Teaching is much more that having something to say and finding a way to say it, and teaching is also much more than the time spent in front of students. Effectively conveying a message takes preparation, as we all know, but it also takes assessment.

During my student teaching, I learned four important questions every teacher should ask as they are preparing lessons.

1.       What am I trying to teach?

2.       How do I know they got it?

3.       What do I do with the ones that don’t get it?

4.       What do I do with the one that already have it?

What am I trying to teach? This is a harder question to answer then it first might seem. It’s easy to have a scripture or a topic in mind when you prepare your lesson, but what do you want students to leave the room having learned. If they go home and Mom or Dad asks what they learned, what should their answer be?

How do I know they got it? This is the assessment piece of the lesson. This is why teachers give tests at the end of units. Fortunately, there are a lot of other ways to assess student’s learning besides handing out a test at the end of your time together. Use the questions at the end of the lesson to check for understanding, and if possible, use e-mail, texting, Facebook and especially personal conversations to ask students about their lives and tie in what you were trying to teach. Usually, what you really want them to get isn’t just knowledge, but a truth applied to their lives.

What do I do with the ones that don’t get it? Here is where the follow up is really important, and where help really, well, helps. Many students just won’t get what you are teaching in a group setting. They may be distracted by each other, burdened with things in their own life, or for whatever reason they may just not be comfortable in that dynamic. Use opportunities to communicate one-on-one in any form available, and solicit the help of your other leaders to do the same.

What do I do with the ones that already have it? Use them. E-mail them copies of the lesson and let them give you feedback and even lead sections. They can also be an instrumental part of the previous question. You want to have discussions done in pairs, matching up those that you know have an understanding with those that may have a hard time getting it. You can also set up a “buddy system” in which they make a point to touch base on a personal level with others in your group, or present questions or ideas to other friends they have.

These questions help you as the teacher refine your content and direct your presentation. They can help you ending your time with youth confident that you’ve been clear and deliberate in everything you’ve done. Give everything, from activities to discussion to follow-up, a clear purpose that you, other adults and especially your youth, can understand.

-Aaron