Building Trust Posted on August 11, 2014 by Jane S. Webster“The dog ate my homework.” Sigh. We have all heard it before in one form or another. It’s hard to know when students are being truthful. In the past, we may have tried keeping track of excuses, checking to make sure the printers actually worked, and calling the coach to make sure they had a game. In the end, we might give them the benefit of the doubt because it is less trouble. But what we might not be realizing is that we might be actually harming our students when we don’t trust them. Today, let’s consider why it is so important to build trust between teachers and students….
Sustainable Service Learning: A SLO Transformation Posted 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 Verbatims Posted 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….
Pop Culture & Pedagogy: The Danger in Seminary Curriculum Posted on June 30, 2014 by George ElerickWell known pedagogical theorist, Paulo Freire once said this of education: “Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world”…. This is where the aspect of pop culture becoming a spiritual discipline really shines, in that the spiritual disciplines are designed to develop the inner aspect of the human thereby developing the outer person. These material acts then transform the local world of those who engage with it….
Role-Playing the Public Voice to Integrate Teaching & Service Posted on May 27, 2014 by Mindy McGarrah SharpLove them and/or despise them, role-plays are one of the most effective strategies for developing a public theological voice. You can use role-plays in many different ways in your classes to inspire public theology while illuminating course content….