Here's a set of DRAW questions you can use for a discussion of “How can you give your students more practice?”
 
Define: Get the facts defined.
In the last week or unit, how many times did you ask your students to connect what they study and what the Bible teaches?

Respond: Get the facts responded to in terms of feelings/experiences.

1. What’s satisfying/unsatisfying about having your students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches? about the amount of practice you give your students in connecting what they study and what the Bible teaches?
2. How do your students feel about connecting what they study and what the Bible teaches? about the amount of practice you give them in connecting what they study and what the Bible teaches?

Analyze: Get the facts, feelings, and experiences analyzed.

1. How does practice/repetition impact learning?
2. What might happen if you increased the amount of practice you give students in connecting what they study and what the Bible teaches?

What’s next?: Get next steps considered.

1. What can you do to increase the amount of practice you give students in connecting what they study and what the Bible teaches?
2. What will you do?

Your students’ objective is to better connect what they study and God’s story of creation-fall-redemption-restoration. You want to help your students achieve their objective. Good.

Now what? Help your students achieve their objective by meeting 1 of their learning needs.

Question: What are you students’ learning needs? To identify your students’ learning needs, review the list of 10 questions below. Note which questions you think you need to answer in order to meet your students’ learning needs:

1. How can you help your students see the importance of creation-fall-redemption-restoration?
2. How can you help your students understand that creation-fall-redemption-restoration can be connected to course content?
3. How can you show your students what connecting course content and creation-fall-redemption-restoration looks like?
4. How can you help your students understand how you teach using creation-fall-redemption-restoration?
5. What vocabulary words do your students need to learn?
6. What engaging instructional strategies will help your students?
   
7. How can you give your students opportunities to think through answers for themselves?
8. How can you provide time during class for reflection?
9. How can you design assessments so that your students connect creation-fall-redemption-restoration with their lives?
10. How can you give your students more practice?

Take action: Answer 1 of the questions you noted. Then use your answer. You might be tempted to answer more than 1 question. Don’t. Keep it simple and doable. Just answer 1 question—then use your 1 answer.

Remember, the goal is not to have an answer. The goal is to use your answer to help your students connect what they study and creation-fall-redemption-restoration. Today.

Dan Beerens, vice president of learning services at Christian Schools International, focuses on Christian education in his blog Nurturing Faith. In this blog entry, he writes about case studies, an instructional strategy you can use to help your students connect what they study and Biblical teaching.

Colson has pointed out that there are four basic questions that everyone deals with in constructing their worldview:

1. Where did I come from?
2. Why am I here?
3. Where am I going?
4. Does life have any meaning and purpose?

How will we help our youth deal with these questions? A helpful teaching tool that has been used in business, law, and medicine has been the case study. Case studies are basically stories with an educational message. They deal specifically with people in action and the consequences of their actions and behavior. Case studies help us compare what values are being applied and what worldview is being advanced. The example at the beginning of this post could be considered a simple case study.

There are a couple of excellent resources I recommend you consider for work with older students:

1. A book for use with teens and young adults called No Easy Answers: Making Good Decisions in an Anything-Goes World written by Bob Rozema and Dan Vander Ark – available from Faith Alive Christian Resources.
2. Exploring Ethics book for grades 9-12 that is available from CSI.

Are there other case study resources that you have found helpful?

You know practice helps. When students practice their math skills, they get better at math. When student write essays, they get better at writing. When students practice the piano, they play better.

You hear Momoko, one of your students, say, “I need more chances to practice. It’s hard for me to get good at using a Biblical perspective when I don’t get enough practice. Using a Biblical perspective takes skill. I get repeated skill practice in math, and I’m good at it.”

You think, “Practice does help. Right now, Momoko gets 2 chances to apply a Biblical perspective each semester. She’s right—she’s not getting enough of practice. Hmm.”

You ask yourself, “How can I give my students more practice in applying a Biblical perspective?”

You decide to increase the number of practice opportunities per semester from 2 to 4. Then, you’ll reassess the situation. Good.

Remember, meet your students’ learning needs. Give your students repeated practice in applying a Biblical perspective to course content.

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Teachers, to what extent does the following describe your thinking? Principals, to what extent does the following describe your teachers’ thinking?

I need more feedback. I like getting feedback about my teaching from my colleagues and principal. To help my students do a better job on applying a Biblical perspective to what they study, I need more feedback on my content, assessment, and instruction. I know that giving feedback takes time and that everyone is busy, but I could really use some help.

If the above describes your thinking or the thinking of your staff, what are 3 ways to increase feedback on student application of a Biblical perspective? Take action on one way.

Get the feedback you need. Today.