Makeup Work for Institute Classes

As we consider the Objective of the institute and begin drawing closer to the end of the semester, there is much we can do in behalf of students who do not quite have credit to complete the institute class(es) they are registered for. The policy manual provides the following criteria for makeup work:

“When makeup assignments are required, they should be given to bless and not punish the student. Specific assignments are determined by the teacher and should generally be related to the work missed. The assignments should be meaningful, reasonable, and individually suited to the needs and abilities of the student. Please be aware of the following:

• Attendance above the minimum requirement in one term may not be used as makeup work in another term.

• Students not meeting the attendance requirement and not completing the makeup work should not be given credit for the course.

• Teachers should take the initiative to work with students who have not yet received credit to assist them in completing the course.

• Students are permitted to do makeup work during the years they are enrolled in secondary education and up to one year after completing their secondary education.”

Thank you for taking the time to talk to your students who need a little help and encouragement to complete the class they are enrolled in. You may need to create some makeup plans for them. You probably have some questions about how to administer makeup work; lets talk about those in our next inservice meeting on Thursday evening.

Really and truly, it is our purpose to help our students understand and rely on the teachings and Atonement of Jesus Christ, qualify for the blessings of the temple, and prepare them, their families and others for eternal life with our Father in Heaven; and what a blessed purpose it is! This purpose is fulfilled even in helping your students complete their institute class.

A Note to Faculty & Missionaries

The Objective of LDS Seminaries and Institutes of Religion is: Our purpose is to help the youth and young adults understand and rely on the teachings and Atonement of Jesus Christ, qualify for the blessings of the temple, and prepare themselves, their families and others for eternal life with their Father in Heaven. 

To all of our Faculty, Missionaries & Students,

Thank you for what you are doing! Each of you are doing very well, please know how much I love and appreciate you! The work we are engaged in is a long-haul work, meaning, we will probably never be finished, or at least not any time soon. Please keep working, please keep trying, please keep praying and preparing to help our students and potential students along.

From time to time, ideas are brought to me for ways to improve our institute program. We have embraced some ideas and others we have not. As such, I thought it would be appropriate for you to understand how your idea will be considered when you approach me. I have a rubric for new ideas, no matter who they come from, it looks like this:

1. Does it (ie, the new idea) clearly meet the Objective of the Institute program?

2. What policies might it effect? Is there a reason we are not doing it already?

3. Is there something already in place which may meet the desire or need?

4. How will it effect all members of our program: students, faculty, missionaries, & priesthood leaders?

5. If it comes with a price, where will the funding come from if we have not already budgeted for it?

This rubric will not fit every good idea which may come our way, there are many considerations in directing an institute program, but these are my guiding questions as I counsel with you and others as we consider new ideas for accomplishing the Objective. Again, thank you for all each of you do to accomplish the Objective! Again, I love and appreciate each of you!

Thank you,
Brother Palmer

Part 1: Explain

My next area of emphasis for institute for the next couple of weeks is "Explain" from fundamentals of gospel teaching and learning (see pp. 10 & 31-32 in the Gospel Teaching and Learning Handbook for Teachers and Leaders in Seminaries and Institutes of Religion). Typically, explain is closely associated with share and testify. But I am going to tease them out a bit, look at them one by one. Here are some lines from the Gospel Teaching and Learning Handbook for S&I which have stood out to me this morning as I considered explain:

"Explaining doctrines and principles, sharing insights and relevant experiences, and testifying of divine truth clarifies a person's understanding of gospel principles and improves their ability to teach the gospel to others....

"Teachers who thoughtfully and prayerfully study, prepare, and teach a lesson tend to learn a great deal. This same principle holds true for students....

"Understanding of scripture is increased when students and teachers explain the scriptures to each other. Preparing to clearly and simply tell what a passage of scripture or what a doctrine or principle means encourages teachers and students to ponder verses, organize their thoughts, and invite the Holy Ghost to teach them....

"Giving students the opportunity to explain a doctrine or principle to someone else encourages them to think more deeply and seek greater understanding before teaching others what they have learned" (pp. 31-32).

Ruminating on Explain. I love the idea of asking students to explain doctrines and principles to each, which facilitates the role of the Holy Ghost as a teacher. Last night in my AFA institute class, I asked the students to write one item down they were going to practice from what they had learned from a recent General Authority visit. After writing it down, I asked them to turn and share (note the word share) what they had written with their neighbor. My intent in having them do this was to help them feel like they clearly explained in their hearts and minds what they were really going to do. If I could turn back time, I would have asked them to turn to their neighbor and explain what they were going to do rather than share. I may be splitting hairs here, but I believe there is a difference between sharing and explaining. The leads me to what I want to do next....

