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Learner Participation takes place when a student willingly and actively participates in the class. This participation can be physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. This latter dimension, the spiritual dimension cannot be stressed too heavily. By definition, religious education requires the Holy Ghost, or edification will not occur. Teachers may have students actively participating in learning activities that do not bring the Spirit or help the Spirit to bear witness to their hearts. Then participation becomes merely another "technique" and not a means to help achieve edification.
Students who participate by talking with the teacher and each other about the gospel--discussing an issue, telling what they think, answering questions, and so on--are more apt to learn. Since one of the primary functions in CES is to teach the scriptures, students should be active participants in scripture study both in and out of class. Students can participate by interacting with the scriptures in many ways--reading, pondering, looking, finding, and writing. |
