TEACHING DISCIPLES: INTRODUCTION TO RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ML-404 (LSTC) & M-241 (MTS)

Transcription

1 TEACHING DISCIPLES: INTRODUCTION TO RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ML-404 (LSTC) & M-241 (MTS) Spring 2019 Wednesdays, 6:00pm-9:00pm LSTC Room 202; office: JKM Library; 8:30a-4:00p M-F Faculty: Dr. Christine Wenderoth (773) ; (773) (cell) RATIONALE Jesus disciples were commissioned to baptize and teach. The Church is thus a teaching, learning community and this ministry is ours to continue as teachers and learners and as disciples who foster the teaching and learning of all in the Christian community. In looking at the role of teaching and learning in the Church, we will address LSTC learning outcomes #5 [Demonstrates leadership skills for service in the ministry of education] and #6 [Demonstrates the ability to empower the ministry of the people of God and serve collegially within a local ministry setting], as well as some attention to outcome #3 [Demonstrates a knowledge of and ability to communicate the Christian heritage] as well as address McCormick learning outcomes #3 [Communicate effectively] and #5 [Exhibit pastoral imagination/serve effectively in congregational ministries]. OUTCOMES/OBJECTIVES (What we should be able to do/demonstrate by the end of the course) Learners will be able to: 1. Situate the church s teaching & learning program historically, theologically, and pedagogically. 2. Teach to a diversity of learners and learning styles using personal strengths, yet pushing growing edges 3. Identify, evaluate, select and procure educational resources: volunteer teachers, curricular materials, physical spaces, & social media 4. Empower the entire church community to teach and learn. 5. Respond as a pastoral educator to emerging contemporary social, technological and physiological environments STRATEGIES (How we shall go about achieving these outcomes) We shall 1. consult practitioners of Christian education through their publications/readings, in class conversations and through on-site visits 2. research, evaluate and select published CE curricular materials 3. teach one 45minute class session based on the accumulated wisdom of the consulted practitioners, adapted published CE curricular materials and our analysis of resources and needs. -1-

2 COURSE REQUIREMENTS & ASSESSMENT (Artifacts that provide evidence of success in achieving the outcomes) 1. Class participation. Coming to class with required reading completed and digested, evidenced by active engagement in class discussion. Due: every class [Percent of grade: 15%] 2. Two two-page reviews [one of a print resource/book you have read from the syllabus bibliography; one of a website, defined as a connected group of World Wide Web pages regarded as a single entity and made available online by an individual, company, educational institution, government, or organization having a unique URL ( The review will consist of a one short paragraph summary description of the work; the remainder of the review will detail the usefulness (or lack thereof) of the resource for the church educator. You will also detail the step-by-step search strategy & rationale you used to find and evaluate the digital resource. [Percent of grade: 5% each, 10% total] Due: week 3, and week One four-page write-up of two visits with practicing religious educators in their ministry settings. One should serve a congregation (or other organization) with no paid religious educator and no appreciable education budget. Among other things, you will ask them: What education resources do you prefer? How do you find out about such resources? How do you determine their authoritativeness? How are teachers recruited, trained and retained? What is the role of the pastor in the educational ministry of the congregation? What are the joys/frustrations of this ministry? The report will compare the two sites and answering these two questions: (1) which site(s) have enough for a Christian education ministry, and (2) what will you take from these visits into your education ministry when you are a minister? [Percent of grade: 10%] Due: week Teaching of one 45-minute class on a subject and to be evaluated by classmates & course instructor about your teaching effectiveness in the manner of sermon critiques. You will allow 15 minutes for pre-designated listeners to respond and open up the discussion to the entire class. Preparation leading up to the class will include: (1) evidence of a research and information gathering processes [e.g., a research journal/diary], and (2) the teaching rationale & strategy you will use [answer all the questions on provided outline]. [Percent of grade: 25%] Due: as designated on the sign-up sheet 5. One reflection paper of one to two pages in response to the classmate and instructor critiques of the teaching and accompanying documents. The paper will focus on reflections about pedagogy and yourself as a teacher, and a revision of the session. It will not be a paper about the content of the teaching session. [Percent of grade: 15%] Due: two days after teaching COMMUNICATIONS Check both the Moodle course website and your campus/designated weekly and in time to complete any assignments which might be added by either your faculty or student instructor. OTHER MATTERS Both LSTC and McCormick are committed to assist students living with a disability to thrive in our academic life together. Students are invited to discuss learning challenges you face with the instructor. You are encouraged to do so in the first two weeks of the term. Please consult the LSTC All-Students Handbook, pp and McCormick Masters Level Campus Life Handbook, page 91 for policies and procedures related to disabilities and course accommodations. -2-

