occasionally in the.element, our junior high ministry at mars hill we will do some form of team teaching. i believe that team teaching offers our students the opportunity to hear various teachers and styles; but also gives the interns time to get acquainted to the platform and not feel like a baptism by fire experience. we only have so many tuesdays with the students and i want it to be a positive experience for both the student and intern when they get to share what God is teaching them.
i have learned, to do team teaching well, both must be crystal clear on three things: the goal, each person's role, and the pockets and holes.
1) the goal. what is the thing? when both of you head off stage and sit down, what is the one thing that you hope that each student will incarnate? whatever that statement or tag is, write it down on the whiteboard as you study together. the goal should be something sticky, easy to remember, and very concrete. if you want more info on how to craft a tag, check out "Made to Stick" by Chip and Dan Heath. the more communicators on stage, the more difficult it is to stay fully connected, grounded and centered on one idea. Don't assume you both are on the same page...write it down, agree upon it and filter everything through whether or not is sheds more light on the goal.
2) know the roles. i recently saw two guys teaching together and halfway through it, i realized that both of them wants to be the funny guy. neither wanted to carry the weight of shepherding students; but rather they were competing with one another over who could tell the better story. i don't think the students noticed; but i also know they didn't walk away with a clear goal to incarnate either. when we share the stage, the person with more experience on the platform will usually handle the shepherding part and allow the students to become better acquainted with the intern through some of their personal stories. the next time the intern teaches, we let them begin carrying more of the weight and then when as a team we feel they are ready we let them teach solo.
3) pockets and holes. transistion statements are crucial. i can't stand the delays, the pauses, and awkwardness that is often attributed to team teaching. these holes can kill a teaching. both must be focused and able to create clear transitional sentences that will set the next person up to take the idea even farther. craft them together (it will help both of you actually know them, write them down and walk through these statements together on stage. recognize the moments or pockets that you have that will clearly help the goal come to life. spend time praying, dreaming and talking through how those pockets can be maximized through a prop, experience, story or question.
what would it look like for you in the coming months to team teach with an intern, volunteer leader or student? it will take time; but in the right setting, with the right coaching and prep...it can be such a beautiful expression of what God is doing in the student ministry.
You are a beautiful man! I've enjoyed getting to know you, to hear your passion for ministry, and to see God moving in your life. The students at Mars are blessed...
Posted by: Jerry DePoy Jr. | January 15, 2008 at 08:44 AM
Dude I'm so glad you have a blog up. When we talked last summer at CIY I was excited about the possibility but had no idea you were writing. Thanks for taking the time. I'm looking forward to reading more. Peace!
Posted by: Jeremy Peterson | January 20, 2008 at 07:45 PM