The Dock School Leader Podcast

What is your task as a teacher? The responsibilities you bear may seem overwhelming, but Gerald reminds us that our purpose is to humbly apply our learning and effort to serving the church.

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It's Bible story time, so you reach for the Bible story book. Will your students engage with the message? Will they understand how the people of the story felt?

By learning the story so well that you can tell it rather than read it, you unlock greater possibilities for your class, suggests Yvonne. In these videos, she describes

* Obstacles to understanding that can be overcome as you tell the story.

* Three kinds of props that let your students see the story.

* Simple methods of assessment after a story is told.

Flannelgraph and Tips for Effectiveness

In the first of three videos, Yvonne shares best practices for preparing to tell a story, and for delivering that story. Then she demonstrates the power of flannelgraph to bring to life the story of the widow, her sons, and the jars of oil.

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Picture by Picture

Using A Beka's Bible picture cards, Yvonne tells the story of the woman of Shunem and assesses student understanding.

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Grapes, Rocks, and Bread: Realia and W Questions

Yvonne tells a story of King Ahab while engaging her students with props. After the story, she leads her students through a brief review of the W questions.

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How can your students master the parts of speech? The bones of the body? The formulae of geometry? No matter the subject you’re teaching or the personalities of your students, Becky says you can use songs and chants to make learning more engaging. As students move, sing, see, and hear the material, they become more comfortable using it. Becky adds advice for making your own songs and chants.

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Find Becky's collection of songs and chants here:

Songs and Chants across the Curriculum

In the midst of the brokenness caused by sin, Jesus Christ's message of redemption is always hopeful. Can you listen in a way that embodies care and casts a vision toward hope?

This presentation explores ways to stimulate and involve the family in ministry nationally and internationally. These include the impact of family in a broken world, creative ways to develop mission interests in children, processing life’s choices through the filter of ministry, and viewing all people as candidates for the kingdom of Heaven.

Why was I born? What does God want to do with my life? This presentation provides information regarding how to write a personal mission statement, set long term objectives, and short term goals. It explores ideas related to sustaining personal vision, and direction throughout a life of ministry. It gives the participants ideas about avoiding distractions and deterrents in pursuing a life of ministry.

After describing what overload and burnout looks like, this presentation discusses and looks at solutions to common external and internal causes, wrestling with what it means to have appropriate balance in all areas of life. How sad when uniquely gifted individuals must leave strategic places of ministry because of overload and burnout!

Learning isn't just learning; it is learning how to learn. Critical thinking is a mode of thinking in which the thinker improves his thinking. Jeremy challenges us to grow our students in critical thinking skills and gives examples of teachers who did this. Remember, you are teaching for the students' future, not just for the classroom today.

Schools run better on efficiency. But is the efficiency to benefit the teacher or the student? Teachers that use a variety of methods creatively reach more effectively the different students in a classroom. This presentation offers five steps to creative teaching.

Effectively motivating our students goes far beyond a piece of candy or a sticker chart. It is possible to create a classroom culture in which all students, even the ones who are the least excited about school, can be truly motivated and enjoy school. This presentation discusses practical, effective approaches to create this kind of culture in your classroom and draw out the best from your students.