Gathering Faculty within an Institution

Proposal abstract :
This project will bring a number of professors together from the Faculty of Theology at Ambrose University College to reflect, discuss, and implement ways to better build community in the classroom. The focus will be the pedagogical issues that professors face in their own classrooms as it relates to community building, and the teaching and learning activities that they have and will use to build and improve community in order to help students learn.

Learning Abstract :
What does it mean to live in pedagogical community? Six professors met together to have conversations about creating community in the classroom. We discovered that in order to build classroom community we have to live in community ourselves as a "community of scholars." As we live as a "community of scholars," we can have deeper conversations around teaching and learning strategies that will facilitate learning in the classroom and discuss the challenges we face in the classroom. We also discovered together that there are tensions between institutional goals and the art of teaching that need to be resolved so that pedagogical community can genuinely happen.

Proposal abstract :
Faculty will meet at monthly seminars to support and develop courses for the new curriculum proposed for 2001. At the center of the new design is a commitment to the integration of theory and practice to develop spiritual leaders for the changing churches of the new century.

Learning Abstract :
The funds from the Wabash grant enabled us to develop and implement our seminar on interdisciplinary and contextual pedagogy. By all measures the project has been successful. We have met the first three goals of the project: 1) To engage faculty in a collegial process of new course design for implementation of a new M.Div. curriculum; 2) To improve the teaching competency of the faculty focused particularly on contextualization and interdisciplinary teaching; 3) To facilitate faculty integration of theory and practice in the design and teaching of core courses in the ABSW M.Div. curriculum. We are continuing to work on the implementation of the remaining three goals which focus on evaluation and training. We are making good progress on the following: 1) To develop an evaluation process for monitoring faculty growth in teaching and course design; 2) To develop an evaluation process for newly designed contextual and interdisciplinary courses; 3) To institutionalize teacher training into the life of the ABSW faculty.

Proposal abstract :
We seek funding to support a two-day retreat and two follow-up conversations designed to help the Andover Newton faculty explore the implications of faculty-led worship for teaching and learning in an ecumenical and multi-faith context. As the Andover Newton faculty - itself internally diverse - prepares to welcome to campus the Hebrew College and Rabbinical School faculty in the summer of 2012, the Faculty Development Committee, chaired by Professor Sharon Thornton, seeks to create opportunities for sacred reflection on the faculty’s dual commitment to Christian heritage and multi-faith hospitality. Using faculty-led ownership as a gateway topic into all matters related to teaching and learning, the proposed retreat will blend a specific challenge with a general need for reflection on teaching and learning. We wish to wrestle together with tensions among identity, particularity, boundaries, language, symbol, hospitality, inclusion, and generosity.

Learning Abstract :
Andover Newton Theological School's faculty engaged in a series of discussions on what it means to be an educator on a multi-faith campus (Jewish/Christian) with an increasingly theologically diverse student body (mainline Christian, Unitarian Universalist, evangelical Christian). The faculty-led, all-School Wednesday worship service served as the framing topic for the discussion. The faculty embraced a "Generous Christian" approach to worship on campus, which both names the school's Christian heritage and embraces a multi-faith campus and world. The faculty discovered the ways in which communal worship, prayer in the classroom, and pedagogy intersect in the formation of students and campus community life. The discussions brought to light theological diversity within the faculty that merits further exploration, as that diversity raises questions about what claims can be made about the theological position of the School as a whole.

Proposal abstract :
Significant institutional, personnel, cultural changes, and millennials with different learning needs have resulted in a decline in student enrollments/majors threatening the Religious Studies major at Appalachian State University. During a Wabash consultancy with Gene Gallagher, we developed a departmental mission and learning goals to address these learning needs. We seek a Project Grant for a two-year cycle of retreats and reflection to develop a radically new curriculum to effectively address the learning needs of this new generation. With Professor Gallagher, we will spend 2015-16 creating and implementing a plan, meeting regularly to address challenges and develop strategies to confront those challenges. A second retreat will evaluate progress, correct problems, and expand successes. Our goal is to do the hard work to create a collegial environment that addresses millennial learning needs, enhances the caliber of our teaching, strengthens our program, and increases student enrollment/majors securing our program’s continued existence.

Learning Abstract :
The Appalachian State University Religious Studies Program engaged in an lengthy process of introspection thanks to the grant provided by the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning. The two year grant allowed us to accomplish several things: We have established a program mission and learning goals. We have created better alignment between our curriculum and our learning goals. We have established a deep foundation of discussions about pedagogy. We have undertaken to better understand our students through qualitative and quantitative measures. We have and are developing several new pedagogical approaches to religion that will undoubtedly bear fruit in the coming months and years. We have realized that despite disciplinary and ideological differences, we do share a common goal in the teaching of our students. We have created a kind of camaraderie and group cohesion through regular program discussions made possible by the Wabash Grant.

Proposal abstract :
While neither Aquinas Institute of Theology nor the Catholic Church are alone in confronting hard or at times disruptive conversations in faculty meetings, class, or field supervision, our Dominican heritage of collaborative learning in pursuit of truth requires intentional commitment to meaningful difficult conversation. As a school, we propose to learn and practice the art of difficult conversation through a facilitated faculty study of the Harvard Negotiation Project’s book on Difficult Conversations and facilitated case studies of difficult conversations in our classrooms. By improving our difficult conversations in class, we intend to lay the groundwork for a successful all-school symposium on the neuralgic topic, “What is truth?” At grant’s end, we will publish on what we have learned and then take a further step by teaching the art of difficult education to others in the community who collaborate with us in the formation of our students, especially field education supervisors.

Learning Abstract :
From January 2008 – May 2009, the faculty of Aquinas Institute studied together the text Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most and then engaged in a series of exercises that involved practicing the approach advocated in the book within faculty meetings, classroom interactions, and a school-wide symposium. We learned that the "s" at the end of the book title is not accidental; one difficult conversation inevitably evokes many more. We discovered these conversations require a great deal of time and emotional energy, but also can create a culture of greater honesty within an institution as well as professional and spiritual growth within individuals. In the end, we recognized that increased understanding of each other is a true gift, but that understanding alone is not enough. We commit ourselves now to also studying and practicing skills for negotiation and group decision-making.

Proposal abstract :
Asbury Theological Seminary seeks funding to bring faculty together to learn from each other and from experts within the Seminary about classroom practices that produce Christian formational change in the lives of students. The workshop will address the current pedagogical practices and culture of formation at Asbury Seminary, help faculty learn about and implement specific classroom strategies focused on Christian formation, and identify barriers to implementing Christian formation as well as strategies for overcoming those barriers. Faculty will be invited to apply for the opportunity to learn about, implement, assess, and report on classroom practices that promote Christian formation in the lives of students. In addition, the grant envisions the workshop as a starting point for a longer-term commitment to conversation, learning, and implementation related to Christian formation and pedagogy at multiple levels (department, school, and plenary) of the institution.

Learning Abstract :
Asbury Theological Seminary (ATS) is striving to develop a "culture of formation" that readies students for service to the world. Believing that Christian formation in an academic institution starts most effectively in curricular settings, the Teaching for Change project at ATS was initiated to develop faculty as formal curricular agents of change. This Wabash Center Grant supported trainings for more than half of full-time faculty from multiple sites, enhancing a formative vision for the classroom and experimenting with curricular revisions to existing courses. Grant participants assessed their adjustments to the classroom experiences to have positive effects on Christian formation of students. An unanticipated finding was the formative influence on faculty that was noted as they shaped such experiences for students. Moreover, faculty noted that the relational training model used in the workshop and subsequent events enhanced their professional development. They asked for on-going opportunities each semester for discussions about formative pedagogies and opportunities to learn from one another.

Proposal abstract :
A session each semester and a 3-day workshop on using formative and summative evaluation of students as a way to enhance teaching through ongoing critical reflection. Methods will include Classroom Assessment Techniques, Bloom’s Mastery for Learning, and individual and group critical reflection on teaching.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to employ aspects of mastery learning to prepare faculty to use formative and summative evaluation as a way to improve teaching and ultimately enhance student learning. They hoped to help faculty learn to differentiate between formative and summative evaluation, as well as to learn to use it positively and effectively in their teaching.
The project consisted of a Readiness Phase, which included two guest presentations to the faculty related to teaching, evaluation and classroom assessment techniques. In the second phase, a Mastery Learning Institute was held, led by a nationally known leader in the topic. The participants worked these new techniques into their classes over the following semester and were evaluated by the workshop consultant. Participants reported that they found ways to customize the usage of the techniques in ways that enhanced their teaching effectiveness.

Proposal abstract :
Two-day meeting of faculty to focus on methods for co-teaching interdisciplinary courses.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought funding for a day-long faculty workshop for those involved in teaching two new interdisciplinary core courses for the seminary. The purpose of the meeting was to enable faculty to think in a disciplinary way, so that they can teach in an interdisciplinary fashion and model "interdisciplinarity" for their students. It was hoped that this would help students to embrace interdisciplinarity as an organizing principle of their seminary and ongoing education.
Participant evaluations confirmed that the workshop successfully helped faculty understand a range of new models of interdisciplinarity. In addition, faculty were able to clearly differentiate between "co-teaching and serial teaching." The one-day format allowed for faculty discussion on the creation of a new course module reflecting interdisciplinarity from two core Integrative Studies courses. While this was helpful, participants requested more concrete modeling of such a module in future gatherings. Overall, they felt the Wabash grant provided an important start in the development of their understanding of interdisciplinarity.

Proposal abstract :
Secure teaching consultants for help in redesigning the Practices of Ministry segment of the MDiv degree

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to completely redesign the entire M.Div. curriculum into one that intentionally integrated theory and practice to develop personal formation as a foundation upon which to build ministry formation. This redesign focused upon the Christian Ministry Department collaborating in the creation of all courses in the new curriculum so that ministry skills would be integrated with personal formation and ministry formation.
The department discussed the matter for a full year and set time aside for a two-day retreat where the principles of the redesign were examined in conjunction with outside education experts. They learned that the discussions within the department yielded better pairings and more effective sequencing of the courses. The outside experts presented alternative teaching models for integration in the curriculum. The new design was presented to students in a retreat day format. Students were initially resistant to the changes but became more open as the courses developed.

Proposal abstract :
This two-year project focuses on ways that the spirituality of faculty and staff, as models and mentors for students, affects how students learn about wellness and about living out their faith commitments, values, and sense of vocation. It will produce a draft journal article and an annotated bibliography of resources related to spirituality, teaching, and learning. The project will also gather faculty and staff at local and regional levels for conversations about these matters.

Learning Abstract :
Through the grant, I organized a retreat for faculty and staff colleagues at Augsburg as well as co-facilitating a conversation and then an interactive workshop on "The Spiritual Landscape of Teaching and Learning" at two Upper Midwest regional AAR/SBL meetings. These three venues provided sacred space and time for colleagues within and beyond my college to engage in authentic, deep conversations that facilitate essential reflection and renewal. I was reminded that faculty and staff are hungry for "conversations that matter" that help us to get re-grounded, to see one another as people, and to ponder some of life's important questions. I also made time to learn about and experiment with a variety of strategies for my own personal renewal and healing at mid-career; these included a holistic spirituality course, resilience training, and reading about forgiveness, managing stress, anger, and communication.

Proposal abstract :
Support for the Augsburg College religion department faculty to assist one another to teach outside of their particular sub-disciplines; and support for an evaluation process designed and implemented by the faculty to assess both the teaching and learning that takes place in two new required courses at Augsburg College.

Learning Abstract :
The most significant effect of the activities supported by the grant was the change in the Augsburg College religion department culture. We moved from being a collegial department to being a department of close collaboration in the teaching of the new religion courses within general education. It has become a practice and habit to see the courses (REL 100 and 200) as a shared enterprise. To that end we continue to develop shared projects and assignments and seek the expertise of colleagues. We also have created a shared culture of ongoing revision and adaptation in course content and teaching styles. The challenge now will be the sustaining of the culture. The greatest challenge we encountered had to do with assessment and differentiating assessment of student learning, assessment of teaching and assessment of the grant activities.

