Your goal: For your students to understand a biblical perspective of your subject and to apply it to the course content they have learned.

Your SMART goal: By June of this school year, for 90% of your students to be at or above standard (C or above) on applying a biblical perspective to course content, scores being taken from rubric-scored classroom assessments (like presentations, projects, and writing).

Your current reality?

• You have shifted your goal from your students learning course content to your students applying a biblical perspective to course content they have learned.
  
• You have adopted an initial SMART goal.
  
• You do not yet have classroom assessment data to determine if your goal is attainable.

What can you do? Take the following 10-item survey to make an initial assessment of how well your students understand and use a biblical perspective of course content. Before taking the survey, select 1 subject you teach and respond to the survey based on the students in that subject.

1. ___% of my students, when asked, can readily identify 3 or more biblical principles and explain how each principle is related to the subject I teach.
   
2. ___% of my students, when asked, can readily identify 3 or more biblical values and explain how each value is related to the subject I teach.
   
3. ___% of my students, when asked, can readily identify 3 or more Bible verses and explain how each verse is related to the subject I teach.
   
4. ____% of my students can readily give a 1-3 minute explanation of a biblical perspective of the subject I teach.
   
5. ___% of my students, when asked, can readily identify 3 or more issues and give a 30-60 second biblical perspective explanation of each.
   
6. ___% of my students when asked for an opinion regarding an issue will respond, “The Bible teaches…” (instead of “I think…”).
   
7. ___% of my students, when processing an issue with a fellow student, readily ask the following 4 questions: What do you mean by…? How do you know? How does the Bible help? How can I respond?
   
8. ___% of my students, when asked, can readily give reasonable answers to each of the following 3 questions: How can ___ help me learn about God and creation? How can I use ___ (subject/topic) wrongly? How does ___ (subject/topic) help me serve others?
   
9. ___% of my students, when asked, can readily identify 3 or more biblical perspective questions related to the subject I teach.
   
10. Based on my responses to items 1-9, ___% of my students are performing at or above standard (C or above) on understanding and applying a biblical perspective to the subject I teach.

Based on your response to survey item 10, review your SMART goal, revising it as necessary. Now, identify and take action steps to close the gap between the targeted percentage in your SMART goal and your current percentage. Start by exploring your options for action steps.

Your options? Here are 10—add some of your own to the list:

1. Teach your students 3 or more biblical principles related to your subject and have your students apply them to course content.
   
2. Teach your students 3 or more biblical values related to your subject and have your students apply them to course content.
   
3. Teach your students 3 or more Bible verses related to your subject and have your students apply them to course content.
   
4. Teach your students a biblical perspective of your subject area and ask your students to demonstrate their understanding through role play and on a short answer test essay.
   
5. Teach your students 3 or more issues related to your subject and a biblical perspective of each.
   
6. Teach your students, when addressing a key issue, to respond by saying “The Bible teaches….”
   
7. Teach your students, when processing an issue with fellow students, to ask the following 4 questions: What do you mean by…? How do you know? How does the Bible help? How can I respond?
   
8. Teach your students, within the context of your subject, answers to the following 3 questions: How can ___ help me learn about God and creation? How can I use ___ (subject/topic) wrongly? How does ___ (subject/topic) help me serve others?
   
9. Teach your students 3 or more biblical perspective questions, and routinely ask your students these questions.
   
10. Give a biblical perspective assessment 1 or more times each quarter, using the data to track progress towards your SMART goal.

Your “will do’s”? Select 1-2 action steps you are committed to taking to close the gap between the targeted percentage in your SMART goal and your current percentage. Got your 1-2 action steps selected? Good.

On a scale of 1-10 (10 being high), what is your commitment level for each action step?

• If you said 8 or lower, what would it take to move your commitment level to a 9 or 10?
  
• If you are unable to move your commitment level to a 9 or 10, consider revising your action step.

Take action. Now. To achieve your SMART goal. Help your students increase their understanding and use of a biblical perspective of the subject you teach. Do something. Today.

