You want to target Biblical perspective. You want to help your students apply a Biblical perspective to the course content they have mastered.
 
Question: To what extent do your unit plans and lesson plans target Biblical perspective?

1. Do your plans include essential questions that help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches? Questions like the following: What’s God’s purpose for ___? What wrong? Who is your neighbor?
2. Do your plans include Biblical perspective enduring understandings?
3. Do your plans include assessments that require students to connect what they study and what the Bible teaches?
4. Do your plans include engaging instructional strategies that get your students connecting what they study and what the Bible teaches?

Target Biblical perspective. Make sure your unit plans and lesson plans demonstrate that you target Biblical perspective. Today.

You want your students to connect the part of God’s world they study and biblical principles. This is a significant challenge. Want some help? Watch this video to learn about helping your students connect God's world and Word:




Want to work with your colleagues to better help your students connect God’s world and Word? If so, then purchase Help Your Students Connect God’s World and Word (US$25), a discussion-based kit with 7 sessions. As a result of working through the 7 discussion-based sessions, you will…

1. Evaluate and improve how you help your students connect God’s world and Word.
2. Analyze and explain the importance of helping students connect God’s world and Word.
3. Identify and explain what connecting what God’s world and Word looks like.
4. Document biblical principles you want your students to connect to the part of God’s world they are studying.
5. Get your students even more engaged in connecting God’s world and Word by having your students learn new biblical principles and/or helping your students make new connections between biblical principles they already know and the part of God’s world they study.
6. Prepare for and teach a lesson designed to help your students connect God’s world and Word.
7. Increase your commitment to helping your students connect God’s world and Word.

Download a sample session.

Purchase Help Your Students Connect God’s World and Word (US$25). This kit is 1 of a 4-part series:

1. Help Your Students Connect God’s World and Word
2. Use Assessment
3. Use Questions
4. Meet Student Learning Needs

To get an idea of how your teachers can more effectively help students what they study and what the Bible teaches, complete the following assessment (download). Next, use your assessment data to develop action plans. For each statement below, circle the appropriate rating. Use the following scale:

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

Worldview: To help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, my teachers…
___ Articulate Biblical answers to the big questions of life.
___ Explain the creation-fall-redemption-fulfillment/restoration framework.
___ Articulate a Christ-centered philosophy of education.
___ Articulate the implications of a Christ-centered philosophy of education.
___ Articulate that the target is students understanding and then applying a Biblical perspective to the course content and skills, and ultimately to their lives.
___ Articulate what student understanding and application of a Biblical perspective is/is not.
 
Department level: To help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, my teachers…
___ Develop, document, and explain a Biblical perspective of their academic discipline(s).
___ Develop, document, and explain content and skill standards/benchmarks.
___ Articulate a Biblical perspective of the content and skills they teach.
___ Develop, document, and explain enduring Biblical perspective understandings.
 
Unit level: To help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, my teachers…
___ Design and ask effective essential questions.
___ Document and teach students Biblical content.
___ Document and teach students skills.
___ Design and give a variety of quality formative and summative authentic assessments.
___ Use rubrics to clarify expectations, assess student learning, and provide feedback.
___ Give students specific, timely feedback.
___ Use assessment data to modify instruction.
 
Lesson level: To help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, my teachers…
___ Use effective lesson plan models.
___ Use effective instructional strategies.
___ Identify and meet student learning needs.
 
Collaboration: To help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, my teachers…
___ Participate in professional learning communities that set student learning goals.
___ Participate in professional learning communities that provide support, encouragement, and accountability for achieving student learning goals through mentoring, coaching, and group interaction.
___ Contribute to a bank of quality instructional materials.
___ Lead Biblical perspective workshops for other teachers.


Now, ask yourself 5 questions about the data:

1. How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
2. What’s encouraging/discouraging about the data?
3. In terms of helping teachers help students make connections, how would I prioritize the 5 areas?
4. What can I do to address the area I ranked #1?
5. What will I do?

Target Biblical perspective. Help your teachers help your students connect what they study and with the Bible teaches. Today.


* This self-assessment is based on a set of Biblical perspective teacher training standards.

Help your students develop a Christ-centered worldview during class by teaching Biblical perspective lessons and giving Biblical perspective assessments.