Proposal abstract :
This project is designed to cultivate healthy and productive processes for creating a departmental capstone course at Austin College. Through a constructive process, involving all three members of the religion department, the project will engage in critical reflection about issues related to collaborative processes, team teaching, and modeling of collaboration. Goals: 1) To provide a core knowledge of methodology for religion majors; 2) To enable religion majors to see the common core in the three primary “tracts” of the religion major at Austin College; 3) To encourage religion majors to discern integrative connections and contrasting tensions among the three tracts; 4) To explore pedagogical approaches that contribute to a successful capstone experience; and 5) To build a healthier department, enhancing unity/community in the midst of diversity, through collaborative work and team-teaching.

Learning Abstract :
The grant and consultation allowed our department to weave the diverse threads of this course (multiple aims, objectives, rationales and motivations for teaching) into a more integrated design. We gained skill in the practices/processes of identifying competing and complementary perspectives and negotiating their coherent inclusion in the course. In the process we also discussed the following: the assessment of student learning; the most constructive pedagogical approaches given the diversities of the class; various course design options for the future; the roll of the syllabus in communicating aims and objectives of the course and structuring these into class sessions and assignments. These concerns were developed in relationship to the ongoing goal of providing a venue for departmental colleagues to engage in scholarly exchange with one another, thereby enhancing departmental community and providing our majors with opportunities to integrate diverse perspectives. These processes remain valuable for continual revisions of the course.

Proposal abstract :
Many students come to seminary with a normalized sense of identity and worldview from their home communities. While seminary tends to destabilize these sensibilities, rarely are students challenged to appreciate the differences of other racial/ethnic groups. Because Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, like much of the contemporary United States, exists at the intersection of multiple ethnic cultures which congregations must navigate in light of Christian faith, it therefore seems imperative to recontextualize theological education in relation to diverse ethnicities/cultures. Thus, APTS intends to inaugurate a program to enhance diversity in theological education which will include faculty roundtable discussions, campus workshops and roundtable discussions, and consultations in course development. These programs will draw on the local expertise and experience of Dr. Michelle Guzman and the University of Texas’ department of diversity education. This grant proposal represents the first of a three stage, six-year initiative. These phases will be elaborated below, but for the purposes of this grant we are only requesting funding for the first phase. Other phases are elaborated to provide context for the requests of this first phase.

Learning Abstract :
In 2007 the faculty of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary requested and received a grant to help the institution more faithfully navigate issues of race and diversity. We recognized that if diversity was to be an integral part of our curriculum, then we needed a more diverse faculty and staff. President Wardlaw convened a Commission on Diversity to oversee all matters of diversity across the life of the institution. We are close to achieving the commission's recommendation that the next 4 of 5 faculty hires be members of racial/ethnic minority groups and that 3 of these 5 should be women. The commission has also recommended targets for diversity on the board of trustees. We have instituted yearly staff training events and are strategizing about recruiting staff personnel from among minority communities. We are also learning how important it is to build for conversations rather than simply jumping into controversial topics. It may be frustrating for students to delay the satisfaction of combat, but in the long run it makes better conversations. When we conceived this project, we imagined designing interventions that would be immediately transformative. In reality, faculties are constantly juggling so many urgent issues that another project, even a very important one, is just one of many demands. However, it is not fair to say that diversity is not already deeply ingrained in their consciousness, since most have long embraced such commitments. I believe we may be learning that our faculty, and perhaps others, simply need concrete practical suggestions.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a one day conference dedicated to several goals: 1) to heighten sensitivity about pedagogical issues among faculty while also brining to light strategies for addressing these issues in an effective manner; 2) to assist participating faculty in the on-going process of assessing curricular offerings; 3) to advance students’ understanding of the field of Religious Studies; 4) to contribute to preparing for the department’s five-year self-assessment beginning in 2006-07, and 5) to foster collegial ties among faculty in religion across the state of Indiana.

Learning Abstract :
In hosting their conference, they were reminded of the importance and joy of receiving active mentoring, in regards to teaching religious studies, from senior scholars in the field. The conference not only provided an impetus to thinking about classroom teaching, but it also fostered fruitful reflection on the various ways faculty mentor students and other faculty, and on the links between pedagogy and curriculum. They also learned that students' participation in planning, attending and evaluating events such as this conference can be enlivening and empowering experiences.

Proposal abstract :
A faculty-alumni retreat, titled “Remembering the Future,” will gather faculty and approximately thirty alumni for the following purposes: 1) to strengthen the integration of academic excellence with solid ministerial training and 2) to integrate the curriculum more fully around shared truth. The focus on alumni reflects BTSR’s desire to reincorporate their wisdom for the future of the institution. The setting at a retreat center reflects the conviction that a rhythm of action and contemplation enables wisdom and renewal to flourish; education is a holistic endeavor in which the love and knowledge of God cannot be separated.

Learning Abstract :
A Faculty-Alumni retreat, held at the Shalom Retreat House in Montpelier, VA, invited BTSR alumni to come together for a time of contemplation, worship and discussion. Our theme was "Remembering the Future" and we considered together how BTSR might form wise servant leaders for the church and the world. In addition, we have a fun convivium, excellent food, and a beautiful setting that enabled us to enjoy the beauty of God and one another even as we reflected on the purpose and calling of the seminary.

Proposal abstract :
Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond relies on qualified adjunct faculty to help meet the needs of the formal curriculum offered to students. Despite the practice of vetting adjuncts by the faculty end-of-course student evaluations for adjunct taught courses have historically been mixed. With the recent approval of two new concentrations in the M.Div. the seminary will rely more heavily on adjuncts to provide coverage of new courses. The proposed adjunct faculty training program is intended to provide adjuncts necessary knowledge and skill in effective pedagogy in order to enhance the effectiveness of course offerings.

Learning Abstract :
The objective of this project was to enhance the quality of teaching among the adjunctive faculty at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond (BTSR). The significance of the project was informed by two realities: (1) the seminary is making a major emphasis on rigorous assessment of student learning in response to its recent (2008-09) accreditation self-study, and (2) currently and for the foreseeable future, the seminary will continue to depend on its adjunctive faculty to help meet the needs of its curriculum. Enhancing the teaching performance and assessment skills of adjunctive faculty will have a direct impact on institutional effectiveness related to teaching and learning.

The activities for this grant project consisted of the development of three faculty development programmatic resources: (1) a published resource guide for all faculty, A Guide to Course Design & Assessment of Student Learning, Galindo; (2) a series of training workshops for adjunctive faculty; (3) the development of an online faculty resource site for teaching and learning curricular assessment.

Proposal abstract :
This proposal on pedagogy and integration supports two activities: 1) a series of MTS seminars (four per semester) over a two year period jointly led by faculty from across the biblical, historical and theological disciplines and 2) participation in a faculty day retreat at the end of each year. The primary purpose of these activities is for faculty 1) to practice a pedagogy that integrates the distinct disciplines in a single seminar, 2) to model dialectical exchange and interdisciplinary discussion, and 3) to evaluate the potential benefits of this pedagogy for the wider curriculum.

Learning Abstract :
In May 2018, the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond sponsored a "Theological Roundtable" focused on striving to integrate seminary and ministry. To this end, we invited two recent alumni and two faculty to address and explore together how we might better integrate theology and ministry in a way that strengthens our institutional vocations. The morning began with coffee, moved to discussion at a roundtable, and ended with lunch as we continued our conversations.

Proposal abstract :
This grant proposes to articulate and become intentional about how the key theological insights, sensibilities, and commitments of higher educational institutions’ animating faith heritages in the Baptist tradition inform and infuse pedagogy – the work of teaching and learning. Attention to pedagogical practice in the essential work of higher education institutions, especially in the fields of theology and religion, though not exclusively there, will contribute to these institutions carrying forward the higher education project in ways both faithfully authentic and accessible to students and new faculty alike.

Learning Abstract :
This pilot project tested a much larger proposition: whether it is possible to articulate and become intentional about how the key theological insights, sensibilities, and commitments of institutions' animating faith heritages in the Baptist tradition inform and infuse pedagogy—the work of teaching and learning. If a Baptist pedagogy is present and can be articulated, it might prove a valuable resource to the work of teaching and learning across Baptist institutions. The investigators developed a day-long consultation that began with concrete incidents from participants' teaching and joined them to content on the Baptist tradition and Baptist higher education. The group identified shared values, commitments and sensibilities that, while currently often implicit more than explicit, that do constitute elements of a Baptist pedagogy. Doing so energized the participants and led to a desire to replicate the workshop with a larger group.

Proposal abstract :
This grant is designed to fund a pilot program to promote racial-ethnic diversity at Belmont University. The primary aim is to facilitate an interdisciplinary, cross-departmental conversation for 350 full-time Belmont faculty in response to two questions: (1) As an explicitly Christian university, Belmont University requires its faculty to be members of a Christian church. Yet it openly welcomes students from all religious backgrounds and simultaneously promotes racial-ethnic diversity. How is it possible to value diversity in a university context where, historically and traditionally, its Christian mission has been exclusionary? (2) How can Belmont faculty create new initiatives that promote a culture of diversity and inclusivity—particularly, in the teaching of religion and theology, a significant feature of the BELL Core—in a manner that is consistent with the university’s Christian identity in order to meet the changing demographics of the institution and the greater Nashville metropolitan area?

Learning Abstract :
This grant funded a four part Diversity Lunch Series with guest speakers Sarah Shin (Intervarsity), Larycia Hawkins (University of Virginia), David I. Smith (Calvin College), and Emilie Townes (Vanderbilt Divinity School). The lunches provided a forum for faculty from different colleges to gather, share a meal, and have conversations around diversity at Belmont University with 190 total participants. The grant funded a faculty book discussion in the College of Theology and Christian Ministry on Christianity and Race in the American South by Paul Harvey. According to the surveys collected, a majority of respondents were moderately satisfied with the university's definition but were under-satisfied with the present culture of diversity at Belmont University. Other key findings are that faculty have power and agency to redefine the culture of the institution and that appealing to the Christian identity of the university is compelling way to approach and engage with matters of diversity.

Proposal abstract :
While much has been written about the sexual activity of college students, less is known about the extent to which religion shapes their sexual decision-making, and the potential of the liberal arts classroom as a site for examining such a process. This project will invite an interdisciplinary group of faculty on a secular campus to consider how they could integrate discussions about the sexual attitudes and practices of college students into their courses. Through focus groups, textual resources, and a four-week colloquy, this project will characterize liberal arts teaching as a “purposeful social construction” through which faculty critically think about sexuality and transform the classroom into a more accessible space for students to think through their sexual decision-making. Thus, this project advocates for the development of pedagogy that views the exploration of sexuality education as an innovative means of addressing critical thinking goals and equips students to think about healthy spiritual and mental growth.

Learning Abstract :
This project was designed to engage a secular liberal arts undergraduate institution around the sexual attitudes and practices of college students. Our findings indicate that personal safety, awareness, background, and context influence the interest of students and commitment of faculty to explore issues of sexual morality in the classroom. While students advocate for using intellectual space for such discussions – particularily in environments void of faculty promotion of their personal values – pedagogical concerns and personal comfort determine whether and the extent to which faculty members resist their efforts. Interdisciplinary collaborations that promote critical thinking about moral issues are more likely to create safe space for both faculty and students to reflect on and dialogue about the formation of sexual values and actions among college students.

Proposal abstract :
MDiv Review (F302), our current capstone course, has held varying degrees of relationship to the rest of the Ministry Formation sequence and the assessment of student learning. Course content depends on which of the three faculty members teach the course and differs in style and substance from year to year. Goals: 1) Determine overall course objectives coherent with Ministry Formation sequence. 2) Create a teaching model providing assessment of student learning according to new MDiv curricular objectives. 3) Implement a model for feedback for student learning assessment. Activities: Three faculty members will participate in collaborative research to create parallel syllabi for each venue in which F302 is taught. They will participate in retreat setting meetings to integrate the new curricular objectives toward individual assessment of student outcomes and programmatic assessment of curricular work in an ongoing manner. This group will initiate a feedback loop for assessment of integrative learning.