As a Christian school leader, 2 of your key goals are:

1. For your students to understand a biblical perspective of course content.
   
2. For your students to proficiently apply a biblical perspective to course content.

What can you do to achieve your 2 goals? Ask and answer questions. Ask and answer questions about understanding biblical perspective of course content and applying a biblical perspective to course content.

Here’s a list of 75 questions: Read them over. Identify 3 or more questions you want to ask yourself and get answers to. Then get answers to your 3 questions. Use your answers. Ask others your questions. (And repeat this process until you have asked and answered all 75 questions.)

1. What happens at a Christ-centered school?
   
2. What’s my mission?
   
3. How can I close the gap between the words of my mission and the reality of my classroom?
   
4. How can I equip students to impact the world for Christ?
   
5. What’s success? (A) To have students learn course content or (B) to have students who apply a biblical perspective to the course content they have learned?
   
6. What does success look like?
   
7. How can I help my students increase their understanding and use of a biblical perspective today?
   
8. How well do my students understand and use a biblical perspective of the subject(s) I teach? The content of my class(es)? Issues related to course content? Values related to course content?
   
9. What do my students need to learn? What Bible verses, biblical principles, and biblical values?
   
10. How committed am I to helping my students increase their understanding of a biblical perspective? To helping my students apply a biblical perspective to course content?
    
11. How can I demonstrate my commitment?
    
12. What value-added content can I provide?
    
13. How can I use class time? (How many minutes did I use to help students last week? How many minutes do students need? What will I do?)
    
14. To help my students, what do I need to keep doing, stop doing, and start doing?
    
15. How can I get the support encouragement, and accountability I need to help my students?
    
16. How can I use questions today?
    
17. Why use questions (to help students understand and use a biblical perspective)?
    
18. Why does God ask questions?
    
19. How valuable are questions?
    
20. What does using questions look like?
    
21. What questions should my students respond to?
    
22. What questions should my students ask?
    
23. What makes a good question good?
    
24. What question do I want to ask my students?
    
25. What do I want my students to learn by responding to questions?
    
26. How can I help my students sincerely respond to questions?
    
27. What might happen if my students sincerely responded to questions like…?
    
28. How does learning ___ help me appreciate God and His creation?
    
29. Who am I?
    
30. How does learning ___ help me develop as a person?
    
31. What’s wrong with the world?
    
32. What’s the solution?
    
33. How does the Bible help me?
    
34. How can I use my learning to serve?
    
35. How can I be a wise steward?
    
36. What does it mean to lead a meaningful life?
    
37. How can I use assessment today?
    
38. How can assessment help my students increase their understanding and use of a biblical perspective?
    
39. What type of assessment can I use?
    
40. What makes a good assessment good?
    
41. How can I make my assessment even better?
    
42. How proficiently do I want my students to use a biblical perspective?
    
43. How much practice do my students need?
    
44. What makes a good rubric good?
    
45. How can I use rubrics?
    
46. How can I develop an effective rubric?
    
47. How can I use data to help students learn?
    
48. How committed am I to the following? Every student in every subject in every unit proficiently demonstrating an understanding and/or application of a biblical perspective to complete a classroom assessment.
    
49. How can I meet student needs today?
    
50. How can I help my students see the importance of understanding and using a biblical perspective?
    
51. How can I help my students understand that there’s biblical perspective of course content?
    
52. How can I help my students understand what effective application of a biblical perspective looks like on a classroom assessment?
    