Experience is an effective, efficient teacher. I know this. So do you. Like you, I know that:

• If I want to bake bread, I bake bread, then possibly reading about baking bread.
• If I want to play basketball, I play basketball or watch basketball, then possibly read a book of basketball rules.
• If I want to experience Mozart’s music, I listen to Mozart’s music, then possibly discuss Mozart’s music.
• If I want to map curriculum, I map curriculum, then possibly attend a workshop on the theory of curriculum mapping.

 
Of course, reading, discussion, and training are valuable. But they are not the real thing. They are preparation for the real thing. They are shadows of the real thing.
 
My point: Start with the real thing—then, as necessary, follow up with reading, discussion, and training.
 
Application: If you want to teach a Biblical perspective lesson, experience a Biblical perspective lesson. Then, as necessary, follow up with reading, discussion, and/or a workshop.
 
Why start with experiencing a lesson?

• Because the lesson is the real thing.
• Because you’ll get a concrete idea of what’s involved in doing a Biblical perspective lesson.
• Because you’ll see what you can already do and what you need to learn how to do.
• Because you’ll see that this is something you can do.

 
Take action: Observe a teacher doing a Biblical perspective lesson at your school or in your area. Watch a video of a Biblical perspective lesson. Or ask your principal to have a teacher do a Biblical perspective lesson for teachers are your school—that’s what we’re doing at Christian Academy in Japan.
 
Remember: Get experience—then follow-up.

Worldview affects educational practice. How does your Christian worldview affect your educational practice? When responding to this question, teachers at Christian Academy in Japan indicated that their Christian worldview affects:

• The essential questions they ask.
• The content and skills they teach.
• The assessments they give.
• The instructional strategies they use.
• The way they manage their classrooms.
  

Real question: The real question isn’t “How does your Christian worldview affect your educational practice?" The real question is “How will you help your students develop a Christian worldview?"

Take action. Today.

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Here’s are the responses of CAJ teachers:

1. The Bible is at the center of the curriculum. All subjects…are taught on the basis of the truth of the Word of God
2. Knowing that God has given us the ability to reason, I must be intentional in emphasizing questions that give students more opportunities to think critically. The questions I've used in the past few weeks have stretched the 8th graders in ways that were sometimes uncomfortable. For example, when I asked them to write the last chapter rough draft of their autobiographies, entitled “Who am I now?”, many struggled with writing what they believed when they know that they act one way but say they believe the opposite.
3. I have students ponder higher-level questions such as “Is there such a thing as a just war?” or “Should Christians support research on genetic engineering?” or “What is my calling in life?"
4. Questions – these should ask things that matter to God; should be core to a better understanding of the nature of God and humanity. Content/skills – should teach process over content (which is the great luxury of English classes) in that we need to know how to apply and understand worldview rather than just what it is.
5. In my curriculum I need to look for the larger principles or topics and not just the details of the unit. What are the life skills and issues I want students to learn and think about? Examples: How do I solve problems with friends? How do I get along with people? How do I serve others? How do I serve God?
6. I teach them to recognize numbers in God’s creation, giving them more appreciation. We look at social issues with the perspective of numbers, giving them another viewpoint to draw upon.
7. What I test, I value. I have to be careful about what I test. Does it really help students to articulate a Biblical worldview? Does it help them answer the core questions? For instructional strategies, I focus heavily on collaboration. I used to have my proof text for collaboration up in my room: Proverbs 27:17. I guess I’ve internalized that and seen the value over and over again of students working together…. As for classroom management, my worldview of people being made in the image of God comes out in this area. Students working together in a class will respect each other, listen to each other, and value each other as God’s creations.
8. Because I believe that my students are made in the breathtaking image of the invisible, triune God, each of them an active meaning maker with significant contributions to give and receive in the classroom community, I have them do many group activities, I challenge them with tough questions and/or choice, and I model, encourage, and require them to connect subject matter, faith, and life. Because I also believe that image is heartbreakingly defaced and distorted by the Fall, I realize the carrot method won’t always work. I try to make expectations clear and enforce them firmly—expectations regarding behavior, due dates, prompts for unit assessments, and school policies like dress code and late work.
9. My Christian worldview affects how I respond to students and how I teach them to respond to others. I put a lot of emphasis on teaching about treating each other fairly and that each person is talented in their own way.  I spend time teaching about right ways to speak to others, what it means to be uplifting, and what respect looks like. Part of this focus comes from personal hard experiences growing up with peers. My biggest reason for this emphasis is how often it is talked about or shown in stories in the Bible, especially in Jesus’ life. Loving your neighbor as yourself is the second greatest commandment, and Jesus showed so often that He cared about those others overlooked. He placed a huge emphasis on relationships, and that has been something I have always wanted to focus on – valuing relationships and keeping them healthy.
10. I value students learning to be responsible for themselves. This affects the way I teach the students to care for the classroom including materials, clean up procedures, desk organization. I value a variety of ways for students to show their understanding and so I do not give a lot of tests. I like to give students opportunities to apply their learning and so projects and process oriented ways to assess are used. I value and appreciate that all learners learn differently and so I use a variety of instructional strategies. I use a variety of groupings (whole group, small group, and individual conferences) and an approach that scaffolds the learning where needed.
11. As a Christian, I believe that every child has been created in the image of God, the Creator. This means that every child is creative in some way. In the art curriculum, I want to provide a wide variety of projects and assignments that give each child a chance to express themselves creatively. I want my questions to trigger thought and discussion that would help students learn more about God and His character and their relationship to Him. (What can we learn about God and his character from studying art? What is Christian Art? What does studying the principles of art tell us about God?)
12. I try to take every available opportunity to get my students to see a question from a perspective they have never experienced before. I do this because I believe that people are naturally (fallenly) bent in on themselves, preferring to see only themselves and the world as it appears and applies to them. By broadening their horizons, then, I can encourage them to take their attention away from themselves and be truly e-ducated (Latin: led out). I don’t do this because I believe that all perspectives are equally valid (they aren’t), but because resistance to seeing other perspectives is a symptom of selfishness.

