The Impact of Pluralism On Professional Ministry: “Can you hear me now? Good!” Posted on September 25, 2013 by Jennifer ShepherdIn January 2002, during fierce price wars among cell phone companies, the largest mobile phone service provider in America launched its “Can You Hear Me Now?” campaign. I’m sure you remember the television spots that followed the Verizon field tester – aka “Testman” – as he traveled across the country dropping in on locations ranging from the outlandish to the mundane. In each spot he asked, “Can you hear me now?” into a mobile phone. After hearing affirmation, Testman replied, “Good!” and continued on his quest to validate the reliability of Verizon’s infrastructure into which $2-4 billion was invested annually….
Seminary Education and the Bad Haircut: Helping Students Give an Honest Answer to the Question “Do You Like It?” Posted on September 14, 2013 by Jennifer ShepherdThe commercial begins and the experience is one that is instantly familiar. A man is sitting in a chair at a hair salon looking into the mirror, eyes wide with a forced grin. He is trying to look pleased. He is trying to stay calm. He is projecting his confidence in the skills of the hairstylist as he nervously watches each lock of hair fall to the ground….
The Second Naiveté of Online Learning Posted on August 5, 2013 by Timothy SnyderIncreasingly, online learning is a part of theological education. And yet, the vast majority of current professors were trained in traditional classrooms. Many of us are finding ourselves teaching in settings we ourselves have never had to learn in. How can educators embrace a second naiveté towards online learning? While I was working on my master’s degree, I remembering attending a workshop on “developing a teaching philosophy.” I was in the early stages of applying to doctoral programs so I thought it would be a good chance to learn how many of my professors reflect on their vocation as teachers.
More Backward Course Design: Getting Learning Done! Posted on August 1, 2013 by A+ Brooke Lester, CuratorImagine yourself at term’s end, talking with a sympathetic faculty colleague, or with a partner or family member. Your head is full of final papers or exams, ranging from exceptional to disappointing, and you cry out, “Argh! I just want them to ‘get’ that…(your rant here)!” If you can complete that sentence, then you have all you need for a start on “backward course design,” an idea fundamental to the widely-used framework Understanding by Design (book by McTighe and Wiggins), and having some similarity to David Allen’s Getting Things Done system of task management. Jane S. Webster blogged here at Seminarium on her own experience with “backward course design,” inspiring in me the same impulse I get when I meet someone with whom I share a love of some obscure musician: an urge to shout “Me, too!” and then talk everybody’s ear off on the subject….
Reimagining Nimble Ways of Preparing Persons for Church Leadership—1 of 2 Posted on July 24, 2013 by Robin SteinkeIf the world needs the church to be better at being the church and the church needs theological education institutions to be better at educating a wider range of people for leadership in the church, then how might we imagine such work? Recap Many schools are working to rethink both the time to degree and the delivery methods needed to prepare persons for ministry. Changes in ATS accreditation standards now define a minimum of 72 hours for a Master of Divinity Degree and allow up to 25% of the degree to be handled through advanced standing.