Close the Gap Now Tutorials

Difficult conversation?

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2013-01-07T08:09:53+09:00

Looking for a model to use when having a difficult conversation? Try this one:

Heart (How is your heart?)
Be aware (What do you need to be aware of?)
Encourage safety (How can you encourage safety?)
Share, Ask, Listen, Take (Now what?)

How can you empower others even more effectively?

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2011-05-21T17:42:46+09:00

Through Christian coaching, you can empower others to pursue God’s call. To get an idea of how you can empower others even more effectively, complete the following self-assessment that addresses coaching beliefs, skills, and process (download). Write the number in the blank that comes closest to representing how true a given statement is for you right now. Use the following scale:

4: Consistently • 3: Usually • 2: Sometimes • 1: Rarely

The coach’s heart
___ I trust that the Holy Spirit is working in the heart of every believer.
___ I believe others can define and achieve their goals.
___ I target motivation, not information.
___ I empower others to take responsibility.

LIFE skills: Listen • Inquire • Focus • Encourage
___ I’m interested in what others say.
___ When listening, I look interested.
___ When listening, I sound interested.
___ I target understanding, not judging.
___ I don’t talk more than 20% of the time.

___ I ask open-ended questions.
___ I make inviting statements.
___ I don’t ask “why” questions.
___ I don’t give advice.

___ I focus others on developing their own SMART action steps.
___ I don’t suggest action steps.

___ I encourage others through clarification.
___ I encourage others through affirmation.
___ I encourage others through restatement.
___ I encourage others through “encouragers.”
___ I don’t criticize.

GROW process: Goal • Reality • Options • Will do
___ I’m clear on what the other person wants to accomplish for the session.
___ I don’t suggest goals for the session.

___ I empower others to explore the current reality regarding their goals.
___ I don’t describe others’ reality.

___ I empower others to brainstorm options for taking action on their goals.
___ I don’t suggest options.

___ I empower others to develop 2-3 SMART action steps per goal.
___ I don’t advise others on what actions to take.

What makes a good meeting good?

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2011-05-11T08:35:05+09:00

Meetings are an important tool you can use to achieve your mission. I’ve participated in good meetings. If you want to participate in good meetings more often, answer this question: What makes a good meeting good? Good meetings are on TARGET in terms of:

Team purpose
Assessment
Results
Guidelines
Effective facilitation
Types of meetings.

To get an idea of how you can make your meetings even more effective, complete the following assessment (download). Use the following scale:

4: Strongly Agree • 3: Agree • 2: Disagree • 1: Strongly Disagree

Team purpose
___ Our team’s purpose is documented.
___ Our team’s purpose targets mission achievement.
___ Our team’s purpose is understood by each team member.
___ Our team’s purpose statement is user-friendly.
___ Our team’s purpose is used as the filter for what gets on the agenda.

Assessment
___ We assess completion of assigned tasks.
___ We assess meeting effectiveness in terms of team purpose.
___ We assess meeting effectiveness in terms of achievement of targeted results.
___ We assess meeting effectiveness in terms of abiding by meeting guidelines.
___ We use assessment at each meeting.
___ Each team member is involved in assessment.

Results
___ We identify results for a given meeting before the meeting.
___ We use the SMART goal format to list our targeted meetings results on our agenda.
___ Our targeted meeting results target mission achievement.
___ We achieve our targeted results at each meeting.

Guidelines
___ We developed our meeting guidelines collaboratively.
___ Our guidelines define our desired team dynamics.
___ Our guidelines support the achievement of our team purpose and our mission.
___ Each team member abides by the guidelines.

Effective facilitation
___ The facilitation focuses our team on achieving the team purpose
___ The facilitation focuses our team on achieving the targeted results.

Types of meetings
___ Our team members understand that there are different types of meetings.
___ We use a schedule of different types of meetings to address tactics, strategy, and vision.

Now, ask yourself 4 questions about the data:

How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
What satisfies/frustrates me about the data?
To improve your meetings, which 1-2 of the 6 TARGET areas could you address?
What will I do?

Pursue excellence. Improve your meetings Today.

How can you more effectively target Biblical perspective?

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2011-04-14T08:51:33+09:00

To get an idea of how you can more effectively target Biblical perspective to help your students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, complete the following self-assessment for 1 class you teach: ___________________ (name of class). Next, use your self-assessment data to develop action plans.

Rate each statement below. Use the following scale:
4: Strongly Agree • 3: Agree • 2: Disagree • 1: Strongly Disagree

___ My target is for students to apply a Biblical perspective to course content they have mastered (not to master course content).
___ My unit plans and lesson plans demonstrate that my target is for students to apply a Biblical perspective to course content they have mastered (not to master course content).
___ I provide value-added content by teaching students new Biblical perspective content and/or helping them make new connections between what they are studying and Bible knowledge they already have.
___ I am committed to targeting Biblical perspective.

Now, ask yourself 4 questions about the data:

How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
What excites/concerns me about the data?
What can I do to more effectively target Biblical perspective?
What will I do?

Target Biblical perspective. Today.

*Here are additional resources that can help you target Biblical perspective:

How can you manage yourself more effectively?

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2011-04-14T08:50:34+09:00

By focusing, working smart, and pursuing excellence. To get an idea of how you can manage yourself more effectively, take the following assessment (download). Write the number in the blank that comes closest to representing how true a given statement is for you right now. Use the following scale:

4: Consistently • 3: Usually • 2: Sort of • 1: Rarely

Focus
___ I focus on joining God in what he is already doing.
___ I focus on doing right things, before I focus on doing things right.
___ I focus on my God-given mission.
___ I have defined my mission in terms of SMART goals.
___ I understand how my mission, goals, and daily activities are connected.

Work smart
___ I ask God for help.
___ I think big. For example, I ask myself questions like “What 3 dreams do I want to realize?”
___ I think clearly.
___ I think outside the box.
___ I document my goals.
___ I determine the actions steps I will take to achieve my goals.
___ I take SMART action.
___ I schedule my action steps.
___ I schedule my big goals first.
___ I plan backwards.
___ I track my progress on my goals.
___ I reflect on my goals.
___ I find better ways to achieve my goals.

Pursue excellence
___ I pursue my goals.
___ Before I start working on my goals, I get the resources I need.
___ I get the support, encouragement, and accountability I need to achieve my goals.
___ I pay attention to my goals (because I know that what I pay attention to gets done).
___ I target my strengths.
___ I eliminate my frustrations.

Now, ask yourself 5 questions about the data:

How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
What excites/concerns me about the data?
What helps me increase my self-management?
What hinders me from increasing my self-management?
What will I do?

Work smart. Increase your self-management. Today.

Want to serve more effectively? Get focused!

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2011-04-14T08:49:57+09:00

You want to serve God more effectively. So do I. God has done great things for me, and out of gratitude, I want serve even more effectively.

One thing that helps me increase my effectiveness is focusing. Focusing on God, on what He’s calling me to do, on what’s going on, and on action steps I need to take so I can serve effectively.

Questions help me focus. Questions like:

What’s your organization’s God-given mission?
What’s it take to achieve your organization’s God-given mission?
How can you measure mission achievement?
How can you identify key performance indicators?
How can you use key performance indicators to achieve your mission?

To get started, how about discussing the above questions at a team meeting?

Get focused. Reflect on some questions. Today.

What 3 things can you do to help your students?

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2010-09-16T16:02:58+09:00

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

What 3 behaviors will you model?
What 3 questions will you train students to ask?
What 3 questions will you ask students?
What 3 Bible verses will you help students memorize, understand, and apply?
What 3 Biblical principles will you help students understand and apply?
What 3 skills will you help students improve?
What 3 types of assessment will you use?
What 3 engaging instructional strategies will you use?
What 3 student learning needs will you meet?
What 3 ways will you decorate your room?
What 3 things will you put on your course handouts?
What 3 classroom guidelines will you use?
What 3 ways will you involve parents?
What 3 things do you want from your principal or colleagues?
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.

To enhance your organization's improvement system, take this self-assessment

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2010-05-17T22:28:13+09:00

You want improve your organization’s improvement system. You want to target things like stakeholder involvement, staff focus, and staff accountability. And you want to start by analyzing what’s currently going on.

Question: What can you do?

Answer: You can take the following self-assessment (customized for a school). Rate each item, using the following scale:

4: Strongly agree • 3: Agree • 2: Disagree • 1: Strongly disagree

Stakeholder involvement
___ Students support the improvement plans.
___ Parents support the improvement plans.
___ Staff support the improvement plans.
___ Leaders support the improvement plans.