We want our students to honor Christ and impact the world from Him. Consequently, we want to nurture faith in Christ. One way we do this in Christian schools is by helping our students connect what they study with what the Bible teaches.

To help students make connections, what are the vital teacher behaviors? Below are 4 options. What 2 options do you think are vital?

1. Ask students good questions.
   
2. Teach lessons that result in students connecting what they study with what the Bible teaches.
   
3. Having students complete assessments requiring them to connect what they study with what the Bible teaches.
   
4. Using assessment data to modify instruction.

Your daughter is having her 7th birthday.

You carefully select her present, one that you know she’ll enjoy. One that says, “I love you.” You put the present in a box, along with the batteries, so she can enjoy it right away.

You wrap her present is special wrapping paper that has characters from Winnie the Pooh on it. She likes Winnie the Pooh. Seeing this paper will make her happy and anticipate the gift. On a bright blue card, you write: “Kim, happy birthday! We love you.—Mom and Dad.” You put the card on the present where she’ll see it, read it, and feel special.

You take the present and put it where she can see it during her birthday dinner. After dinner you give it to her, saying, “Happy birthday, Kim!” You watch as Kim tears open the present and squeals with delight. She gives you a big hug

“Yes,” you say, “I know how to give my daughter a present. But what I want to know is how teaching a biblical perspective is like giving a present.”

Well, let me ask you a question: What difference does it make if you don’t know how to give a present?

• If you don’t carefully select a gift?
  
• If you don’t include the batteries?
  
• If you don’t wrap it?
  
• If you don’t put a card on it?
  
• If you don’t put it where she can enjoy anticipating it?
  
• If you don’t watch as she opens it?

What difference does it make if you hand her an unwrapped present, walk away without speaking, turn the TV on, and watch a program? A big difference. You know it does.

Now let me ask you this: What difference does it make if you make teaching a biblical perspective like giving a present?

• If you carefully select a topic that your students are interested in?
  
• If you include “batteries,” that is, everything your students need so they can apply the biblical perspective to the topic?
  
• If you wrap the lesson in an intriguing question, a case study, or a small group discussion?
  
• If you take 3 steps to increase student anticipation of understanding and using a biblical perspective?
  
• If you share with your students 2 heartfelt reasons why you want them to apply a biblical perspective to this topic?
  
• If you take a sincere interest in your students during the lesson?

So, how is teaching a biblical perspective like giving a present? You tell me. Then use your answer. Today.

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Bruce Young, MTW missionary
What does the Christian teacher posses that enables him/her to not only teach and explain truths, but to live out and model solid Biblical values? And how does he train himself/herself to do this? Underlying my question is the conviction that we need to be daily believing in the Gospel of God's grace where we see ourselves to be under God's radical grace. The minute we get away from this, we become judgmental, performance oriented rather than dependent and humble, cold, removed, etc. The more we walk in line with the truth of the Gospel the more the gap is closed.

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