Still Water Moments: The Art of Differentiating Part I - We, the Students
John 13:13: Jesus said, "You call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am".
Last month we compared scaffolding in the classroom with God’s way of scaffolding us. This month we will compare differentiation and individualized learning with God’s way of teaching us in these manners. Differentiation in the classroom is when a teacher presents learning content in different ways to educate students with different skill levels and different types of learners (auditory, visual, kinesthetic, etc.). An example of teaching a classroom with students of differing skill levels would be a class broken into reading groups of 4-5 students based on reading ability. Each group would read a different book at their reading level or a little above it to challenge them.
Differentiation with God may look like small groups/ministries within a church that caters to categories and life experiences within the congregation. This may look like women’s and men’s ministries; youth and children’s ministries; senior citizen’s ministry; widow’s ministry; cancer patient/survivor’s ministry; singles ministry, marriage ministry, etc. God is able to minister to and encourage members of a ministry group via related teachings, testimonies, and fellowship among them as they have a commonality and are uplifted through shared experiences. The purpose of the ministry groups is reflected in the scripture, Hebrews 10: 24-25 “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Individualized learning is when a teacher guides a student to achieve individual goals. This can look like a teacher and/or student setting a goal for the pupil to be able to solve three-step math problems in a specific time period. The teacher then provides activities and resources for the student to achieve the goal. Another example of Individualized learning includes creating an IEP for a student. If you’ve been walking with the Lord for a while, you know that He specializes in individualized learning for each of us! God is working on us daily, sanctifying us, (Philippians 1:6).
As Christians, not only are we different types of learners, but we’ve had different life experiences that have affected our views, thought processes, approaches to daily life, etc. God being the amazing God He is, individualizes our learning processes to make us look more like Him. With God’s direction, individualized learning encompasses messages He imparts to us when we take the time to listen during our individual prayer time. Individualized learning takes place during sermons. It is amazing how God can have a pastor teach a sermon and cause the congregants to hear the same message and process it in different ways to apply it to what is happening in their lives. The learning is greater when we take notes and reflect upon them later during quiet time. God is unlimited in the ways He can personalize our learning! He can teach us through nature, a child, an everyday situation, a relevant encouraging message appearing in a social media app. What do we have to lose learning from such an exceptional teacher who has unlimited tools and spiritual resources?
Reflection: With God as your Teacher, what does differentiated learning look like for you? What does individualized learning entail for you?
