Teaching Skills Archives - Page 28 of 39

Using Moral Dilemmas to Teach – A Catechist Shares Her Ideas

Using moral dilemmas to teach Catholic morality is a tried and true, effective teaching method. I recently had an email exchange with a catechist about the topic of teaching morality and, in the course of our sharing, she generously shared with me some moral dilemma scripts she developed for teaching the virtues and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Here’s our exchange: Hi Joe, I, too, am an 8th grade catechist this year. I appreciate […]

Successful Assessment

Joe Paprocki

I was very pleased with the results of the Confirmation exam given last night! This was the best that my students have done in recent years. First, I had provided the young people with a study sheet 2 weeks ago, telling them precisely what would be included on the exam. I believe this made a big difference because some of them actually studied! One young man (who has a minor learning disability and has a […]

Helping an Eleven-Year Old Understand Evolution and the Catholic Faith

Joe Paprocki

I received a plea for help from my colleague and friend Sr. Julie Vieira, IHM, (be sure to visit her blog, A Nun’s Life) who is seeking an effective response to an inquiry she received from a mom trying to help her 11 year-old son understand the relationship between the theory of evolution and the Catholic faith. The mom writes: My son is 11 years old attending Catholic School and he has been asking questions […]

"What If I Don't Pass the Exam?"

Joe Paprocki

This is the question I have heard and will hear again on Monday evening when the young people take their Confirmation exam – I like to call it an assessment but to them it’s an exam! I explain it this way: This is not a matter of passing or failing to see if you’ll be allowed to be confirmed. If you don’t do well, that means that you and I have some work to do. […]

My (Our) Struggles – Not to Be Confused with Mein Kampf

Joe Paprocki

What a shame that an idiot like Hitler ruined such a good phrase: “my struggle” (of course you know that is the translation of Mein Kampf, his notorious autobiography/statement of his twisted ideology). I bring this up because I am always amazed and also amused (and of course, touched) at the fact that I get more feedback on my blog posts in which I share my struggles or moments of weakness as a catechist than […]

Delightful Banter

Joe Paprocki

I have to admit that for me, making “small talk” does not always come easy. When it comes to interacting socially with students, I’m not necessarily the “warm and fuzzy” type, at least not right off the bat. I’m professionally pleasant and cordial but it takes me a while to let my guard down and just be myself. Last night, I was pleasantly “disarmed” by one of the young people who asked at the outset, […]

A Lot Can Happen in 75 Minutes! (part 4)

Joe Paprocki

One last thing to share about Monday evening’s class. I was sharing some ideas with the young people about how they can share their faith in practical ways. (I posted about this earlier). One of the suggestions I offered was to wear a sacramental such as a medal, a cross, a pin, or a scapular. As I was saying this, I glanced over at my aide, Ben, who is a high school sophomore. He started […]

So Much Can Happen in 75 Minutes! (Part 2)

Joe Paprocki

So, after we spent some time in discussion and praying for their classmate Joe who had died suddenly last Friday (as I described yesterday), I transitioned the young people into a guided reflection. I had planned on doing the guided reflection first this week as opposed to saving it to the end of class. It turns out that this was probably a good thing since they were already in a prayerful state of mind. Thank […]

So Much Can Happen in 75 Minutes! (part 1)

Joe Paprocki

In many ways, last evening was a typical class. At the same time, it occurred to me just how much can take place in the 75 minutes we spend together! As a result, I have a lot I’d like to tell you about concerning last evening’s class, so I’ll spread it out over the next couple of days. First… As the young people were gathering, one of the young men asked, “Are we going to […]

Virtual Symposium on Adolescent Catechesis

Joe Paprocki

Last week, a National Symposium on Adolescent Catechesis was held in Baltimore with 100 invited guests (academics, bishops, practicioners, and leaders of various disciplines related to adolescent catechesis). The goals of the symposium were: to identify factors that affect adolescent faith formation and their implications, to develop a common language that will help establish standards for effective adolescent catechesis and its assessment, to establish tools for addressing the creation of comprehensive youth faith formation programs. […]