___ Students are involved in implementing the improvement plans.
___ Parents are involved in implementing the improvement plans.
___ Staff are involved in implementing the improvement plans.
___ Leaders are involved in implementing the improvement plans.
___ Stakeholders support and are involved in implementing the improvement plans.

Staff focus
___ Staff talk about organizational improvement.
___ Staff make proposals regarding organizational improvement.
___ Staff work on organizational improvement.
___ Staff hold each other accountable for organizational improvement.
___ Staff are disappointed when improvement goals are not reached.
___ Staff focus on organizational improvement.

Mission-driven improvement
___ Our improvement plans are documented.
___ Our improvement plans target mission achievement.
___ Our improvement plans drive organizational improvement.
___ Our organization’s improvement is driven by documented plans that target mission achievement.

Improvement plans guide work
___ Staff understand the improvement plans.
___ Staff know which improvement plans they are to implement.
___ Staff can explain their role in a given improvement plan.
___ Staff implement the improvement plans.
___ Improvement plans guide staff work.

Staff accountability
___ Leaders hold staff accountable to implement the improvement plans.
___ Staff hold each other accountable to implement the improvement plans.
___ Staff hold themselves accountable to implement the improvement plans.
___ Staff are held accountable to implement the improvement plans.

Now, ask yourself 5 questions about the data:

How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
What satisfies/concerns me about the data?
In terms of enhancing organizational improvement, how would I prioritize the 5 areas?
What might happen if I addressed the top priority area?
What will I do?

Pursue excellence. Enhance your organization’s improvement system. Today.

To learn more about enhancing organizational improvement, explore these 6 questions

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2010-05-17T22:26:38+09:00

You want to close the gap. You know that enhancing your organization’s improvement system can help. So, you want to learn more.

Question: How can you learn more enhancing organizational improvement?

Answer: By exploring the following list of 6 questions.

How well does your staff understand what’s involved in organizational improvement?
How involved are your stakeholders in organizational improvement?
How focused is your staff on organizational improvement?
What drives your organization’s improvement?
To what extent do improvement plans guide staff work?
To what extent are staff held accountable for improvement plans?

*To learn more, take this self-assessment.

How's your relationship with God?

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-07-29T14:28:00+09:00

You’re a Christian serving in a school. In response to Christ’s love and as the foundation for your ministry at school, you want to have a growing relationship with God.

Question: How’s your relationship with God?

To find out, take the following self-assessment. Rate each item, using the following scale:

4: Strongly agree • 3: Agree • 2: Disagree • 1: Strongly disagree

___ I understand the Bible, God’s Word, and allow it to guide my life (2 Tim. 3:16).
___ I love for God and others (Matt. 22.37-39).
___ I bear the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5.22-23).

___ I practice spiritual disciplines (for example, meditation, prayer, fasting, Bible study, service, confession, and worship).
___ I participate in Christ’s Body, the Church (1 Cor. 12.7, 12.12-13; Heb. 10.25).
___ I make disciples (Matt. 28.18-20).
___ I care for God’s creation (Gen. 1.28).

___ My relationship with God is growing.

Now, ask yourself 4 questions about the data:

How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
How do I feel about the data?
What helps me have a growing relationship with God? What hinders me?
Which item will I start with?

Take action. Make sure you relationship with God is growing. Today.

* To further explore how you can continue pursue a growing relationship with God, click here.

How can your teachers help your students make connections?

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-07-03T07:12:00+09:00

To get an idea of how your teachers can more effectively help students what they study and what the Bible teaches, complete the following assessment (download). Next, use your assessment data to develop action plans. For each statement below, circle the appropriate rating. Use the following scale:

4: Consistently • 3: Usually • 2: Sometimes • 1: Rarely

Worldview: To help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, my teachers…
___ Articulate Biblical answers to the big questions of life.
___ Explain the creation-fall-redemption-fulfillment/restoration framework.
___ Articulate a Christ-centered philosophy of education.
___ Articulate the implications of a Christ-centered philosophy of education.
___ Articulate that the target is students understanding and then applying a Biblical perspective to the course content and skills, and ultimately to their lives.
___ Articulate what student understanding and application of a Biblical perspective is/is not.

Department level: To help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, my teachers…
___ Develop, document, and explain a Biblical perspective of their academic discipline(s).
___ Develop, document, and explain content and skill standards/benchmarks.
___ Articulate a Biblical perspective of the content and skills they teach.
___ Develop, document, and explain enduring Biblical perspective understandings.

Unit level: To help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, my teachers…
___ Design and ask effective essential questions.
___ Document and teach students Biblical content.
___ Document and teach students skills.
___ Design and give a variety of quality formative and summative authentic assessments.
___ Use rubrics to clarify expectations, assess student learning, and provide feedback.
___ Give students specific, timely feedback.
___ Use assessment data to modify instruction.

Lesson level: To help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, my teachers…
___ Use effective lesson plan models.
___ Use effective instructional strategies.
___ Identify and meet student learning needs.

Collaboration: To help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, my teachers…
___ Participate in professional learning communities that set student learning goals.
___ Participate in professional learning communities that provide support, encouragement, and accountability for achieving student learning goals through mentoring, coaching, and group interaction.
___ Contribute to a bank of quality instructional materials.
___ Lead Biblical perspective workshops for other teachers.

Now, ask yourself 5 questions about the data:

How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
What’s encouraging/discouraging about the data?
In terms of helping teachers help students make connections, how would I prioritize the 5 areas?
What can I do to address the area I ranked #1?
What will I do?

Target Biblical perspective. Help your teachers help your students connect what they study and with the Bible teaches. Today.

* This self-assessment is based on a set of Biblical perspective teacher training standards.

To get started with using questions, take this self-assessment

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-07-28T08:24:00+09:00

You want your students to connect what they study, the Bible, and their lives. You’ve heard that asking questions is an effective way to help students make connections. And you want to use questions to help your students.

Question: How can you get started?

Answer: By taking the following self-assessment. Rate each item, using the following scale:

4: Strongly agree • 3: Agree • 2: Disagree • 1: Strongly disagree

___ I want my students to connect what they study, the Bible, and their lives. (Watch)
___ My students connect what they study, the Bible, and their lives. (Read)
___ I understand how using questions can help my students connect what they study, the Bible, and their lives. (Read)

___ I understand why God asks questions. (Read, Discuss)
___ My students would say that I value asking them questions. (Read, Discuss)
___ I can give a colleague a clear description of what using questions looks like. (Read)

___ I know what questions I want my students to respond to. (Read, Discuss)
___ When faced with an issue, my students know what questions to ask. (Read, Discuss)
___ I can identify and explain 6 characteristics of a good question. (Read, Discuss)
___ I ask good questions. (Read, Discuss)
___ I ask my students questions about creation-fall-redemption-restoration. (Read, Watch)
___ I have documented the questions I want to ask my students. (Read, Discuss)

___ I know what I want my students to learn when I ask a question. (Read, Discuss)
___ My students sincerely respond to the questions I ask. (Read, Discuss)
___ I use questions effectively. (Read, Discuss)

___ I ask questions to help my students connect what they study, the Bible, and their lives.
___ I want to learn more about using questions to help my students make connections.
___ I am committed to helping my students connect what they study, the Bible, and their lives.

Now, ask yourself 4 questions about the data:

How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
What satisfies/concerns me about the data?
Which items would it be helpful to learn more about?
What will I do?

Additional resources:

Video: Why ask questions?
Tutorial: Use questions to help students understand and apply a Biblical perspective
99 questions
Ask questions—help your students increase their understanding and application of a Biblical perspective
Teacher and student testimonials regarding how using questions helps
To learn more about using questions, explore these 11 questions

To better meet your students' learning needs, take this self-assessment

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-07-28T08:36:00+09:00

You want your students to increase their understanding and application of a Biblical perspective. You know that 1 way to do this is by meeting your students’ learning needs.

Question: How can you get started?

