DECIDE WHAT TO TEACH AND HOW TO TEACH IT

   Every teacher has two decisions to make when preparing a lesson:  "What will I teach?" and "How will I teach it?"  The "what" to teach is the content of the lesson.  This can be doctrines, principles, concepts, scriptural insights, historical context, or the like.  The "how" to teach is the methods, the approaches and learning activities a teacher uses to help students learn the content.  These methods may include such activities as discussion, audiovisual resources, writing exercises, and small group work.  The "what" and the "how" of teaching can be illustrated as in the following diagram:
 

               What                                 How

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Gospel Principle (What students will know and understand)

Learning Activity (What students will do or feel as they learn)

   What to teach and how  to teach it are two aspects of teaching that need to be kept in balance.  If one is emphasized over the other, edifying teaching will most likely be lessened.  If the "what" gets most of the attention, lessons can become boring and too teacher-centered.  On the other hand, if the "how" gets out of balance, lessons can be unfocused or disjointed.  Deciding what to teach needs to precede choosing how to teach it.