53. How can I help my students understand how I teach from a biblical perspective?
    
54. What vocabulary words do my students need to learn?
    
55. What engaging instructional strategies will help my students?
    
56. How can I give my students opportunities to think through answers for themselves?
    
57. How much time during class do my students need for reflection?
    
58. How can I design assessments so that my students connect a biblical perspective with their lives?
    
59. How can I give my students more practice in using a biblical perspective?
    
60. To help my students increase their understanding and use of a biblical perspective, what 3 things will I do?
    
61. What 3 biblical values will I model?
    
62. What 3 questions will I train them to ask?
    
63. What 3 questions will I ask them?
    
64. What 3 Bible verses will I help them memorize, understand, and apply?
    
65. What 3 biblical principles will I help them understand and apply?
    
66. What 3 skills will I help them improve?
    
67. What 3 types of assessment will I use?
    
68. What 3 engaging instructional strategies will I use?
    
69. What 3 student learning needs will I meet?
    
70. What 3 ways will I decorate my room?
    
71. What 3 things will I put on my course handouts?
    
72. What 3 classroom guidelines will I use?
    
73. What 3 ways will I invite parents to be involved?
    
74. What 3 things do I want from my principal or colleagues?
    
75. What 3 things will I do to stay focused?

Thanks for reading the list of 75 questions. Now it’s time for action. To take action, answer 4 questions:

1. Which 3 or more questions are you going to ask yourself?
   
2. By when are you going to have answers to your questions?
   
3. By when are you going to use your answers?
   
4. By when are you going to ask others your questions?

Take action. Take action to help your students understand and use a biblical perspective of course content. Ask and answer questions. Today.

Your daughter is having her 7th birthday.

You carefully select her present, one that you know she’ll enjoy. One that says, “I love you.” You put the present in a box, along with the batteries, so she can enjoy it right away.

You wrap her present is special wrapping paper that has characters from Winnie the Pooh on it. She likes Winnie the Pooh. Seeing this paper will make her happy and anticipate the gift. On a bright blue card, you write: “Kim, happy birthday! We love you.—Mom and Dad.” You put the card on the present where she’ll see it, read it, and feel special.

You take the present and put it where she can see it during her birthday dinner. After dinner you give it to her, saying, “Happy birthday, Kim!” You watch as Kim tears open the present and squeals with delight. She gives you a big hug

“Yes,” you say, “I know how to give my daughter a present. But what I want to know is how teaching a biblical perspective is like giving a present.”

Well, let me ask you a question: What difference does it make if you don’t know how to give a present?

• If you don’t carefully select a gift?
  
• If you don’t include the batteries?
  
• If you don’t wrap it?
  
• If you don’t put a card on it?
  
• If you don’t put it where she can enjoy anticipating it?
  
• If you don’t watch as she opens it?

What difference does it make if you hand her an unwrapped present, walk away without speaking, turn the TV on, and watch a program? A big difference. You know it does.

Now let me ask you this: What difference does it make if you make teaching a biblical perspective like giving a present?

• If you carefully select a topic that your students are interested in?
  
• If you include “batteries,” that is, everything your students need so they can apply the biblical perspective to the topic?
  
• If you wrap the lesson in an intriguing question, a case study, or a small group discussion?
  
• If you take 3 steps to increase student anticipation of understanding and using a biblical perspective?
  
• If you share with your students 2 heartfelt reasons why you want them to apply a biblical perspective to this topic?
  
• If you take a sincere interest in your students during the lesson?

So, how is teaching a biblical perspective like giving a present? You tell me. Then use your answer. Today.

---

Bruce Young, MTW missionary
What does the Christian teacher posses that enables him/her to not only teach and explain truths, but to live out and model solid Biblical values? And how does he train himself/herself to do this? Underlying my question is the conviction that we need to be daily believing in the Gospel of God's grace where we see ourselves to be under God's radical grace. The minute we get away from this, we become judgmental, performance oriented rather than dependent and humble, cold, removed, etc. The more we walk in line with the truth of the Gospel the more the gap is closed.

“How can we help them get this better?” You’re in your classroom, thinking.

“We model Christlike behavior. We talk with students about our faith. We do devotions, Bible class, and chapel. Students get this part of a biblical perspective—they encourage each other, help lead devotions and chapel, and participate in Bible class discussions.

“But they don’t really seem to understand that they can use a biblical perspective in math and English and all their other subjects. How can we get them to understand this?”

Good news: Your students can increase their understanding of a biblical perspective of their subjects.

