Better Questions, Great Discussions

In the August 2013 issue of the Ensign, the LDS magazine, there was an article titled "Great Questions, Great Discussions" by Jack Lyon.

Normally, I do not get really excited about how-to sorts of articles, but the quality of teaching is a subject for which I have passion.  While some of the items that were discussed hit the nail on the head, others were disappointing or even incorrect.

From the article:
"“Who were the first two people on earth?” is an ineffective question because the answer is so obvious that no one wants to respond—or sees a need to.

“What is the most important principle of the gospel?” is also an ineffective question. No one knows the answer the teacher is looking for except the teacher, who is essentially saying, “Guess what I’m thinking.”"

While the first question is an excellent example of an ineffective question, I immediately had to take issue with the second example.  "What is the most important principle of the gospel?" is not an ineffective question... the way that the teacher handled the question, or the intent behind it was ineffective.

It would be completely appropriate for a teacher to ask students what they feel is the most important principle of the gospel, as long as they understood that a case can be made for many different principles.  It also becomes the responsibility of a teacher that uses these questions to ensure that discussion and the expression of opinion does not devolve into contention, and that student contributions should be valued as much as possible.  A student that answers with "faith" can probably present a strong case for so answering.  A good discussion on how vital faith is could ensue.  On the other hand, a student that answers "repentance" can present a very strong case for how important repentance is.  Neither one of the students needs to be wrong.

On the other hand, if a teacher is attempting to present a lesson of faith, they may want to restrict open ended questions to that subject.  A question can be effective in some cases and ineffective in others.

The article uses faith as the assigned topic as it suggests the following:
"If you want the class to have a discussion about something specific like faith, consider saying something like this: “Today we’ll be talking about faith, the first principle of the gospel.” Then ask a question about faith that doesn’t have a specific answer:

1. “What part has faith played in your life?”
2. “Why do you think the Lord wants us to have faith?”
3. “What are some ways we can increase our faith?”"

Unfortunately, only one out of the three suggestions is actually a good question.  Below is an analysis of each one.

1. "What part has faith played in your life?"

Asking what part faith has played in the lives of students is asking for one of the following:
    - the student that loves to pontificate going on about their lives
    - the student that begins weeping to the point that anything they say is unintelligible
    - the student that gives a valid example, followed by three other students that give similar examples
    - the student that uses redundant statements to make a thirty-second comment become a fifteen-minute ordeal

Personal experiences may be appropriate for a class... but if people making unprepared statements is superior to the material that the teacher is presenting after having prepared, the teacher needs to improve.  When personal stories become the backbone of the lesson, there is little gospel teaching that occurs.

2. "Why do you think the Lord wants us to have faith?"

This is actually an excellent question.  Encouraging thoughtful pondering about gospel topics is a fundamental responsibility of a gospel instructor.  Naturally, if the instructor has a preconceived "right" answer in mind, then the question becomes ineffective.

3. "What are some ways we can increase our faith?"

This is a terrible question.  Any question that can be answered by "read your scriptures, go to church, and pray" is a bad idea.  What are the odds that a student will hear an answer to this like "prayer can increase faith" and then think to themselves "Wow!  I had not previously considered that prayer might increase my faith.  This answer has completely changed my outlook on life, and I will always ensure that I pray every day from now till the end of time..."?  Not good.

Everyone attending a Gospel Doctrine class should have enough of an understanding of Gospel principles to know that reading scriptures, prayer, church attendance, and other "Sunday School" answers apply.  This type of question is just like the first "bad" example the author gave at the beginning: “Who were the first two people on earth?” is an ineffective question because the answer is so obvious that no one wants to respond—or sees a need to."


The article goes on to talk about the importance of using the scriptures.  This is spot-on:
"Although the manual should be used to prepare the lesson and is a great source of open-ended questions, the scriptures should remain the primary focus of our teaching and learning."

I would suggest this implies that the backbone of the lesson should never be personal experiences.  They can be present, but they are not a substitute for canon.