Answer: By taking the following self-assessment. Rate each item, using the following scale:

4: Strongly agree • 3: Agree • 2: Disagree • 1: Strongly disagree

___ I know what learning needs are. (Read)
___ I use an effective process for addressing my students’ learning needs. (Watch, Read, Discuss)

___ My students understand the importance of Biblical perspective. (Read, Discuss)
___ My students understand that a Biblical perspective can be applied to course content. (Read, Discuss)
___ My students know what applying a Biblical perspective looks like. (Read, Discuss)
___ My students can explain how I teach from a Biblical perspective. (Read, Discuss)
___ My students understand the vocabulary words necessary for understanding and applying a Biblical perspective. (Read, Discuss)

___ My students experience engaging instructional strategies. (Read, Discuss 1, Discuss 2)
___ My students have opportunities to think through answers for themselves. (Read, Discuss)
___ My students have time in class to reflect. (Read, Discuss)
___ My assessments require my students to connect a Biblical perspective with their lives. (Read)
___ My students get regular practice in applying a Biblical perspective to what they study. (Read, Discuss)

___ To help my students increase their understanding and application of a Biblical perspective, I meet their learning needs.
___ I want to learn more about meeting my students’ learning needs.
___ I am committed to helping my students increase their understanding and application of a Biblical perspective.

Now, ask yourself 4 questions about the data:

How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
What excites/frutrates me about the data?
Which items do I want to learn more about?
What will I do?

Additional resources:

Tutorial: Meet your students’ learning needs
Use the IDEAL process to help your students internalize a Biblical perspective
Action plan bank for meeting student learning needs
To meet your students' learning needs, explore 12 questions

To get started with targeting Biblical perspective, take this self-assessment

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-08-04T08:29:00+09:00

You want your students to understand and apply a Biblical perspective—to connect what they study, the Bible, and their lives. So, you want to target Biblical perspective.

Question: How can you get started?

Answer: By taking the following self-assessment. Rate each item, using the following scale:

4: Strongly agree • 3: Agree • 2: Disagree • 1: Strongly disagree

___ I understand what happens in Christ-centered education.
___ My students love Jesus and live for Him.

___ I understand the mission of Christian education.
___ I understand what constitutes success in Christian education
___ I can clearly explain to a colleague what “application of a Biblical perspective to course content” means and doesn’t mean?

___ I can clearly explain to a colleague what role connections play in Christian education.
___ I have documented what Biblical teaching connects to what my students are studying.
___ I have documented the Biblical principles I want my students to understand and apply.

___ I am taking action to eliminate what hinders me from helping my students increase application of a Biblical perspective.
___ I am taking action to increasingly target Biblical perspective.

Now, ask yourself 4 questions about the data:

How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
What excites/concerns me about the data?
Which items would it be helpful to learn more about?
What will I do?

Resources:

Videos
To learn more about targeting Biblical perspective, explore these 12 questions
Testimonials
Tutorials

To get started with using assessment, take this self-assessment

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-07-27T23:29:00+09:00

You want your students to apply a Biblical perspective to what they study. You’ve heard that assessment can help. So, you want to use assessment.

Question: How can you get started?

Answer: By taking the following self-assessment. Rate each item, using the following scale:

4: Strongly agree • 3: Agree • 2: Disagree • 1: Strongly disagree

___ I understand how assessment impacts student application of a Biblical perspective.
___ I know what type of assessment to use to help my students apply a Biblical perspective.

___ I know what makes a good assessment good.
___ The assessments I give my students are good.
___ I work to make my assessments even better.

___ My students proficiently apply a Biblical perspective to what they study.
___ My students apply creation-fall-redemption-restoration to what they study.
___ My students get sufficient practice in applying a Biblical perspective to what they study.

___ The rubrics I use to score my assessments are good.
___ I use my rubrics effectively.
___ I use my assessment data to modify instruction.

___ I use assessment to help my students apply a Biblical perspective.
___ I have a clear vision for using assessment to help my students apply a Biblical perspective.
___ I want to learn more about using assessment to help my students apply a Biblical perspective.
___ I am committed to helping my students apply a Biblical perspective to what they study.

Now, ask yourself 4 questions about the data:

How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
What satisfies/concerns me about the data?
Which items would it be helpful to learn more about?
What will I do?

Additional resources:

Videos: Teach and assess Biblical perspective, Biblical perspective assessment helps, Assessment helps students value and get proficient at Biblical perspective,
Teacher testimonials regarding using assessment
Tutorial: Use assessment to help students understand and apply a Biblical perspective
Use assessment
To learn more about using assessment, explore these 12 questions

How focused are you on your God-given mission?

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2010-04-15T21:04:00+09:00

How focused are you on your God-given mission? To find out, take the following self-assessment (download). Rate each item in terms of how it describes you and your situation. Use the following scale:

4: Definitely • 3: Usually • 2: Sometimes • 1: Rarely

___ I’m comfortable reciting the mission verbatim in casual conversation.
___ Each day I talk with others about the mission.
___ I tell stories about the mission being implemented.
___ I provide opportunities for others to tell stories about the mission being implemented.

___ I know what it takes to achieve the mission.
___ I can readily explain how each of my daily activities contributes to achieving the mission.
___ I help others understand how they contribute to achieving the mission.

___ I know the current level of mission achievement.
___ I measure the achievement of my mission.
___ I use a scorecard to to measure the achievement of my mission?
___ I use meetings to celebrate progress on achieving the mission.

___ I focus on closing the gap between current and targeted levels of mission achievement.
___ I get the training I need to carry out the mission.
___ I provide others with the training they need to carry out the mission.
___ When making proposals, I explain how the proposal targets mission achievement.
___ When others make proposals, I ask, “How will this help us achieve the mission?”

___ To increase my focus on my mission, I know what I need to keep doing, start doing, stop doing.
___ I’m focused on achieving the mission.

Now, ask yourself 5 questions about the data:

How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
What’s satisfying/unsatisfying about the data?
What helps me increase my focus on my God-given mission?
What hinders me?
What will I do?

Increase your focus on your God-given mission. Today.

Resources:

Video
Tutorial: To learn more about achieving your mission, explore these 4 questions
Know where you are and where you want to go
Want to achieve your goals?

How can peer coaching help your students apply a Biblical perspective?

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2010-04-15T21:01:00+09:00

You just finished your peer coaching session. During your peer coaching session, your peer coach helped you to focus and work smart by asking questions, questions that provoked you to think. You really appreciate that your coach asks you questions, instead of giving advice—because getting asked questions really gets you thinking and helps you take responsibility to achieve your goals.

You think that using peer coaching with your students might help. And you’re thinking, “How could peer coaching help my students apply a Biblical perspective?”

To find out, explore the following list of 5 questions:

How can peer coaching help your students use relevant Biblical principles?
How can peer coaching help your students use relevant Bible verses?
How can peer coaching help your students include Biblical perspective in their thesis statements?
How can peer coaching help your students apply a Biblical perspective throughout their essays?
How can peer coaching help your students apply a Biblical perspective to issues?

Remember: The real question isn't "How could peer coaching help your students apply a Biblical perspective?" The real question is "How will you use peer coaching to help your students apply a Biblical perspective?"

Help your students apply a Biblical perspective. Use peer coaching. Today.

*To learn more about coaching, click here.

To learn more about enhancing professional development, explore these 6 questions

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-08-14T16:24:41+09:00

You want to your organization to achieve its God-given mission. You know that enhancing your organization’s professional development can help. So, you want to learn more.

Question: How can you learn more about enhancing your organization’s professional development?

Answer: By exploring the following list of 6 questions:

What do you want to focus your organization’s professional development on?
What are the components of a professional development plan?
What do you believe about professional development?
How can you enhance your organization's professional development program?
How can you increase the impact of professional development?
What are your organization's professional development needs?

Pursue excellence. Enhance your organization’s professional development. Today.

How can you learn to nurture your students’ faith even more?

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-08-14T08:35:33+09:00

As a Christian school teacher, you want to nurture your students’ faith. So, you want to help your students:

Understand a Biblical perspective of what they study.
Apply a Biblical perspective to what they study.

Question: How can you learn to nurture your students’ faith even more?

Answer: By reflecting on questions. By reflecting on questions about targeting Biblical perspective. Here are 65 questions, divided into categories:

Target Biblical perspective:

What happens in Christ-centered education?
How can you help your students love Jesus and live for Him?
What’s your mission?
In Christian education, what’s success?
What does “application of a Biblical perspective to course content” mean and not mean?
What role do connections play in Christian education?
What Biblical teaching connects to what students are studying?
What 3 Biblical principles will you help your students understand?
What Biblical principles do you want your students to understand and apply?
What hinders you/your school from helping students increase application of a Biblical perspective?
How can you increasingly target Biblical perspective?

Use creation-fall-redemption-restoration to target Biblical perspective:

Creation: What’s God’s purpose?
Fall: What’s wrong?
Redemption: What difference does Jesus make?
Restoration: What will you do?

