok, that's not quite true, I really dislike read arounds...but oh well.

I prefer a lesson format that enables the teacher to engage the class, create discussion, hit the key points and move on.

Of course, the personality of the teacher determines this more than anything else.

All-American · 04-15-2008, 05:07 PM

I'm with Indy. Reading Jacob 5 and understanding all the little nick-knacks of what is going on is fascinating and all, but why does it matter? What is the point? What is the writer trying to show me, and what ought I to do differently in response?

I'm a little wary of over-analysis in this regard, where people will try to say that a verse is saying more than it actually is. When Amaleckiah poisons the Lamanite king "by degrees," for example, I don't feel like the main lesson Mormon was trying to get across was to avoid a "spiritual" "poisoning by degrees"-- I think he's telling us to look out for shady characters like Amaleckiah. I don't have a problem with personal insights and such applications, but unless I can feel like it was the lesson the writer was trying to teach, I don't feel bound by another's analysis.

The best lessons will usually ask, in one form or another, "so what?" We've heard all of this stuff before; why are we talking about it now?

Archaea · 04-15-2008, 05:12 PM

So far, I like the answers, and some follow up questions:

How much does knowledge of the instructor matter?

If not the knowledge of the instructor what other aspects of the instructor make the lesson enjoyable? Appropriate humor?

Familiarity with other members?

Do you participate in class any more?

Ten to fifteen years ago, I participated quite vigorously, now I shut my mouth entirely. Usually it's due to the fact I don't wish to speak sarcastically or to be the center of attention. Some of the time, I'm certain making comments become about being funny or the center of attention. Thus, to cure this, I simply avoiding making any comments.

RC Vikings · 04-15-2008, 05:13 PM

I'm aware of the dangers but it's to bad we don't talk about current events in Priesthood. We were going over baptism Sunday and it was a rehash of everything I've heard since primary. It would have been a lot more interesting to talk about the FLDS and how this affected us as LDS. Perhaps the open forum of CG has ruined me.

All-American · 04-15-2008, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archaea

So far, I like the answers, and some follow up questions:

How much does knowledge of the instructor matter?

If not the knowledge of the instructor what other aspects of the instructor make the lesson enjoyable? Appropriate humor?

Familiarity with other members?

Any of the above or all of the above are important to the extent that they engender discussion and further inquiry into the subject matter. None are absolutely essential, except as a means to that ultimate end (in which regard, they may very well be indispensable).

Jeff Lebowski · 04-15-2008, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RC Vikings

I'm aware of the dangers but it's to bad we don't talk about current events in Priesthood. We were going over baptism Sunday and it was a rehash of everything I've heard since primary. It would have been a lot more interesting to talk about the FLDS and how this affected us as LDS. Perhaps the open forum of CG has ruined me.

Good point.

I agree with many of the suggestions given above in the thread. But most of the memorable lessons in recent years for me occurred when the instructor varied from the pre-packaged material in the manuals.

04-15-2008, 04:46 PM	#1
Archaea Assistant to the Regional Manager Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Orgasmatron Posts: 24,338	What sort of class lessons appeal to you? All of us have attended lessons we didn't appreciate and I assume we attended some we appreciated. What characteristics do you find make for a good lesson? other than preparation. __________________ Ἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα Last edited by Archaea; 04-15-2008 at 04:53 PM.

04-15-2008, 04:57 PM	#3
Spaz Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,371	Some requirements for me: 1. The teacher must not be an ass. If he/she is sharing opinion, they should say as much when they say something. 2. The teacher needs to show humility. A teacher dictating the gospel to the class will lose me faster than anything else. Outside of that, on the teacher's side, there's not much he/she can do to engage me. Being well-prepared, and having pesonal stories relating to the subject are always helpful. __________________ "My days of not respecting you are certainly coming to a middle." -Malcolm Reynolds "It doesn't mean that if we lose a game or when we lose a game people won't then jump on and say the quest is over. Because they will. But they've missed the point." -Bronco Mendenhall on "The Quest"

04-15-2008, 05:07 PM	#6
All-American Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 3,420	I'm with Indy. Reading Jacob 5 and understanding all the little nick-knacks of what is going on is fascinating and all, but why does it matter? What is the point? What is the writer trying to show me, and what ought I to do differently in response? I'm a little wary of over-analysis in this regard, where people will try to say that a verse is saying more than it actually is. When Amaleckiah poisons the Lamanite king "by degrees," for example, I don't feel like the main lesson Mormon was trying to get across was to avoid a "spiritual" "poisoning by degrees"-- I think he's telling us to look out for shady characters like Amaleckiah. I don't have a problem with personal insights and such applications, but unless I can feel like it was the lesson the writer was trying to teach, I don't feel bound by another's analysis. The best lessons will usually ask, in one form or another, "so what?" We've heard all of this stuff before; why are we talking about it now? __________________ εν αρχη ην ο λογος

04-15-2008, 05:12 PM	#7
Archaea Assistant to the Regional Manager Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Orgasmatron Posts: 24,338	So far, I like the answers, and some follow up questions: How much does knowledge of the instructor matter? If not the knowledge of the instructor what other aspects of the instructor make the lesson enjoyable? Appropriate humor? Familiarity with other members? Do you participate in class any more? Ten to fifteen years ago, I participated quite vigorously, now I shut my mouth entirely. Usually it's due to the fact I don't wish to speak sarcastically or to be the center of attention. Some of the time, I'm certain making comments become about being funny or the center of attention. Thus, to cure this, I simply avoiding making any comments. __________________ Ἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα Last edited by Archaea; 04-15-2008 at 05:21 PM.

04-15-2008, 05:13 PM	#8
RC Vikings Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Rexburg, Idaho Posts: 2,236	I'm aware of the dangers but it's to bad we don't talk about current events in Priesthood. We were going over baptism Sunday and it was a rehash of everything I've heard since primary. It would have been a lot more interesting to talk about the FLDS and how this affected us as LDS. Perhaps the open forum of CG has ruined me. __________________ "I always rode to my limit. If I won by three minutes, that's because I couldn't make four." Eddy Merckx

04-15-2008, 04:50 PM	#2
Indy Coug Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Between Iraq and a hard place Posts: 7,569	People sharing experiences of 'likening the scriptures unto themselves'. Applied religion to me is much more interesting than theoretical religion.

04-15-2008, 04:59 PM	#4
JohnnyLingo Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,175	I like teachers who can involve the whole class in discussions. Nothing worse than a teacher who goes through the manual, asks the "what did Enos say in verse 3?" questions, gets a response after twenty seconds of awkward "everyone knows the answer so no one wants to speak up," and moves on to the next question in the book. On the other hand, if the teacher can get many of the class participants to give their thoughts and then allow others to respond... that's a much better class, in my opinion.

04-15-2008, 05:03 PM	#5
DrumNFeather Active LDS Ute Fan Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Nantucket : ) Posts: 2,566	I prefer strictly read arounds... Ok, that's not quite true, I really dislike read arounds...but oh well. I prefer a lesson format that enables the teacher to engage the class, create discussion, hit the key points and move on. Of course, the personality of the teacher determines this more than anything else.