Seeing Differently: Sample Design

Adult Learning Module for Ministry

By Jennifer Giezendanner, CDEP

WHO: Class of adults learning to shift from a monologue to dialogue model of adult education.

Normally there are 10-12 participants and 3-4 staff. Often two members of the staff share the

teaching for this module, one who leads the discussion tasks and the other who leads the story-

telling and drama learning tasks. Note: this module can (and has been) simply be used as a scriptural

reflection for adults or even young people. That’s what makes it a good model!

WHY: The primary message from this design as a scriptural reflection addresses struggles we have

as humans in dealing with people who disagree or disapprove of us because of our faith or identity.

In this rather humorous story from Old Testament times, the participants are challenged to trust

God more and treat others with compassion.

For teachers of adults to shift from a monologue style of teaching to engaging in respectful dialogue

is a big paradigm shift. This is much easier for them to do if they have participated in, or at least

observed, a good model of the dialogue approach. It’s also easier to analyze an example of a design

that comes from another subject domain than adult education itself. This enables the meta-level

discussion of how a teacher designs the learning tasks in the sequence and with the features that they

exhibit.

WHERE: In a classroom, living room, other meeting room that has room for some moving

around. It could also be done outdoors on a mat. A Whiteboard for drawing the scene is helpful, but

it can also be drawn on a poster and laid out in the middle of the group seated in a circle, either on

chairs or mats. Wind can cause some trouble with the paper figures used, so masking tape or sticky-

tack is helpful. This design has proven to work well in a wide variety of cultures, with minimal

tweaks.

WHEN: As a stand-alone reflection for a Bible class or small group. Otherwise, we use it in our

basic adult education course on the first day, right after lunch. By then the participants are getting

acquainted with each other and this is a lively way to avoid a sleepy lull. It also provides a model that

the class continues to analyze for several other lessons on how to design a good sequence of

learning tasks. It moves quickly with good facilitation. We set aside 30 minutes for it.

HOW MUCH: The cost of a handout sheet per person and the creation of small cards, each

representing a character in the story – simple cardstock and marker. We either use a Whiteboard or

poster for the scenery.

WHAT LEARNING:

Consider one’s own reactions to unkind treatment.

Listen and watch the telling of a short Bible story.

Retell the story in small groups.

Discuss the odd things that happen in the story and what they notice about them.

Dramatize the story as a class.

Reconsider the relevance to the initial question. Plan how to react more appropriately based on the learning and pray about it.

WHAT TRANSFER:

Retrain one’s reactions from negative to positive when threatened or hurt.

Grow in faith in God’s goodness.

Set an example to others of a peaceful approach to provocation.

WHAT IMPACT:

People will treat each other with more respect as anger or other negative emotions are defused in homes, workplaces, communities, etc.

God will be trusted and honored in increasing domains of life.

HOW: On the following two pages we share the design of the learning tasks. These two pages also serve as the handout for the participants to follow. One of the staff dramatically tells the story in the Content section, using some small cardboard pictures of the characters. This story-teller must know the story well and feel comfortable moving around these pictures in relation to the “setting” map. A simple version of the story and pictures of the little cards are attached separately.

Seeing Differently: Sample Module for Debrief [30]

WHY: Often a situation looks different when we take God into consideration.

1. Connection: Launching Thought [3]

How do you feel or react when someone treats you unkindly, or even persecutes you? - Especially if they

dislike you because of your God?

Some participants share your thoughts on this.

2. Content: The Story [5]

Listen to this story from 2 Kings 6:8-23. Watch the storyteller and the visuals. (Do not look in your Bibles

now.)

3. Challenge: Look closer [15]

a. At your tables, choose one volunteer at your table to tell the story again. Others at the table can help your

storyteller. Use the visuals on the board as a reminder of the action of the story. (Do not use the Bible now.)

b. At your tables, discuss the following three questions. (Scribe takes notes on table group response sheet, provided.)