Use questions to target Biblical perspective:

Why use questions? (Read, Discuss)
Why does God ask questions? (Read, Discuss)
How valuable are questions? (Read, Discuss)
What does using questions look like? (Read)
What questions should your students respond to? (Read, Discuss)
What questions should your students ask? (Read, Discuss)
What makes a good question good? (Read, Discuss)
What question do you want to ask your students? (Read, Discuss)
What do you want your students to learn (when you ask a question)? (Read, Discuss)
How can you get your students to sincerely respond to questions? (Read, Discuss)
How can you use your questions effectively? (Read, Discuss)

Use assessment to target Biblical perspective:

How does assessment impact student learning?
What type of assessment can you use?
What makes a good assessment good?
How good is your assessment?
How can you make your assessment even better?
How proficiently do you want your students to use a Biblical perspective?
How much practice do your students need?
What makes a good rubric good?
How can you use a rubric?
How can you use assessment data?
What's your vision for using assessment?
How committed are you to having your students apply a Biblical perspective to what they learn?

Meet student learning needs to target Biblical perspective:

What are sample learning needs? (Read)
How can you meet your students’ learning needs? (Watch, Read, Discuss)
How can you help your students see the importance of Biblical perspective? (Read)
How can you help your students understand that a Biblical perspective can be applied to course content? (Read)
How can you show your students what applying a Biblical perspective looks like? (Read)
How can you help your students understand how you teach from a Biblical perspective? (Read)
What vocabulary words do your students need to learn? (Read, Discuss)
What engaging instructional strategies will help your students? (Read, Discuss 1, Discuss 2)
How can you give your students opportunities to think through answers for themselves? (Read)
How can you provide time during class for reflection? (Read, Discuss)
How can you design assessments so that your students connect a Biblical perspective with their lives? (Read, Discuss)
How can you give your students more practice? (Read)

What 3 things will you do to target Biblical perspective?

What 3 behaviors will you model?
What 3 questions will you train students to ask?
What 3 questions will you ask students?
What 3 Bible verses will you help students memorize, understand, and apply?
What 3 Biblical principles will you help students understand and apply?
What 3 skills will you help students improve?
What 3 types of assessment will you use?
What 3 engaging instructional strategies will you use?
What 3 student learning needs will you meet?
What 3 ways will you decorate your room?
What 3 things will you put on your course handouts?
What 3 classroom guidelines will you use?
What 3 ways will you involve parents?
What 3 things do you want from your principal or colleagues?
What 3 things will you do to stay focused?

Remember: The real question isn't "How can you learn to nurture your students’ faith even more?" The real question is, "What will you do to nurture your students’ faith even more?"

Now it’s time for action. To take action, answer 5 questions:

How do you currently nurture your students’ faith?
What excites/concerns you about nurturing your student’s faith?
How does targeting Biblical perspective help you nurture your students’ faith?
To nurture your students’ faith even more, which 3-5 questions do you really want to reflect on?
5 What will you do?

Take action. Nurture your students’ faith by targeting Biblical perspective. Today.

*Additional resources:

Videos
Self-assessments: Target Biblical perspective • Use questions • Use assessment • Meet student learning needs
Tutorials
Downloadable resources (articles, tools)

To learn more about meeting your students' learning needs, explore these 12 questions

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-08-06T07:11:33+09:00

You want your students to develop a Christ-centered worldview. So, you want your students to increase their understanding and application of a Biblical perspective. To help them, you know you’ll need to meet their learning needs.

Question: How can you learn more about meeting your students’ learning needs?

Answer: By exploring the following list of 12 questions. The list comes with readings and discussion guides:

What are sample learning needs? (Read)
How can you meet your students’ learning needs? (Watch, Read, Discuss)
How can you help your students see the importance of Biblical perspective? (Read, Discuss)
How can you help your students understand that a Biblical perspective can be applied to course content? (Read, Discuss)
How can you show your students what applying a Biblical perspective looks like? (Read, Discuss)
How can you help your students understand how you teach from a Biblical perspective? (Read, Discuss)
What vocabulary words do your students need to learn? (Read, Discuss)
What engaging instructional strategies will help your students? (Read, Discuss 1, Discuss 2)
How can you give your students opportunities to think through answers for themselves? (Read, Discuss)
How can you provide time during class for reflection? (Read, Discuss)
How can you design assessments so that your students connect a Biblical perspective with their lives? (Read, Discuss)
How can you give your students more practice? (Read, Discuss)

Remember: The real question isn't "How can you learn more about meeting your students’ learning needs?" The real question is, "How will you help your students increase their understanding and application of a Biblical perspective?"

Additional resources:

Self-assessment: To better meet your students' learning needs, take this self-assessment
Tutorial: Meet your students’ learning needs
Use the IDEAL process to help your students internalize a Biblical perspective
Action plan bank for meeting student learning needs

To learn more about targeting Biblical perspective, explore these 12 questions

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-08-04T10:23:27+09:00

You want your students to understand and apply a Biblical perspective—to connect what they study, the Bible, and their lives. To help your students do this, you know you need to target Biblical perspective even more. So, you want to learn how to do this.

Question: How can you learn more about targeting Biblical perspective?

Answer: By exploring the following list of 12 questions:

What happens in Christ-centered education?
How can you help your students love Jesus and live for Him?
What’s your mission?
In Christian education, what’s success?
What does “application of a Biblical perspective to course content” mean and not mean?
What role do connections play in Christian education?
What Biblical teaching connects to what students are studying?
What 3 Biblical principles will you help your students understand?
What Biblical principles do you want your students to understand and apply?
What hinders you/your school from helping students increase application of a Biblical perspective?
How can you increasingly target Biblical perspective?
What 3 things can you do to help your students?

Resources:

To learn more about achieving your mission, explore these 4 questions

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-08-04T07:30:11+09:00

You want to learn more about achieving your God-given mission. You want deepen your understanding of:

Your mission
What it takes to achieve your mission
How you’re doing on achieving your mission
How you can close the gap between the words of your mission and the reality of your situation

Question: How can you learn more about achieving your mission?

Answer: By exploring the following 4 questions:

(1) What’s your God-given mission?

What is a mission statement?
What makes a good mission statement good?
How important is your God-given mission?
How can you unleash the power of your mission statement?
How focused are you on your God-given mission?
How can you be a good steward of your God-given mission?

(2) What’s your definition of mission achievement?

If you don’t define the achievement of your God-given mission, how effectively can you work?
What does it take to achieve your mission?
To achieve your God-given mission, what has to be accomplished? To what degree?
How does defining the mission help?
What do you need to do to effectively define mission achievement?
How can you define what it takes to carry out your school's mission?

(3) To what extent are you achieving your mission?

What do you need to know?
If you don’t measure the achievement of your mission, how effectively can you lead?
How does measuring the mission help?
How can measurement help you increase your focus on your mission?
How can a scorecard help you increase your focus on your mission?

(4) What will you do to close the gap?

Are you a player or a spectator?
How focused are you on closing the gap?
What can you do to close the gap?
How can getting coaching help you close the gap?
How can you maintain and increase commitment, participation, and accountability?

Remember: The real question isn't "How can you learn more about achieving your mission?" The real question is "What will you do to achieve your mission?"

Resources:

Video: To achieve your God-given mission, make sure of 4 things
Self-assessment: How focused are you on your God-given mission?
Tutorial: Empower others to strategically pursue God’s calling
Deﬁne mission achievement in terms of measurable student learning
Know where you are and where you want to go
Measure mission achievement
Measure and report achievement of schoolwide objectives
Want to achieve your goals?

How can you improve your planning?

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-07-31T16:22:24+09:00

You want improve in planning. You know this is going to feel like climbing a steep set of steps, so you decide to take it 1 step at a time.

Question: How can you climb the next step?

To find out:

Read about the 5 developmental steps (below).
Then, use some reflection questions to identify what you will do to climb the next step.

Here are the 5 steps:

Step 1: You work.
You’re a missionary, you’re out of language school, and you’ve just started doing full-time ministry. You’re sitting in a room, getting introduced to other missionaries. Each person introduces him/herself by name and job title. Your turn comes, and you say, “Roger, evangelist.”

A few weeks later, you’re out walking in your neighborhood. You’re feeling a little fuzzy about your ministry. And you find yourself thinking, “What’s my plan?” A few days later, you take time to pray and to write out your plan. It describes the activities you want to do, for example, teaching English Bible classes, making and distributing tracts, and talking with those in your neighborhood. You look at your plan and feel better.