3 PLAGIARISM and ACADEMIC WRITING Consult your school s definition of and policy concerning plagiarism [LSTC policy is attached; McCormick s is found on pp of the Master s Level Campus Handbook]. Your written work will run through TurnItIn. A good rule of thumb is to have no more than 15% of a paper be [attributed] quoted words; papers should overwhelmingly be in your own words. Consult the JKM Library s resources on plagiarism for more assistance, or speak with the instructor. Suggested daily class schedule 6:00 6:10 opening devotion 7:30 8:45 student teaching 6:10-7:20 Wenderoth 8:45 9:00 feedback time 7:20 7:30 break REQUIRED READING 1. Mary Catherine Bateson. Peripheral Visions: Learning along the Way. HarperCollins, BF318.5.B [on reserve in JKM] 2. James W. Fowler. Faithful Change: the Personal and Public Challenges of Post-Modern Life. Abingdon, 1996, chapter 2 [on Moodle]. BV4637.F Israel Galindo, Craft of Christian Teaching: Essentials for Becoming a Very Good Teacher. Judson Press, BV1543.G Howard Gardner. Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21 st Century. Basic Books, 1999, chapter 3 [on Moodle]. BF432.3.G Maria Harris. Fashion Me a People. Westminster John Knox, BV3.H Therese Huston, Teaching What You Don t Know. Harvard University Press, 2009, chapter 3 [on Moodle] 7. Holly J. Inglis, Kathy L. Dawson, Rodger Y. Nishioka. Sticky Learning: How Neuroscience Supports Teaching That s Remembered. Fortress Press, [on reserve at JKM] 8. Parker Palmer. The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher s Life. Jossey-Bass, LB1775.P Karen Tye. The Basics of Christian Education. Chalice Press, BV T Maryanne Wolf. Proust and the Squid: the Story and Science of the Reading Brain. Harper Perennial, [on Moodle] SUGGESTED FOR RESEARCH and BOOK REVIEW Jeff Astley, et al., Theological Perspectives on Christian Formation. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, BV1464.T Brenda Brasher. Give Me That Online Religion. Jossey-Boss, BL37.B Linda Campbell, et al. Teaching & Learning through Multiple Intelligences. Allyn & Bacon, LB1060.C Donald Capps. Decades of Life BF713.C Conrad Cherry. Hurrying towards Zion: universities, divinity schools, and American Protestantism. Indiana University Press, BV4030.C Joseph Crockett. Teaching Scripture from an African-American Perspective. Discipleship Resources, BS600.2.C Cathy N. Davidson. The new education: how to revolutionize the university to prepare students for a -3-

