Creating Lessons

Someone asked me the other day what is my process for creating lessons and I realised that it isn't a simple straight forward answer. Then her follow-up question was do I use technology like AI and that was an easy response, Yes. So I thought I would share here how I go about creating a new lesson. So I thought I would try to share with you what my process generally looks like.

Sometimes its a verse, or an idea/concept that stands out in my Bible plan, or something that comes up at Bible study, or a dream, in prayer, or a set of words that I think would be perfect foundational material for a class. Regardless of the original catalyst the Holy Grammar content is always faith based and aimed to balance learning with spirituality, which I too find personally gratifying.

Then I take my set of ideas with suitable vocabulary or a specific word cluster and head over to ChatGPT and enter in my prompt. Let it be said that I am no expert here and I'm still very much a learner in this regard, nevertheless I try assimilate all my thoughts around what I envisage for a class. Here is an example of a prompt I entered for the B1 level class called "Metanoia: Turn Around" This was a really special concept to me, one I had already studied for several weeks in our weekly Bible study that I attend here in my hometown. Here then is the prompt; as is:

Hi there! I have another idea for a B1 Holy Grammar class and would like to work around the theme based on the Greek work for turn around which is Metanoia. Synonyms like: about face, alteration, adaptation, change of heart, changeover could be fun to explore. As an intro something along these lines could work. Metanoia is more than the idea of changing our hearts and minds, to turn in a new direction. The underlying theology here is that if we are walking in a direction that will lead to a bad or disastrous outcome, we should turn, face a new direction and step off the current trajectory. Obviously from a Christian standpoint that would mean turn back and look at Jesus, remind ourselves of the promises of God, and who we are in Christ Jesus. Perhaps you could include Matthew 4:17 when Jesus says Metanoia [repent] for the Kingdom of heaven has come near. Wow this has a deeper interpretation of the word Metanoia! And then also Acts 3:19. I would really appreciate if you could turn these thoughts into a coherent English Grammar lesson (can be longer than 45 mins) for a B1 student with vocabulary, reading exercises, tips for Metanoia life hacks, exercises, intro, conclusion and any insightful ideas you might have. Thank you.

I then get a draft of the class from ChatGPT, which is generally fairly well written, thought out and includes all the elements that I requested. Then starts the process of editing, re-wording or re-writing where needed and transferring the data onto my Canva slides where I add color, images etc. to compliment the theme. After that I again go though the class word for word and make changes to align with the message I am trying to portray. ChatGPT is a great help but the work needs to be carefully combed through and altered accordingly. Many times I rewrite sections and sentences in exercises so that they make more sense, for instance in exercises like Multiple Choice and True/False, in particular require a lot of editing.

Sometimes a lesson can take me a full day to complete and other times even up to a week, especially if life is busy and if I have many One-on-one or group classes booked. Either way I absolutely LOVE the process! It is such a privilege to be working on this material and then the joy is greatly amplified when sharing the classes with students. There have been moments of sharing that have honestly taken my breathe away and there has been laughter and tears when a student is moved to share something deep, profound or relevant!

I am so Thankful always for the presence of the Holy Spirit in class and each and every class begins and ends in prayer. Thank you to every Holy Grammar student....and I pray that I will be able to continue this wonderful work and keep being blessed by it and hopefully bless you too! X