How to Use Questions Effectively in Bible Class

Questions by immrchris from freeimages.com

Questions by immrchris from freeimages.com

In a previous post I wrote about my 7 Bible class teaching aims.  In this post I want to think about how to use questions effectively.  I am still a learning and am not an expert on this topic.  But here are some of my thoughts and I hope you can share yours to better aid myself.

Jesus used questions throughout his ministry as a part of his teaching method.  I think questions help your students actually think and participate in the lesson.

Here are 10 ways to use questions effectively.  I also share some example questions from a couple of lessons from the early chapters of Exodus.

  1. Use questions to begin class.  You set the tone for participation and creative thinking at the beginning of class.  If I want to have a good class discussion, I will always try to begin with questions.
    1. What is the best trip you have ever been on in your life?
    2. Considering your past now, what did you think about yourself in high school and college?
  2. Use questions that are relevant and focused on the students current lives or the current world.
    1. We break Moses’ life into 3 stages.  What are some of the stages of our lives?  How does God work to mature us through these stages?
  3. Use questions that create a level of controversy to get the students to thinking.  I personally do not like much controversy or tension, so I don’t want to use outlandish methods, or create doctrinal disputes, but I often will try to put forward questions that allow listeners to agree and disagree.  The teacher can then let the students share their thoughts.
    1. Did Moses act rightly or wrongly in murdering the Egyptian?
  4. Use questions that have been provoked in your mind from the text or subject.  Be honest about your questions and share them with the class.  They will often help you learn more.
    1. What are some key elements in our lives that we need to have that allows us to be molded by God like Moses was molded through his years?
  5. Use questions that help the students consider the thoughts, emotions, reactions, motives, and attitudes of the characters in the Bible stories.  
    1. Would you say the Egyptians were insecure?  What happens when people become insecure?
  6. Use questions that are specific rather than abstract and broad in nature.   
    1. If you were Moses’ mother, what emotions would you experience?
    2. After years in Pharaoh’s palace who did Moses identify with as a person?  What do you think caused this identity?
  7. Use questions and be comfortable with the silence of the class.  One mistake teachers often make is asking a question, but only pausing for a brief time for a response.  The teacher needs to be comfortable pausing and waiting for the class’s response.
  8. Use questions like Jesus as your method of allowing students to discover truth and learn content.  One of my favorite ways to teach is to have a text that you can ask good questions from and the students are eager to discuss and learn.  When this happens, a wonderful dynamic occurs in the classroom and everyone pools their knowledge and the teacher and students alike end up discovering messages and concepts from the text.  Teachers have to be willing to let the subject often go where they did not intend, but more learning often occurs.
    1. How does the story of the midwives really serve as a small version of the entire Exodus message?
    2. What does this story teach us about God’s time frame?
  9. Use questions that help the students apply the lessons learned.
    1. What could we learn from Pharaoh’s daughter?
    2. How does fear affect our lives?
  10. Use questions that take a quote from the book or from the text and ask what is the author meaning or do they agree with the statement.
    1. What is meant by the statement, “who did not know about Joseph” (v. 8)?  What lessons are in this thought?

What ways do you use questions effectively to teach?

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  1. […] significant preparation should go into the handout.  The key is developing good questions (see my post on this topic.)  So I primarily use groups about once a quarter, because they help me accomplish […]

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