By Sally Wizik Wills

In a rotational setting, the same Bible story or theme is taught for several weeks. Each week, learners rotate to a different station. The story remains the same, but children encounter it in different ways in each station. Repetition is an important part of the rotation approach. The more different ways children explore a story or concept, the more it is reinforced in their memories. The variety of experiences keeps interest high throughout the unit. Teachers teach the same lesson, with age-level adjustments, for the length of the rotation. Rotational learning is exciting for students and teachers alike, as teachers teach to their strengths and students experience Bible stories in ways they learn best. Rotational learning is grounded in the work of Howard Gardner in Multiple Intelligences Theory. Rotational learning is active learning, emphasizing each of the first seven intelligences that Gardner identified. Rotational learning is an extremely flexible model that adapts well to many settings.

By Sally Wizik Wills

In 1990, Rev. Neil MacQueen and Melissa Armstrong-Hansche, staff members at the Barrington Presbyterian Church in Barrington, Illinois, created what became known as the Workshop Rotation Model® for Sunday school. Other Christian educators in the area soon became involved in using and further developing this model. An interview with Mickie O’Donnell, one of those educators and the current Executive Director of Children’s Ministries of America.

The model soon spread beyond the Chicago area. Churches across the country, representing a wide number of denominations, now use the Workshop Rotation Model®. PowerXpress!® was developed in response to requests for a curriculum designed for rotational learning.

Yes, it's very flexible. In each setting, you decide:

• how to divide the children and whether or not all the children will visit each station. You might consider dividing children by grade, or placing two grades together, or using broadly graded learning groups. In a very large program, you might have several sections of each station.
• how many weeks each unit will last. Although PowerXpress!® provides stations for eight weeks, it is unlikely that your units will last this long. Three, four, or five weeks is more typical. You may choose to vary the length of units to accommodate the seasons of the church year and to fit scheduling needs in your setting.
• what stations to use. The stations provided in PowerXpress!® are Art, Computer, Creative Cookery, Game, Music/Movement, Science, Storytelling, and Video.
• how to set up stations. In an ideal world, you would have eight dedicated spaces and could set up all eight stations and leave them set up. During each unit, you would use only the stations that you have selected for that unit. If you don’t have this luxury, you might use the same space for more than one station during the year. Perhaps your space can be set up in a way that can reasonably accommodate more than one station. For example, you might use many of the same supplies in Storytelling and Video. You might want to keep them in one location, sometimes using the space as a Storytelling Station, sometimes as a Video Station.
• which activities to use in each station, since PowerXpress!® provides more options than you will use. Each station has several ideas for younger children and several ideas for older children, as well as some that can be used with all ages. You might even decide to move an activity from one station to another. For example, you may choose not to use the Video Station, but to move an activity from Video into the Storytelling Station. Or you might use a suggested activity in the Games Station in Creative Cookery as the children wait for something to bake.
• the order in which to use the units. PowerXpress!® is undated. Over forty units cover the main stories of both the Old and New Testaments and include three Advent/Christmas units and three Lent/Easter units. They may be used in the order you choose. Because of this flexibility, you will be able to customize a program that works for your setting and its unique needs! (Click here for a suggested Scope and Sequence.)

Once you decide that the rotational learning model of education is what your church is going to do for Sunday school, it is important that you plan carefully. You may work with planning teams, the children’s workers, or staff members depending on the size and structure of your church. Ask the following questions:

• How does rotational learning fit in with our church’s mission?
• How many children do we have in our program?
• What are their grades and ages?
• What is our budget?
• What steps do we need to take to get the permission we need?
• How will we introduce rotational learning to the congregation?
• How many stations do we want to begin with?
• What is our time line?

By Sally Wizik Wills

For much of the twentieth century, psychologists believed that intelligence could be objectively measured and expressed by a single number, or "IQ" score. In 1983, Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner challenged this idea in the book Frames of Mind. Gardner argued that an IQ score defined human intelligence too narrowly. He proposed the existence of at least seven basic intelligences. He called this "Multiple Intelligences Theory."

In working with Multiple Intelligences Theory, it is helpful to remember several key points.

1. Each person is a unique creation. We each possess all the intelligences, but these intelligences work together differently in each person. Most people have some intelligences that are highly developed, some that are fairly developed, and some that are underdeveloped.
2. Each intelligence can be developed to an acceptable level of competency in most people.
3. Intelligences are integrated into patterns. They rarely stand alone.
4. There are many ways to experience and express each intelligence. Research continues on Multiple Intelligences Theory. Gardner has recently added an eighth intelligence, naturalist, and discussed the possibility of a ninth, spiritual. PowerXpress!® uses the first seven intelligences that Gardener identified. (Click here for a chart showing a list of the these intelligences, with clues to recognize each.)

How does the cost of rotational learning compare to using traditional curriculum? Although this is an important question, it is hard to answer. Curriculum costs will be less with PowerXpress!® than with most traditional curricula. You will need only one copy of each unit, and it may be photocopied as needed for use in your church. You will not be purchasing separate student books, leaflets, packets, or teacher books. However, you will need a variety of resources and supplies for each unit. These will include items you may have on hand, but you will also need to purchase such items as groceries, computer software, or videos.

Many PowerXpress!® churches have found that their spending is about the same with PowerXpress!® as it was with conventional Sunday school materials. Look at alternative ways to provide equipment and supplies. Put together a “Wish List” and ask the congregation to bring things from their attics, their garages, their homes, and their offices that will benefit your ministry. Post the Wish List in the bulletin, newsletter, or on a large display board.

Because children will rotate to a new station each week, they will not have the opportunity to develop a relationship with one teacher over the course of the year. Since such relationships are so significant, you will want to consider using shepherds in your program. A shepherd is an adult or older youth who will travel with the group each week to its station, providing continuity. It is the shepherd who knows the children by name. The shepherd is not responsible for teaching, but may take attendance, “check in” with the children each week, be an extra pair of hands in the classroom, and help in ways that the teacher asks. Shepherds might also be responsible for name badges for the class, which are particularly helpful as the group moves from teacher to teacher.

Mickie O’Donnell was one of the first Christian educators to work with the Workshop Rotation Model®. She is currently the Executive Director of Children’s Ministries of America, a group whose mission is “Helping Churches Develop Multi-dimensional Learning Environments.”

PX!: Mickie, what is your vision of a Sunday school using rotational learning?
Mickie: Children more fully engaged in each learning environment. Children want to come back because they have other rooms to look forward to in the weeks to come. Adults teaching in their area of giftedness and children who can feel their enthusiasm. Adults who love children by serving as shepherds and nurturing the children.

PX!: Why does this model work?
Mickie: Children experience the story in multiple, authentic learning environments, which helps with retention for better integration of the faith story in their hearts and minds. Teachers do one lesson four to five times in a setting that fits their particular giftedness and interest, thus allowing for better familiarity with the story or project.

PX!: What is unique about rotational learning?
Mickie: It helps churches make use of the concepts of Multiple Intelligences Theory, brain studies, gift-based ministry, and other current education research. In the rotation learning model, children experience God’s Word through a variety of stations that allow the biblical story to enter through all the intelligences and thus be retained by the learner. With this higher percentage of retention, there will be a higher possibility of a transformed life.

PowerXpress Director's Manual Download

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Becoming a Wiz at Brain-Based Teaching

Teaching with the Brain in Mind

Arts with the Brain in Mind

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