Lead Student Lesson Plan L02: Welcome to Pathway

Transcription

1 Lead Student Lesson Plan L02: Welcome to Pathway Main Purposes Discuss the BYU-Pathway Worldwide devotional Discuss principles of gathering To describe and apply the BYU-Idaho Learning Model To describe and live the BYU-Idaho Honor Code. Student Preparation Students were asked to prepare for gathering by completing specific activities and/or pondering certain questions. Please refer to the gathering instructions in this week s unit or lesson in the course. Lesson Outline As the Lead Student this week you will facilitate the Thursday Gathering. The times given for each activity are suggested times. The Gathering should not last more than 60 minutes. Try to make sure that the main purposes of the gathering are met each week. OPENING Announcements, Hymn, and Prayer (5 minutes) CLASS ACTIVITIES BYU-Pathway Worldwide Devotional The Purpose of Gathering LED BY MISSIONARIES Announcements Opening Hymn: Chosen by missionaries, please sing only one or two verses due to time constraints. Prayer: By Invitation LED BY LEAD STUDENT Students were asked to watch the BYU-Pathway Worldwide devotional this week at They should have done this prior to the gathering. As a class discuss the devotional according to the information provided on the website. In preparation for the Introduction Lesson gathering, students were asked to watch at least two videos from the Group Activity Videos page in the Lead Student Tools folder of the course. They were also asked to view a

2 short video about Pathway Gatherings, read a quote from Elder Bednar, and then read quotes from former GS 120 students, both below. These things are intended to help students understand how to more fully participate at the Gatherings. Please review these materials in preparation for facilitating this gathering. Note: Students should watch these videos before the Gathering, not during the Gathering. Overview of the Learning Model (20 minutes) Using one of the techniques found in the Group Activity Videos, have students discuss what they have learned in preparation for the Gathering. Some discussion topics may include: Thoughts and impressions about the Gathering video and quotes from former GS 120 students regarding the importance of the Gathering. What do the students want to gain from attending the Gatherings? What are the students most looking forward to about the Gatherings? If you have experienced gatherings in an earlier semester, share your testimony about the importance of the Gatherings with the students. Read the following quote from President Henry B. Eyring to learn what he prophesied regarding the graduates of BYU Idaho. They will be natural leaders who know how to teach and how to learn... Those graduates of BYU Idaho - and this is a prophecy that I am prepared to make and to make solemnly - those graduates of BYU Idaho will become legendary for their capacity to build the people around them and to add value wherever they serve. (A Steady Upward Course, BYU Idaho Devotional, 2001). Discuss how President Eyring s quote pertains to the Learning Model. Talk about what the Learning Model consists of (Prepare, Teach One Another, Ponder and Prove, and the five principles.) Discuss why the order in which the process takes place is significant. Read the following quotes to the class and ask students to consider how the quotes listed below relate to the five principles of the Learning Model.

3 Principle 1: Learners and teachers at BYU Idaho exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as a principle of action and power. Principle 2: Learners and teachers at BYU Idaho understand that true teaching is done by and with the Holy Ghost. Principle 3: Learners and teachers at BYU Idaho lay hold upon the word of God - as found in the holy scriptures and in the words of the Prophets - in all disciplines. Principle 4: Learners and teachers at BYU Idaho act for themselves and accept responsibility for learning and teaching. Principle 5: Learners and teachers at BYU Idaho love, serve, and teach one another. Quote #1 from BYU Idaho President, Kim B. Clark: Inspired learning and teaching is the symbolic keystone to the overall campus experience. It brings discipleship preparation and leadership development together in one great whole. Quote #2 from BYU Idaho President, Kim B. Clark: To learn by faith, students need opportunities to take action. Some of those opportunities will come...in the classroom, where prepared students, exercising faith, step out beyond the light they already possess, to speak, to contribute, and to teach one another. (BYU Idaho Response, 2005). Small Group Honor Code Separate your peers into five groups and assign each of the principles of the Learning Model to a different group. Using the Expert Group learning activity video found in the Lead Student Tools folder, each group will prepare a 2 3 minute presentation regarding their Learning Model principle. Ask them to include a scripture and an example pertaining to their topic. (Give each group a piece of paper with their topic written on it; doing this will help this activity run more smoothly.) The Honor Code is living with honesty and integrity as a BYU Idaho student. Discuss the Honor Code s purpose and the effects of following or not following it. Use good questions and, if you desire, a learning activity from one of the Group Activity videos. Read the following quotes and consider how they relate to the Honor Code. Discuss why our appearance is something the Lord cares about. Quote from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:

