The Bible and Pop Culture: An Academic Journey?Posted on July 18, 2014 by Chris ParisWhenever I learn of classes that feature pop culture, my initial enthusiasm is always tempered by wondering how any of these courses can truly be academic. I had the opportunity to wrestle with this issue when Vanderbilt Divinity School allowed me to teach The Bible in American Culture….
Sustainable Service Learning: A SLO TransformationPosted on July 11, 2014 by Julia FoggI began incorporating service learning over a decade ago, fresh out of grad school. I had few committee and no administrative responsibilities so all my time and energy went into teaching. I quickly learned two things: service and experiential learning are deeply transformative for students but incredibly time consuming for faculty…. Designing service learning or experiential learning courses presents two make-or-break challenges. The first is challenge is logistical…the second is relational…
“Students, Please Submit Your Worst Work”—The Role of VerbatimsPosted on July 4, 2014 by Allison KestenbaumDid the title of this post shock you? What you may be feeling is a glimpse into the experience of seminary students and experienced clergy who have enrolled in clinical pastoral education (CPE) at the Center for Pastoral Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary. They have just heard my directions for writing verbatims….With the increase in popularity of service learning and required clinical pastoral education in seminaries, pedagogical tools like verbatims are likely to become more prevalent. I hope that these reflections will provide you with some helpful material to experiment with verbatims or some form of them in your teaching….