Principles of Learning
Teaching in the Ways People Learn
Course Description
This course focuses on how to teach according to the ways adults learn. Topics include the importance of
lifelong learning, high expectations, making application, aiding retention, meeting needs, equipping skills,
and asking for a decision. Students will create visual projects and applications for teaching people biblical
truth in the ways adults learn best.
Required Textbooks
1. Jeremiah Study Bible. Annotated by Dr. David Jeremiah. Worthy
Publishing, 2013. CBD 9781936034895
2. Dr. Bruce H. Wilkinson. The Seven Laws of the Learner. Sisters, OR:
Multnomah, 1992. CBD 9781590524527
3. Dr. Bruce H. Wilkinson, ed. Almost Every Answer for Practically Any
Teacher. Portland, OR: Multnomah, 2005. 9781590524534
4. La Verne Tolbert. Teaching like Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
1999. CBD 9780310223474
5. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Edited by Charles Draper. Nashville,
TN: Holman Reference, 2003. CBD 9780805428360
Additional Books for Pastors, Leaders, and Advanced Students
6. Dr. Bruce H. Wilkinson. 7 Laws of the Learner DVD Set. WorldTeach
B008GG2VE8 (currently unavailable) http://worldteachers.com/
Professors – Click here to receive the Notes for students by email. The intent of this course is to equip you with the Word of God, to
strengthen your character and integrity, and to develop your relational and servant-leadership skills for the glory of God.
2 What are the key ideas in “Maxim 1: Teachers are responsible to cause students to learn”? (29-32)
3 What are the key ideas in “Maxim 2: Teachers will stand accountable to God for their influence”?
(32-33)
4 What are the key ideas in “Maxim 3: Teachers are responsible because they control subject, style,
and speaker”? (33-35)
5 What are the key ideas in “Maxim 4: Teachers should judge their success by the success of their
students”? (35-37)
6 What are the key ideas in “Maxim 5: Teachers impact more by their character and commitment than
by their communication”? (38-39)
7 What are the key ideas in “Maxim 6: Teachers exist to serve the students”? (39-41)
9 How can you love your students consistently and unconditionally? (58-59)
10 How can you communicate the subject with the students’ needs and interests in mind? (60)
11 How can you alter your style regularly according to each situation? (60-62)
12 How can you note constantly your students’ attitudes, attention, and actions? (64)
2 How are you going to apply these concepts to your life, family, and ministry to others?
3 How could we as leaders pass on these lessons to current and future leaders?
3 What are the key ideas in “Expectations exist in everyone about everything all the time”? (82-83)
4 What are the key ideas in “Expectations impact ourselves and others”? (84-85)
5 What are the key ideas in “Expectations are rooted in the past, influence the present, and impact the
future”? (85-87)
6 What are the key ideas in “Expectations are exposed through our attitudes and actions”? (87-88)
7 What are the key ideas in “Expectations influence the future, whether stated or unstated”? (88-89)
8 What are the key ideas in “Expectations impair others if set too low or too high for too long”? (89-90)
9 What are the key ideas in “Expectations empower others when guided by love”? (90-93)
10 How did the story of Bruce Wilkinson and Dr. Hendricks impact you? (93-94)
2 How are you going to apply these concepts to your life, family, and ministry to others? In your opinion,
what are three dreams every person, male or female, has hidden in his or her heart? What do all of us
wish would come true about our futures?
