Reading Scripture with the purpose of examining the way Yahusha taught is a task that feels long overdue. The majority of my walk I have approached His teachings as student, simply trying to learn and apply. Now, through this assignment, I am looking at His teachings from the perspective of an educator, paying attention to how He taught His disciples. It is interesting to consider Him as a constructivist teacher (Robertson, 2008), yet further analysis confirms this stance as I consider the way He not only imparted wisdom but also used questions and scenarios that would lead His listeners to construct a meaning. Among other situations, I am going to take a look at His conversation with Nicodemus (Nakdimon) and one of the interactions with the prominent Jews of the time to examine Yahusha, the Master Teacher exemplifying higher order thinking skills (HOTS) with those around him.
HOTS
In His short conversation with Nicodemus, the following interaction caught my attention.
“יהושע answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he is unable to see the reign of Elohim.” Naḵdimon said to Him, “How is a man able to be born when he is old? Is he able to enter into his mother’s womb a second time and be born?” יהושע answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he is unable to enter into the reign of Elohim. “That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You have to be born from above.’ ” The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.” Naḵdimon answered and said to Him, “How is it possible for this to take place?”” (Yoḥanan [John)] 3:3-9, The Scriptures)
Yahusha required Nicodemus to use the higher order thinking skill of differentiating between being born of the flesh and being born of the Spirit. Talk about challenging his thinking! Nicodemus had to analyze those two types of being born by comparing them, which he did very incredulously, and then reach a conclusion that he just had to know how it could happen. He was eager to learn more.
In another instance, speaking to the Jews, He brought up a need to evaluate the Scriptures they were reading.
““You search the Scriptures, because you think you possess everlasting life in them. And these are the ones that bear witness of Me. “For if you believed Mosheh, you would have believed Me, since he wrote about Me. “But if you do not believe his writings, how shall you believe My words?”” (Yoḥanan [John)] 5:39, 46-47, The Scriptures)
These men knew the Scriptures very well, but He challenged them to critique their own belief in them. At this point they needed to go back to them and truly look for what they could have missed. They needed to critique their own understanding.
Yahusha constantly caused people to question themselves. They had to analyze what they had seen or heard, evaluate the situation, and either create a new path forward or remain as they were. He often spoke of the cost of being His disciple.
Addressing a large crowd who started to follow him, He made it clear that some serious analysis had to happen in order to choose willingly and wholeheartedly to be His disciple.
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and his own life too, he is unable to be My taught one. “And whoever does not bear his stake and come after Me is unable to be My taught one. For who of you, wishing to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” “Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation, and is unable to finish it, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was unable to finish.’” (Luqas [Luke] 14:26-30, The Scriptures)
Active Learning Strategies
The famous story told as an answer to the question of who our neighbor is (Luke 10:25-37, The Scriptures) represents a great example of a case analysis. The hearer must grapple with the information and compare the responses in order to craft a new understanding of what it means to be a neighbor. The point being that old ways of understanding were flawed.
There is also His reaction the time the woman was caught in adultery (John 8:7-9, The Scriptures). He made a very strong statement regarding who should throw the first stone and then just bent down and gave them time to consider it. It reminds of the minute paper strategy, in which students are presented a question and given a minute to provide the answer. He simply waited for each one to deeply consider their state, making a powerful statement in His understanding of allowing people to examine themselves.
The more we search, the more we will find and learn from. What an amazing Teacher we have. May we continue to seek His wisdom as we teach students.
References
Robertson, W.H. (2008). The greatest constructivist educator ever: The pedagogy of Jesus Christ in the gospel of Matthew in the context of the 5Es. Christian Perspectives in Education, 1(2), Article 5. The Scriptures. (2018). Institute for Scripture Research.
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