The article then discusses staying focused:
"There is a challenge in having a lot of classroom discussion: it’s easy for the discussion to get off track. It’s important that you prepare your lesson well so that you know where you want it to go and so that you’re ready, if necessary, to bring the class back to the main topic of discussion. Usually all you need to provide is a little guidance: “That’s interesting, but I think we’re a little off track. Let’s get back to our discussion of faith now.”"

While getting focus back is important, the statement that is suggested seems like it could be offensive... (and I am not one to shy away from abrasive statements).  Essentially it comes of as "what you said was irrelevant..."

Perhaps more effective would be to (as politely as possible) interrupt the student that is trailing off with a question that asks "so are you saying that..." and then say something that ties into your lesson.  If they confirm it, you can immediately move on having regained control.  If they indicate that was not their intention, ask them to explain (as politely as possible) how their comment relates to the subject.  It is possible that the student was saying something relevant, and that they may not have realized that others were missing a connection that they saw.

Additionally... always remember to thank students for contributions.

Finally, the article went back to discussing personal stories.  As I previously mentioned, there is a place for this, but it ought not be the core of any gospel doctrine lesson...  The heart of every lesson ought to be the doctrine of Jesus Christ.

After teaching the Nephites about faith, penitence, humility, baptism, and the Holy Ghost, he declared the following:
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them. Therefore, go forth unto this people, and declare the words which I have spoken, unto the ends of the earth." (3 Nephi 11:39-41, emphasis added)

Ultimately, the goal of a teacher is not to talk about their mission, their family, or the missions and families of their students... it is to reiterate the importance of Christian principles that have the power to make bad men good, and good men better.  Discussion about triviality or mediocre questions ought to give way to meaningful discussion about the power of Christ himself.  Though there are many topics that can occupy time for 45 minutes, discussions that bring classes closer to Jesus will continue to be important to those involved when the 45 minutes have expired.

Keep hands, feet, and personal experiences to yourself!

While many people fear public speaking, there is one huge advantage over a more interactive teaching approach: the public speaker controls every word.  A person giving a talk or a speech never has to worry about someone raising their hand in the congregation and interjecting unpredictable content.

In Mormon worship services, the first hour is devoted to the observance of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and to the presentation of public speakers on various religious subjects.  The subsequent hours feature a more interactive style of instruction where teachers present material, and frequently invite class members to answer questions or offer comments and insight to complement the main subjects.  While this method can provide value to what might otherwise be a monotonous lecture, there is a risk in audience participation.

There are various offenses that occur when class members contribute:

1. The stupid question - There are some who believe there is no such thing as a stupid question.  They are wrong.  The off topic question may only be a distraction, but it can be much worse.  An instructor teaching about faith is not likely to be able to assist a class member decipher the mysteries of facsimile number 2.

2. Deep doctrine diving - Maybe Adam and Eve had belly buttons.  Maybe women will have hairy legs in heaven.  Maybe the class member that brings up subjects like these should have kept their mouth shut.

3. Redundant, repetitious statements that have already been said - Faith is important, but everyone understood that the first time it was mentioned.  It is OK to say 'never mind' if you had your hand raised and someone else gave your answer.

4. The Filibuster - It is not always easy to be concise, but the class member that takes ten minutes to get to a point can probably shorten their comment.  There may be on the rare occasion a person that is able to present a complicated and well-thought out point that takes some time to explain properly... but when class members are actively comparing their Angry Birds scores on their phones, take a hint and wrap it up.

5. What the? I Don't Even - Albuquerque; snorkel; lasers; tofu; steam rollers; concrete; purple; Sherlock Holmes.  See?  I can do it too!

