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| Walvoord Study of Teaching College Introductory Religion Courses | |||
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Teaching and Learning in College Introductory Religion Courses: A Study of 533 Classrooms, (Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, 2007)
by Barbara E. Walvoord, Ph.D. (walvoord@nd.edu) Chair of Assessment Committee, Fellow of the Institute for Educational Initiatives, and Concurrent Professor of English, University of Notre Dame, Indiana. Author of Assessment Clear and Simple (Jossey-Bass, 2004), among many other books and articles on teaching and student assessment in higher education. Research was supported by the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, the University of Notre Dame, and the IDEA Center, a not-for-profit entity located at Kansas State University. Description: The book reports results from a qualitative and quantitative study of faculty and students in 533 introductory religion courses in public, private nonsectarian, and religiously-affiliated institutions. Sixty-six highly-effective teachers and their students were studied in depth. Course titles included world religions, the nature of religion, theology, Bible, and "Christian Formation." The study reveals the "great divide" between faculty members' goals for critical thinking and students' desires for their own spiritual development, and it demonstrates how highly-effective faculty address this divide, in both non-sectarian and religiously-affiliated settings. Classrooms of highly-effective faculty were alive with energy and learning, as students wrestled with new ways of thinking about religion. The book tracks the changes that occurred for students, whether they entered as self-professed Christians, doubters and seekers, agnostics, atheists, or adherents of other religions. Effective faculty used a variety of pedagogical strategies ranging from lecture to discussion, but their teaching was marked by faculty members' CARE for the subject matter and the students, their CLARITY in presenting course material and expectations, and their ability to foster meaningful CONVERSATION, whether through interactive lectures, class discussion, or responses to student work. The book explores how highly-effective teachers in all settings--public, private non-sectarian, and religiously-affiliated--created spaces and voices by which students could exercise critical thinking and also develop their own spiritual direction. At the end of the volume, case studies explore ten classrooms in depth. Data: Survey data from 12,463 students and their instructors in 533 introductory theology and religion courses at 109 diverse U.S. institutions, including public, private non-sectarian, and religiously-affiliated. Includes 66 “highly-effective” teachers who also submitted course materials, written reflections by faculty and students, and student work. About 80% of enrolled students submitted data. What were faculty and student goals for student learning? A "great divide" exists between faculty, whose most frequently-chosen goal is critical thinking, and students, who much less frequently choose critical thinking, and who often want to work on their own spiritual and religious development. Faculty much less frequently choose students’ development of values or their religious and spiritual development. Even in religiously-affiliated institutions, 32-42% (depending on the survey) of the faculty did NOT choose development of students' values or their spiritual/religious development as course goals. In public institutions, that figure is 2/3 to 3⁄4 (depending on the survey). About 40% of the “Secure” Christian students (those who expressed no doubts about their faith) expected the course to challenge their beliefs. Some planned to “keep the faith,” without letting the course influence their beliefs; some envisioned growth. Relatively few envisioned how critical thinking strategies might shape their faith, and these were often limited notions. Understanding other religions and points of view were important goals for both faculty and students. How Did Students Develop During the Course? Great change occurs for students in these classrooms. They and their teachers report learning in every category, including critical thinking. Students report spiritual and religious development, even when the faculty member has not named it as a course goal. Most students, including “Secure Christians,” reported growth and change they welcomed, though some experienced struggle or disappointment, and some continued to keep the course from challenging their beliefs. What pedagogical strategies most affected these developments? Highly-effective faculty followed three principles: caring, clarity, and conversation. The pedagogical strategy students most frequently mentioned as helpful to their learning was "discussion," and their most frequent suggestion for improvement was "more discussion." Students want to be heard, and they want forums in which they can integrate intellectual and spiritual growth. Despite faculty reluctance to state spiritual and religious growth as a formal course goal, highly-effective faculty and their students created structures and spaces where students could integrate their intellectual and religious/spiritual growth—strategies that could be useful to any liberal-arts faculty wanting to help students integrate course material with moral/spiritual/religious growth and/or with addressing “big questions” about the meaning of life. Workshops on Teaching College Introductory Courses This research project culminated in a series of workshops in 2007-08, designed and led by faculty who were involved in the study.
More about these workshops (click here).
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