3 How could we as leaders pass on these lessons to current and future leaders?
4 What are the key ideas in “Application is the responsibility of the teacher”? (126-127)
5 What are the key ideas in “Application and information should be balanced”? (127-131)
6 What are the key ideas in “Application focuses Scripture on the students’ needs”? (131)
7 Summarize why “Application has maximum influence when the student sees its biblical basis.” (131-
133)
8 Summarize why “Application that has impacted the teacher tends to impact the student.” (133-136)
9 Summarize why “Application must ultimately lead the student from studying the Bible to obeying the
Lord.” (136-137)
10 How did Bruce Wilkinson’s story about a pastor he taught impact you? (139-140)
13 How can you “persuade” the student to apply the truth? (149-154)
14 How can you “Ask God to develop in you an applier’s heart”? (156-157)
15 How can you “Prepare applications in relation to your students’ needs”? (157)
16 How can you “Plan all parts of the lesson to contribute to the application”? (158)
17 How can you “Lead your students beyond general applications to specific steps of obedience”? (159)
18 How can you “Illustrate the application with Scripture, history, personal experience, and
imagination”? (159-161)
19 How can you “Employ an appropriate style when calling for commitment”? (161-163)
2 How are you going to apply these concepts to your life, family, and ministry to others?
3 How could we as leaders pass on these lessons to current and future leaders?
2 Summarize why “Retention of facts by the student is the teacher’s responsibility.” (180-181)
3 Summarize why “Retention of facts is effective only after they are understood.” (181-182)
4 Summarize why “Retention increases as the student recognizes the content’s relevance.” (182-184)
5 Summarize why “Retention requires the teacher to focus on the facts that are most important.” (184-
186)
6 Summarize why “Retention arranges the facts so they are easy to memorize.” (186-187)
7 Summarize why “Retention strengthens long-term memory through regular review.” (187-188)
8 Summarize why “Retention minimizes time for memorization to maximize time for application.” (188-
189)
13 How can you maximize retention by “Representing the facts in a picture”? (210-213)
14 How can you maximize retention by “Expressing the facts with a story”? (213-214)
15 How can you maximize retention by “Transferring the facts by the alphabet”? (214-216)
16 How can you maximize retention by “Associating the facts with objects and actions”? (216)
17 How can you maximize retention by “Impressing the facts with drama”? (216-217)
18 How can you maximize retention by “Summarizing the facts with graphs and charts”? (217-218)
2 How are you going to apply these concepts to your life, family, and ministry to others?
3 How could we as leaders pass on these lessons to current and future leaders?
5 How can you “stimulate felt needs” and “surface real needs”? (231-233)
6 How can you “satisfy the real needs” of your students? (233-234)
9 Summarize why “Need building is the teacher’s main method to motivate students.” (242)
10 Summarize why “Need motivates to the degree it is felt by the student.” (242-243)
11 Summarize why “Need building always precedes new units of content.” (243-245)
12 Summarize why “Need should be built according to the audience’s characteristics and
circumstances.” (245)
13 Summarize why “Need building may be hindered by factors beyond the teacher’s control.” (245-248)
17 How can you lead your students to “Feel the need”? (266-268)
21 How can you “Increase the need through your delivery”? (273-274)
2 What do you think are the top ten needs of your people in order of importance? How are you going to
apply these concepts to your life, family, and ministry to others?
3 How could we as leaders pass on these lessons from the law of need to current and future leaders?
5 Summarize why “The primary result of equipping is Christians doing the work of the ministry and
edifying the body of Christ.” (288)
9 Summarize why “Equipping occurs best when the teacher assumes the biblical role.” (296-297)
10 Summarize why “Equipping is best evaluated by what the student does after class.” (298-300)
11 Summarize why “Equipping should impact both character and conduct.” (300-301)
12 Summarize why “Equipping should focus more intensely on the most committed.” (301-302)
13 Summarize why “Equipping requires knowledge, skill, and long-term commitment.” (302-304)
17 Why should you “involve” students in actually doing the skill themselves? (316-317)
18 How can you “improve” the students’ newly obtained skills? (317-320)
19 How can you “inspire” students to continue using their skill? (320-322)
20 How can you “Train your students until they are successful, independent users of the skill”? (323-
324)
21 How can you “Reproduce yourself by focusing on students’ skill, not your style”? (324-325)
22 How can you “Alter equipping according to your students’ characteristics and circumstances”? (325-
326)
