Virtual Class for Sunday School Teachers During the Covid-19 Pandemic

What is it about?

Sunday School programs play an important role in promoting the spiritual growth of children. Educating children is a must. Children are God's inheritance to parents. Conducting ministry to children has been started since the Old Testament times as God commanded Moses (Exodus 12:25-27). Today, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced Sunday School teachers to adapt to technology. In the perspective of the cognitive load theory of multimedia-based learning, the media is a central factor determining the successful attainment of learning objectives. Effective media makes learning easy that enables the Sunday School students to process and integrate new information with their prior knowledge. In so doing, the reconstruction of new knowledge during the learning process via multimedia is possibly generated. However, the extent to which Sunday school teachers can make use of technology in the context of Sunday School teaching has not extensively been explored in the pandemic studies. This paper aims to provide a sketch of the implementation of teaching and learning activities carried out by Sunday school teachers at church X during the pandemic. About eight Sunday school teachers are involved as the subjects of this study: one male Sunday school teacher (12%) and seven female Sunday school teachers (88%). This paper finds that Sunday School teachers can adapt to technology. To design an effective teaching media, the teachers minimize extrinsic load to promote effective learning while maintaining appropriate difficulty level of the new topics being presented (intrinsic load).

Featured Image

Why is it important?

This study is important because it examines how Sunday School teachers have adapted to technology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditionally pivotal for children's spiritual growth, Sunday School now integrates multimedia, crucial under the cognitive load theory. Effective media facilitates learning by easing information processing and integrating new knowledge with existing understanding. Despite its significance, the extent of technology integration in Sunday School teaching during the pandemic remains underexplored. This research sheds light on teachers' adaptation to technology, emphasizing the need for effective multimedia strategies to enhance learning outcomes amidst unprecedented challenges.