How? By using minutes. By using minutes during class. When your students have time in class to learn something, they learn it. There are always “good reasons” to not provide class time to help your students understand a biblical perspective. But remember, "good reasons" are the enemy of "best reasons." Covering course content is a "good reason." Helping students understand and use a biblical perspective of course content is a "best reason."

Answer 3 questions:

1. During your last unit, how many minutes were your students involved in learning a biblical perspective of unit content?
   
2. How many minutes do you students need to really understand a biblical perspective of unit content?
   
3. What’s your next step?

Use your answers. Use your answers when developing your next unit. Even better—use your answers today. Commit yourself to providing class time in each unit for your students increase their understanding of a biblical perspective of unit content.

To help your students increase their understanding and use of a Biblical perspective of course content, answer 3 of the following questions:

1. What 3 behaviors will you model?
   
2. What 3 questions will you train students to ask?
   
3. What 3 questions will you ask students?
   
4. What 3 Bible verses will you help students memorize, understand, and apply?
   
5. What 3 Biblical principles will you help students understand and apply?
   
6. What 3 skills will you help students improve?
   
7. What 3 types of assessment will you use?
   
8. What 3 engaging instructional strategies will you use?
   
9. What 3 student learning needs will you meet?
   
10. What 3 ways will you decorate your room?
    
11. What 3 things will you put on your course handouts?
    
12. What 3 classroom guidelines will you use?
    
13. What 3 ways will you involve parents?
    
14. What 3 things do you want from your principal or colleagues?
    
15. What 3 things will you do to stay focused?

Now that you have answered 3 questions, use your answers. Use one of your answers today. Right now.

Remember, success is using your answers to help your students, not having the answers in your head.

Read More...

You’re anew teacher at Faithful Christian School. Your students come from Christian homes, say they are Christians, and regularly attend church, Sunday school, and youth group. They behave well, encourage each other, and focus on learning. You like teaching at Faithful Christian, and parents thank you for being a positive role model.

In your English class, you help your students grapple with romanticism and realism, and you ask them to use realism to evaluate romanticism. This involves upper level thinking, and your students do well.

Next, you ask your students to use a biblical perspective to evaluate romanticism, and they don’t do as well as. You are puzzled, particularly since both assignments required a similar skill set. You wonder, “Why didn’t they get it?”

You reflect you what you did. “I used direct instruction to teach romanticism and realism, had them analyze several pieces of literature which reflect each perspective, had them role play each perspective, and finally had them complete a Venn diagram regarding the two perspectives And they got it. They understood romanticism, and they know a lot about the Bible, so why didn’t they get it?”

Why didn’t they get it? In the second example, students did not:

• Receive direct instruction of a biblical perspective of the issues romanticism seeks to address.
  
• Analyze relevant Christian doctrines and Bible passages.
  
• Role play a biblical perspective.
  
• Complete a Venn diagram regarding romanticism and a biblical perspective.

What enabled students to succeed on the first assessment was not provided to students for the second assessment. Please remember that being a Christian who behaves well does not mean that a student proficiently understands and can use a biblical perspective of course content.

Christian teachers are committed to helping their students develop a high level of Biblical literacy, to helping their students understand things like:

1. God’s overarching story of creation-fall-redemption-restoration
2. Bible stories
3. The books of the Bible
4. The Cultural Mandate (Gen. 1.28-30)
5. The 10 Commandments (Ex. 20.1-17)
6. The Beatitudes (Matt. 5.3-11)
7. The plan of salvation (John 3.16)
8. The Great Commission Matt. 28.18-20)
9. The fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5.22-23)
   

Question: How committed are you to Biblical literacy?

Christian teachers are also committed to helping their students develop a high level of Biblical perspective literacy, to helping their students understand:

1. Answers to the big questions of life
2. Answers to difficult questions
3. The relevant Biblical principles that apply to what they study
4. How a given unit and/or lesson fits into God’s overarching story of creation-fall-redemption-restoration

Question: How committed are you to Biblical perspective literacy?

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