Study MethodsA Survey of Several Effective Bible Study Methods

A Survey of Several Effective Bible Study Methods

You want to understand and grasp the true and deeper meaning of the Bible, then you can try several proven Bible study methods.Catechists, preachers, and Bible study group leaders normally employ several methods of studying and teaching the Good Book. The most popular methods are the inductive and interpretative methods. 

The Inductive and Interpretative Methods of Study 

By using inductive Bible study methods, you have to carefully read each chapter in a book and extract its meaning from the individual verses. You can use several guide questions if you are going to employ this method.

The interpretative method of studying the Bible involves verse by verse analysis. This is a more exhaustive Bible study method. You must use this method only if you have a separate study reference explaining the meaning of important verses of the Bible.

The above methods of studying the Bible are very useful if you want to personally understand the meaning and the significance of the written text of the Bible.

Scholastic Bible Study Methods

Another way to study the Bible is to approach the Good Book by understanding its context. This type of study will be very useful in order to have a deeper grasp of the historical background of each book of the Bible.

When you attempt to use the scholastic method of Bible study, you should have other historical resources at hand. By doing a scholastic study, you have to carefully select the version of the book.

The Topical Bible Study Methods

There are different types of topical Bible study methods. This involves getting numerous general topics and finding answers to them from the entire content of the book.

There are chapters and verses in the Bible discussing this topic. You must use a study guide reference in order to successful study the Bible using the topical method. You can get such study reference materials from your local church, from online religious sites, or from a Christian bookstore.

The Difference Between Study Skills, Study Techniques and Study Methods

STUDY SKILLS:

The ability of any learner to study successfully depends to a great extent on his fundamental study skills, i.e. his ability to concentrate, to perceive correctly and accurately, as well as the ability to remember what has been perceived.

Study skills should not be confused with study techniques and study methods. In order to be a soccer player, a person FIRST has to master the fundamental soccer skills, e.g. passing, heading, and dribbling the ball. Only after that can he be taught techniques and methods. In the same way, in order to be a good student, a learner FIRST has to master the fundamental study skills.

Mnemonics training is often done without keeping this sequential fashion of learning in mind. There are a variety of mnemonic techniques, including keywords, pegwords, acronyms, loci methods, spelling mnemonics, phonetic mnemonics, number-sound mnemonics, and Japanese “Yodai” methods. The purpose of number-sound mnemonics is to recall strings of numbers, such as telephone numbers, addresses, locker combinations or historical dates. To remember the date 1439, for example, the learner uses the associated consonant sounds, t, r, m and p, and will insert vowels to create a meaningful word or words. The first problem is — as already stated — that it overlooks the sequential fashion of learning. Mnemonics instruction is, to a large extent, instruction in memory techniques, which should be taught only AFTER the skill of memory has been learned. If the SKILL of memory is taught, however, the learner can apply it in any situation.

STUDY TECHNIQUES:

There are three learning techniques that can be employed to make study more successful.

1. Association: This is probably the most important and most effective of all the learning techniques, of which mnemonics is probably the most commonly used association technique.

2. Reduce frequency of brain waves: The brain usually vibrates at 20 cycles per second or higher. Dr. Georgi Lozanov was probably the first who discovered that, if the frequency of the brain waves is reduced, more effective study becomes possible. He found that playing slow Baroque music could reduce the frequency of brain waves. STUDY METHODS:

Most learners have the bad habit of only studying the day before a test or exam. There are two serious disadvantages attached to this method of study:

There is never any regular practice of study skills.

If, however, the study material is reviewed after 24 hours, it takes 7 days before 80% is forgotten again, and if another review is done at this point, then it takes 30 days to forget 80% again.

Research has shown that, if the correct pattern or review of studied material is followed, memory consolidation is enhanced significantly, and the overall time spent in learning is slashed dramatically. The following pattern of initial study and subsequent review will certainly deliver excellent results:

1. Set up a timetable that is divided in study periods of 30 minutes each. On the first day on which this new timetable will be implemented, take the first study period to learn some study material thoroughly. Once the full study program is in operation, as you will soon realize when you read further, one only has about 15 minutes in each study period of 30 minutes in which to study and absorb new material. The rest of the time is spent on reviewing previously learned material. The piece of work must be summarized and thoroughly studied in these 30 minutes.

2. Review after 5 minutes. Take 3 minutes of the next study period to review the study material of the previous study period, before new material is again summarized and thoroughly studied.

3. Review after 24 hours. Take 3 minutes to review the material that was studied the previous day. Then take 3 minutes to review the work that was studied 5 minutes ago, before again studying and summarizing new material.

4. Review after 7 days. Take 3 minutes to review the work that was reviewed 7 days ago, before reviewing the work that was studied the day before, and then reviewing the work that was studied 5 minutes ago.

5. Review after 30 days. 6. Review after 120 days. Take 3 minutes to review the work that was studied 120 days ago, then the work that was studied 30 days ago, before reviewing the work of 7 days ago, then that of 24 hours ago, and then that of 5 minutes ago.