Learning Abstract :
The project group implemented familiar methods of action and reflection in reviewing curriculum and setting capstone course objectives to reflect curricular objectives. We created parallel syllabi for distance education and face-2-face course work with integrity for course goals and learning platforms. The capstone course both builds upon the foundational ministry formation courses in a coherent manner and helps to establish an assessment loop to the whole curriculum. Data gathered from analysis of MDiv Review portfolio, along with student and faculty evaluation can be fed back into the system for constant improvement. Best practices in assessment can lead the way to fulfilling excellence in teaching and learning while holding the distinctive character and educational ethos of the institution in the forefront. The project group modeled collegial participation and excellence in the four educational terms we hope to teach our students: Interpretation, Integration, Communication, and Anticipation.

Proposal abstract :
The primary goal of this project is to integrate a significant number of new faculty into Biblical Theological Seminary’s faculty community and lay a broad foundation for success in their vocation. Faculty will engage in activities that develop community and promote understanding of vocation; instill institutional vision; and increase competence in pedagogy and technology. These activities include workshops/retreats, reading, peer mentoring, team teaching, and technology training and development.

Learning Abstract :
This project was designed to develop a new faculty community by implementing a mentoring program by which junior faculty were assimilated into the faculty team and where faculty in general were given the opportunity, training, and encouragement to develop their pedagogical skills through the use of technology and focused attention to teaching and learning. The grant funded whole-school events by which practical implications of the mission and vision of the school could be engaged, contemplated, and discussed by the community as a whole and by the faculty team in particular. It is no exaggeration to say that the Wabash grant has changed our school profoundly by allowing us to implement real and tangible steps to make aspirations a reality.

Proposal abstract :
Recent changes to the curriculum and the graduate teacher training program has prompted interest among the faculty and administration at Boston University School of Theology in expanding opportunities for faculty development in the areas of teaching and mentoring. Building on the demonstrated interest among faculty across rank in continuing education opportunities, the attached Sustaining a Culture of Teaching and Learning project proposal outlines a strategic program for developing faculty learning communities within the school. The program seeks to convene faculty for workshops, trainings, and retreats over the course of the next year and a half to address the needs highlighted by the institutional changes and introduce faculty to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning as a formal area of critical inquiry.

Learning Abstract :
Boston University School of Theology has, over the past two years, piloted a variety of new venues for conversations and training around teaching and learning that have grown out of institutional and curricular assessment, build on the noted strengths of our faculty, respond to our aims of improving our formal training of doctoral students as teachers, and capitalize on existing University resources. This work includes learning from best practices of scholar-teachers (both within the School and outside) and focuses on diversity and inclusion, collaborative and interdisciplinary teaching, interfaith teaching, integrating teaching and learning, and doctoral mentoring and teacher-training. The work of several key faculty is leading the way in areas of creative and anti-racist pedagogy, interfaith co-teaching, new directions in chaplaincy training, or integrating post-colonial theory into pedagogy for preaching, to name only a few examples. What we are learning from the project continues to shape faculty teaching and learning in a way that overlaps with and is complementary to ways we do teacher training with our doctoral students.

Proposal abstract :
A major interest of this grant project is to help us discover or diagnose important areas in our institution and teaching that compromise learning from diversity and therefore create impediments to diversity in our resources and pedagogy. Currently Boston University – School of Theology seeks to address a lack in domestic racial/ethnic diversity among faculty and students alike, which is a considerable departure from its historical legacy in theological education for African American and women alumni-ae with graduate degrees. Considering this departure from our institutions’ legacy in theological education for multi-ethnic student body, this project will examine our current pedagogy and seek to develop critically new pedagogical strategies to teaching and create more inclusive multicultural and multiethnic global environment. The workshops will provide opportunities for faculty and administrators to engage in conversations of dismantling racism, sexism, and (neo-) colonialism. With several consultants and alumni/ae, faculty will investigate the dynamics of teaching international and domestic marginalized racial/ethnic students and will seek to develop multicultural pedagogy and curricular resources, which will include efforts at institutional reform in the School of Theology.

Learning Abstract :
This project designed workshops to address international and domestic, marginalized racial/ethnic diversity in theological education, but more specifically in our classrooms. These training and dialogical workshops underscored the convergence or overlapping nature of racism, sexism, and (neo)colonialism within our institutional life and our teaching culture. As our project progressed through these workshops, faculty and administrators explicitly pressed for more attention to teaching strategies for the classroom. We discovered a critical need to have workshop leaders devise exercises for this desired work that did not dismiss or sweep past the necessary critical reflection on systemic and cultural marginalization and how we might learn from diversity itself. This discovery involved institutional life and teaching practices that passively and sometimes actively privilege some voices and fail to bridge the gaps of resourcing and learning caused by dominance, neglect, or marginalization. In the end, we formed a new faculty leadership committee, which expands the previous work of the faculty's recent Cultural Competency Committee, to devise a long-term project (possibly three to five years) to continue our work on teaching and diversity.

Proposal abstract :
BSU, like most state universities, has not yet addressed the teaching and learning of religious studies. Though faculty across disciplines regularly engage the subject, BSU lacks formal curricula, CORE requirements, or pedagogical collaborations in religious studies. To address this fundamental gap, our grant proposes a semester-long BSU Teaching Circle which will: (1) evaluate BSU’s existing ad hoc efforts; (2) study and adapt for BSU best practices culled from regional and national models; (3) craft an initial religious studies prospectus aligned with BSU’s mission, strategic plan and specific population; and, (4) develop a sustainable Community of Scholars. Key outcomes are: (1) a clearly articulated, BSU-specific template for a religious studies curriculum; an internal, campus-wide system for sharing ideas, materials and resources (Blackboard); and (2) a set of potential assessment tools and metrics to evaluate the teaching and learning of religious studies in relation to student success at BSU.

Learning Abstract :
The Bridgewater State University (MA) Teaching Circles created an intensive, semester-long collaborative framework for a dedicated group of inter-disciplinary faculty who considered and then established critical, substantive and specific guidelines for the teaching and learning of religion at a public university. Based on our rigorous, systematic and reflective effort, we aligned these guidelines to BSU's specific institutional context, mission and student population. The project resulted in wide-spread administrative and faculty support to establish a new minor in Global Religious Studies as well as additional internal funding and an on-going Community of GRS Teacher/Scholars.

Proposal abstract :
This project supports the development of a research survey instrument, its subsequent use with theological students at the outset and completion of their Master of Divinity degree program, and an analysis of the data in order to identify the formative effects of various cultural factors that are believed to function alongside religious faith in shaping the religious formation of incoming theological students. The information gathered from the instrument will contribute to the development of the emerging signature pedagogy at Brite Divinity School. In particular the analysis of the results will shape the teaching/learning outcomes of the faculty in its efforts to nurture an effective 21st Century Christian identity for religious leaders as public theologians in the United States.

Learning Abstract :
Who are the seminarians that Brite teaches? What influences seminary students' religious development? How do they spend their time? To get an overview of these questions and others, a survey was administered to 131 seminary students at Brite Divinity School. The survey research revealed to the researchers that the students are far more complex than the faculty had previously imagined. It showed the faculty that culture trumps religion and that, to students, there's a fine line between the two. Religion, in fact, becomes changed by culture and is no longer about the normative rhetoric that is attached to communities of faith and their related institutions, and how they purportedly derive meaning from them. Rather, it is about "meaning-making," those things that actually end up providing the resources from which people gain meaningful understanding about themselves, others, and the world in which they live. Consequently, seminarians often derive more meaning from the "sacred" found in the supposedly "secular" arena rather than in traditionally religious locations. Professors and practitioners must become master participant-observers in both realms if their goal is to be relevant religious educators in a context in which religion is no longer the definitive realm for the sacred.

Proposal abstract :
This project proposes a process for critical assessment of Brite Divinity School’s operative Signature Pedagogy, consultation, faculty-led research, and intentional conversation to develop proposals based on current literature and best practices in pedagogies of Formation, Interpretation, Contextualization, and Performance. Such engagement and exploration will lead to the construction of a revised, effective, and visionary Signature Pedagogy for Brite.

Learning Abstract :
This grant explored the usefulness of Educating Clergy and particularly the four interdependent pedagogies for deepening and enriching conversations surrounding curricular revision and the identification of an institution's Signature Pedagogy. Results are quite positive and include prompting a new appreciation for the integration of the four pedagogies across curricular categories. The concept of Signature Pedagogy proved useful in reconsidering and revising the institution's previously implicit Signature Pedagogy so that it is better aligned with its ethos and assessment of contemporary and future needs for theological education. Important secondary gains included improved appreciation for degree program assessment. In addition, there is new appreciation for and resources for supporting the integration of learning across the curriculum. Vertical and horizontal integration will be mapped and assessed in the new curriculum.

Proposal abstract :
Brite Divinity School has identified the importance of exploring the way in which we construe and address diversity in our curricular and programmatic strategies. Currently we have created a curricular program that addresses racial, ethnic, and global issues. However, we are not giving the same institutional attention to other challenging forms of diversity presently difficult for church and culture such as gender and sexual orientation. We are seeking strategies that will assure both rich attention to the accrued force of the complex intersections of a range of stigmatized forms of diversity in church and culture as well as ongoing attention to the particular experience and needs of the marginalized communities represented by these various forms of diversity. We propose inviting a panel of distinguished colleagues in theological education to lead the faculty in a colloquy and students in a community conversation about these concerns.

Proposal abstract :
Support to provide focused time for the divinity school faculty to attend to issues that directly impact the culture of teaching and learning at Campbell University Divinity School.

Learning Abstract :
Over the course of our school's development, students have affirmed the positive impact of a number of co-curricular and extracurricular practices that have inspired them and formed them on their journey toward ministry. The concept of pedagogical culture discussed in the Educating Clergy project has helped our faculty to name and assess a number of educational activities that, while not reflected on any student transcripts, nevertheless make our school a unique learning community. As a result of our Wabash grant, we examined the contribution and costs of these communal practices and clarified our priorities for the way we embody our educational goals in an intentional teaching and learning culture. The results of this project will inform how we see our work as faculty and also our future decisions about how we use our time and energy to foster student learning and vocational formation.

Proposal abstract :
At a time when the lines between global and local are fast disappearing, Candler School of Theology is committed to developing a fresh model for transnational theological education. In the past several years, Candler has evaluated the programs and services it offers to its international students, and is committed to a strategy of internationalizing across the curriculum. To achieve that goal, Candler seeks grant support over the next three years to further its understanding of the effectiveness of current pedagogy and course curricula, reflect upon the pedagogical challenges and opportunities of the transnational context of theological education, and develop a new repertoire of courses that fully integrate into the Candler curriculum transnational perspectives on theological education and ministerial formation. After Candler measures the impact that the revised curriculum is having on both domestic and international students, it will share with other theological educators a fresh model for transnational theological education.

Learning Abstract :
Faculty began this project with different conceptions of transnational pedagogy. Some wanted to improve the way they teach courses about topics that are transnational in nature. Others intended to diversify course material to include more perspectives from around the globe. Some preferred to focus on pedagogical skills that improve learning in ethnically and culturally diverse classrooms. Clarifying the import and implications of these different conceptions was essential to faculty dialogue, just as integrating them was essential to the successful revision of courses. In addition to diversifying assigned readings, transnational pedagogy requires considerable reflection about how best to frame, order, and approach them. It requires pedagogical practices that help students engage actively with material that seems remote or other. It requires skillful facilitation to foster respectful listening, honest expression, and constructive critique. Finally, transnational pedagogy requires faculty colleagues willing to debate the important issues that accompany this kind of teaching.

Proposal abstract :
Support for focused discussion in a seminar/retreat setting. Faculty will explore the idea of classroom as Sabbath, time and space apart, from multiple and simultaneous demands on students’ time. Faculty will reflect on the use of course readings, writing assignments, and classroom discussion that encourages “space and time” and pedagogical methods that will provide space for students to slow down and reflect thoughtfully on meaningful issues.