What I want to do this week with my classes is give them the opportunity to explain passages of scripture to each other, clearly identifying principles, and searching for what the Holy Ghost is prompting them to do while explaining their understandings to a peer. Share and testify, I think, will naturally follow, but they are not part of my emphasis; yet it will be interesting to see how share and testify may naturally follow in the explaining process; I will watch for this.

Here is what I think I will do in my classes this week: 1. Tell them I am working on helping myself and students explain doctrines and principles. 2. Demonstrate explaining a passage of scripture by clearly identifying principles on my own first; this might be done by actually taking a passage of scripture and identifying a doctrine or principle by writing it down; then ask my students to try the same thing, ie, clearly write out a principle or doctrine from a different passage of scripture. 3. Then I will try to explain the doctrine or principle I identified to another person and ask the students to do the same thing. And 4. Debrief it: Discuss with students how my efforts went, what they saw that went well and not so well, and then have them debrief each other on their efforts.

President Spencer W. Kimball said, "We learn by doing" (as found in the Gospel Teaching and Learning Manual for S&I Teachers and Leaders, p. 32). So it is now time for me to do, and I invite you to do as well.


*****Disclaimer: Please note I use this blog page to share what I am working on as an institute instructor. I am always hoping to improve and do better as a instructor. If you are one of our Colorado Springs Institute of Religion faculty or missionaries teaching a class for us, please join me in a collective effort to improve. Search the Gospel Teaching and Learning manual for your own ways to improve as well. *****

Apply Doctrines & Principles

Our purpose is to help the youth and young adults understand and rely on the teachings and Atonement of Jesus Christ, qualify for the blessings of the temple, and prepare themselves, their families and others for eternal life with their Father in Heaven. How can I help facilitate that purpose in my institute classes just a little better this week?

Efforts. New effort this week: I will help my students apply doctrines and principles. BUT! But, I intend to incorporate helping my students feel the truth and importance of doctrines and principles (see previous post for more information, posted 31 October 2013). The Gospel Teaching & Learning manual for Seminaries & Institutes of Religion instructors states, "Application takes place when students think, speak, and live according to the principles they have learned" (p. 30). I would like to see more of this in my classes as well as across the institute. What can we do just a little more of to assist our students in applying gospel doctrines and principles? Lets explore this some.

The "do." The Gospel Teaching & Learning manual suggests, "Teachers should give students time in class to meditate on, ponder, or write about what they have understood and felt, and to consider what specific actions they should take to apply it in their lives" (p. 31). When was the last time you or I gave our students time to simply ponder doctrines and principles in class? This occurs in my classes, but unfortunately, I am not deliberate enough in my preparations to insert it into my plans for a lesson. If you are like me, time for pondering probably just happens.

Here is one of those experiences from last week in my Thursday evening Book of Mormon class, it came in an effort to help my students feel the importance of doctrines and principles. We read a passage and I simply asked my students to consider what they thought those verses, in context, actually meant. Then, to add to that, I asked them to consider what the Spirit was teaching them about what we had just read. Silence reigned for the space of a time. My natural inclination was to say something to fill the void, but I felt I should not. I looked across the room at the faces and could see there was learning occurring I should not disrupt. Then one by one students raised their hands and shared their thoughts. What came was interesting because it was a mixture of both feeling the truth of the principles and doctrines and natural applications to their lives and the lives of their families. We were all blessed by what was shared, felt and packaged for application to our lives.

The "how." The Gospel Teaching & Learning manual says, "...Teachers should encourage students to ask for guidance and direction from the Lord" (p. 31) as to how to apply doctrines and principles to their lives. I like this idea, I have never thought of asking students to simply offer a prayer in their heart in class and ask

the Lord to show unto them how to apply a principle. This could be a revelatory experience for some young (or old, but not in institute) soul! I am going to try asking students to pray specifically in their hearts this week for two things: 1. For the Lord to help them feel the truth and importance of doctrines and principles; and 2. For the Lord to show them how to apply doctrines and principles in their lives. Nephi taught, "...if ye will...receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do" (2 Nephi 32:5). The Gospel Teaching & Learning manual states, "Remember that the most meaningful direction for personal application comes individually through inspiration or revelation from the Lord through the Holy Ghost" (p. 31). Amen! I could use more of that in my classes!

Conclusion. I know, whew, lets wrap this up and get to work! This week I will probably not post a lot of different information about gospel teaching and learning, I will share how things go with, 1. Helping my students feel the truth and importance of doctrines and principles; and 2. For the Lord to show them how to apply doctrines and principles in their lives; in both efforts I will ask my students to use the "supernal gift of prayer" (Elder Richard G. Scott, General Conference, Apr. 2007). I am excited to share what I learned. I am confident the Lord will bless my efforts as I seek to improve. May I invite you to join me in becoming a better gospel teacher? Come try some principles and lets improve together. I know the Lord will bless our efforts!