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Advertising on tests

Jacob — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:24:55 +0000

I found an interesting story today about a math teacher who is selling advertising space on the tests he gives to his students. $10 for a quiz, $20 for a chapter test, $30 for a semester final. The money raised pays for the printing costs of the test, which would otherwise cost almost $200 more than his copying budget.

While I’m cautious about commercializing education, I think this is a good idea because it allows the community to get more involved in sponsoring education. The idea could sour if the advertising becomes a distraction to the student while taking their test.

At BYU, they have a testing center which allows students to take their exams over a range of dates. Often the last day the exam is offered is considered a late day in which a fee is charged. The late fees help departments to offset the cost of the exam. Perhaps the BYU testing center should offer exam advertising to as an alternative to late fees.

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Teaching focus on people

Jacob — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 08:12:54 +0000

Today I realized that I need to adjusting my teaching style a bit. My last Sunday School lesson focused on methods of living the Gospel. I guess a lot of this comes from the fact that I’m an engineer, and I like seeing patterns and formulas in things. The focus on Gospel application isn’t bad, but I think I should build upon it.

I want to focus more on people. I want to focus on the people in the Gospel stories, and what they might have thought in their experiences. I also want to focus on the people learning the Gospel stories, and focus specifically on their needs, strengths, and learning tendencies.

One of the things I’m going to have to do to accomplish this is to learn how people learn, and what they need most from the Gospel, and work to teach them those things. I can ask people, “What was the most recently Gospel lesson you learned about, and what about it made it memorable?”

I hope that giving my lessons a people emphasis will help my teaching become more effective.

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Talking in church

Jacob — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 07:56:28 +0000

Recently I’ve been thinking about what makes a talk at church, or a lesson at church, effective. I’m sure there are many contributing factors to effective teaching, but there is one that I want to bring up: believing you will change someone.

You have to have faith, to truly believe that someone will listen to you, and that someone will be changed for the better because of what you say. Of course, to have faith in something requires action. So your preparation must be aligned with the focus of making the learners better people. Pray to know what to teach and how to teach it. Teach the doctrines to impact lives, and teach, truly believing that it will happen.

Where there is no vision, the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18) If the teacher doesn’t have a vision of people’s lives changing for the better, it won’t happen. If the teacher doesn’t have this vision, then the most people will get from the teachings is a smug feeling, which won’t last.

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Respectful Sunday School teaching

Jacob — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 12:13:38 +0000

Almost as bad as the students who share too much, are the teachers who share too much. The over-verbose student shows disrespect for his fellow students by stealing and misusing their time. The teacher can likewise show disrespect when he steals unjustly the time of others. This can especially be the case in sensitive situations such as Sunday School.

Firstly, the Sunday School teacher can show disrespect to God when he puts his own theories or teachings above those which are directed by Him Omnipotent, the Holy Spirit, or His inspired leaders. I worry when a teacher says, “We aren’t going to use the manual much today.” A humble teacher will frequently use the teacher’s guide, the scriptures, or other direction by the Spirit when teaching.

Secondly, the teacher can show respect to the students by allowing them ample time to ponder the subject material and share, appropriately, any insight they may have on the subject. Teachers should not worry about a bit of silence when asking questions. With this silence, the teacher respectfully allows the student to think about the subject material and learn through their own reflection, and through the Spirit.

Lastly, teachers should show respect for other teachers, as well as the students, by ending their class on time. When the teacher exceeds the allotted time, they, pridefully, demonstrate that they are more important then the following teacher.

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