Volume 12: Issue 4- OCTOBER 2009
(ABSTRACTS)

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ARTICLES

“Learning Through Shared Christian Praxis: Reflective Practice in the Classroom”
Arch Wong, William R. McAlpine, Tim Moore, Dave J. Brotherton, Ian R. Charter, Emma Emgård and Fern Buszowski

The cultivation of reflective practice has become a commonly accepted goal of theological education. However, theological educators must face the challenge of teaching and assessing reflective practice. Hypothesizing that this concern is best addressed in community, the authors of this article devised a collaborative action-research project using Thomas Groome’s “shared Christian praxis” model. They describe the ways in which they have, over the course of the project, modified their pedagogy to improve their students’ reflection on practice.

“Challenging the Objectivist Paradigm: Teaching Biblical Theology with J.R.R. Tolkiem, C.S. Lewis, and Guillermo del Toro”
Jason Lief

The dissimilarity that exists between the historical and cultural situation of North American college students and the world described by the biblical authors poses a problem for theological and religious education. While the biblical authors tell fantastic stories of miracle and magic, the scientific and technological paradigm prevalent in western culture emphasizes the gathering of objective facts in the name of efficiency and pragmatism. Theological education tends to respond to this situation by embracing either a program of historical criticism or a form of Biblicism, both of which reinforce an objectivist approach to education. What is needed in theological education is an approach that “re-mythologizes” the bible, enabling students to hear the theological message of the text addressed to their cultural and historical situation. One way this approach can be encouraged is through the teaching of the biblical text in conversation with the contemporary stories found in popular culture.

“How Do Students Learn Theology?”
Don Saines

This paper explores the way students learn theology through a small qualitative research project. It is undertaken in conversation with current higher education learning theory. This learning theory suggests that it is important to discover how a student conceptualizes learning and how they perceive the teaching environment. Students interviewed increasingly spoke of the value of this academic or more cognitive side of learning as they learned “deep approaches.” Important in this movement to deep, transformational learning was the presence of a relational teaching environment in which peers and teachers played a crucial role. This present study offers support to the view that the tradition of the learning community remains important for deploying deep approaches to the learning of theology in higher education. The paper argues that these relational principals of teaching and learning remain important in the face of the increased use of technology-based tools and other pedagogical challenges to theological education today.

IN THE CLASSROOM

Teaching Tactics

• The Arts as a Lens for Understanding Spiritual Issues in Chronic Illness and Disability
Mary Chase-Ziolek

• Power of Peers
Kenneth G. Davis

• Theological Dialogue Partners (or Study Buddies for Graduate Students)
Monica A. Coleman

Textbooks and the Introductory Course

• Teaching the Facts, Inculcating Knowledge or Instilling Wisdom? Rationale for a textbook in BS101
Tim Bulkeley

• Yes, I Use a Textbook (Now)
David M. Cloutier

• How to Leaarn from World Religion Textbooks
Karen Derris

Two Short Essays on Teaching Bible

• Introducing Exegesis with the OIDA Method
Carl N. Toney

• Human Timeline: A Spatial-Kinesthetic Exercise in Biblical History
Lisa M. Wolfe

The Human Timeline invites students to physically re-create biblical history. Each student holds a card that denotes an event randomly selected from the biblical timeline. They then arrange themselves chronologically to learn the correct flow of biblical history. Because of the movement involved and the arbitrary layout of the cards among their classmates, learners engage their spatial-kinesthetic intelligences through this activity. The exercise proves popular among students who identify t themselves as "visual" learners, and ultimately serves the biblical studies classroom by reinforcing biblical history as a necessary framework for understanding the biblical text.

Teaching Metaphor

• Let Me Entertain You: The Exciting Perks and Perils of Teaching American Religion as a Vaudeville (or Burlesque?) Performer
Katy E. Shrout

While teaching a course on religion and consumer culture in the United States, the author was intensely preoccupied with holding the interest of her undergraduate students during class sessions. Inspired in part by the subject matter of the course, she reflects here upon the extent that her courses on American religion drew upon the semiotics of commercial entertainment. While acknowledging the limitations and distortions possible in thinking of the teacher as an entertainer, this paper explores the teaching metaphor of the Vaudevillian Performer, arguing that if put in context with the work on reception in cultural studies, it can be a helpful model in the classroom.