1. What did the enemies expect to happen? List as many things as you can.

2. List all the things that did happen that the enemies did not expect that day.

3. From what you observed in this story, what is God like? How do you know?

Let's share some of our answers now together in the whole class.

c. Let's replay the story once again, with everyone now taking a part to act it out. We’ll need: Elisha, his

servant, the king of Aram, the enemy army (the Arameans), some angels, the king of Israel, some Israelites.

You can think of the story in sections:

Section 1: Introduction and enemy plan

2: Morning in Dothan

3. In Samaria

4. Change: How do I react – now? [5]

Think again about our first question, “When someone treats you unkindly because of your God, how do you

feel or react?” How do you think this story might help you respond?

Share a few ideas.

Let's pray individually first, then a volunteer can close the prayer.

5. Closure: Remembering [2]

Write down on your Highlights sheet anything you especially want to remember from this lesson.

Copyright (c) 2015. By Jennifer Giezendanner

This work is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0

license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

Teacher’s Resource: Story from 2 Kings 6: 14-22 “Seeing Differently” Who was Elisha? (Prophet of Israel, mentored by Elijah, received Elijah's cloak and a double portion of God's Holy Spirit) During the time of God's prophet Elisha, the Israelites were being attacked by the Aramean army. Because of Elisha the Arameans were unsuccessful, so the Aramean king was angry and wanted to capture Elisha. One time when Elisha was staying in a town called Dothan the enemy king sent his army out to catch him. The enemy army - with chariots and horsemen - came out at night to surround the town where the prophet was. The next morning when Elisha's servant went outside, he was shocked to see the army, horses, and chariots surrounding them. “Oh, my master, what shall we do now?!” he cried out to Elisha. “Don't be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed, “Oh Lord, open my servant's eyes to see.” When the servant looked up he could see that all the hills around them were filled with horses and chariots of fire. When the enemy army began to close in on Elisha, Elisha prayed again, “Oh Lord, please make them blind.” - And God made them blind. Then Elisha went out to the enemy and said, “You have come to the wrong place, by the wrong road. Follow me and I'll show you the man you are looking for.” So Elisha led them to the capital city, Samaria, right to the king of Israel. Then Elisha prayed again, “Lord, open their eyes and let them see.” The Lord did this and they found they were right in the big city, surrounded by many of their enemies! When the Israelite king saw the enemy army he shouted out to Elisha, “Oh my father, shall I kill them, shall I kill them??” But Elisha answered, “Oh no, they are prisoners of war. Feed them and give them a drink. Then send them home again to their king.” So the king gave them a feast and sent them back to their own king. And the war between the two countries was stopped. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visuals Needed: Whiteboard or wall that can serve as background. Draw a few houses in “Dothan” in upper left corner, surrounded by hills, a road curving down from there to the lower right corner. Draw a “wall” in that lower right corner to represent the city of Samaria.

Use small paper rectangles with drawings of Elisha, his servant, the two kings (different crowns), swords to represent the enemy soldiers, angels, Israelites. Tape the angels up on the hills around Dothan. Tape wrong side up until servant can “see.” Draw a door on the back side of the paper with the servant, so when the door to the house opens, the servant is visible. Attach to the nearest house in Dothan on board. As the story progresses reveal the angels, add the Israelites and their king to the lower right corner (Samaria) to “welcome” the blind soldiers coming toward them. Note: Dothan was about 12 miles from Samaria, a nice long morning hike! Also, eating in the Middle East is a symbol of friendship. By sharing the feast, the soldiers were obliged to accept the friendship of the Israelites. This action served as a peace treaty, ending the war. Option: Serve snacks during the “feast” at the end of the story. Further option: The highlighted verse makes a good memory verse, 2 Kings 6:16. This can be broken down into sections, written on cardboard or heavy paper to post. Read together repeatedly. Remove the sections one by one until the whole verse is learned. This option is not included in the present design, however. Note to the teacher: Work quickly and surely through the story and other learning tasks. Limit your comments to the bare minimum and let the learners do the learning!

Copyright (c) 2015. By Jennifer Giezendanner This work is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0

license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/