Once a teacher has gained a little experience in the classroom, they can begin to refine their approach and plan for more detailed interactions with their students. For the Equip Phase, they can thoughtfully assign actions to key words in the "Who?" portion or in the week's Scripture memorization. They can practice their own memory work with God's Word while thinking about what funny voices or memorization activities would work best with their students. Teachers can spend some time becoming well-versed in the geography (the "Where?") and the timeline (the "When?"). These small refinements can help experienced teachers maximize the Equip Phase for even greater effectiveness.
When it comes to the Empower Phase, it is best if teachers choose activities or discussion questions that make the most sense for the Biblical content that they are covering. For example, when planning for an Exploration in a New Testament epistle like Philippians, "Scripture Exploration with Discussion" might work better than "Hands-On Story Experience." On the other hand, the "Biblical Character Interaction" Exploration would be very well suited to talking about Pharaoh. I personally enjoy using this option, taking on the role of an over-the-top "Grumpy Pharaoh" when we talk about the Exodus. My students always enjoy the injection of a little humor into the otherwise serious discussion about God's hardening of Pharaoh's heart.
Expeditions, by their very nature, are longer-term rhetoric activities. Bible Quest includes a chart for tracking student Expeditions, making it easy for teachers to help students decide which options they have yet to try. Improving this part of Bible Quest comes with a teacher's willingness to give students helpful, caring direction as they develop their final Expedition presentations.
While Bible Quest includes everything a teacher needs to succeed and improve their classroom, the classical model also enjoys a very interesting advantage: once an instructor gains familiarity with the method, they need even less preparation to succeed in class!
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