4 Choose your clothing the way you choose your friends in both cases, choose that which improves you and would give you confidence standing in the presence of God. Good friends would never embarrass you, demean you, or exploit you. Neither should your clothing. (General Conference, October 2005, To Young Women) Quote from President James E. Faust: Conclusion (5 minutes) Some of Satan s most appealing lines are Everybody does it ; If it doesn t hurt anybody else, it s all right ; If you feel all right about it, it s OK ; or It s the in thing to do. These subtle entreaties make Satan the great imitator, the master deceiver, the arch counterfeiter, and the great forger. (General Conference, October 1987, The Great Imitator) Read the following quote to your classmates and ask them to ponder what they have learned at the Gathering. Study is an act of faith requiring the use of personal agency... While learning from a good teacher is very important, it is more important for you to have meaningful learning experiences on your own. (Preach My Gospel, pg. 17). CLOSING Prayer Bear your testimony regarding the concepts and truths presented at the gathering. LED BY MISSIONARIES Closing Prayer: By Invitation Remember: You need to be able to contact each other and stay organized. Use the method that works best for your gathering group (texts, , Facebook, etc.). Note Please download and print a copy of these instructions to use as a reference during Thursday's Pathway Gathering. Elder Bednar on Gathering This spirit of gathering brings assurance, encouragement, and a sense of purpose greater than self. At BYU Idaho you gather together to learn and to prepare for your mortal and eternal opportunities and responsibilities. You gather together to strengthen each other. You gather together to develop appropriate relationships and to create eternal families. You gather together to increase in understanding about the purpose and measure of your creation. Elder David A. Bednar, The Spirit & Purposes of Gathering, BYU Idaho Devotional given on October 31, 2006.

5 Former GS 120 Students Talk About the Gathering 1. I m not sure why BYU Idaho feels it s important, but I know why I do... once I allow the spirit to work on me while carefully listening to my classmates, I find that I learn a great deal more than I had anticipated. I have discovered some very important things about myself while attending these gatherings.... [The gathering] helps me to focus on the intent of the material in a way that is personal. I think that without it, the things I am learning would lose value. 2. I attended Pathway tonight and... I understand why BYU Idaho has the Pathway program, and I am on board. I know it builds unity and the feeling of support when we are all going back to school now in our lives. I have met many wonderful people in the same situation as me. We all have testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ, too, and there is power in that when we come together. 3. I love pathway [and the] gathering is my favorite part. [It] is when I learn the most. I don t feel so insecure and lonely [and it] is nice to share with people that are experiencing the same things that you are: the good, the bad, the insecurities, and the questions. Also, we help each other... I always come home with the spirit or a message from the gathering. I also have made really good friends... we are planning a party for the end of first semester. I think that Pathway wouldn t be this successful without the gathering. I know my experience wouldn t be this nice and secure if it wasn t for my amazing classmates. 4. I think what the class does most is that it aids in broadening my perspective. After doing the assignments, I often go to the class with my opinions and assumptions. I have not once gone to a class and not had my perspective either broadened or changed. I think the class actually makes that class something more life changing, and it really couldn t be that without it I believe strongly that the Thursday night gathering is so important to this program because there is so much love and support found in the gatherings. The Spirit is felt strongly in these meetings... Recently, we experienced a winter storm that cancelled our gathering and I was very disappointed because I missed that time together with people who are working toward the same goal that I am. There is a bond that is hard to explain. I very much enjoy Thursday night gatherings and feel that if this wasn t part of the Pathway program, I would struggle with attending college. 6. The BYU Idaho learning model is prepare, teach one another, and ponder/prove. We are doing this each week with our Pathway meetings and that s why they are a critical part of the program. We prepare each week by completing the assignments, and then we teach each other in our meetings. I believe this helps us to do deeper pondering/proving than if we were just doing our online work. I love the Pathway meetings! I feel like my classmates have become my family.