Audience
Teens, Adults
Time
45 minutes
Description
A Biblical Case Study is an exercise that uses Scripture to practice the use of modern business and leadership tools. In this case study, participants will try to determine where Biblical characters fit in Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Styles.
Scriptures
Nehemiah, chapters 1-4
Materials
- Flipchart paper and markers for each table group (1 page each).
- Masking tape (if you want to hang the flipcharts on the wall)
- Sticky notes (one pad per table)
- Marker (one per table)
- Bible for each table group
Preparation
o Teach about Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Styles.
Procedure
Use the following process (or modify to suit your needs):
o After teaching about the four quadrants, ask participants to draw the model on their own flip chart.
o Allow them to customize it with language or symbols that are meaningful to them as long as they don’t lose the essence of what the quadrants represent.
o Give them a list of Biblical characters. (My recommendations are Noah, Job, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, David, King Saul, Jonah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar, Esther, John the Baptist, Peter, James, John the Beloved, Andrew, Paul, Timothy – but feel free to use others if you like.)
o Have each group work as a team to put the names of each of these characters on an individual sticky note and place it in the quadrant on the chart that they think best represents the character’s learning style.
o When they are all done, pick one character and discuss as a group.
o Why do they think he/she fits in that quadrant?
o What do other teams think?
o Try to reach consensus among the teams, and keep your ears open for misunderstandings about the model. If you hear some incorrect understandings, correct those with the entire class.
o Do a few characters like this until you are comfortable that they understand the model well.
o Then, step out of the discussion, and let them debate among themselves. If they can’t reach a consensus, step back in to guide the decision making with some reminders about the model.
I’m including some recommended quadrants for each of the characters I mentioned above, but these are subjective and you could make strong arguments in some cases for placing them in other quadrants. “Correct answers” are not the most important outcome of this activity. What’s much more important is the process of participants wrestling with the model to find a place for the Biblical characters. In the end, they should have a much stronger understanding of the model even if their answers are “wrong.
Recommended Quadrants
Q1 – Imaginative Learner
· Abraham
· Samuel
· Jonah
Q2 – Analytical Learner
· Noah
· Job
· Jeremiah
· Daniel
· Esther
· Andrew
· James
· Timothy
Q3 – Common Sense Learner
· Sarah
· Jacob
· Paul
Q4 – Dynamic Learner
· Moses
· King Saul
· David
· Isaiah
· Nebuchadnezzar
· John the Baptist
· Peter
· John the Beloved
Teach Them 