Principles of TeachingBennion, Adam S. (Adam Samuel)
Religion
Principles of Teaching
Bennion, Adam S. (Adam Samuel)
Religious education
"The second half of the proposition, that most Sunday school teachers
do not ask questions enough, has not been established by any such
investigation as that of Miss Stevens. A similar study, on the basis
of complete stenographic reports, of typical Sunday school lessons,
would be a most valuable addition to our resources in the field of
religious pedagogy. Till such a study is made, one must simply record
his conviction that Sunday school teachers, as a general rule, ask
too few, rather than too many questions. This conviction is based
upon general observation and upon the frequency of such remarks as,
'I just can't get my class to study,' 'There are only two or three
who ever answer my questions,' 'My pupils don't know anything about
the Bible,' 'As long as I do all the talking, things go all right,'
etc." Weigle, _Talks to Sunday School Teachers_.
The whole matter of questioning can be made to stand out most clearly,
perhaps, by listing the various types of question, the purposes which
each type serves, and the characteristics of a good question.
First of all there is the _Review question_. The great purpose of this
type of question is to systematize knowledge. Of course, it is valuable
as an aid to recollection--it is a challenge to memory--but it is
particularly helpful in that it makes the big essential points in a
course stand out in relief with minor points properly correlated and
subordinated. The review question is a guide to the pupil whereby he may
see the relative significance of the work he has covered. One of our
great difficulties lies in the fact that our teaching is so largely
piece-meal. Today's lesson is hurried through, isolated as it is from
all that has gone before and all that may follow. The successful teacher
through the review makes each lesson a link in the chain of thought that
underlies the whole development of the subject in hand.
The review question is essentially a carefully thought out, searching
inquiry. It calls for a turning over, in the mind, of the material of
the whole course and therefore should allow ample time for pondering. If
it does not stimulate a "weighing process," it likely is merely a fact
question--a test of memory. Of course, there is a place at times for
this hurried type of question, but it serves the purpose only of
"connecting up" and should not be mistaken for the evaluating question
of review.
The following questions on the expulsion of the Saints from Missouri are
illustrative review questions:
1. To what extent, if any, were the Latter-day Saints themselves
responsible for their expulsion from Missouri?
2. To what extent were the persecutions of Missouri political?
Religious?
3. How do you account for the fact that the Lord's people have always
been a chastened people?
4. Show how the Missouri persecutions have been ultimately a blessing to
the Latter-day Saints.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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