Keep the End in Mind: A New Teacher's Primer on Planning

Some years ago, it was my responsibility as an associate pastor to supervise the youth director. "Margie" is a person of faithful Christian character and many gifts. She relates well with the youth, has a great sense of humor, and sings like an angel. What she didn't do so well, in my opinion, was organize. So when she proposed focusing on the spiritual life of the youth as a way to begin, I pointed out the importance of setting up a youth council. I didn't get why she didn't get it. But it turned out she was very much on target, and while a youth council may have been a good thing, it certainly wasn't the most important thing. "Margie" was starting with the end in mind — youth nurtured as faithful disciples — and I was looking at methods and tools — interim steps in a process.

This Went Well, But . . .
How often have we sat down to plan a Sunday school lesson or a retreat or a training session and asked ourselves, "Hmmm. What shall I do? Well, let's see, we need to begin with some sort of icebreaker, something to ease into our time together; then some interactive, engaging activities; and some sort of devotion or benediction at the end." The icebreaker, activities, and benediction were good ones, too, and everyone had a fine time. The questions remain, however: Were they the right activities? Now that you have done them, what did you actually do? What did the participants derive from their time, and was it what they needed? And when all was said and done, how do you know what the results were?

Plan With the End in Mind
Before plunging in, consider thinking through what you want to accomplish. I have received invitations to present a workshop "on something related to Christian education." Although that appears to give me considerable freedom, it doesn't help me know what the participants actually want or need. From this distance, I don't know who the participants are, either. So several judicious questions later, we sort out the important information.

Here is a suggested preparation plan. Add your insights and experience to these suggestions.

1. Know Your Setting. Is this a class, retreat, training session, or fellowship group, for example? How much time do we have together? How is the space configured, and how comfortable will the space and furnishing be for the group and its purpose? What equipment is available, and how well does it work? Do you know how to use it well enough for it to be an asset rather than a hindrance?

2. Know Your Participants. Who are the participants in this setting? What is their level of experience in the subject? What is their level of education? What effect does their age have on how you can approach them and your time together? If they are at very different places, are they patient with one another? How long can they sit still, and how active do they need to be? How well can they read? How well do they handle abstraction? Do you know what they want and need? What do they expect? How can you find out?

3. Know Your Level of Responsibility and Approach. Are you the "resident authority," group facilitator, teacher, leader, peer learner/participant, or "crowd controller"? Do the group members know you? How will that affect your approach? How much control from you is needed and welcome? How much supervision of the participants is needed? How accustomed are group members to shared leadership and participation? What balance of lecture or presentation and interactivity will the group welcome or tolerate? What sort of pace do you need to maintain to keep people interested and involved?

4. Know Your Resources. Are you the only resource? Do you have curriculum, books, visual aids, video, or other media? Do participants have any helps available to them? How involved do you need to be with those helps? Do you have to provide anything, such as handouts or cutouts? Do you need help to use any of the resources (such as puppets or games or computers)?

5. Identify Your Goals. When you know your participants, the setting, and the tools available, then you can identify what outcomes you want and plan for them (although the desired outcomes may drive those issues). If, for example, one goal is to have participants be able to put on a puppet show, you may need to choose your own setting rather than make do with what otherwise would be open to you. And you would need puppets and necessary supplies.

   Identify how long or short-term your goals are. Is the session for which you are planning one session among many, just a one-time occasion, or somewhere in between? How does your length of exposure affect long-term and interim goals?

   When participants leave a particular setting, what one (or more) thing do you want them to have experienced, learned, considered, or understood? What skill, insight, belief, or task should be accomplished? What difference will it make, or what purpose will it serve? If, for example, your goal is to train puppeteers, will there be occasions for them to use that training? If not, what is the purpose of that goal? (Puppets can be great teaching tools, but that is a method, not a goal.) Are the goals specific, attainable, and manageable for the participants, space, and time?

6. Work out Your Plan. When you have determined what end results you want, then select the appropriate methods to accomplish those goals. Some goals may be suggested in a prepared curriculum, and it will be your responsibility to select or modify those goals so that your participants can reach them. Plan for balance and variety in learning styles. Even with adults, a "read and discuss" approach can get tiresome, so mix physical activity, music, visual, logical, spatial, group, and single activities as space, time, and ability allow. Be sure that resources are available and reserved ahead of time if necessary, so that you don't arrive at the room and discover than someone else grabbed the VCR, for example, or find that there is no construction paper in the supply cabinet. Push yourself to try some things outside your own comfort zone. It will help you grow and will probably benefit those whose learning styles are different from yours.

   Try out things ahead of time if you're not sure how they will go. You might be able to make that puppet in fifteen minutes, but handing out supplies and giving instructions could take another fifteen minutes. Practice giving instructions to see if you are clear and thorough. Even with adults, offer one step at a time. This is often a skill learned over time through experience. (Don't over-explain, either.)

7. Evaluate Your Experience. "Afterglow" is great, but it may not be a sufficient indicator of whether you succeeded in what you planned. (Negativity may not be either, especially if you intended to challenge.) One simple evaluation method is to ask for specific responses to what went well, what everyone (including you) learned or experienced, and what could have been done better. Observation over time may tell if lives are being transformed, but you must remember to look. Are the participants' lives different as a result of their experiences? Are their skills improving? Have they grown in their spiritual practices? Are they more loving?

These are not the final words on planning, but they should help to get you started. We welcome your comments and suggestions.