4 world in flux. NY: Basic Books, LB D Donald L. Finkel. Teaching with Your Mouth Shut. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Book, LB1026.F Charles R. Foster. Educating Congregations: The Future of Christian Education. Abingdon, BV1464.F Charles Foster. From Generation to Generation: the Adaptive Challenge of Mainline Protestant Education in Forming Faith. Cascade Books, Kenneth H. Hill. Religious Education in the African American Tradition: A Comprehensive Introduction. Chalice, BV4080.H Therese Huston. Teaching What You don t Know. Harvard University Press, Holly J. Inglis, with Kathy L. Dawson & Rodger Y. Nishioka. Sticky Learning: How Neuroscience Supports Teaching That s Remembered. Fortress, Barbara Anne Keely, ed. Faith of our Foremothers: Women Changing Religious Education. Westminster John Knox, BV F James M. Lang. Small teaching: everyday lessons from the science of learning. Jossey-Bass, LB1063.L Nathan Loewen with Christopher Duncanson-Hales, G. Brooke Lester. Effective social learning : a collaborative, globally-networked pedagogy. Minneapolis MN : Fortress Press, Robert W. Lynn & Elliott Wright. The Big Little School: 200 Years of the Sunday School. Religious Education Press & Abingdon, BV1516.A1 L Margaret Miles. Seeing and Believing: Religion and Values in the Movies. Beacon, PN R4 M Richard Osmer. The Teaching Ministry of Congregations. Westminster John Knox, BV O Stephen Prothero. Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know and Doesn t. HarperCollins, BL42.5.U5 P a Tex Sample. The Spectacle of Worship in a Wired World: Electric Culture and the Gathered People of God. Abingdon Press, BV4446.S Robin M. Smith. Conquering the content: a step-by-step guide to online course design. San Francisco : Jossey-Bass, c2008 LB S Nibs Stroupe & Caroline Leach. O Lord, Hold Our Hands: How a Church Thrives in a Multicultural World. Westminster, BX8949.D43 S Gayraud S. Wilmore. The Nature and Task of Christian Education from an African American Presbyterian Perspective. Presbyterian Church (USA), BV W Maryanne Wolf. Proust and the Squid: the Story and Science of the Reading Brain. NY: Harper Perennial, 2007 Web sites: LATINO/AE TEACHING AND LEARNING Conde-Frazier, Elizabeth. Religious education in an immigrant community, in Hispanic Christian Thought at the Dawn of the 21 st Century: Apuntes in Honor of Justo L. Gonzalez, Alvin Padilla, Roberto Goizueta, Eldin Villafane, eds. Nashville: Abingdon, 2005, pp Crozier, Karen and Elizabeth Conde-Frazier, A Narrative of Children s Spirituality: African American and -4-

5 Latino Theological Perspectives, in Children s Spirituality: Christian Perspectives, Research and Applications, Donald Ratcliff, ed. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2004, pp Ginoris, Esperanza, Hispanic religious education, in Multicultural religious education. Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Pr, 1997, pp Pazmiño, Robert W., Liberative educational practice: reassessing educational configurations, in Hispanic Christian thought at the dawn of the 21st century. Nashville: Abingdon, 2005, pp , 314. Urrabazo, Rosendo, Pastoral education of Hispanic adults, Missiology 20:2 [Ap. 1992]: Wilson, Norman G., Pedagogical Expectations of Hispanic Americans: Insights for Leadership Training, Christian Education Journal 1:1 [Spr. 1997]: AFRICAN AMERICAN CHRISTIAN EDUCATION Keith Chism. Christian Education for the African American Community: Teacher Training in the Black Church. Discipleship Resources, Joseph Crockett. Teaching Scripture from an African American Perspective. Discipleship Resources, Riggings R. Earl. To You Who Teach in the Black Church: Essays on Christian Education in the Black Church. National Baptist Publication Board, Charles Foster, Fred Smith & Grant S. Shockley. Black Religious Experience: Conversations on Double Consciousness and the Work of Grant Shockley. Abingdon, Kenneth H. Hill. Religious Education in the African American Tradition: A Comprehensive Introduction. Chalice, James R. Love. The Gathering Place: Empowering Your Community through Urban Church Education. Zondervan, Lora-Ellen McKinney & Johnny Ray Youngblood. Christian Education in the African American Church: A Guide for Teaching Truth. Judson Press, Fred Smith. With a Vision: A Functional Theological Proposal for a Prophetic Christian Religious Education for Black Boys. UMI Dissertation Services, Nelson T. Strobert & Theodore W. Schroeder. Confession for the Third Millennium: Black Lutheran Experiences: A Study of the 38 Theses. ELCA, Gayraud Wilmore. The Nature and Task of Christian Education from an African American Perspective, Anne Streaty Wimberly. Soul Stories: African American Christian Education. Abingdon, Anne Streaty Wimberly & Evelyn L. Parker. In Search of wisdom: Faith Formation in the Black Church. Abingdon,