Learning Abstract :
For students bombarded with information and distractions from many sources (cell phones, email and text messages), fragmentation of attention becomes a hindrance to undergraduate learning. Students rarely have an opportunity to "slow down" for reflection and processing questions and ideas. Faculty members' lives and work are similarly fragmented. In a beautiful park conservatory setting, we held a one-day retreat modeling the concept of "Sabbath." We reflected on practices that allow classroom time to be a "time apart" for students to slow down for deep reflective learning. By reading and discussing several articles from Jones and Paulsell's The Scope of Our Art, we explored pedagogical strategies including instructor-led reading/fellowship groups outside the class session; methods of focused reading, writing, and discussion within the classroom; and the importance of appropriate ritual beginnings and endings to signal the classroom session as time and space apart from the frenetic pace of students lives.

Proposal abstract :
Carey Theological College is taking a bold step in transforming itself into an educational institution that focuses on learner/learning-centered pedagogical approaches to deliver high-quality theological education to geographically dispersed students.  A consultation was done last summer to ask, "what could bring Carey teaching and learning experience to the next level?" One recommendation was to put more effort into engaging students with the active learner engagement pedagogical approach (student-centered rather than instructor-centered approach from designing syllabi to teaching in the residential or virtual classroom). The specific problem being addressed by this small grant proposal to help Carey’s faculty to shift their primary focus from traditional content delivery to active engagement of student learning by: 1) considering learning styles, 2) creating formative assessments and 3) engaging active learner approaches.

Learning Abstract :
Carey Theological College ran a faculty development conference with a focus on learner-centered approach to teaching. The conference redesigned a course using the principles learned at the conference. The conference designers, Dr. Nicki Rehn and Dr. Bernie Potvin, based the design of the Conference on five gold standard principles that today lead the way for designers and implementers of learning centered online courses intended for adult learners. The presenters developed a Resource Manual for the long term us of Carey faculty onboarding. Dr. Potvin also provided follow-up coaching sessions during summer to help them work on redesigning their courses.

Proposal abstract :
Catholic Theological Union accepted an invitation from ATS to participate in the initiative of the Committee on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) in 2010-2012. From the topics proposed by CORE, CTU chose reframing teaching and learning in an ethnically, racially and culturally diverse school. The CTU faculty team that is organizing and facilitating this process, which includes the Academic Dean, has identified a need for a consultant/ facilitator to help engage the faculty in a structured conversation on this topic and dedicated the spring faculty study-day for this purpose. The main goal of the study-day would be to focus the conversation on analyzing the current philosophy/ies of teaching and learning, and develop a vision for the future that would take into consideration the issues of diversity mentioned above. Benny Liew, one of the Wabash Center consultants, agreed to be the facilitator for the day. The grant is intended to cover the facilitator's travel cost, honorarium, and other expenses for the day.

Learning Abstract :
Participants shared that diversity in its various forms is a gift that presents opportunities and challenges, not a problem to be solved. Student from different cultures bring a wealth of experience that needs to be honored, valued and brought into conversation with the content and goals of our courses and curriculum. The universal can only be encountered in and through mutual self-reflexive exchange of particularities, and that we all read, interpret, learn and teach from particular locations of knowledge. Power, privilege and colonial consciousness should be acknowledged in the classroom and the curriculum, and persons from the dominant U.S. culture have a great deal of privilege they take for granted. Teaching and learning from an intercultural perspective is not an option; it's the future of theological education. True intercultural perspectives require reflexivity and an ongoing process of transformation in thinking, being, and acting.

Proposal abstract :
The main goal of the seminar would be to bring together a group of faculty of color to share about their personal work experience, develop a better analysis and understanding of the systemic issues of race, racism, and cultural diversity, dream about a vision of an anti-racist theological curriculum, classroom and institution, and build mutual, collegial relationships.

Learning Abstract :
The collegiality and sense of new solidarity that developed among group members was a transformative and empowering experience that we all needed, both personally and professionally. The seminar was an opportunity for discovering the potential we had as a group of faculty of color for supporting each other and promoting institutional change. A significant outcome on the institutional level is the formation by the Dean and the Faculty Assembly of a faculty committee on anti-racism and diversity that will insure the institutional continuity of the work of the seminar. Most challenging in the process was organizing the schedule of the meetings for a group of eight busy members of the faculty over almost two years.

Proposal abstract :
Develop a forum for CTS faculty to focus conversation on teaching and learning through faculty retreats, faculty caucuses, and purchasing resources.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to "cultivate the seminary faculty as a community of learners/teachers who engage in ongoing dialogue about and growth in teaching and learning." They hoped to develop a forum for CTS faculty to cultivate such a community through faculty retreats and caucuses on teaching and learning. Other goals involved exploring ways to share their teaching development with each other and to help mentor junior faculty through their tenure process.
They found that in addition to the content on teaching and learning, the retreat was itself an experience of being a teaching and learning community, rather than a discussion about being one. They developed priorities for their ongoing critical teaching reflection and located these discussions within the structure of faculty caucuses. The second retreat focused on ethics in the classroom and the integration of research and teaching in their individual and corporate work.

Proposal abstract :
The faculty of Chicago Theological Seminary seeks to reflect intentionally on its pedagogical practices and philosophy as it employs emerging educational tools. It seeks further to employ that reflection in enhancing the substance of the education experience offered by the seminary.

Learning Abstract :
This project sought to address our presenting questions which basically boiled down to these questions: 1) What is the essence of a CTS education? 2) How can we offer a CTS-quality curriculum using emerging tools such as digital technology and online formats? Our learnings include a greater confidence among our faculty that distance education does not need to be a generic online program but rather can incorporate the defining qualities of the CTS educational experience; greater exposure to a range of tools and strategies for teaching online; greater exposure to the experiences of faculty members and other employees of other ATS schools; increased attention to ‘para-curricular' elements of seminary life as a part of a student's overall learning experience; and clarification of the distinctions and relationships among program goals and outcomes, course goals and outcomes, and pedagogical strategies, allowing more faculty members to feel confident about using alternative strategies and formats.

Proposal abstract :
Outside consultant-led retreats to prepare the faculty to teach new, intensive, upper-level theology or biblical courses. The retreats will include generative time on classroom strategies, issues of coverage, syllabus design, student expectations and evaluations.

Learning Abstract :
This grant-funded process allowed faculty to learn from one another regarding a new area of teaching (Intensives) that causes many of us anxiety. By spending time to generate questions about teaching intensives in an organic way, and then analyzing the syllabi and experiences of those already engaged in this teaching, and finally by spending time to generate specific suggestions for incorporating new models into the intensive classroom, the faculty developed itself as a resource on teaching. The retreats revealed a deeper need on the faculty to spend time talking together about our teaching. Faculty meetings are too full of other business. Because faculty members struggle (as do almost all faculties in small institutions) with the challenge of their own research and writing, it is difficult to find ways to support learning about teaching from one another in a sustained way. This process modeled that possibility by mining the existing wisdom over two years' meetings in a critical but supportive way.

Proposal abstract :
The dominant traditional image for theological education is the white steeple church which affirms white privilege and white ideological concerns as central to the formation of American religious ideals and principles. This image is counter-intuitive for teaching theology and ministry for the 21st century where racial and ethnic margins will become the center of American life. Crossing the tipping point on diversity while maintaining a curriculum and pedagogy that is guided by a steeple church theology of the 19th and 20th centuries is a funeral approach to theological education. This project seeks to effect a change within theological educators that will better prepare them to teach an intercultural, contextually relevant theology to learners who are racially and ethnically diverse, spiritual and religious, marginally spiritual yet interreligious, and spiritual but not religious. Through a process of critical engagement and reflection on provocative case study material, the faculty will explore pedagogical strategies that will create a new image for teaching theological studies from the center of diversity.

Learning Abstract :
The dominant traditional image for theological education is the white steeple church which affirms white privilege and white ideological concerns as central to the formation of American religious ideals and principles. This image is counter-intuitive for teaching theology and ministry for the 21st century where racial and ethnic margins will become the center of American life. Crossing the tipping point on diversity while maintaining a curriculum and pedagogy that is guided by a steeple church theology of the 19th and 20th centuries is a funeral approach to theological education. This project seeks to effect a change within theological educators that will better prepare them to teach an intercultural, contextually relevant theology to learners who are racially and ethnically diverse, spiritual and religious, marginally spiritual yet interreligious, and spiritual but not religious. Leaders at the forefront of advocating for diversity within theological education will facilitate reimagining conversations with the faculty. Through a process of critical engagement and reflection on provocative case study material, the faculty will explore pedagogical strategies that will create a new image for teaching theological studies from the center of diversity.

Proposal abstract :
Support sustained faculty conversation on teaching and learning that develops a shared understanding of vocation as teachers and that nurtures collegial communal reflection on practices as theological educators.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to sponsor a sustained conversation within the faculty on teaching and learning that would develop a shared understanding of their vocation as teachers, and reflection upon their teaching practices.
The faculty found the conversation quite challenging in that they discovered the many ways that they were unable to articulate a consensus about the character of the community and its affect on teaching and learning.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a faculty development two-day faculty workshop to facilitate implementation of new curriculum involving writing across the curriculum for first-year master of Divinity classes.

Proposal abstract :
In his new book A Secular Age, Charles Taylor distinguishes several meanings of the term “secularity,” one of which involves not a loss of belief but a change in the conditions of belief, of what it is to believe. The aim of this conference is to bring together faculty to discuss the challenges of theological education in a secular age – i.e., in a context of increasing plurality, where shared religious understandings cannot be assumed and no single point of view enjoys the status of a “default option.” Each participant has been asked to address the topic in the context of her or his teaching: e.g., “How does one teach religious ethics in a secular age?”; “What does it mean to study the Hebrew Bible in a secular age?”; “What does it mean to do spiritual formation in a secular age?”; “How does one train pastoral counselors for a secular age?”

Learning Abstract :
The aim of this conference was to bring together faculty and administrators to discuss the challenges of theological education, broadly conceived, in a secular age - i.e., in a context of increasing plurality, where shared religious understandings cannot be assumed. Although it was generally agreed that secularity presents a challenge with which theological educators must contend, not everyone agreed as to the nature of this challenge. Perhaps the most widely shared sentiment was that mainline Protestantism is no longer at its zenith as a cultural ethos, and that schools of theology must seek to engage other religious and non-religious perspectives in fresh, meaningful ways. It was also widely acknowledged that this will require significant changes in curricula, pedagogy, institutional organization and alignment, and faculty, with increasing attention given to the social construction of the category "religion"; representations of otherness; and inequalities of power and access.

Proposal abstract :
The problem being addressed: Columbia Theological Seminary is a late adapter to the world of online theological education. Faculty who were trained in the face-to-face classroom and have taught in the face-to-face environment for much of their careers are now making the shift to the online and digital platforms. Faculty need to be afforded the opportunity to develop the requisite pedagogical skills to make this shift. We believe one fruitful way to achieve this is for faculty members to learn collaboratively. This project brings together five faculty colleagues to reflect on their teaching practices and share their experiences in pedagogical practices. The collaborative will introduce principles of instructional pedagogy for application in the classroom environment. A second facet of this project is help faculty apply specific instructional pedagogy to teaching and learning in a context of their choosing: classroom or online.

Learning Abstract :
This grant project brought together six faculty colleagues to reflect on and share about their teaching experiences in pedagogical practices. The collaborative introduced principles of instructional pedagogy for application in the classroom environment. A second facet of this project was to help faculty members apply specific instructional pedagogy to teaching and learning in a context of their choosing: classroom or online.

Proposal abstract :
This project seeks to foster a community of practice at Columbia Theological Seminary at the intersection of student formation and health and wholeness to better equip our faculty and students to be the faithful, imaginative leaders we all seek to become.

Learning Abstract :
This grant project brought together six faculty colleagues to reflect on and share about their teaching experiences related to health and wholeness. The consultation explored health and wholeness from psychological, spiritual, and physical health perspectives. The cohort model facilitated community building upon a small group of faculty to discuss health and wholeness in ourselves, in the seminary community's ethos and practices, in the institutional policies, and in our pedagogy.

