{"id":54915,"date":"2019-07-13T06:08:12","date_gmt":"2019-07-13T10:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siteground.stuffyoucanuse.org\/?p=54915"},"modified":"2019-07-13T06:08:12","modified_gmt":"2019-07-13T10:08:12","slug":"how-to-teach-in-circles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuffyoucanuse.org\/how-to-teach-in-circles\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Teach in Circles"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In Volume 3 of Grow Youth Ministry Curriculum and Strategy<\/a>, we’re trying something special with our series called Doubt It!\u00a0<\/em>Here’s an article from the author (Irene Cho) to help you create and lead through this unique set-up.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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If you typically teach in a sermon format with discussion afterward, we recommend trying something new for the\u00a0Doubt It<\/em> series. <\/b><\/p>\n

For this series, have your students sit in circles in groups of 6 or 8 (with one adult per circle) for the entire teaching time. If you already have small groups assigned, split students into their regular small groups for the entire teaching time. If you don’t already have regular small groups, try splitting students by grade, gender, school, or some combination of all three, so it’s easy for students to understand where to sit. Just make sure every group has an adult leader!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Your circles should be spread throughout the room. If possible, the speaker should be teaching from the center of the room, with the circles arranged around them. If that’s not possible, have your speaker walk around the room as they teach in order to engage every student. Your set-up should look a little something like this . . .<\/p>\n

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A very important note is that there should be no tables<\/strong><\/em> in your circles. The chairs should be as close together as possible so that students are engaged with each other in their circles during discussion time. Tables act as barriers and prevent a deeper engagement with one another, so skip those!<\/p>\n

WHY CIRCLE DISCUSSIONS WORK<\/strong><\/em><\/h1>\n

When students engage in discussion throughout your teaching time, they are able to process the ideas and practice the skills being presented by you, or the speaker. In other words, discussion circles are where students actually learn what\u2019s being taught.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Experience has proven that students learn lifestyle principles and behavioral changes most effectively in community, with their peers, apart from the (potentially) hovering presence of an adult. It\u2019s up to the adults in the room to ensure that students get into these discussion circles and have space to process and learn.<\/p>\n

As a result of this experience, students should be able to go deeper with what they\u2019re learning, feel safe and connected to their circles, and build deeper friendships with each other.<\/strong><\/p>\n

WHO SHOULD BE IN EACH CIRCLE<\/strong><\/em><\/h1>\n

There are various ways to decide how circles should be formed. Some groups might choose to stay with students’ weekly small groups (if applicable). Some groups might opt for gender-specific groups, while others might allow random students in each group. It really depends on your ministry context and your students.<\/p>\n

If you feel that there are too many cliques<\/strong> amongst your students, then mixing up who goes in each circle could be a very good thing. If you feel that there are deeper issues that need to be opened up<\/strong> within an already-existing small group, then keeping them in the same circle throughout the series could be a good thing.<\/p>\n

Circles are intended to create an environment that will give students the freedom to be themselves, rather than the people they\u2019re supposed to be or pretend to be in front of friends and leaders.<\/p>\n

Each circle should have an even number of students, if possible. Eight works best but six would work too. Having an even number of students in each circle is important so that students can pair off into groups of two for certain questions or activities.<\/p>\n

HOW TO INTRODUCE DISCUSSION CIRCLES<\/strong><\/em><\/h1>\n

Here is a script you can use to explain these circles to your students.<\/p>\n

So you may be asking why we\u2019ve decided to put you together in these weird circles. Well, it\u2019s because the next few weeks are really all for you and they\u2019re really all about you. What does that mean? It means that whatever you decide to learn, grasp, take home with \u2013 it\u2019s all dependent on what happens in your circles.<\/em><\/p>\n

Your circles will allow you to process and practice the skills we\u2019re going to work on each time we\u2019re together. What happens in your circle is more important than anything the speaker says. The things that are taught, you could probably read from a book. But it\u2019s within your circle where you\u2019ll turn the teaching into your learning \u2014 by grappling with it, adapting it, personalizing it, and practicing it. That means your success in learning what\u2019s presented depends on what you do in your circle. So….<\/em><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Respect the members in your circle by contributing to the discussion with openness and honesty. If no one\u2019s talking, you be the gutsy one and break the silence. Others will follow.<\/em><\/li>\n
  • Respect others by listening when they share. It\u2019s okay to disagree, but do so with gentleness and respect \u2014 just as you\u2019ll want to be treated when someone disagrees with you.<\/em><\/li>\n
  • Respect your circle by engaging. If you\u2019re not part of the conversation and you’re looking at your phone or daydreaming, you cheat the other members of your circle.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    In case you haven\u2019t caught on yet, respect is a huge thing here. Everyone gives respect, and everyone gets respect.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Here\u2019s the promise: If you do these things, you\u2019ll strengthen your friendships in amazing ways and gain the understanding, skills, and confidence to talk about your faith.<\/em><\/p>\n