Step 2: You work, and you have a documented plan.
You look at your plan every once in awhile. But you notice that having a plan hasn’t helped you as much you thought it would. You think maybe that’s because your plan isn’t as good as it should be. You wonder, “How good is my plan?”

You take a look at your plan, pray, and decide to revise it. Instead of just listing your activities, you decide to:

List your overarching ministry purpose, the 4-6 goals you need to accomplish in order to achieve your overarching ministry purpose, and the key activities you need to do for each of your goals.
Make everything SMART: Specific • Measurable • Attainable • Relevant • Timebound.
Keep your plan to 1 page.

Step 3: You work, and you have good documented plan.
You continue to look at your plan every once in awhile. And you notice that upgrading your plan hasn’t helped you as much you thought it would. You find yourself asking, “How can I really use my plan?”

A couple of days later, you read an article about paying attention to your goals. The article suggests that you review your goals on a daily, weekly, quarterly, and annual basis. You pray about it and decide to do this. And you decide to measure your progress on your goals and to reflect each month by talking with a fellow missionary about ministry progress. You know that reviewing your goals, measuring your progress, and reflecting will take time, but you think it’ll be worth it.

Step 4: You intentionally use your plan to guide your work.
As a result of reviewing your goals, measuring your progress, and reflecting, you find that you’re using your plan a lot more to guide your work. And you find that you’re more clear about what you want to accomplish. So, you improve your plan by putting in better activities, revising your goals, and by tightening the alignment between your overarching ministry purpose, goals, and activities. You share your “improved” plan with colleagues, invite feedback, and use feedback to further improve your plan.

In addition, you increasingly recognize that you have limited time, energy, and abilities. You find yourself wondering, “How can I manage myself better? How can I get more focused, work smarter, and pursue excellence?”

You pray, watch a video, read an article, take a self-assessment, and explore getting a coach. As a result, you decide to get a coach. Your coach empowers you to:

Identify what helps you focus.
Target your strengths and reduce your frustrations.
Determine the amount of time you will invest in each goal.
Identify 3 articles you will read about best practices in evangelism.

Step 5: You think success is being a person who is focused, works smart, and pursues excellence.
As a result of working with your coach and using your plan to guide your work, you find that you’re more focused, working smarter, and intentionally pursuing excellence.

And you’ve shifted your thinking about success. Instead of thinking that success is having a plan or even achieving a plan, you now think success is being a person who is focused, works smart, and pursues excellence—as evidenced by the achievement of your plan.

You’re wondering, “How can I empower others to strategically pursue God’s calling?” You pray, and you watch a video and take a self-assessment on leading by asking questions. And you decide to apply your learning to empower others to reflect, get clear, focus, prioritize, and pay attention to their goals.

Now, ask yourself the following 5 questions:

Which “step” best describes me? (Be brutally honest. When doubt, choose the earlier stage.)
How do I feel about being on this “step”?
In terms of climbing the next step, what helps/hinders me?
To climb the next step, what do I need to keep doing? start doing? stop doing?
What will I do to climb the next step?

Improve your planning. Start climbing the next step. Today.

How can you pursue a growing relationship with God?

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-07-30T07:19:19+09:00

You want to continue pursuing a growing relationship with God. You know this involves things like:

Understanding the Bible, God’s Word, and allowing it to guide your life
Loving God and others
Bearing the fruit of the Spirit
Practicing spiritual disciplines
Participating in Christ’s Body, the Church
Making Christian disciples of all nations
Caring for God’s creation

Question: How can you pursue a growing relationship with God?

To find out, pray and then reflect on the following 7 questions:

What can you do to understand and apply the Bible even more?
To love God and others even more, what do you need to KeepStartStop doing?
How can you bear the fruit of the Spirit even more?
How can you practice the spiritual disciplines even more?
How can you participate in Christ's Body, the Church, even more?
To make even more disciples, what do you need to keep doing? start doing? stop doing?
How can you care for God's creation even more?

Pursue a growing relationship with God. Today.

*To talk a self-assessment on your relationship with God, click here.

Explore the Biblical perspective teacher training standards

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-07-30T07:01:41+09:00

You want to train your teachers to help their students apply a Biblical perspective to course content. Your task is to provide teachers with challenging, coherent, relevant training. Not an easy task. Why? Because you don’t have curriculum. More specifically, you don’t have a set of curriculum/training standards for teachers.

The result? Well, it's the same as when you teach students using a curriculum that is not standards-based (or one that does not have department objectives)—the content is not sufficiently challenging, coherent, and relevant. Consequently, students don't learn as much as they could.

Question: Where can you get a set of teacher training standards for helping students apply a Biblical perspective to what they study?

Answer: Right here! These standards were developed by Christian educators living in Germany, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, the US, and South Africa.

Download: Biblical Perspective Teacher Training Standards

1. In response to Christ’s love and as the foundation for ministry, teachers have a growing relationship with Him.

Bible

Love

fruit

spiritual disciplines

Christ’s Body

Christian disciples

God’s creation

2. Out of a desire to love God and be transformed by the renewing of their minds, teachers articulate a Christ-centered worldview.

big questions of life

creation-fall-redemption-fulfillment/restoration

3. To love God and impact the world for Him, teachers apply a Christ-centered worldview to education.

Christ-centered philosophy of education

implications

worldview education framework

target

Biblical perspective is/is not

4. To help students love God and impact the world for Him, teachers develop a curriculum that targets students understanding and then applying a Biblical perspective to course content and skills, and ultimately to their lives.

schoolwide learning outcomes

Biblical perspective of their academic discipline(s)

content and skill standards/benchmarks

Biblical perspective of the content and skills

enduring Biblical perspective understandings

formative and summative authentic assessments

effective instructional strategies

5. To help students love God and impact the world for Him, teachers design and implement unit plans that result in students understanding and then applying a Biblical perspective to course content and skills, and ultimately to their lives.

essential questions

effective essential questions

6. To help students love God and impact the world for Him, teachers design and implement lesson plans that result in students understanding and then applying a Biblical perspective to course content and skills, and ultimately to their lives.

lesson plan models

instructional strategies

meet student learning needs

7. To increase student application of a Biblical perspective to course content/skills and to life, teachers collaborate with other teachers.

support, encouragement, and accountability

To learn more about developing student objectives, explore these 7 questions

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-07-29T14:16:51+09:00

You want your school to achieve its mission. You know you need to define what it takes to achieve your school’s mission. You’ve hear that developing student objectives (schoolwide learning outcomes) might help. So, you want to learn more. Good.

Question: How can you learn more about developing student objectives?

Answer: By exploring the following 7 questions:

How can you define what it takes to carry out your school's mission?
Are student objectives right for you and your school?
What's developing student objectives look like?
What questions should you consider before developing student objectives?
What makes good student objectives good?
What are some reasons for developing student objectives?
How are mission, student objectives, and curriculum connected?

Focus on your mission. Use student objectives to define the achievement of your mission. Today.

To learn more about using assessment, explore these 12 questions

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-07-28T11:54:07+09:00

You want your students to apply a Biblical perspective to what they study. You’ve heard that assessment can help. So, you want to learn more. Good.

Question: How can you learn more about using assessment?

Answer: By exploring the following list of 12 questions.

How does assessment impact student learning?
What type of assessment can you use?
What makes a good assessment good?
How good is your assessment?
How can you make your assessment even better?
How proficiently do you want your students to use a Biblical perspective?
How much practice do your students need?
What makes a good rubric good?
How can you use a rubric?
How can you use assessment data?
What's your vision for using assessment?
How committed are you to having your students apply a Biblical perspective to what they learn?

Remember: The real question isn't "How can you learn more about using assessment?" The real question is "How will you use assessment help your students apply a Biblical perspective to what they study?”

Additional resources:

Videos: Teach and assess Biblical perspective, Biblical perspective assessment helps, Assessment helps students value and get proficient at Biblical perspective,
Teacher testimonials regarding using assessment
Self-assessment: To get started with using assessment, take this self-assessment
Tutorial: Use assessment to help students understand and apply a Biblical perspective
Use assessment

To learn more about using questions, explore these 11 questions

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-07-28T09:46:06+09:00

You want your students to connect what they study, the Bible, and their lives. You’ve heard that asking questions is an effective way to help students make connections. So, you want to learn more. Good.

Question: How can you learn more about using questions?