Proposal abstract :
The need to explore Denver Seminary’s tacit curriculum emerges from several factors: fifty percent growth in the student body over the past five years, relocation to a new campus, redirection of the seminary’s vision ten years ago, and the transition from being a primarily denominational seminary to a multi-denominational seminary over the past twenty-five years. These changes have added challenges to the pursuit of our mission by complicating institutional self-understanding. This project is intended to identify factors in our institutional culture that have educational implications, assess the extent to which these factors correspond to our stated mission, provide to decision-making bodies data that will address incongruities, and identify the process involved when an institution attempts to explore and respond to its tacit curriculum. External consultants will immerse themselves in our culture to conduct ethnographic research and provide reports to decision-makers for integration into our assessment of student learning.

Learning Abstract :
In order to better understand the relationship between our tacit curriculum and our stated educational mission, our consultant made multiple campus visits, conducting an ethnographic study involving formal student interviews, informal faculty interviews, observations in chapel services, a faculty meeting, special events, time in students hangouts, and reading seminary publications.

Results of the study showed high overall student satisfaction with their seminary experience and particularly with the faculty. The most significant challenges surfaced by the study were that (1) our students do not value or engage each other well as learning resources, (2) our facilities and space often constrict the formation of meaningful relationships, and (3) some program structures work against our stated value of adult learning.

Reponses to the report have included consultation with an architect to redesign key student spaces, retention of a second consultant to assist our faculty with collaborative learning, and review of educationally cumbersome programs.

Proposal abstract :
Two weekend faculty retreats that will enhance teaching theory and skills specifically for a racially/culturally diverse seminary population.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to engage the theological faculty in two retreats to enhance their teaching theory and skills specifically for their racially/culturally diverse seminary population. They hoped to be able to become more aware of and responsive to the complexity of their current and future student body and their diverse learning style needs due to their cultural and racial diversity. In addition, they hoped to reflect deeply on their teaching practices in such a diverse context.
The project director reports that the project goals were met. The faculty expressed appreciation of the uninterrupted time in consultation together. They also felt that the consultant proved to be "invaluable" to the process of learning. They report that their conversation raised their level of awareness and demonstrated to them the complexity of teaching in diversity. One outcome of the retreats was the creation of a "peer development system," a voluntary system of pairing faculty peers together for ongoing conversation and mentoring on issues of teaching and learning, as well as classroom visitations with constructive feedback.

Proposal abstract :
We envision a 1.5 day workshop that will 'jump-start' a more sustained effort to incorporate into our graduate program in biblical studies increased attention to pedagogical issues and practices. This initial gathering of faculty and PhD students is designed to provide an opportunity for current and future teachers to reflect critically upon the challenges of introducing critical biblical study to first year seminarians. This structured time together will: 1) give new and continuing faculty an opportunity to review and refine our current goals and practices in our biblical introduction courses at Drew; 2) give graduate students the opportunity to engage faculty on the topic of teaching the Bible to students new to the critical study of religious texts; 3) begin to ready doctoral students for teaching assistantships for the coming academic year. In addition to analytical discussion among faculty and students about the learning needs to seminarians and ways these might be met in the classroom, the workshop will also provide "hands-on" session in which the students will work on their practical skills as teachers of exegesis.

Learning Abstract :
The workshop was a productive occasion for critical reflection and conversation about teaching and learning both in broad terms and with focus on particular issues. It provided a rare opportunity for Drew graduate students to engage committed faculty about the ideologies and practicalities of teaching. Among the insights that emerged were the students' expressed desire and need 1) for more "practice" teaching experiences that involve faculty and peer feedback; 2) for occasions to collaborate with peers in preparing courses, classroom activities, and means of assessment; and 3) for further opportunities to hone teaching skills related to discussion group leadership, interactive lecturing, negotiating conflict in the classroom, and developing teaching strategies that appeal to different types of learners. The central challenge facing Drew, as with many academic institutions in the current economic crisis, remains how to improve teacher training in the GDR in an environment of reduced personnel and financial resources.

Proposal abstract :
This project will provide pedagogical strategies for having difficult conversations in a classroom by using abortion, perhaps the most contentious conversation, as a model. We propose to hold a series of six workshops to 1) identify and evaluate existing models of teaching about abortion; 2) consider the range of pedagogical decisions teachers must make in order to encourage learning among students (and educators) who have already made decisions about the topic in advance of encountering it; 3) create an emic model that explores ‘insider’ information side-by-side with academic religious pedagogy and lived experiences; 4) provide guidelines and strategies that give confidence to the instructor and provide an atmosphere where respectful conversation and learning, rather than conflict, happens. Ultimately, these workshops seek to create guidelines that can be used to teach either a course or a unit within a course on a difficult topic in general (or abortion specifically).

Learning Abstract :
These are some of the learnings that I take from the project. Use sensitivity and understanding; recognize that the student's approach is more personal than academic; student responses will be as complex as the topic. "Virtue Language" is most effective - avoid "right, wrong" or "good,bad;" instead ask, "Was she courageous (strong) in making her choice?" This creates potential for agreement rather than divisiveness. For credibility, use stories of actual (not hypothetical) situations. Students are more comfortable talking about abortion when it concerns ‘others,' e.g., women in non-industrialized countries or historical women. Start there and bring the conversation closer to their own demographic in increments. Bring in guest speakers at the onset who will represent and articulate the various views of the students. If not, students fear that they will have to do it themselves and they do not feel confident in their own ability to articulate their positions effectively. They become defensive.

Proposal abstract :
This grant will provide seminars for Duke Divinity junior faculty and Ph.D. students in religion to aid in their development of “pedagogies of empowerment” for racially and ethnically diverse classrooms. It will fund an education expert who will consult with the seminars on issues of teaching and diversity, provide feedback on participants’ own teaching styles, and offer the opportunity for participants to work together developing new strategies and testing their adequacy with racially and ethnically diverse student populations.

Learning Abstract :
The project consisted of four workshops over the course of the academic year, 2005-2006. Two different groups -- eight PhD students and four pre-tenure faculty from the Divinity School -- participated in the workshops. Dr. Mathew Ouellet led the first and third workshops with the project director's help, and the project director led the second and fourth workshops. The workshops included: resources for understanding participants' social location and its effect on teaching; conversations about how pedagogies empower or disempower diverse students; and ways for each participant to identify and develop educational strategies for her/his own courses to enhance the learning of students from different racial and ethnic contexts. The groups generated particular concerns and issues that have also been the focus of subsequent workshops.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a project to solicit feedback from students about what makes for good teaching and to gather faculty to reflect on teaching practice, enhance collaborative conversation, discover tools and resources for improving teaching, and engage in conversation about a community-wide apprenticeship.

Learning Abstract :
Even though the retreat was held near the conclusion of the semester, the grant allowed the faculty to "come away" to reflect on their teaching and the change in venue proved to be a significant factor in freeing faculty to engage with good energy. The workshop focused on teaching effectiveness with some reference to the integrated pedagogies. Dr. Hawkins helped the faculty to construct a foundation for pedagogical reflection, with enhanced awareness of vocabulary and concepts that will inform ongoing discussion. The workshop was a culmination of a yearlong effort to invite faculty to reflect on their pedagogy. The workshop successfully elicited a communal conversation for better mutual understanding of pedagogical principals and practices. Individual faculty differences were affirmed even as each was shown ways to improve his/her craft. The faculty also began to make connections between pedagogy and the curriculum revision which will largely define their work for the next couple years.

Proposal abstract :
A faculty retreat to examine the vocation of teaching as it relates to racial identity, an outside consultant to help faculty address issues of racial identity in the classroom and in the seminary, and a faculty-led retreat for students to help future church leaders and teachers think critically about what it means to teach as it relates to racial identity.

Learning Abstract :
Several strengths of this project can be identified. First, the project engaged various constituents within the seminary, by focusing all on issues of teaching and learning. The resources put into faculty development are paying off as faculty continue to struggle with the impact of racial identity in their teaching and in their courses. Similarly, students are more aware of the need to become effective pastor teachers in the context of the church. The ability to draw persons from the larger community for the workshops and the roundtables engaged others outside the seminary in ways that were helpful to all.

The largest weakness of this initiative came in the need to extend the time period beyond the life of the grant and to shift some of the resources from an original part into faculty development. Although extending the life of the grant had incredible advantages, there might have been a better way to imagine the whole of the initiative were it to have been considered in a larger time frame from the beginning.

A few observations about the learning that has occurred in the midst of this grant follow. 1) It can be very difficult to maintain intentional and meaningful conversations about teaching and learning in the midst of institutional chaos or crisis. The years this grant covered coincide with some important institutional years of struggle. 2) Involving faculty in the design and assessment of a grant such as this was extremely important. While the Academic Dean or other administrative leaders can provide some of the initial impetus for a particular initiative, the results will have a greater impact if faculty are involved in every step of the process from the vision to the assessment. 3) Shaping an institutional ethos and an agenda takes more than one academic year. The extension provided the institution - its faculty and students, in particular - greater opportunity to deepen their conversations and their implementation of actual programs.

Proposal abstract :
To develop a new pedagogical approach to religion and conflict by integrating Theory-Practice Learning, mediation skills, and the use of case studies.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to develop a new pedagogical approach to the topic of religion and conflict. This approach would actively integrate Theory Practice Learning, mediation skills and the use of case studies. Specifically, they sought funding for four pedagogical projects: a teaching workshop for graduate students, mediation as a pedagogical skill, a theory-practice learning internship in the area of religion and conflict, and a pedagogy task force.
The department engaged in bi-weekly seminars on the topic, with outside speakers fueling their thinking and developing their perspectives. They were able to host seminars on religion and conflict in which pedagogical issues were discussed. They were able to develop internship sites on the topic and, also, were able to connect with other areas of the university on this issue. In the period of the grant, the events of 9/11/01 occurred and they were well-prepared to engage it in service to the Emory community. Specifically, they hosted a forum on religion and violence for the university that was attended by over 300 people. They felt that because of the work they had done, supported by the Wabash Center, they were able to help the community think about, react to, and assess the meaning of those events.

Proposal abstract :
This grant will assist in educating the faculty at EDS on the latest theoretical research and pedagogical praxis on issues of economic and social class as it intersects with race, gender, and religion. The grant will support hiring an expert consultant on class issues who will direct a workshop retreat for EDS faculty, securing books and other resources on class, and focus group follow-up which will evaluate the success of faculty members in incorporating class issues in their courses.

Learning Abstract :
A workshop on economic class, classism and anti-racism education was held in the fall and a faculty colloquium in the spring. The "Next Steps" hand-out from the fall meeting helped to shape the discussion in the spring and also helped participants report on what they had been doing since the fall on two levels - the "personal" level (reading from an extensive bibliography and being more aware of class intersections with race and gender); and the "institutional" level (incorporating class into teaching, dealing with the invisible wedges between the faculty and the staff, particularly in terms of benefits, and working more intentionally with their board of trustees). The conclusion of the workshop yielded the evaluation that it was clear that the work on class had only begun. There needs to be an ongoing effort to learn more about the power of dynamics of class and alliances need to be built across class lines in the EDS community.

Proposal abstract :
Freire’s pedagogy has been used as a theoretical basis for education among minority communities. However, on the practical level a practical design of an institution has not been seen at an institution in the United States. Creating a course that seeks to exemplify a few aspects of a liberative pedagogy does not truly represent a liberative pedagogy because it demands an entire institutional design. This project seeks to explore and begin the implementation of a liberative institutional design. The student population at the school is over 90% Latin@ and 60% of the professors are Latin@. The staff is 80% Latin@. A liberative pedagogy in this setting will begin with a definition of a Latin@ pedagogy specific for this educational setting. This project will facilitate a way for faculty, students and staff to discuss the development of a libertive institutional design and to create a plan for implementation over the next 5 years. The information will then be discussed with the provost and with the collegium of deans with the purpose of stimulating a discussion that will inform the curriculum on the main campus.

Learning Abstract :
The project helped us to identify our educational philosophy and to determine the type of context that is necessary for establishing a Freirian teaching learning environment. We were also able to identify our Latinidad in the teaching learning process. Mostly, the project gave us an opportunity to begin to document and determine the reasons for our success with non-traditional, first generation to college minority students. This is important as we continue to evaluate it. One example of this is our graduation rate is 64% while the other major community colleges in the city have graduation rates that range from 6% to 23%. The project helped us begin to determine the reasons for the success and to discuss ways that we might improve this.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a project to focus on the following goals: 1) Develop an enhanced model of teaching religion that includes rhetorical training, providing Fairfield undergraduates with the experience and the tools to engage in religious dialogue focused on different social issues; 2) Research and evaluate the teaching methodology used for the designated classes and adapt the system for other courses that deal with difficult issues; and 3) Guide and engage students in discovering relationships between academic disciplines that have different methods of inquiry and different bodies of knowledge essential to the holistic Jesuit approach to humanistic-based higher education.