6 SCHEDULE Feb. 6 Feb. 13 Webs of Connection: Group building: create a desk nameplate that describes you and then introduce your neighbor to the class. Overview of the syllabus. A little history of Sunday SchoolàSunday school today and U.S. Protestant theological education. Topics for Christian education today [generate list for our teaching]. Who is a Teacher? Reading: Parker Palmer. The Courage to Teach, chapters 1-5. Feb. 20 Who is a Learner? Reading: Bateson, Peripheral Visions, esp. chapters 1-3, 5,6,13. Fowler. Faithful Change, chapter 2. [Moodle] Howard Gardner, Intelligence Reframed, chapter 3. [Moodle] Turn in website review Feb. 27 Where do we Teach? Reading: Maria Harris. Fashion Me a People. Teaching Modules: Mar. 6 How do we Teach? LSTC & McCormick faculty will share their wisdom Reading: Israel Galindo, Craft of Christian Teaching. Holly Inglis, Sticky Learning, chapter 5 & 7 Turn in book review Mar. 13 Why do we Teach? Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you! [Matt. 28: 19-20a] 1:11 For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, 1:12 and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. 1:13 Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 1:14 Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us 3:16 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 3:17 so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. 4:1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: 4:2 proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. [2 Timothy 1:11-14, 3:16-4:2] -6-

7 Reading: Karen Tye, Basics of Christian Education Opening devotion Teaching Session #1: *****Reading Week: no class Mar. 20 ***** Mar. 27 With what do we teach? Part I How do we find and select materials? Who publishes this stuff? How do we evaluate what we find? Reading: Tye, chapter 4 Therese Huston, Teaching What You Don t Know, chapter 3 In class exercise: We will meet in JKM Library s EPRC (Educational Practices Resources Center) and present to each other one curricular resource we have discovered. Turn in bibliographical information on this resource at beginning of this session. In addition we will each report on one Christian educational resource publisher [from list below]: Abingdon/Cokesbury Augsburg Fortress BeliefNet Collegeville Concordia David C. Cook Friendship Group Judson Logos Presbyterian Publishing House The Thoughtful Christian Urban Ministries Zondervan How would you use (modify) this resource in your current ministry context? Teaching Session #2: April 3 With what do we teach? Part II How do we create our own lesson plans/class sessions? Reading: Lib Caldwell Guidelines [Moodle] Holly Inglis, Sticky Learning, Reimagining Course Design, chapter 8 Therese Huston, Teaching What You Don t Know, Getting Ready, chapter 3 [Moodle] Teaching Session #3: April 10 Disabilities, diversities, discomfort: Why awareness & accommodation matter. Reading: Eric Carter. Including People with Disabilities in Faith Communities, chpt. 4 [Moodle, Apr.9-15] -7-

8 Nibs Stroupe & Caroline Leach, O Lord, Hold Our Hands, chapter 4 [Moodle, Apr.16-22]...though read chapter 2 also if you can Good resources to know about: Courtney Wilder. Disability, Faith and the Church PCUSA. Presbyterians for Disability Concerns Disability Inclusion Resource Packet Teaching Session #4: *****Holy Week: no class April 17 ***** April 24 Art of facilitating conversation: a time with Maggie Shreve, Organization Development Consultant Reading: Eric Law. Living the Gospel of Peace: Tools for Building More Inclusive Community, Respectful Communication, pp. 4-9 [Moodle, Apr ] Shreve guide. Focus on pages 9 & 18 [Moodle] Teaching Session #5: Turn in write-up of two visits May 1 Does anybody read anymore? People of the Book in the age of the Web Reading: Maryanne Wolf. Proust and the squid: the story & science of the reading brain, concluding chapter [Moodle] Christine Wenderoth, Good reading by people of the book in Currents in Theology and Mission, 40:4 [August 2013] [Moodle] Inglis, Sticky Learning, chapters 3 & 4 Teaching Session #6: May 8 Web of Faith: Social media and on-line teaching for the church Reading: Robin M. Smith. Conquering the content: a step by step guide to online course design. [specific chapters] Nathan Loewen, Christopher Duncanson-Hales, G. Brooke Lester. Effective social learning [specific chapters] Opening Devotion: Teaching Session #7: Teaching Session #8: Niko All written assignments must be turned in by 6 pm today. -8-

