Rotation Model Sunday School
Give it aWhirl
by Anita Ayers Henderlight
If you are sitting near a campfire listening to scripture, you might be in the Holy Ghost Stories tent at First Bristol United Methodist Church.
If you are watching a Bible video – with surround sound, tiered seating, popcorn and lighted aisles – you could be at Church Street's Heavenly Box Office (HBO) movie theater in Knoxville.
Or maybe you're in Tazewell, Va., playing an interactive Bible game at Main Street UMC's Church Mouse computer lab.
At any one of these places, you would be experiencing Christian education through the Workshop Rotation Model Sunday school. Since The Call first reported about this model at State Street UMC in April 2001, more than 20 Holston churches have begun offering the new approach to elementary Sunday school.
According to Harvard neuropsychologist Howard Gardner, people learn in many ways. His research in human intelligence led to the development of the Multiple Intelligences Theory. Gardner suggests that there are eight to nine basic intelligences. Everyone has these intelligences, but they are developed to varying degrees in each individual:
- Verbal/linguistic: written and spoken words
- Logical/mathematical: scientific thinking
- Visual/spatial: visualizing objects and mental pictures
- Body/kinesthetic: physical movement
- Musical/rhythmic: recognizing patterns through tones and rhythm
- Interpersonal: social relationships
- Intrapersonal: independent, self-reflection
- Naturalist: observing, understanding and organizing patterns in the natural environment
Gardner continues to study a ninth intelligence: spiritual.
While Gardner's theory has long been known among school educators, it now serves as a catalyst for enhancing Sunday school. The Workshop Rotation Model debuted in 1990 at Barrington Presbyterian Church in Barrington, Ill.
Commonly referred to as "Rotation," the model teaches elementaryage children the same Bible story for four to six weeks. "Repetition with variety" is how First Oak Ridge UMC staff member Dolores Lowry describes Rotation Sunday school. Learners rotate to different weekly workshops or stations.
Learning stations focus on art, computer, cookery, games, music and movement, science, storytelling, video, drama, or missions. Depending on church size and available space, stations may be established in several rooms designated only for Rotation Sunday school, or in a few multi-purpose rooms. The rooms may be decorated elaborately or simply.
Responding to Rotation's increasing popularity within the denomination, United Methodist Publishing House has produced PowerXpress curriculum. The curriculum teaches rotational learning and is based on the Multiple Intelligences Theory. While there is no cookie-cutter approach to implementing Rotation, PowerExpress may serve as a guide and catalyst for creative thinking. "God is the great Creator and has given us creative brains," a PowerXpress editor stated at a recent Rotation Model workshop in Lake Junaluska, N.C. "It makes sense to teach children in creative ways."
A key part of the Rotation stations is the teacher or teachers. With traditional Sunday school, teachers are asked to "do it all": act as storytellers, prayer leaders, craft teachers, activities directors, attendance-takers and disciplinarians. Rotational learning divides the labor among several people, allowing volunteers to match gifts and skills with specific needs.
The director's manual for PowerXpress: A Guide for Rotational Learning with Children, describes teacher recruitment in this way:
"Rotational learning will change the way you invite persons to teach! The nature of the workshops will widen the pool of potential teachers. For example, if you plan to build the ark suggested in the Noah unit you may find yourself looking for a carpenter. If you want to establish a computer lab, you'll look for someone with technical skills — You will find yourself approaching people who may not see themselves as teachers or who are not willing to commit to teaching for a whole year, but who are willing to spend several weeks in Sunday school, teaching in an area where their gifts and passions lie."
By design, teachers may come and go in the Rotation model. This caused some critics to question whether the program hinders relationship- building with young people. The answer: Persons recruited as "shepherds" help hold the program together. Shepherds are assigned to specific age groups, much like traditional Sunday school teachers. While teachers may change every four to eight weeks, a shepherd becomes the familiar face that children look to for guidance every Sunday. Shepherds offer ongoing, consistent relationships with young students.
How many volunteers are required? It varies from church to church. For churches with two rooms designated for Rotation, two teachers and two sheperds may be sufficient. Generally, about two or more teachers per room are required Christian-education experts report that the rotational learning model can be used in small, medium, and large churches. Financial investment varies from church to church. Some congregations spend thousands of dollars to transform drab, cinder-block walls to colorful, bright, theme-oriented rooms. Other churches start a Rotation program for the cost of paint and a paint brush.
A starting point to help church leaders determine cost: Sit down in each Sunday school room and ask, "What could this room be?" Then ask, "What would it take to make it that way?" The project might require painters, carpenters, artists, seamstresses, electricians, and plumbers. Make a list of potential expenditures to meet your needs. Invite parishioners to donate supplies or time.
Many churches implementing Rotation prepare for 12 months before launching a new program. The endeavor requires communication and cooperation among staff, volunteer educators, and ministry team members. Depending on the budget and extent of room preparation, the finance committee and trustees may also be included in the planning. Heather Jones, program director at First Bristol UMC, summed up advice provided by many church leaders implementing Rotation: "Educate all members of the congregation and get as many people involved as possible from the beginning."
For Main Street UMC, long-term planning was well worth the effort. "We started with less-than-desirable rooms that were transformed with hard work by members to inviting and conducive learning environments," said the Rev. Larry Ramey.
Main Street started with four workshops: Computer Lab (Church Mouse); Audiovisual (Holy Word Theater); Art (Art in Heaven); and Storytelling (Tent Tales). The church added a cooking workshop (Six Stone Jars) later as they substituted a workshop. "The success has been an increase from six children in Sunday school to 30 children," Ramey said. "Children now want to invite their friends to Sunday school. For us it is the best method for Christian education. The kids love it."
That type of enthusiasm motivated educators from Hixson UMC in Chattanooga District to incorporate Rotation into their children's ministries. "When you hear that kids love it – and that the adults do, too – it's worth checking out," says staff member Kathy Galyon. "It seems to be much like a year-round vacation Bible school, and we know from experience how much kids enjoy VBS."
"Rotation seems more engaging for the children," says First Oak Ridge's Lisa Moeller. "It's tailored more to the active lifestyle of today's kids. It's very interactive and meets them where they are."
At State Street UMC in Bristol, Va., Rotation coordinator Jaymie Derden reports that the church is gearing up to begin a second session. The program will be offered at 9:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. with different activities at each session.
Is biblical literacy and spiritual growth sacrificed for colorful rooms and a fast-paced program? Derden believes that Rotation actually increases the students' Bible skills. "I've witnessed increased learning breadth and depth for everyone involved – kids and adults," she said.
One of the first Christian educators to use the Rotation model, Mickie O'Donnell. is now executive director of Children's Ministries of America, based in Oakbrook, Ill. "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," O'Donnell says. "With this higher percentage of retention, there will be a higher possibility of a transformed life."
Henderlight is a freelance writer and Holston Conference coordinator of children's ministries.
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