Learning Abstract :
Fairfield University set out to understand how a Jesuit university, rooted in a specific Christian tradition, could teach students how to enter into difficult conversations with Islamic believers, while maintaining their own core beliefs. Fairfield's Center for Faith and Public Life took the lead on facilitating this work engaging broadly with students, faculty, Campus Ministry, and Student Services.

Their efforts to engage participants in inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue took shape through various formats and in different settings. Cluster courses, guest speakers, the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour, and the Interfaith Youth Core student/faculty workshops all provided an array of learning experiences for members of the campus community. Additionally, a student learning outcomes rubric was developed for the cluster course and the workshop which provided important data on these learning experiences.

An unanticipated outcome of this project was the formation of two student led programs including a Fairfield University Chapter of the Muslim Student Association and the Student Living and Learning Community on Interfaith Religious Literacy. They were especially enthusiastic about this development because it provides tangible evidence that students have taken ownership of the topic and are working in creative ways to continue to realize an enhanced interfaith dialogue on campus.

Proposal abstract :
Development of graduate courses on the vocation of teaching and faculty discussion on teaching religion, facilitated by educational consultants.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to train graduate students in the undergraduate teaching. They focused on three areas of attention: the practice of teaching, the development of academic professional identity, and an exploration of the teaching profession as vocation. This was pursued through a course entitled, "The Vocation of Teaching Theology" and through informed faculty discussion about teaching theology.
The process of designing and implementing the course involved important faculty discussion about pedagogy in a formal and disciplined way. The department found great value in having a professional in the field of education lead faculty workshops. Also, receiving a grant brought attention of the administration who were then willing to contribute financial support. As a result, the course was made a permanent part of the curriculum. From this point, each teaching fellow will be assigned a faculty mentor for advisement. The faculty expressed a strong desire to continue discussions and workshops on teaching. In general there was an interest in developing the program further.

Proposal abstract :
Pedagogical strategies that have proven effective in North America are not always optimally suited for international students with significantly different educational backgrounds and cultural contexts. Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary has trained many international scholars who now teach and lead in seminaries around the world. Our goal is to learn from them how best to train international leaders for the next generation. This project brings to our campus as consultants three such international scholars (likely from Switzerland, Paraguay and India). Through public lectures and extensive dialog with us, they will help us devise strategies that maximize our effectiveness in training current and future international students. The entire faculty of Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary will be interacting with the three international scholars over a period of 7 - 10 days, examining case studies together, sharing best practices, reflecting on the pedagogical implications of diverse educational contexts, and formulating plans for improved educational strategies and outcomes.

Learning Abstract :
The "Consultation on Cross-Cultural Education" featured three international speakers who engaged in conversation regarding the way in which their engagement in international theological education was shaped by the cultures in which they ministered. Through lectures, case studies, and seminar presentations the learning community explored the challenges of the way in which differing learning styles, expectations, and values shaped the pedagogical process. Careful budgeting allowed for a second-stage of learning and for application of consultation outcomes through a gathering of scholars serving the Seminary's sponsoring denomination in Angola, Colombia, Congo, French- and English-speaking Canada, Germany, India, Paraguay, Switzerland, and US to write curriculum for online courses. While the curriculum project continues, the reinforcement of the notion of different learning styles and the significance of requiring assignments that involve not only such academic tasks as reading and writing but also practical ministry has been a significant pedagogical learning outcome.

Proposal abstract :
In the second phase of a three-phase project, Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary faculty will gather in retreat format to envision a blueprint for a new educational model. Building on vision/mission restatement processes in 2014-15 that identified "a learning community of engagement" as center (Phase 1), the retreat launches a year-long process in which our consultant, Israel Galindo, leads the FPBS learning community in developing a pedagogical model to align with this center (Phase 2). FPBS will then in 2016-17 apply the new model to pedagogical strategies and student life, affecting the entire educational (curricular and non-curricular) enterprise (Phase 3). In the changing landscape of theological education FPBS needs a new and more fully developed model for personal formation in community.

Learning Abstract :
Under the guidance of Dr. Gary Gramenz, the Dean of Fresno Pacific University's School of Education, the faculty and staff of Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary met in retreat to discuss various pedagogical approaches that can help encourage students' personal transformation and development. Of particular interest to us are our many part-time students and the students in our new on-line program, both of whom no longer participate in a traditional residential experience. Specifically, we explored the strategic roles that truth, goodness and beauty can play as "disorienting dilemmas" within a pedagogical process. With instructional attention often directed at the students' acquisition of knowledge and attainment of skills, we considered how teachers can shape their students' "dispositions" by thoughtfully exposing them to and processing with them such dilemmas.

Proposal abstract :
Through a combination of workshop, forums and surveys, this project engages the faculty of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in their ongoing effort to consider the issue of racial and cultural diversity as a pedagogical issue. The focus of this project centers on the selection of teaching resources, specifically textbooks. It builds on work that the faculty began in 2007 and is aimed ultimately at influencing the ethos of the community in the area of diversity. The specific purpose of the project is to help move the seminary more closely in line with its stated identity of openness to racial and cultural diversity in all aspects of seminary life. The project is directed to faculty, a key center of influence in the seminary community. The intention is to enable faculty members to identify multi-cultural gaps in their teaching resources in a non-threatening and supportive way and move them to be intentionally inclusive both racially and culturally as they select curricular resources. Their active commitment to diversity in this area can be a catalyst to moving the seminary to achieve its goal of racial and cultural diversity.

Learning Abstract :
This project was directed at the faculty to alert them to the necessity of being proactive in meeting the requirements of multiculturalism that is intrinsic to the culture of the Garrett-Evangelical community. The project succeeded to the extent that the faculty conversations around the pedagogical implications of making racial and cultural diversity and inclusiveness a lived reality were rich and elicited renewed commitment on the part of the majority. The project succeeded in part because it was part of a larger, ongoing conversation and that the issue has been recognized as integral to the life and health of the seminary community. Thus, the conversation continues beyond the completion of this project. Sadly, a few faculty members dismissed the need for conversation but the faculty as a body recognized their responsibility to and influence on the racial and cultural ethos of the seminary and pledged to keep the conversation alive.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a small research project to identify the goals of the religious site visit assignment with respect to student learning. Specific project goals include: 1) a workshop for Georgia faculty to discuss the religious site visit assignment and determine how best to assess student responses in an experiential learning environment; 2) conduct research using student survey responses to visiting religious sites as well as faculty reflective responses on its implementation; 3) from the data determine practices which either benefit or limit student learning using the experiential pedagogy of a religious site visit assignment; 4) share the results via publication and presentation.

Learning Abstract :
This small grant project was comprised of two parts: a workshop of 18 faculty teaching in Georgia, and a student survey. At the workshop, participants had the opportunity to learn about some of the advantages and challenges of utilizing a religious site visit assignment in their courses through both presentation materials and roundtable peer discussions. Out of this experience a student survey was developed and then implemented in three Georgia institutions during the Spring 2014 semester to collect data on student perspectives in their religious site visits. Though the overall influence on students' attitudes towards other religions was rather unclear from the survey results, they still pointed in two directions. First, some students maintained an essentialist understanding of religion, which was a little surprising since the assignment was geared to thwart this potential pitfall. Second, other students found this assignment extremely worthwhile from an experiential standpoint.

Proposal abstract :
The Department of Biblical Studies and Christian Ministries at Gordon College proposes a retreat in the summer of 2014 discuss pedagogical strategies in our Core first-year courses, Old Testament and New Testament. Building on existing departmental efforts, we will use funds to support research, reflection and discussion aimed at addressing the changing needs of our students, growing class sizes, and the cultural shifts in our incoming students’ approach to the biblical text. We will host one two-day retreat for the department. The retreat will focus on addressing students’ needs (both as first-year students and as students of the Biblical text), examining current approaches and identifying key areas for further study. Such a project will enable our department to better address the needs of our students, and we will share our discussions with colleagues at Gordon and across institutions.

Learning Abstract :
The Department of Biblical Studies and Christian Ministries at Gordon College conducted a retreat in the spring semester of 2014 to discuss pedagogical strategies in our core first-year courses, Old Testament and New Testament, and in our core Theology course. Building on existing departmental efforts, we used funds to support research, reflection and discussion aimed at addressing the changing needs of our students, growing class sizes, and the cultural shifts in our incoming students' approach to the biblical text and to theological inquiry. The retreat focused on addressing students' needs (both as first-year students and as students of the biblical text and of theological texts), examining current approaches and identifying key areas for further study. Such a project enabled our department to better address the needs of our students, and we will look for opportunities to share both our discussions and our findings to the wider academy.

Proposal abstract :
This project seeks to build allies from among the Hartford Seminary faculty in order to better integrate Latino/a issues into the theological curriculum of the school. They will do so by introducing the large and diverse Latino/a community in the city of Hartford to a group of Hartford Seminary faculty. El Programa de Ministerios Hispanos (the Hispanic Ministries Program) of Hartford Seminary is a Saturday certificate program that up to now has not significantly impacted Hartford Seminary teaching, research or curriculum. Its director, Professor Efrain Agosto, is the only Latino and Spanish-speaking member of the faculty, and thus since the program is offered in Spanish, the only core faculty member of Hartford Seminary that works closely with the students of this program. This project seeks to explore the large Latino reality in the midst of the capital city of Hartford in ways that will have larger impact in the teaching and research agendas of the Seminary.

Learning Abstract :
This project taught us that building allies for a particular pedagogical aspect of theological education, in this case the Latino/a exemplum, is not an easy task in hard economic times when all programs and priorities are under close scrutiny, energies are taxed and nerves are frayed. Nonetheless, every little bit helps. In the case of this project, three faculty members out of a faculty of fifteen were exposed for the first time to a local Latino/a community, both its demographics and religious reality. In addition, several more faculty members engaged a Latino theologian from outside our community on the current state of Latino/a theological reflection, another new experience for many. Finally, most of the faculty experienced a workshop on multicultural theological pedagogy with a Latina religious educator, another rare experience at Hartford Seminary. Together these small experiences prepared the way for further exploration of Latino/a theology, religion and pedagogy at Hartford Seminary for years to come.

Proposal abstract :
Educating the faculty through a conference and two consultants on the pedagogical issues of authentic dialogical engagement and reviewing/assessing the curriculum for its adherence to the ‘interfaith‘(Muslim/Christian) dialogue concept.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to reflect on the theory and practice of dialogue, within the context of inter-religious experience, with a goal of embedding this pedagogical process into the curriculum. Through a conference of seminary representatives who are most involved in diversity and dialogue, along with a faculty retreat, they hoped to ensure that a broad understanding of dialogue would become an integral part of all their degree programs.
Organizers confirm that the grant "facilitated a key and defining theme for the Seminary." Activities included a conference of nineteen professors, all engaged in teaching inter-religious dialogue, a retreat with faculty facilitated by outside consultants, and a conference on the topic of "teaching dialogue" between Muslims and Christians. As a result of these efforts, the Mission and Values statements of the Seminary had explicit reference to the goal of dialogue, a new core course on dialogue became part of their revised MA program, and an issue of Muslim World was developed on the theme of Christian-Muslim dialogue.

Proposal abstract :
As in most departments across the country, the religion faculty at Hastings College has had few formal opportunities to reflect critically on our pedagogy, especially from a theoretical perspective. To this end, our proposed project will seek to establish 1) a working reference library that can be utilized for informing teaching practices and 2) opportunities for bi-annual departmental workshops where issues of teaching, learning outcomes, and assessment can be discussed. We will also develop a department-specific assessment instrument for evaluating classroom effectiveness.

