Learning occurs when learners decide to accept and incorporate new information into their lives. If a person decides—makes a conscious decision—not to learn, there’s little a teacher can do to make the student learn. So the focus of effective teaching is the learner, not the teacher.

Engaging learners can be more effective when teachers use some tried-and-true techniques for communicating the Word of God. Certainly prayer, a growing knowledge of the Word, and adequate personal preparation are prerequisites for teaching people the Bible. But here are some additional tips that can make you more effective in moving learners toward success—toward learning what God has for them.  

1. Prepare the room. The room is your teaching-learning laboratory. Everything can influence learning. Learners need adequate space in a room that has movable equipment, good lighting, comfortable temperatures, and good visibility.

2. Use effective methods. Every person has a preferred learning approach. Using only one method means that only learners whose learning preference matches the method you use will feel they are learning. Using at least three approaches to learning in any session assures teachers that more learners will be engaged with you as teacher and with the material you teach. Teaching Adults: A Guide for Transformational Teaching provides a good foundation for understanding learning preferences.

3. Remove barriers. Lecterns and tables can create psychological barriers. Remove items that hinder you in moving around the room, connecting emotionally with learners, and making use of the entire room.

4. Teach learners to reflect. Learners need time to process new information. Allow brief discussion periods, encourage questions, or allow silence with instruction as to how to use the silence to encourage learners to process material. This provides time for learners to consider how the material applies to them.

5. Create a safe environment. Safe emotional and psychological environments are critical. Be sure that no one is put down for incorrect answers. Don’t let anyone be ridiculed or teased. Assure everyone that all answers and responses are accepted, and that each person is unconditionally affirmed and important. Encourage expression of feelings.

6. Develop a detailed teaching plan. Flexibility is essential, but know where you intend to be at the end of the session. Identify how you will know whether learners have learned what you intended.

7. Personalize your content. Know what each learner needs from the lesson you are preparing. Keep learners’ needs in mind as you teach and be familiar enough with content to change directions as needed.

8. Develop nonverbal skills. Capture attention by locking eyes with learners for several moments at a time when teaching. Call individuals by name. Listen to various perspectives. Watch how others communicate nonverbally.

9. Use persuasion techniques. Use voice inflection, dramatic gestures, dramatic monologues and so forth to add emphasis to teaching.

10. Evaluate! What happens each week should be the beginning point for what will talk place next week. Evaluate teaching habits, how many learners participated, who they were, and how they were involved.

Bible study is more than education; it’s teaching people the Word of God so that lives are changed and the world becomes better in the process. Most transformational teachers are those who work at becoming more effective each week.

Teaching Adults: A Guide for Transformational Teaching provides solid planning and presentation helps for teachers at all levels of experience. Discover how to vary your teaching approaches or how to develop a sound teaching plan by applying what you can learn from Teaching Adults: A Guide for Transformational Teaching.

Richard E. Dodge teaches young adults at Una Baptist Church, Nashville, and is Internet Producer, LifeWay Church Resources, Nashville, TN.