Answer: By exploring the following list of 11 questions. The list comes with readings and discussion guides:

Why use questions? (Read, Discuss)
Why does God ask questions? (Read, Discuss)
How valuable are questions? (Read, Discuss)
What does using questions look like? (Read)
What questions should your students respond to? (Read, Discuss)
What questions should your students ask? (Read, Discuss)
What makes a good question good? (Read, Discuss)
What question do you want to ask your students? (Read, Discuss)
What do you want your students to learn (when you ask a question)? (Read, Discuss)
How can you get your students to sincerely respond to questions? (Read, Discuss)
How can you use your questions effectively? (Read, Discuss)

Remember: The real question isn't "How can you learn more about using questions?" The real question is "How will you use questions help your students connect what they study, the Bible, and their lives?"

Additional resources:

Video: Why ask questions?
Self-assessment: To get started with using questions, take a self-assessment
Tutorial: Use questions to help students understand and apply a Biblical perspective
99 questions
Ask questions—help your students increase their understanding and application of a Biblical perspective
Teacher and student testimonials regarding how using questions helps
Ask your students questions about creation-fall-redemption-restoration

What are your organization's professional development needs?

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-06-24T08:45:00+09:00

To close the gap between the words of your mission statement and the reality of your current situation, do 4 things: focus on your mission, empower others, work smart, and pursue excellence.

To what extent do staff in your organization do these 4 things? To find out, take the following self-assessment (download). Rate each item in terms of how well it describes what your staff do. Use the following scale:

4: Definitely • 3: Usually • 2: Sort of • 1: Rarely

Focus on mission
___ We comfortably recite the mission verbatim in casual conversation.
___ We know what it takes to achieve our mission.
___ We can readily explain how each of our daily activities contributes to achieving the mission.
___ We know the current level of mission achievement.
___ We focus on closing the gap between current and targeted levels of mission achievement.
___ We focus on our God-given mission (instead of other good things).

Empower others
___ We listen (instead of talking).
___ We inquire (instead of giving advice).
___ We lead by asking questions.
___ We focus others on taking SMART actions (instead of letting others take undefined actions).
___ We encourage (instead of criticizing).
___ We empower others to solve their own problems (instead of solving their problems).

Work smart
___ We focus on doing right things, before focusing on doing things right.
___ We document our goals.
___ We reflect on our goals.
___ We determine the action steps we need to take to achieve our goals.
___ We schedule time for our big goals first, then schedule time for small goals (like email).
___ We track progress on our goals.
___ We focus on working smarter (not harder).

Pursue excellence
___ We are aware of best practices that help us carry our mission, strategic plan, and specific job assignments.
___ We have documented our best practices.
___ Our professional development program reflect best practice.
___ Our improvement system reflects best practice.
___ Our meetings reflect best practice.
___ We use best practice to care for staff.
___ We use best practice.
___ We pursue excellence.

Now, ask yourself 5 questions about the data:

How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
What satisfies/concerns me about the data?
In terms of providing professional development, how would I prioritize the 4 areas?
What might happen if the professional development needs in the top area were met?
What will I do?

Pursue excellence. Improve your organization’s professional development. Today.

*Need professional development resources? Close the Gap Now offers live training (coach and productivity) and free tutorials/tools:

How focused are you on your God-given mission?
Explore getting coaching
How can you empower others more effectively?
Empower others to strategically pursue God’s calling
Lead by asking questions
Develop a coaching culture
How can you manage yourself more effectively?
Energize, focus, and unleash your staff
Enhance your organization’s improvement system
How can you enhance your organization’s professional development program?
What makes a good meeting good?

Lead by asking questions

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-06-17T14:30:45+09:00

Leaders empower others. A key way leaders empower others is by asking questions.

To get an idea of how you can more effectively lead by asking questions, complete the following self-assessment (download). Rate each item, using the following scale:

4: Consistently • 3: Usually • 2: Sort of • 1: Rarely

Lead from your heart
___ I trust that the Holy Spirit is working in the heart of every believer.
___ I believe others can define and achieve their goals.
___ I target motivation, not information.
___ I empower others to take responsibility.
___ I believe that reflection is powerful.
___ I want to help staff be better problem solvers (not to solve their problems).

Inquiry skills
___ I ask open-ended questions.
___ I don’t ask “why” questions.
___ I don’t give advice.
___ I easily think of good questions to ask.

Lead by asking questions
___ I ask questions to help others.

___ I ask questions to help others reflect.
___ I ask questions to help others get clear.
___ I ask questions to help others prioritize.
___ I ask questions to help others get organized.

___ I ask questions to help others focus.
___ I ask questions to help others target their strengths.
___ I ask questions to help others pay attention to their goals.
___ I ask questions to help others reduce their frustrations.

___ I lead by asking questions.

Now, ask yourself 5 questions about the data:

How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
What’s encouraging/discouraging about the data?
What helps me lead by asking questions?
What hinders me from leading by asking questions?
What will I do?

Empower others. Lead by asking questions. Today.

Give your students a Biblical perspective assessment that SCOREs

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-07-08T07:52:19+09:00

Use assessment to help your students value and get proficient at connecting what they study and what the Bible teaches.

What type of Biblical perspective assessment can you give your students?
Any type—provided the assessment prompt SCOREs.

What do I mean by “any type”? I mean you can give more than just tests. For example, you can ask your students to write essays, do projects, and give presentations.

What do I mean by “provided the assessment prompt SCOREs”? I mean that the assessment prompt needs to:
(1) Be Student-friendly in terms of vocabulary and length (75 words or less). That’s right. The assessment needs to be student-friendly because students are taking the assessment. The assessment doesn’t need to be teacher-friendly because the teacher isn’t taking the assessment. What do I mean by teacher friendly? I mean the prompt is written for the teacher. I’ve seen prompts only the teacher could really understand—500 words with no clear point.

(2) Require students to Connect content/skills, Biblical principle(s), and life. Don't give an assessment that leaves things disconnected. That’s like putting chocolate chip cookie ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and chocolate chips) in a bowl, but not stirring them together to make dough. Which would you rather eat: chocolate chip cookie dough or unmixed ingredients?

(3) Give Opportunities for student choice, as appropriate. Giving students the opportunity to make choices unleashes student learning and potential. I’ve seen this repeatedly. So have you.

(4) Be Rigorous. A rigorous assessment inspires student learning. In my experience, students enjoy challenging assessments and don’t enjoy easy assessments.

(5) Be Even worthy of being taught to. Prepare your students by teaching to the assessment. Just make sure your assessment is actually worthy of being taught to!

What’s an effective Biblical perspective assessment look like?
Here’s a prompt for a 750-word essay: How significant a part of what’s wrong with the world is the tendency to disregard the human dignity of others, and how should a Christian respond? Support your answer with (1) examples from literature, history/current events, and your own experience, and (2) the Biblical principles of respecting God’s image bearers and loving our neighbors. (54 words)

Action step: Develop a Biblical perspective assessment that SCOREs. Prepare your students for this assessment and then have them take it.

Help your students connect what they study and creation-fall-redemption-restoration

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-05-30T15:00:00+09:00

Want to help your students to better connect the course content and Biblical principles they study to God’s story of creation-fall-redemption-restoration? Good. Reflecting on a set of DRAW questions can help you determine what action steps to take. What does “DRAW” stand for?

Define the facts.
Respond to the facts in terms of feelings/experiences.
Analyze the facts, feelings, and experiences.
What’s next?: Consider next steps.

As a result of reflecting on the following set of DRAW questions, you will identify 1 or more SMART action steps you will take to help your students better connect the course content and Biblical principles they study to God’s story of creation-fall-redemption-restoration:

Define the facts:

What class do you want to think about?
What do your students study in that class?
What connections do your students make between the course content and Biblical principles they study?
What’s creation-fall-redemption-restoration?
How are your students connecting the course content and Biblical principles they study and creation-fall-redemption-restoration?

Respond to the facts in terms of feelings/experiences:
What excites/concerns you about helping your students better connect the course content and Biblical principles they study to creation-fall-redemption-restoration?

Analyze the facts, feelings, and experiences:

How do you address creation-fall-redemption-restoration in the class you’re thinking about?
What units address creation? fall? redemption? restoration?
What questions do you ask about creation? fall? redemption? restoration? (What does a set of creation-fall-redemption-restoration questions look like?)
What Biblical principles do you teach about creation? fall? redemption? restoration?
What assessments do you give about creation? fall? redemption? restoration?
What helps your students connect the course content and Biblical principles they study to creation-fall-redemption-restoration?
What are your students’ learning needs regarding creation-fall-redemption-restoration?
What helps/hinders you in teaching your students about creation-fall-redemption-restoration?