Proposal abstract :
Hebrew College will hold its first faculty retreat in June 2016 as a culmination of a year of faculty working parties devoted to various themes of teaching and learning including peer teaching observations, methods of teaching in higher education, showcasing faculty assets, refining the student feedback cycle for greater impact on instruction and teaching resources for classroom and online environments.

Learning Abstract :
A group of faculty in an institution of higher learning can be further motivated and increasingly collaborative when they are invested in their own professional learning and reflective of their practice in the classroom. A Wabash Center small grant enabled the faculty of Hebrew College to initiate a peer led group of working parties on teaching and learning including the development of intellectual assets, peer to peer classroom observations, developing the student feedback assessment loop and deliberating on best practice in theological and textual teaching. Working parties were able to present their deliberations at a faculty retreat at the end of the year leading to swift implementation in the fall semester. Evidence of greater faculty collaboration across schools ensued and initiation of proactive reflective practice including syllabi review, co-teaching, etc. This year long project culminating in an end of year retreat is a model to be replicated as well as preparing faculty for an accreditation self-study for improvement in teaching and learning at the College.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a guest speaker on Teaching Biblical Hebrew for the faculty’s monthly teaching seminar.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to fund a consultant who specializes in Biblical Hebrew instruction to work with their teaching assistants and private tutors who instruct their rabbinical and graduate students in Biblical, Rabbinic and Modern Hebrew.
The consultant, Dr. David Levenson of Florida State University, gave a three-hour presentation on the teaching of Biblical Hebrew. Following the session, the students engaged Dr. Levenson over lunch with more specific questions, including scenarios from their classroom experience. The project director reported positive feedback from participants and that the teaching seminar served as springboard for further discussion on the use of technology in teaching Biblical Hebrew.

Proposal abstract :
Spring faculty teaching seminars followed by a 3-day national colloquium, adapted from a prototype created by the AAHE, which will be held in June 2001 for 10 new & recently appointed non-tenure faculty that focuses on the sharing of syllabi, discussion of critical teaching incidents and preparation for peer observation. This event will be followed by a semester of peer observation.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought funding to pilot a national enhancement of teaching project for the recently appointed, non-tenured faculty, as well as to raise the general level of dialogue on teaching among the faculty. They also sought to introduce peer observation as a technique for formative teaching evaluation. The centerpiece of the project would be a three-day colloquium on the enhancement of teaching for their three stateside schools in Cincinnati, Los Angeles and New York.
The colloquium was the first time in the history of HUC-JIR that faculty colleagues from all three of their North American campuses came together for an intensive gathering on the enhancement of classroom teaching. It was their first experience of intentionally creating activities to support the growth and development of junior faculty. Evaluations indicate it was a major success. Also, junior faculty participated in a cycle of mentoring and clinical supervision. They report that instructors were pleased by the power of the new instructional strategies to engage the students. They were also able to design an online Faculty Resource Center as a virtual meeting ground for cooperative work, discussion and learning.

Proposal abstract :
Preparation of faculty to apply learner-centered approaches to teaching, assessment and advisement within a new College-wide integrative core curriculum: an all-faculty retreat, consultations and training sessions, committees on assessment.

Learning Abstract :
Overall, we are pleased to report that the College-Institute has made tremendous progress implementing the Core Curriculum and assessment protocols. We have now had a full year of experience with narrative assessment on each HUC-JIR campus--Cincinnati, Los Angeles, New York and Jerusalem. Faculty pairs have been meeting with second year rabbinical students in small groups and individually. The meetings focus on individual growth and each student's own journey, emphasizing larger enduring questions that grow out of the Core Curriculum.

Students have been positive about their experiences with integrative teaching. Those enrolled in a team-taught course during their Year-In-Israel at the Jerusalem School, were enthusiastic. We would like to see more faculty planning courses together. This will require additional training, leading to the development of alternative integrative models tailored to different types of courses. For example, we would like to develop more short-term intensive integrative models.

We are now in the midst of a comprehensive strategic planning process. As part of that process, we have reviewed the Rabbinical program, as well as all other programs of the College-Institute. Much of the focus of Strategic Planning has been on the successes and challenges of the Core Curriculum. We have sought to use our experience in planning and implementing the Core Curriculum, including its integrative and assessment aspects, as a model for our other programs, such as the Cantorial and Education programs. We continue the process of taking a hard look at the lessons of the process to determine what we can incorporate across the programs of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

Proposal abstract :
A one-year pilot project to enhance the quality of teaching and learning based on a succesful American Association for Higher Education program to formalize peer mentoring among faculty and to create a culture which promotes commitment to strengthening faculty teaching skills.

Learning Abstract :
The program sought to conduct a one-year pilot project to enhance the quality of teaching and learning among the faculty at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. This would include the following components: a) teaching as scholarship - - reflections on syllabi; b) capturing the particulars of classroom practice; c) putting the focus on student learning.
The pilot project was developed at the Los Angeles campus. Some of the issues raised included the following: the strengths and limitations of content coverage versus depth of knowledge; the tension between imparting practical, professionally oriented training and encouraging abstract, critical thinking and scholarly rigor; the relationship between academic learning and experience in the field; articulating expectations to learners effectively; and faculty assumptions about students' backgrounds, knowledge, needs, expectations, and habits of mind.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a three-year faculty seminar on intercultural pedagogies for all members of the Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy at Holy Names University. The seminary will reformulate the pedagogical dimensions of the entire program in terms of intercultural pedagogies. All members of the seminar will: a) read provided essays in this field; enter into dialogue with leading experts; develop, utilize and evaluate at least one course on intercultural pedagogical strategy for teaching and learning in this program, b) critically evaluate and revise these strategies as part of a two year process of self-examination and dialogue with other North American universities regarding intercultural approaches to teaching religion and philosophy, c) meet each year for one day with students representing all three levels of the program in order to solicit feedback and to carry on a dialogue about the effectiveness of the specific intercultural approaches to teaching and learning students have encountered, and d) make three faculty retreats to address how the faculty's new commitment to intercultural teaching and learning can work to pass on and embody the Holy Names Sisters' historic commitment to multicultural education.

Learning Abstract :
The Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning provided support for a three-year faculty seminar on intercultural pedagogies, and a series of retreats, speakers, and faculty-student interactions designed to shape and enhance the pedagogical dimensions of larger groundbreaking collaboration between the Pastoral Ministries Program of Holy Names University and Catholic dioceses in Northern California working to prepare lay ecclesial ministers for service in a diverse church. This collaboration was designed to support lay ministers who, after completing diocesan sponsored certificate programs of pastoral formation, wish to study for undergraduate degrees in a ministry-related field, and/or for an M.A. in Pastoral Ministries. We learned that there is an important role for Catholic universities who are willing to collaborate with Catholic dioceses in training the next generation of lay ecclesial ministers, and that current church leadership places great value on the formation of culturally competent ministers. We also learned that it is critically important for leaders in both institutions to understand the institutional constraints of the other. Going forward, we believe there is much room for expanded cooperation between Catholic universities and dioceses in leveraging existing resources to support and expand programs of study and formation preparing lay ecclesial ministers for service in a diverse church.

Proposal abstract :
The primary purpose of this project is to develop a new structure for the religion major in a church-related liberal arts college. It should involve a radical re-thinking of the way the department teaches religion rather than simply tinkering with the details. In order to prepare for this difficult but essential conversation, faculty in the department will meet three times to share syllabi and discuss Stephen Prothero’s Religious Literacy. A Wabash Consultant will then lead the department in a two-day retreat to begin discussion of learning objectives and possible shapes for a new major. The department will then meet 3-6 times over the next year to flesh out the new major.

Learning Abstract :
This grant enabled the faculty of the religion department to work toward developing a new structure for the religion major. After several conversations about the field of religious studies, and after a two day retreat with a consultant, the department decided not to create a new major from the ground up, but instead to adjust our current curriculum to allow students to specialize in Bible, history/theology, or ethics/culture, or to continue with the old major which emphasized breadth of exposure. We found that starting from scratch was a very labor-intensive process that we were not prepared to do. The project was expanded to include a series of dinner meetings with faculty colleagues from other disciplines to discuss faith and vocation. My colleagues and I appreciated the space to discuss important issues and questions in a safe and supportive environment. Such conversations have the potential to build strong bonds among faculty and a deeper sense of vocation.

Proposal abstract :
Support for the faculty of Iliff School of Theology to engage in sustained reflection on the ecology of their teaching practices, with an eye towards shifting that ecology towards the desired outcome of increased theological fluency among graduating students. "Theological Fluency" will serve as a generative metaphor to broadly identify the imaginative capacity to draw on interdisciplinary forms of theological wisdom in professional practice. Faculty participants will work to identify their characteristic pedagogical approaches, their intended student learning outcomes, and the ecology of approaches across the faculty. After careful reflection on the relationship of various pedagogical approaches to the learning outcome of theological fluency, the faculty will work to shift their pedagogical ecology to better support this kind of student learning. Faculty will pay special attention to the role of cultural background, age, and learning styles of students as they reflect on their pedagogical approaches.

Learning Abstract :
We learned that enormous diversity characterizes our teaching methods, subject matter, and desired outcomes. While sharing various general commitments to specific subject content, critical thinking, personal integrity, social relevance, and functional skills, we learned that there is considerable difference in how these are understood, embodied, and communicated. We also learned that having sustained conversations about our pedagogy created a sense of cohesiveness among the faculty. We were able to devise new strategies to help various forms of knowledge travel throughout the curriculum and between our disciplines, and to gain a better sense of what theological fluency might be for our students and alums. Finally, we learned that in addition to specific knowledge and skills traveling with more or less degree of fluency in our students, that Iliff's central message travels in a variety of formal and informal ways throughout all of our more structured and formal pedagogical practices.

Proposal abstract :
This pilot project seeks to uncover those teaching methodologies that professors of moral theology/ethics have determined to be successful in helping students not only to intellectually understand Catholic moral teachings, but also to personally and affectively appropriate those teachings. By providing a format for professors to discuss and evaluate teaching methods they have employed, they will benefit by constructing a peer review body of knowledge about such methods as well as sharpening their own teaching skills. These methodologies which seek to combine a knowledge of the mind with a wisdom of the heart invite students, both clerical and lay, to freely commit, within the solitude of their own consciences, to church teachings in a deeply personal and ecclesially-oriented way. We submit that students will then be more fully prepared to fulfill their ministerial objectives as visible leaders in the Roman Catholic Church.

Learning Abstract :
Through the grant we have come to a greater appreciation of the necessity of clearly understanding who the human person is as learner, including his or her divine vocation, anthropology, and way we speak about these realities. On a more concrete level, we have also learned that a great many of our colleagues in moral theology have given serious and prolonged thought to how they might best assist the student in his or her forming studies to learn both the truths of our faith and commit themselves to them. These same colleagues also saw the need and benefit for an exchange of concrete, pedagogical ideas and practices. By publishing our findings in a peer-reviewed article, we hope to disclose not only the details of what we learned, but instigate a larger discussion at the service of both instructor and student of moral theology.

Proposal abstract :
Divinity Students enter graduate programs with widely varying past experiences, academic skills, and motivation levels. Faculty often lament that students are focused on attaining the degree,but do not want to invest much effort in learning. And many students think that memorizing information just before examinations is tantamount to learning, and therefore spend considerably less time studying than is commensurate with their grade expectations. This interactive workshop will help faculty understand why many of today’s students lack effective learning strategies and critical thinking skills, and will present cognitive science research based methods that can be used to enhance and assess student learning.

Learning Abstract :
In my roles as a professor and a mid-level administrator, I see the significance of this workshop positively and hopefully. It seems that broad-based collaboration does not come easily in higher education, and ITC is no exception. What I think we witnessed in this workshop is that most of our faculty are seriously interested in helping students learn. Hopefully, this interest has been piqued sufficiently that it moves us into the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) project with a greater willingness to work together. The QEP design requires a level of collaboration that I have not seen sustained among the faculty. In other words, momentum is a challenge. In a time of transitions for American Higher education, this workshop experience suggests to me that it is fruitful to work step by step.