As bad as all of these things are, perhaps the most annoying crime against humanity that occurs in the classroom is:

6. The personal experience - Perhaps somewhere in the personal experience, there may be a nugget of worth.  Finding it can be similar to finding the good chunk of meat in a slab that is crawling with maggots.  They are always filled with completely unnecessary details.  Here is an example of a hypothetical personal experience that represents the typical (perhaps slightly exaggerated) recitation with commentary in parenthesis:

So I actually have an experience with sharing the gospel.  (Please be short, please be short)
There's this guy I met who is actually from Minnesota...  (Hold the phone!!!  Minnesota!?!  I'm sure that is pertinent to sharing the gospel.)
...and he came here to go to school... (Perhaps you could also tell us about his application process.  What were his SAT scores?  How does the cost of tuition and living compare to those found in Minnesota?)
...and he's actually going to the University of Utah... (Yes, but where does he park his car?  I'm not sure I have enough details here.)
He's majoring in liberal arts... (Because major affects his eligibility for salvation apparently...)
...and he's really athletic, you know kind of a jock type?  Ha ha ha ha!  (I'm sorry, was that supposed to be funny?)
So I started talking to him about two weeks ago.  Well actually it was more like two and a half weeks.  Well, two weeks and three days... (I'm not sure I can appreciate this personal experience unless you tell me what time it was.)
Yeah, we work at the same place doing sales.  So he's really outgoing like me!  (Is he really outgoing?  We don't really know unless you give us his the results of his personality test, his horoscope, and the last three messages he had in his fortune cookies...)
So anyways, he saw me being all righteous, you know... not drinking Dr. Pepper... and he was like, "I want to be like you man, you're always so happy!"  (Yeah... who wouldn't want to be like you?)
So I didn't really think about it for a while, but a few days later I was eating lunch and I ran into him.  I was like "Hey what's up?"  Then we started talking about the weather and his school...  (I wonder if there's something more enlightening on Facebook.  Good thing I have a smart phone!)
And we were talking about how hard it is to go to school and work, and I told him about one way I deal with stress...  you know... drinking Coke and listening to Godsmack or actually hip hop, which is my favorite...  (That is a great tweet!  I'm glad I follow Adam Baldwin on Twitter...)
But the other thing I do to deal with stress is to read the Ensign magazine... because the prophets give me comfort and peace.  I don't mean they make me fall asleep though... Ha ha ha ha ha!! (Unlike your personal experience... I really wish I had a pillow...)
And anyway, it was a good talk, and I felt like I was being a good example to him, and I followed the promptings I received.  (Please be wrapping up, please be wrapping up)
So I haven't talked to him since, so I don't know what he thought about it.  So anyway, I'm still trying to do missionary work by my example... (So the story has almost no point?  Well at least he's done now...)
And so that's an important lesson I learned.  I learned that even in Utah County there are still people that need to learn about the Savior.  I learned that we can be examples everywhere we go.  I learned that... (Are you seriously still going on!?!?!  Unbelievable!!!)
...you've got to have that faith and that example.  You've got to have that spirit of missionary work.  You can't be afraid to open your mouth... (I really wish you would shut your mouth.)
You can make a difference, because you never know when you'll meet someone from Minnesota who needs to hear the gospel.  (As opposed to people from other states who I guess are OK?)
So anyway, I'll keep working with him, and who knows?  Ha ha ha ha! (.............)

All hyperboles aside, it may actually be possible to share a personal experience in a manner that is concise, appropriate, and positive.  This takes a degree of skill that few have achieved.  For the vast majority of class members, the following tips can help prevent you from ruining a lesson:

1. Be concise - Unless you have an accent or otherwise entertaining voice, most people probably do not want to hear the sound of you talking.

2. Stay on topic - Details that you think are important such as schools, occupations, hobbies, carpet colors... they aren't actually important.  Reinforcing universal general principals closely associated with the lesson topic should be the goal of all participants.

3. Think before you speak - In class, look to your left and right.  Realize that there are people there.  Would they be enlightened, uplifted, or edified by what you're thinking of saying?  Does your comment or question provoke thought, provide clarity, or enhance context?  Consider keeping your hand down and your mouth shut if in doubt. (Proverbs 17:28)