9 Teaching Critiques Each of us will turn in written critiques of the teaching we have just experienced. In one sentence or phrase: What did I learn? How did I learn this? (What were the pedagogical styles used?) 1-3 commendations recommendations In addition, two chosen respondents will provide verbal feedback to jump-start our evaluative conversation. [We will have an explicit conversation at beginning of the term about covenanting to give constructive feedback.] 9

10 SESSION PLANNING Name BASIC CONCEPT (What you are teaching) LEARNING OUTCOMES (What the learners will be able to do) By the end of the session, learners will be able to: BACKGROUND FOR THE TEACHER (What did you do/read/research to prepare for teaching this session?) METHODS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING YOU WILL USE: (e.g., lecture, discussion, storytelling, role play, small groups, journaling, small group exercise, pre-class assignment) PROCESS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING (How the session will proceed. E.g., if a discussion session, what are your questions? If a lecture, what is the outline of your remarks?) ROOM SET UP (Set up space as you need it.) RESOURCES (What you will need in order to teach the session: Websites? Photographs? Video? Pens? PowerPoint? Hospitality items?) 10

11 LSTC academic policies may be found in the LSTC All Students Handbook and its academic supplements for LSTC s respective degree programs (located on home page of LSTC.NET, under LSTC Handbooks and Program Manuals ). Students living with disabilities. LSTC is committed to assist students living with a disability to engage in academic and campus life as fully as possible. Accommodations refer to the modifications that are needed to minimize the discriminatory effect of a person s physical, emotional, or learning disability insofar as the provision of the adjustment not cause undue burden on the setting or the institution. It is the responsibility of students with disabilities to identify themselves and request accommodations by contacting the Dean of Student Services, who will begin the process of seeking appropriate accommodations. Please consult the LSTC All-Students Handbook for policies and procedures related to accommodations (pp ). Attendance reports. At the outset of a course, faculty members are required to report students who do not attend the beginning class period. Faculty members also are required to submit reports of a second unexcused absence to the Registrar. The Registrar is required to forward this report to the Financial Aid Office. ( LSTC All-Students Handbook, p. 15) Academic honor system. Instructors expect that students will follow guidelines and standards for participation in the classroom and the completion of assignments. Instructors expect that students will present their own original work for evaluation, providing written acknowledgement of sources used in the writing of papers and examinations (e.g., whether hard copy texts or the internet) through footnotes, endnotes, and other kinds of acknowledgement appropriate to the subject being reported. Presenting another s work, from whatever the source (e.g., the Internet, a peer, or hard copy texts) as if it is one s own is called plagiarism, and it is considered a serious offense in the academic community. Students needing help with learning about methods for proper citations are encouraged to consult the latest edition of Kate Turabian s Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations and to seek expert personal assistance that is available at the Language Resource and Writing Center (LRWC) or from a research librarian. ( LSTC All-Students Handbook, p ) Incompletes. Being granted an incomplete in order to complete course requirements after a course has ended is a privilege, not a right. Professors are under no obligation to grant incompletes, but may choose instead to assign a grade based on the quantity and quality of work submitted by course deadlines. To request an incomplete, students must fill out an incomplete form and have it signed by their instructor. Students have 6 months after the end of a term before the incomplete (I) will be recorded as a No Credit (NC) which counts the same as an F in GPA calculations. ( LSTC All-Students Handbook, p. 19) Inclusive Language. As a diverse community of people preparing for Christian leadership, LSTC acknowledges that language has the power to convey facts, attitudes, and values. Recognizing that we all suffer when exclusive, prejudicial, and/or ethnocentric language is used, LSTC calls on its faculty, staff, and students, in written and spoken communication, to use inclusive language that affirms the full humanity of all people. Resources to assist the LSTC community are available through the Pastor to the Community/Director of Worship and the JKM Library. ( LSTC All-Students Handbook, p. 59) McCormick academic policies can be found on pages of the Master s Level Campus Life Handbook, which can be found and downloaded from the Registrar s page on the McCormick Theological Seminary s website at 11