What’s next? Consider next steps:
To help your students better connect the course content and Biblical principles they study to creation-fall-redemption-restoration:

What do you need to keep doing? start doing? stop doing?
What support, encouragement, and accountability do you need?
What 1 or more SMART action steps will you take?

*Additional resources:

Video: Have your students connect 3 things
Blog entries: Target Biblical Perspective, Use Questions, Use Assessment, Meet Student Learning Needs
Our World Belongs to God
Visual Valet (or download)

Energize, focus, and unleash Christian school staff

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-06-19T08:15:29+09:00

As an administrator at an international Christian school, you know that staff play a vital role in carrying out the mission. Because your care about your staff, want to be good a steward of the staff God has provided, and want your school to carry out its God-given mission, you ask yourself, “How can we energize, focus, and unleash staff both personally and professionally?”

To find out, take the following self-assessment. Rate each item in terms of how well it describes how you energize, focus, and unleash staff. Use the following scale:

4: Definitely • 3: Usually • 2: Sort of • 1: Rarely

Personal life:
___ 1. We have daily staff devotions.
___ 2. We have fun together throughout the year (for example, wedding and baby showers, meals, outings).
___ 3. We provide specials (for example, pottery classes and access to fitness equipment).
___ 4. We provide mentoring/life coaching to help staff balance work/home and maintain good health.
___ 5. New staff are assigned a buddy to help them get settled.
___ 6. We provide language instruction.
___ 7. We provide assistance with medical/dental visits.
___ 8. We support staff in their personal lives.
___ 9. Staff feel supported in their personal lives.

Professional life:
___ 1. An all-day help desk is available for the first week of school.
___ 2. New staff are assigned a mentor to help them with their work.
___ 3. We provide coaching to help staff grow professionally.
___ 4. Staff are assigned to a professional learning community/team.
___ 5. Staff participate in professional development each week.
___ 6. We reflect together about our work.
___ 7. Supervisors provide accountability/feedback to staff.
___ 8. Supervisors provide feedback to new staff within the first 2 months of classes.
___ 9. Principals demonstrate interest in what's happening in classrooms (for example, by doing walkthroughs).
___ 10. Principals invite teachers to share student work samples.
___ 11. Principals give teachers feedback on student work.
___ 12. We support staff in their professional lives.
___ 13. Staff feel supported in their professional lives.

Now, ask yourself 4 questions about the data:

How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
What’s satisfying/unsatisfying about the data?
To energize, focus, and unleash staff, what do I need to keep doing? start doing? stop doing?
What will I do? (If you’d like to learn more about developing a staff stewardship plan, click here.)

Pursue excellence. Energize, focus, and unleash your staff. Today.

Empower others to strategically pursue God's calling

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-06-19T07:37:38+09:00

Your client wants to clarify and strategically pursue God’s calling. That’s great!

Question: How can you empower your client to do this?

Answer: By asking 10 questions:

How has God blessed you to pursue His calling?”
What problems and opportunities are you passionate about & blessed by God to address?
What’s your mission?
What’s it take to carry out your God-given mission?
What’s already been accomplished?
What helps/hinders you in achieving your goals?
What are your options for achieving your goals?
What will you do to achieve your goals?
What will you do this week?
How can you continue to make progress?

Your client will need multiple sessions to reflect on these 10 questions, and your client might benefit from using tools. This set of tools includes a self-assessment and addresses questions 1-7.

Develop a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-03-03T16:59:28+09:00

Want to use your curriculum to help students develop a Christ-centered worldview? Reflecting on the following 7 questions can help:

What’s the goal?
Regarding developing a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum, what are the opportunities/problems?
What’s your stakeholders’ perspective of a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum?
Where are you/your school in terms of having a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum?
Regarding developing a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum, what’s your/your school’s level of motivation?
To develop a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum, what do you/your school need to keep doing? start doing? stop doing?
How would you/your school develop a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum?

Reflect with others on these questions. Then, develop a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum—and get your students to experience it!

Target Biblical perspective. Today.

*These 7 questions address Biblical perspective teacher training standard #4: To help students love God and impact the world for Him, teachers develop a curriculum that targets students understanding and then applying a Biblical perspective to course content and skills, and ultimately to their lives.

Use the 1-2-3-2-1 lesson model

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2009-02-28T09:34:24+09:00

You want to help your students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches. But you’re having difficulty developing an effective lesson plan.

Question: Is there a lesson model that can help?

Answer: Yes! You can use Harold Klassen’s 1-2-3-2-1 lesson model, which includes these components:

1 story
2 connections
3 questions
2 objectives
1 assessment

These components must be present in the lesson and may be used in any order.

Let’s explore the components of 1-2-3-2-1 lesson further:
*1 story you will tell about your lesson content. Stories (biographies, anecdotes, fables, parables, proverbs, personal experiences, case studies...) help students understand lesson content and make connections to the Bible

*2 connections between your “lesson story” and God’s creation-fall-redemption-restoration/fulfillment story.

Making connections helps you and your students develop a Christ-centered worldview.
These connections should flow from God’s story, from an understanding that our world belongs to God, from a Biblical perspective of the subject area. These connections should take the form of Biblical principles (each of which is supported by 3 Bible passages). Here are samples.
Here’s a process and a set of questions you can use to identify your 2 connections.

*3 questions you will ask about your “lesson story” to help students make connections to God’s story. As you work to identify your 3 questions, you may find it helpful to consider the following questions:

Why does God ask questions? (discussion questions)
Why use questions? (discussion questions, video)
What makes a good question good? (discussion questions)
What question do you want to ask your students? (discussion questions) Might you want to use creation-fall-redemption-restoration questions, questions used by teachers at Christian Academy in Japan, WHWW questions, or 5 Ws and an H? (Who? What? Why? Where? When? How?)
How can you help your students sincerely respond to questions? (discussion questions)
How can you use your questions effectively? (discussion questions)

*2 objectives for this lesson.

*1 assessment you will use to find out if your lesson objectives were met. For example, you could have your students tell, show, make, write, do…

What type of assessment can you use?
Kim Essenburg, English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan, uses a variety of assessments.

To develop your 1-2-3-2-1 lesson, answer these questions:

What’s your lesson about?
What’s 1 story you could tell about your lesson content?
What are 2 connections between your “lesson story” and God’s creation-fall-redemption-restoration/fulfillment story?
What 3 questions could you ask about your “lesson story” to help students make connections to God’s story?
What are 2 objectives of this lesson?
What’s 1 assessment you could use to find out if these lesson objectives were met?

Or you could answer these questions:
What’s your lesson about?

If Jesus taught this lesson…?

What’s 1 story Jesus could tell about the lesson content?
What 2 connections might Jesus make between the “lesson story” and God’s creation-fall-redemption-restoration/fulfillment story?
What 3 questions could Jesus ask about the “lesson story” to help students make connections to God’s story?
What might 2 of Jesus’ objectives for this lesson be?
What’s 1 assessment Jesus could use to find out if these lesson objectives were met?

Now, teach your 1-2-3-2-1 lesson! Target Biblical perspective. Today.

Explore getting coaching

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2008-12-29T14:07:33+09:00

You want to pursue God’s calling. You’ve heard about coaching, and you want to explore getting coaching. Good. Start your exploration by watching this 1-minute video.

Does coaching help people pursue God’s calling? Yes.

As a result of getting coaching, I’ve clarified my ministry, better balanced home and work, and more effectively led change.
Those I coach consistently testify that coaching helps them achieve their goals.
And research indicates that coaching, for example, increases training impact by 300%.

To further explore coaching, focus on 4 questions:

What is coaching?
In coaching, who does what?
What could you work on with a coach?
Are you ready for coaching? (Download, print, and complete this self-assessment.)

Review: You’ve explored getting coaching by thinking about what coaching is, what the client and coach are responsible for, what you can work on with a coach, and how ready you are to be coached.

Question: What are you going to do?

Teach and assess Biblical perspective, then reflect

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2008-06-02T15:21:52+09:00

The challenge: At Christian schools, we want our students to develop a Christ-centered worldview, to see all of life through the lens of Scripture. This is a big challenge! One way we address this challenge is by having our students connect what they study with Biblical teaching.

Where can you get some help with this challenge?