23 How can you “Increase student motivation by relationship, retribution, and reward”? (326-328)
24 How can you “Nail down the basics before developing advanced skills”? (328-329)
25 How can you “Encourage students more frequently during early training”? (329-331)
26 How can you “Reaffirm students’ value independent of their level of performance”? (331-333)
2 How are you going to apply these concepts to your life, family, and ministry to others?
3 How could we as leaders pass on these lessons to current and future leaders?
4 Summarize why “Revival is spiritual restoration and is the spiritual teacher’s responsibility.” (351-
355)
5 Summarize why “Revival is possible only for those who have first experienced the second birth.”
(355-356)
6 Summarize why “Revival always requires true repentance and the forsaking of known sin.” (357-358)
7 Summarize why “Revival always results in seeking and serving Christ with renewed fervency.” (359)
2 Reprove
3 Repent
4 Recommit
5 Restore
10 How can you “Realize that revival is needed by most Christians most of the time”? (381-382)
11 How can you “Earnestly seek revival through intense and persistent private and public prayer”? (382-
383)
12 How can you “Vary your delivery according to your students’ spiritual response”? (383-384)
13 How can you “Instruct your students in the knowledge and practice of spiritual disciplines”? (384-
385)
14 How can you “Verbalize the final call for revival clearly and expectantly”? (385-387)
15 How can you “Anticipate revival to be accompanied by intense spiritual warfare”? (387)
16 How can you “Lay yourself before the Lord as a clean vessel committed to revival”? (388)
2 What can we do to reduce the percentage of those who attend your church but are out of fellowship at
this moment? (381-382) How are you going to apply these concepts to your life, family, and ministry?
3 How could we as leaders pass on these lessons to current and future leaders?
The teaching lab is an opportunity for students to learn to work together. Students benefit from group
interaction as they communicate, cooperate, and collaborate. The public speaking component of this
assignment along with formative feedback help students gain experience and confidence. Students learn
best in professional learning communities.
5 Chapter 2. What are the key ideas in “Jesus, the Master Teacher”?
6 What are the key ideas in “Jesus Taught Based on His Character”?
12 What are the key ideas in “Jesus Appealed to the Mind, Emotions, and Behavior”?
2 How are you going to apply these concepts to your life, family, and ministry to others?
3 How could we as leaders pass on these lessons to current and future leaders?
Interpersonal
Rapport
Teaching
Skill
Moral
Excellence
5 Chapter 4. What are the key ideas in “We Learn by Different Means”?
2 How are you going to apply these concepts to your life, family, and ministry to others?
3 How could we as leaders pass on these lessons to current and future leaders?
2 How are you going to apply these concepts to your life, family, and ministry to others?
3 How could we as leaders pass on these lessons to current and future leaders?
5 What are the key ideas in “Sex, Drugs, Drinking, and Suicide”?
11 Chapter 10. What are the key ideas in “What to Do When You Feel Like Quitting”?
2 How are you going to apply these concepts to your life, family, and ministry to others?
3 How could we as leaders pass on these lessons to current and future leaders?
2 How have you applied what you learned during this course? What difference is it making? How did
this course strengthen your relationship with Jesus and fellow believers?
Encourage students to debrief and share what they have learned in the course.
Discuss how to recruit new students who would benefit from EBI Leadership Training.
Make a list of prospective students who would benefit from EBI Leadership Training.
Students are encouraged to invite their pastors, church leaders, and friends to the next course.
Distribute promotional materials and syllabus for the next course.
Register students and order books for the next course.
Transfer Credits: To transfer credits from Equip Biblical Institute to Southern California Seminary,
students must present a complete portfolio. The portfolio consists of the questions, journal reflections,
term papers, and exams for each course. Upon successful completion of the courses, students may
transfer up to 66 units into the Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies degree. If the portfolio for a course is
not complete, the credits may not be transferable.
Transformational Learning Tip: By reviewing this portfolio once a year as part of a commitment to life
change—you will exponentially increase your memory and ability to apply this material to your life, family,
and ministry. Based on best practices for learning and neural science, key concepts are repeated in
multiple courses to support the lifelong learning process.