    [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> In Volume 3 of Grow Youth Ministry Curriculum and Strategy, we’re trying something special with our series called Doubt It!\u00a0Here’s an article from the author (Irene Cho) to help you create and lead through this unique set-up. If you typically teach in a sermon format with discussion afterward, we recommend trying something new for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":55276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"

    [et_pb_section bb_built=\"1\"][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=\"4_4\"][et_pb_text _builder_version=\"3.0.106\" background_layout=\"light\"]<\/p>

    You will be putting students into circles of 8-10 people (8 is ideal if possible). There will be no tables, only chairs. The tighter the circle, the better for discussion time.<\/p>

    WHAT<\/u><\/em>:<\/strong>\u00a0Circles are basically a small group of 8 students \u2013 plus a Student Circle Leader \u2013 who sit together in a circle of chairs throughout each of the sessions. They are all over the room and should ideally surround the area that the speaker stands, preferably in the center rather than at the front of the room.<\/p>

    Sample of what the room set up should look like:<\/p>

    Circles represent circle groups. The rectangle represents where the speaker should ideally stand (in the middle of the room) so that s\/he could engage the entire group. However, it's possible for the speaker to stand towards the front and simple walk around while they\u2019re speaking and during Circle time to engage students from time to time.<\/p>

    A very important note is that there should be no tables in the Circles. The chairs should be as close together as possible so that students are engaged with each other in their Circles during discussion time. Tables represent barriers and prevent a deeper engagement with one another. One Circle will ideally look as follows (the X is the Circle leader if you choose to have one):<\/p>

    WHY<\/u><\/em>:<\/strong>\u00a0The purpose of the Circles is to allow students to process the ideas and practice the skills being presented on the screen and from the speaker. In other words, the Circles are where students actually learn what\u2019s being taught.<\/p>

    Experience has proven that students learn lifestyle principles and behavioral changes most effectively in community, with their peers, apart from the (potentially) hovering presence of an adult. It\u2019s up to the teacher or the youth leader to ensure that students get into Circles.<\/p>

    As a result of this experience, students will be able to go deeper with what they\u2019re learning. Students will feel safe and connected in their Circles and will build deeper friendships with each other.<\/p>

    WHO<\/u><\/em>:<\/strong>\u00a0There have been various ways to decide how Circles should be formed. Some groups have chosen to stay with students' weekly small groups that meet. Some groups have opted for gender specific. Others have opted to allow random students in each group. It really depends on your ministry context and your students. If you feel that there are too many cliques amongst your students, then mixing up who goes in what Circle could be a very good thing. If you feel that there are deeper issues that need to be opened up within an already made small group, then keeping them in the same Circle could be a good thing. This is a good question to ask your leadership team what would be best for this particular retreat (goals, desired outcomes for students, etc).<\/p>

    Circles are intended to create an environment that will give students the freedom to be themselves, rather than the people they\u2019re supposed to be or pretend to be in front of friends and leaders.<\/p>

    Each Circle should have an even number of students, if possible. Eight works best but six would be adequate. Having an even number of students in each Circle is important because some of the activities should require students to have partners within the Circle (e.g. discussion partners which can be switched around or prayer partners).<\/p>

    SCRIPT:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Here is the script usually given to explain Circles to students:
    So you may be asking why we\u2019ve decided to put you together in these weird Circles. Well, it\u2019s because the next few weeks are really all for you and they\u2019re really all about you. What does that mean? It means that whatever you decide to learn, grasp, take home with \u2013 it\u2019s all dependent on what happens in your Circles.<\/p>

    Your Circles will allow you to process and practice the skills we\u2019re going to work on each time we\u2019re together. What happens in your Circle is more important than anything the speaker says. The things that are taught, you could probably read from a book. But it\u2019s within your Circle where you\u2019ll turn the teaching into your learning - by grappling with it, adapting it, personalizing it, and practicing it. That means your success in learning what\u2019s presented depends on what you do in your Circle. So....<\/p>

    • Respect the members in your Circle by contributing to the discussion with openness and honesty. If no one\u2019s talking, you be the gutsy one and break the silence. Others will follow.<\/li>
    • Respect others by listening when they share. It\u2019s okay to disagree, but do so with gentleness and respect\u2014 just as you\u2019ll want to be treated when someone disagrees with you.<\/li>
    • Respect your Circle by engaging. If you\u2019re not part of the conversation and you're looking at your phone or daydreaming, you cheat the other members of your Circle.<\/li><\/ul>

      In case you haven\u2019t caught on yet, respect is a huge thing here. Everyone gives respect, and everyone gets respect.<\/p>

      Here\u2019s the promise: If you do these things, you\u2019ll strengthen your friendships in amazing ways and gain the understanding, skills, and confidence to share your faith.<\/p>

      [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Teach in Circles - Stuff You Can Use<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/stuffyoucanuse.org\/how-to-teach-in-circles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Teach in Circles - Stuff You Can Use\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In Volume 3 of Grow Youth Ministry Curriculum and Strategy, we're trying something special with our series called Doubt It!\u00a0Here's an article from the author (Irene Cho) to help you create and lead through this unique set-up. 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