Scarcities 2: Online Learning PlatformsPosted on November 4, 2013 by A+ Brooke Lester, CuratorMy first forays into online learning were projects undertaken to address the “scarcities” of the face-to-face classroom. These were “embellishments” on the classroom that I discussed at the time in terms of collaboration, diffusion, and asynchrony. The “flipped classroom” stands too as a widespread attempt to address the scarcities of the brick-and-mortar learning space. This is why I find myself approaching “online learning” with an attitude different to some of my colleagues. Where some view the online platforms as threatening to “take away” goods associated with the face-to-face classroom, I had first turned to the online platforms seeking relief from the traditional classroom’s scarcities. In a previous post, I wrote about the face-to-face classroom and its scarcities (particularly time, space, permeability, and malleability). This week, I describe two kinds of online learning space and their own scarcities.
Reimagining Nimble Ways of Preparing Persons for Church Leadership—1 of 2Posted 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?RecapMany 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.
“I know it when I see it”: Pedagogical Scaffolding—2 of 2Posted on July 23, 2013 by Jane S. Webster“I know a good one when I see it.”These words haunted my experience as an undergraduate student. No doubt my professors intended to reassure me that they had some reasonable expectations of my work product, but they failed to enlighten me what those expectations might actually be. I groped around in the dark until I would accidently get it right. I was an anxious mess. I vowed to let my students know the secrets of success right from the start. But what is the best and easiest way to do it?
Welcome to SeminariumPosted on July 23, 2013 by A+ Brooke Lester, CuratorWell-known-as-excellent Instructor 1: “Some of us were talking at lunch about how our efforts in course design, and in the scholarship of teaching & learning, fit in as part of our professional development here at Local Seminary.”Well-known-as-excellent Instructor 2: “I really want to hear more as you work that out, because–in all sincerity–it would never have occurred to me in a hundred years that someone would ‘design’ a course.”It’s in the spirit of this exchange that we welcome you to Seminarium: The Elements of Great Teaching, a group blog and resource site dedicated to pedagogy for religious studies in higher education.We invite you to join with us here as we “bootstrap each other up” on our understandings and practices in the craft of education.
Backwards Course Design in Religious Studies—1 of 2Posted on July 22, 2013 by Jane S. WebsterAs a new teacher in a liberal arts undergraduate college, I had no idea how to plan a religious studies course, except to imitate the text-book dependent plans of my own teachers.I quickly felt frustrated; no textbooks quite did the trick and my creative innovations felt more like clumsy interruptions. Understanding by Design, by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, gave me some very useful tips that I now pass onto you, adapted for college-level teaching in religion, biblical studies, and theology.