5 Steps to Completing a Lesson

Written by Richard E. Dodge

The lessons you teach could be compared to an object that requires assembly. You have more lesson parts than you can cover adequately in the teaching time you are given. So how do you know when you've completed the lesson? Are you finished if you've covered all the verses in the assigned passage? when you've covered the content in your Leader Guide? when you run out of material before the bell rings? Or are you finished when you can observe the results of learning in individual learner’s lives?

Teaching for Results

Teaching adults, whether in open or closed groups, is more than imparting information to learners based on a prepared lesson plan in the assigned amount of time. Real teaching is transformational teaching, the kind that results in visible changes in participants’ lives. Thus our teaching really extends beyond the class itself. So how can we know when we really have completed a lesson? Consider these indicators of when the teaching-learning process has gone beyond mere content presentation. 

1. Discovery - Learners have discovered something from the content of the lesson that they can take with them from today. Teachers can ask learners to identify something that stands out in their minds.
2. Solutions - Teachers have answered all questions adequately, or promised to provide an answer during the week if they could not answer the question immediately. Ask learners periodically and at the session’s end whether they understand what you were trying to say.
3. Assignments - If you made advance assignments, you have called on everyone to present their material. A written teaching plan assures that deal with the major parts of each lesson, including assignments that you’ve made during the week. Such plans help you keep on track even when participants do ask questions or make comments.
4. Help - Learners leave with a simple thought they can recall from the lesson throughout the week. Summarize the lesson truth in a very simple statement and emphasize this periodically in the session. Close with this thought and encourage learners to think about this idea often.
5. Contact - Call attention to follow-up material so learners know they should be involved in personal Bible study activities during the week. Call learners periodically to see if they have questions.

Teaching adults to live transformed lives demands more than merely presenting information each Sunday. Teaching for information is much like casting seeds on rocks and gravel. Some of the seeds may germinate, but the new plants are unable to send down roots that provide nourishment. Teaching for transformation requires informed leaders who know how to connect content and learner in personal, life-changing ways.