Thoughts from Teaching Stake Institute

A friend was recently called as an institute teacher and asked for insights about team teaching. Here are my thoughts about that and a handful of other aspects that stood out in my mind, in case they or the resources listed might be helpful for anyone else in the future.

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So you're going to be an institute teacher?! I can't tell you how excited I am for you! It was one of the most growth promoting opportunities to serve that I've had and I felt so fortunate to love it so much. I hope you have a great experience with it too. You asked for any insights or advice that I could share that might be helpful. Here are a few…

First of all, someone once said, "All advice is autobiographical." That being said, here are my thoughts. Take them for whatever they're worth. :)

Teaching Thoughts:

• The best part of your calling might be the people that you are called to serve with. I was blessed to serve with David N & Bryan M, both of whom are now some of my best-est buds. When they wanted to talk through ideas for their portion of the lesson I loved it and I really appreciated that they were willing to listen and be a soundboard of ideas when I needed one. Like most things in life, who we are with is central to the experience. Doing whatever is best for the relationship/friendship, is always a good investment.
• Create a semester lesson pacing guide
• Technology can be your friend.
• A class website with the semester outline.  http://www.churchystuff.com/ has changed quite a bit over time and it's still doing great job.
• A class blog or forum where others can post their thoughts, questions, great quotes, etc. (Here is how youth.lds.org uses this https://www.lds.org/youth/video/dare-to-stand-alone?lang=eng See the 120+ comments shared below the video.)
• Class Polls The church uses this on www.lds.org/youth. Just look for a blue box that says "poll" in it. (Poll everywhere.com might be the easiest platform to use in an institute class.) 
• Offer a rough outline for the class. This might be written on the board but it gives the class a sketch of where you're going with a lesson and helps them know when it might be most fitting to share their thoughts. 
• If coming on time to class is a challenge, encourage people to come early and watch some of the most recently released Mormon Messages beforehand.
• Digital Organization: Something else that is helpful for me in studying the gospel and preparing lessons was, of course, organization. What can I say… I like things being organized. :) Here is how I've organized my digital files.

• Now, years later, if I were to restart all of my records, I might use Evernote instead of Dropbox since with Evernote you can tag something in multiple categories, rather than saving a document in just one folder. Dropbox worked well for me at that time though.

Teaching Resouces:

You also mentioned that you'll be teaching the Pearl of Great Price. Here are some of the resources that I really appreciated while I was preparing and that I used from time to time in class

• Joseph Smith Papers DVD documentary Series. This was especially helpful when teaching the origin of the Pearl of Great Price http://deseretbook.com/Joseph-Smith-Papers-Television-Documentary-Series-Season-1-Excel-Entertainment/i/5029413
• Old Testament Visual Resource DVD http://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product3_715839595_10557_21078_-1__195898
• D&C Visual Resource DVD  http://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product3_715839595_10557_21078_-1__213523

Institute Council Thoughts:

• Institute Council
• There is a lot of work that isn't necessarily the role of a "teacher" i.e. website, emails, snacks after class, publicity, etc. Our stake started an institute council in about 2009 and it grew to be a huge help. Here is the original document President Wilson devised. Here is also a document that the institute co-chairs made to clarify what institute representatives would do. 
• Utilizing Stake Institute as a Resource to meet ward/stake needs.
• Ask stake or ward leaders what the overarching strengths in the stake are. Capitalize on those.
• Ask stake or ward leaders what the overarching needs are. Offer or utilize stake institute as a vehicle to meet those needs, making it more than a once a week "class" but rather a resource to meet individuals' needs. 
• Stake Institute Co-Chairs or ward reps may ask about and offer this at stake or ward council meetings.)

Last Thoughts:

I love this quote by President Hinckley. 

• "Your students deserve more than your knowledge. They deserve and hunger for your inspiration. They want the warm glow of personal relationships. This always has been the hallmark of a great teacher." 

I am SO excited for this next "adventure" for you to serve and grow in this wonderful calling!!

Wishing you all the best,

Ali