Right here! In this 10-step tutorial, you'll learn how to help your students make connections. You'll learn to design a Biblical perspective lesson plan and a Biblical perspective assessment. And after you teach your lesson and give your assessment, you'll reflect on your lesson plan and assessment results.

Take these 10 steps:

Ask God for help.
Experience a Biblical perspective lesson.
Get clear on what connecting course content/skills and Biblical teaching is—and is not.
Reflect on how making connections helps your students develop a Christ-centered worldview.
Identify the Biblical teaching you want your students to connect with what they study. Here are sample Biblical principles you can teach your students.
Develop an essential question that GRACES your students' worldview understanding. Here's a list of 99 Biblical perspective questions.
Design a Biblical perspective assessment that SCOREs.
Design a Biblical perspective lesson that involves your students in connecting what they study, Biblical teaching, and life—and that prepares them for the Biblical perspective assessment. Here are some sample lessons. Here are 2 versions of a lesson plan tempate (lesson template pdf, lesson template Word).
Teach your Biblical perspective lesson and give your students the Biblical perspective assessment.
Reflect on your lesson plan and assessment results in order to modify instruction.

Teach and assess Biblical perspective. Today.

Meet your students' learning needs

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2008-05-27T08:44:52+09:00

To help your students better connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, DEAL with your students’ learning needs:

Define your students’ learning needs.
Explore the how you can respond to your students’ learning needs.
Act.
Look at the results.

Take action: Take 4 steps to DEAL with your students’ learning needs.

(1) Define your students’ learning needs. You can do this by looking at your students’ work, talking with your students, giving them a survey, or using a list of 10 sample learning needs as an assessment tool. Once you’ve defined your students’ learning needs, select 1 student learning need you will address.

(2) Explore ways to address the student learning need you selected. For example, you can explore addressing a student learning need through reading and discussion. Below is a list of 10 sample learning needs phrased as questions. The list comes with readings and discussion guides:

How can you help your students see the importance of Biblical perspective? (Read, Discuss)
How can you help your students understand that a Biblical perspective can be applied to course content? (Read, Discuss)
How can you show your students what applying a Biblical perspective looks like? (Read)
How can you help your students understand how you teach from a Biblical perspective? (Read, Discuss)
What vocabulary words do your students need to learn? (Read, Discuss)
What engaging instructional strategies will help your students? (Read, Discuss 1, Discuss 2)
How can you give your students opportunities to think through answers for themselves? (Read, Discuss)
How can you provide time during class for reflection? (Read, Discuss)
How can you design assessments so that your students connect a Biblical perspective with their lives? (Read, Discuss)
How can you give your students more practice? (Read, Discuss)

Now, choose 1 way to meet the learning need you selected. Make a plan to address it. Be sure to get the support, encouragement, and accountability you need to carry out your plan.

(3) Act. Just do it! Implement your plan. And be sure to tell your students what you are doing and why.

(4) Look at the results. Discuss them with your students and colleagues.

Question: What will you do today to DEAL with your students’ learning needs?

Christian education involves worldview education

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2008-05-26T15:22:58+09:00

Christian education involves worldview education, education that helps students develop and apply a Christian worldview.

Here's a 6-part tutorial you can use to explore Christian worldview education:

Regarding providing worldview education, what helps/hinders you?
Everyone has a worldview. What helps students understand this?
You can help your students develop a Christian worldview by asking questions. What key questions do you want your students to consider?
A person’s worldview is connected to how s/he answers questions. How can you help your students understand this?
Worldview affects educational practice. How does your Christian worldview affect your educational practice?
Everyone lives out his/her worldview. You live out your worldview in your classroom. As a Christian teacher, how can you increasingly target students understanding and then applying a Biblical perspective to course content and skills?

Remember: The goal is to learn about Christian worldview education. The goal is to have students increasing their understanding and application of a Chrisitan worldview.

Question: What will you to do help your students increase their understanding and application of a Christian worldview?

Use assessment to help students understand and apply a Biblical perspective

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2008-05-26T05:33:56+09:00

A key goal of Christian education is students increasing their understanding and application of a Biblical perspective. Assessment can help! Here's a 4-part tutorial on how you can use assessment. The tutorial address the vision for assessment, assessment for learning, goal setting, and rubric usage:

(1) What's the vision for using assessment?

(2) Does assessment help improve student use of a Biblical perspective? Yes!

Teacher testimonial: Kim Essenburg, who teaches English 10, says, "Assessment helps students more deeply connect what they study, their lives, and a Biblical perspective."
What type of assessment can you use?
What makes a good assessment good?
How can you make assessment even better?

(3) Now that you more fully understand that assessment does help students understand and apply a Biblical perspective, you're ready to set a student learning target, determine your current commitment, and consider the amount of practice your students will need to achieve your learning goal.

(4) Before giving your students a Biblical perspective assessment, be sure your design a rubric. Using a rubric will help your students understand your expectations and provide you with assessment data you can use to modify instruction:

Question: How will you use assessment to help your students increase their understanding and application of a Biblical perspective?

Use questions to help students understand and apply a Biblical perspective

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2008-04-18T14:31:36+09:00

You want your students to honor Christ and impact the world from Him. Consequently, you want to nurture faith in Christ. One way you do this is by helping your students understand and apply a Biblical perspective to what they study. You've heard that asking questions is a good way to do this.

You wonder, "Does asking questions help students understand and apply a Biblical perspective?"

Heidi Schaeffer, who teachers Science 5, says, "Questions helped my students see how creation points to God."
And in the following video, Michael Essenburg says that asking questions is a doable, effective way to help students understand and apply a Biblical perspective.

Here's a 4-part tutorial you can use to learn more about asking questions:

(1) Explore the role questions:

Why does God ask questions?
How valuable are questions?
Anda Foxwell, who teachers Social Studies 6, says, "Questions helped my students apply a Biblical perspective."

(2) Explore using questions in your classroom:

What does using questions look like?
What questions should your students respond to? (Here's a list of 99 Biblical perspective questions you can ask your students.)
What questions should your students ask?
What makes a good question good?
What do you want your students to learn when you ask a question?
Kim Essenburg, who teachers English 10, says, "Using questions works!"

(3) Explore ways to get your students to use questions to increase their understanding and application of a Biblical persepective:

Want to read another testimonial? Here's one from a school: At CAJ, we use questions to equip students to impact the world for Christ.

(4) Real Question: The real question isn't "Does asking questions help students understand and apply a Biblical perspective work?" The real question is, "How will you use questions help your students understand and apply a Biblical perspective?" Ask your students a good question. Today.

Target student application of a Biblical perspective to course content

learnmore@closethegapnow.org — 2008-04-18T14:26:48+09:00

As a Christian school teacher, you want your students to love God with their minds. So, you work to help your students apply a Biblical perspective to the course content you teach. This is a challenge. To meet this challenge, target student application of a Biblical perspective. This tutorial can help!

Does targeting Biblical perspective work? Yes! (teacher testimonials)

How can you increasingly target Biblical perspective?

Start by journaling for 5 or more minutes on "What's important about your students applying a Biblical perspective to the content you teach?"
Read the 12 goals listed below for targeting Biblical perspective.
Select 1 or more goals.
Use the Action Step Bank to write down your goal(s) and the action steps you can take to achieve each goal. Make your action steps specific and bite size.
Review your action step list and commit to completing 1 action within the next 5 work days. Ask a colleague to give you the support, encouragement, and accountability you need to complete your action steps.
Take action.
Talk with your colleague about your progress. As appropriate, use a protocol (GROW Process).
Repeat steps 5-7 until you have completed all the action steps you wrote down.

12 goals for targeting Biblical perspective:

Ask God to help students understand and apply a Biblical perspective to course content.
Increase your commitment to helping students love God with their minds.
Focus on students applying a Biblical perspective to course content they have mastered (not mastering course content).
Determine current and desired performance levels for you and your students.
Brainstorm with a colleague about ways to help students apply a Biblical perspective.
Develop lesson plans that target students applying a Biblical perspective to course content.
Provide value-added content by teaching students new Biblical perspective content and/or helping them make connections between what they are studying and Bible knowledge they already have.
Provide time in class for students to apply a Biblical perspective to course content.
Measure student application of a Biblical perspective.
Use assessment data to modify instruction.
Share with others how students are applying a Biblical perspective to course content.
Identify factors that hinder student application of a Biblical perspective. Take action to alleviate these factors.

Target Biblical perspective. Today.