Bible Study that Sticks

New research in cognitive psychology shows us how to help people remember

what they read.
Aimee Callender
Smart phones may be smart, but they seem to be making us all dumb
distracted and forgetful. Dr. Aimee Callender, assistant professor of psychology
at Auburn University, explains how small-group leaders today can help people
understand the Bible better and remember what they read.
SmallGroups.com: Its common in worship services for pastors to say, Lets
open our Bibles, so pull out your phones. What happens when people read the
Bible on a phone compared to on paper?
Aimee Callender: If the text is relatively shorta few verses, or at most a
chapterthere probably wont be large differences in someones abilities to
read the verse. But there are several disadvantages to reading a passage on a
phone or tablet as opposed to in the physical Bible. To name a few, first you
lose context. When you read a physical Bible you can immediately answer: Is it
in the New Testament or Old Testament? What are the surrounding books?
What are the surrounding chapters? When Scripture is presented on a phone, it
can lose that context.

Second, you increase opportunities for distraction. Phones provide texts, e-

mails, and alerts from games. Using phones, we open ourselves to distractions.
As a professor, I ask my students to put their phones away. Many students view
this as a punishment, but my intent is to help them focus on one thing at a time
the lecture.

We know from 50 years of research in cognitive psychology that humans are

terrible at multi-tasking. No matter how great we think we are at it, research has
shown over and over that we cannot do two things at once; or as well as if we
did one thing at a time.

Psychologists say that as someone reads, they build a mental representation

of what is being read. What does that mean for Bible study?
Lets say were reading a novel about a person visiting Paris. We create in our
mind a mental representation: what Paris looks like, where the person went,
how long it took them to travel to different places, and a timeline of what
happened. This can be done based solely on what is written in the text.
Consider a reader who spent a lot of time in Parisher mental representation
will be richer. She may know all of the locations and their sights, sounds, and
smells.

We have the same issue when reading the Bible. There is a lot of information
written in the text, but there is also a lot of information that is assumed and not
 explicitly stated. Because many people lack the knowledge about the physical
and historical context, it is often difficult for them to understand the passage.

Can you give an example of how someones lack of prior knowledge can lead to
misunderstanding?
Take Philippians 4:13, for example. In some translations (e.g., NIV), the verse
states, I can do all this through him who gives me strength. What does this
refer to? Who does the word him refer to? Some people might think, Of
course the him in this verse refers to Christ.But for someone who may have
less knowledge about the Bible, this may need to be explicitly stated.
If Bible study depends so much on prior knowledge about context, were in
trouble. These days, even in the Bible Belt, people are often biblically illiterate.
What can small-group leaders do?
Part of biblical illiteracy is a lack of exposure to the Bible. Encouraging people
(not condemning them) to read it can help. Giving people a guidebook to the
Bible can help as well. I think a lot of people are intimidated and unsure where
to start with the Bible.

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Leaders should also provide context. People have read or heard isolated
passages but dont understand what they have to do with each other. For
example, Ive seen daily Bible reading schedules that give an Old Testament
verse, a Psalm, and a New Testament verse, but the connection between them
is not obvious or even there. Its best to show the narrative of the Bible and how
the isolated passage fits within the larger narrative. We intuitively understand
narrativeswe know how stories unfoldso if a small-group leader can put the
Scripture within the larger narrative, that helps.

So how can small-group leaders find out what mental representation is in the
mind of a group member?
The only way is to ask the person. You might say, Describe your understanding
of the passage.

One problem Ive seen in Bible studies is no one says anything when the leader
asks a question. This could be due to a number of reasons, but, most likely,
people are worrying more about what others think about them than about the
question.
How do we overcome that reluctance to speak?
One simple technique I use with students is think-pair-share. First, I ask them to
write something down (think), discuss it with the person next to them (pair), and
then share it with the group or class. The technique works because writing
allows someone to think through the question without the fear of venturing an
answer in front of other people. Also, sharing the answer with one person is a
lot less intimidating than sharing it with the group, even if the group is only six or
eight people.
Aimee Callender received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Washington University
in St. Louis. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Auburn
University. Her research interests are centered on using what cognitive
psychologists have learned in the laboratory and applying those principles to
improve educational practice.

This science-related interview was made possible through the support of a

grant from the John Templeton Foundation. Opinions expressed do not reflect
the views of the John Templeton Foundation.
For more on this topic, be sure to read Bible Study Methods for Groups.
Also, read our coverage of Bible illiteracy in America and what small groups can
do about it.