Proposal abstract :
Funding will support a reading and discussion group for our faculty, to consider the future and potential changes and reforms to our school from two perspectives: the institutional identity, considering how Iona College educates within the tradition of U.S. Catholic higher education; and from the personal perspective of the faculty’s own experience of their vocation as expressing and fulfilling their religious/spiritual identities, values, and lives. Particular issues within that larger examination will be the changing dynamics of Catholic higher education in terms of curriculum, the use of high impact practices, institutional identity when religious orders are dying, and a religiously diverse faculty, staff, and student population. We would use the following text to focus our conversation, since it addresses these issues specifically: Stephen R. Haynes, ed., Professing in the Postmodern Academy: Faculty and the Future of Church-related Colleges (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2002).

Learning Abstract :
Our group engaged in lively, thought-provoking, and productive discussions based on shared readings that laid out the various pedagogical, institutional, and vocational issues facing faculty at a church-related college. Our discussions have reinforced and now focused our commitment to raising and addressing these issues with more of our colleagues through further, larger group meetings and a conference. All of this will help us (especially our new colleagues) better adapt to the challenges we face, and thereby better serve our students.

Proposal abstract :
The Rabbinical School of The Jewish Theological Seminary trains modern rabbis who are scholars conversant in both traditional Jewish texts and critical methods. JTS faculty members bring rich faith journeys to their teaching, along with exciting, complex approaches to religious scholarship. Still, most instruction is overly cognitive and does not incorporate normative formation and professional development pedagogies into rabbinical students’ learning. In 2006, JTS received consultation support from the Wabash Center to launch faculty-facilitated Integrating Seminars in which groups of first-year students met regularly to address issues of rabbinic identity arising from their studies. Dr. Kathleen Talvacchia served as consultant to JTS and helped conceptualize how to move forward in JTS integration efforts. As a result, JTS now seeks to extend benefits of lessons learned in the seminars to the faculty as a whole and to the field. Over the next two years, JTS will 1) introduce integration as an objective in rabbinic education to the JTS faculty as a whole; 2) provide incentives and assistance to instructors teaching required courses in core subjects; and 3) disseminate results to the field by bringing JTS faculty together with their counterparts from other seminaries undertaking similar projects to share work in progress.

Learning Abstract :
The Wabash Center grant was critical in spearheading a cultural shift at JTS with regard to teaching, and how teaching is done at JTS. Faculty members, for example, are now more willing to think through the teaching of their material as an aspect of their craft. There is also a greater willingness on the part of the faculty to talk about their teaching and to see the teaching itself as a key part of our mission of forming clergy.

Also, feedback from students on this effort and the self-reporting from faculty were very positive. Finally, Carol Ingall created a forum for faculty members to discuss their teaching/issues related to pedagogy, and there was great interest in this forum and a large turn out for this event.

Proposal abstract :
Fund a facilitator to work with faculty in a year-long conversation on teaching, to include the nature of the seminary’s students, current trends in teaching and learning, instructional technology, and the relationship between the subject matter and the person teaching the subject.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to fund a facilitator and a retreat for faculty development in the areas of teaching, learning and pedagogy. They hoped to become more knowledgeable of current research on teaching and learning, to incorporate them into their pedagogy and to develop a community of scholars dedicated to excellence in teaching.
Working with Dr. Victor Klimoski of St. John's University, Collegeville, MN, they developed a process of meeting that allowed them to think in creative terms about how they taught as well as the paradox of teaching and learning at their seminary. They were able to focus on Parker Palmer's, The Courage to Teach, with specific emphasis on its pertinence to seminary work. They learned that ongoing discussion on pedagogy was needed on their faculty. This culminated in a faculty retreat on the redevelopment of their syllabi to make them more in line with the teaching excellence mission of the school. This created a more consistent approach across their curriculum.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a summative faculty workshop to help interpret the meaning of their investment in resources over the past three years from the Lilly grant and to discuss future directions they will take in the use of educational technologies to support their teaching and learning environment. The workshop will be led by James Rafferty from the MN Consortium of Theological Schoools.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to fund a one-day faculty workshop with an outside speaker to assess the meaning of their investment in educational technologies over the previous three years, as well as to discuss future directions for the use of these technologies in their teaching-learning environment. In particular, they hoped to engage the subject of student motivation and learning styles, and how teachers can engage students through available technologies.
The project director reports that in the workshop the questions they explored involved what they were communicating and how effective it was in a student population with a very different profile from which they as a faculty were trained. These new students do not come with graduate level skills in reading, writing and speaking, and do not have previous exposure to philosophy, theology or history. These core skills must be taught in the curriculum. Also, they must be taught for parish work, not academic work. Thus, they needed to determine how to best contextualize their teaching strategies.

Proposal abstract :
This grant will assist individual Lancaster Theological Seminary faculty members to develop resources and skills for teaching more effectively in their diverse classrooms and in their collaboration with one another. The grant includes an introductory workshop with an expert facilitator/consultant, periodic consultation between that consultant and individual faculty members, and a concluding workshop. Faculty participants will report and evaluate their experience in terms of what they have learned and the degree to which this experience has affected their pedagogy.

Proposal abstract :
This grant will fund a workshop for Lancaster Theological Seminary faculty to identify white privilege in their teaching and evaluation of student learning and to take the next steps to dismantle it. In a week-long intensive to be held May 19-24, 2014, the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright will instruct faculty in African-American history, African theologies, cultural differences, and diverse learning styles and epistemologies. On this basis of this learning, the faculty then will review the “Student Learning Outcomes and Rubrics” for our three degree programs and the “Course Overviews” for the required courses required for the M.Div. program, two sets of documents that guide our educational offerings, assessment strategies, and pedagogies. In two afternoon workshops, a consultant will guide faculty toward the theory and practice of teaching and assessing students with diverse learning styles. Guided by this education, faculty will develop new measures of student success for the M.Div. degree and draft a revision of the “Student Learning Outcomes and Rubrics” of the M.Div. program.

Learning Abstract :
"Identifying and Dismantling White Privilege in Pedagogy: A workshop for Faculty at Lancaster Theological Seminary" accomplished two primary goals. From participating in 20 hours of master class sessions with the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, faculty and key adjuncts gained a deeper knowledge of Afrocentric approaches to epistemology and learning. In 15 hours of discussion and activities with Wabash Consultants, Dr. Carolyn Medine and Dr. Benny Liew, faculty were encouraged to situate white privilege in teaching and learning within the larger framework of the diverse learning styles and competencies of all students. Many of the practices that we developed during this week (reading and discussing books together, intentionally planning times to discuss race apart from moments of crisis, etc.) continued into the 2014-2015 academic year, convincing us of the importance for sustained conversations about race, teaching and learning.

Proposal abstract :
The faculty of Lancaster Theological Seminary will continue its work in engaging race, privilege, and cultural competency at a retreat devoted to exploring the spiritual dimensions of anti-racism work. A small project grant will help support the funding of this retreat. We have contracted with Dr. Melanie Harris and Dr. Jennifer Harvey to lead the faculty retreat, which will include an overnight stay for regular faculty and key adjunct faculty. Both consultants have documented experience with the inner work connected to dismantling racism and white privilege.

Learning Abstract :
By hosting a two day retreat for all regular and the majority of adjunct faculty, the educational team of Lancaster Theological Seminary took another step in educating themselves about the soul work need to continue dismantling white privilege in the classroom. After years of working with the reconciliation model, Dr. Melanie Harris and Dr. Jennifer Harvey invited the professors to consider a reparations paradigm for their work of ending racism in the classroom. Over the next twelve months the faculty will be exploring what it would mean to shift paradigms. "How would it change what we teach and how we teach it?"

Proposal abstract :
Support for the department of Religious Studies at Le Moyne, a college in the Catholic, Jesuit tradition, to develop and share strategies and resources for strengthening Religious Studies learning in interdisciplinary courses. While the risks of interdisciplinary teaching include a dilution of student learning in Religious Studies, the potential benefits include enrichment of student learning, particularly with respect to the interconnections of religion with other human projects and phenomena. Interdisciplinary courses help students see that many basic aspects of human culture cannot be understood apart from religion. Revision of Le Moyne’s core curriculum affords the occasion to reconsider the impact of interdisciplinarity on their teaching of religion. This initiative proposes to enhance teaching and learning in religion by attending to the full potential of interdisciplinarity.

Learning Abstract :
We have learned that clarity about our goals for student learning in Religious Studies and in Theology is essential as we enter into interdisciplinary collaborations or as we plan courses intended to be interdisciplinary. As a corollary, we have also learned the importance - and the challenges - of distinguishing our learning objectives for our majors from our learning objectives for students who enroll in our courses to fulfill general education requirements. This is especially important for us because our majors satisfy most of their major requirements in the context of courses tailored primarily for our institution's core curriculum. We believe that this lesson is equally important for colleagues at the many other institutions where Religious Studies and Theology majors enroll in significant numbers of courses filled with students seeking to complete general education requirements. Finally, we continue to learn anew the creative power of a strong departmental culture of systematic reflection on teaching and learning.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a faculty retreat to follow up on the Educating Clergy conference sponsored by the Wabash Center in Chicago, Il. The retreat will encourage faculty discussion about the potential impact of the conference on the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary community life and formation of students for ministry.

Learning Abstract :
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary faculty met for a day and one half retreat for discussion about clergy formation at the seminary. Specific attention was given to issues related to seminary culture and identity. The conversation provided the impetus for subsequent ongoing conversations around issues of the diverse curricula that constitute seminary education, including intellectual formation, character formation, and the formation of reflective and competent practitioners. Dr. Barbara Wheeler served as a consultant for the retreat and aided the faculty in probing the seminary's identity and ethos in relation to formation questions. Faculty continue to reflect and converse about how to develop pastoral imagination in their students.

Proposal abstract :
In the fall 2006 the Institute of Pastoral Studies made the decision not only to begin online teaching in ministerial education but to develop two of our M.A. degrees -- Pastoral Studies and Religious Education as degrees which could be taken totally online. This was a bold initiative. Over the next 12 months several of the faculty undertook intensive preparation for online teaching -- including participation in the Wabash sponsored DEPD 0135: TEACHING ONLINE June 4 - July 28, 2007. To date we have offered a full complement of core and elective courses to over 170 students. At this point it is our desire to take two full days in January before the spring 2010 term begins to share our corporate wisdom with this experience. We have set aside January 14 & 15, 2010 to share our best practices in online teaching.

Learning Abstract :
After two and one half years of experience with online teaching to over 170 students, Loyola University's Institute of Pastoral Studies (IPS) full time and adjunct faculty gathered January 14 and 15th 2010 for an intensive reflection on their experiences. The content/process began with initial sharing from each of the faculty focusing major themes of the on-line experience. A presentation of survey results of the students (especially designed for this colloquium) was followed by discussion correlating faculty and student experiences.

Input on synchronous online teaching was presented and the faculty began a listing of best practices of online teaching. The second day began with an invited presentation by IPS adjunct faculty member Richard Ascough of Queens College, Kingston Ontario on the theory beneath on-line teaching. The faculty then moved to examining how online learning can communicate the distinctive Loyola IPS teaching/learning culture with a focus on community and spiritual formation. The afternoon was devoted to a presentation by the University's Instructional Technology Department dealing with assessment. The last session named the consensus as this faculty moved into the next steps in its corporate approach to online teaching.

Proposal abstract :
Extend annual faculty retreat in order to engage faculty in discussion of teaching as vocation with the help of Parker Palmer’s book, The Courage to Teach, the book’s study guides, video, and a facilitator.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought funding for a faculty retreat and renewal on the topic of teaching as vocation, based on the work of Parker Palmer.
The final report indicated that the retreat was extremely successful. There was genuine appreciation for the degree of honest conversation about teaching struggles and successes that is present in the group. They felt that the retreat helped to establish a process of conversation that can be used in future dialogues on the ministry of teaching.

Proposal abstract :
Faculty retreat to study impact of the personality of the educator in the teaching process using materials based on the Enneagram personality typology.

Learning Abstract :
The program sought to conduct a faculty development retreat on the topic of the Enneagram as a personality indicator for teachers. The study of the impact of personality on teaching and learning styles can give teachers new insights into the laboratory of their own classroom. The retreat would include both full-time and adjunct faculty.
The grant enabled the faculty to spend an overnight together – something never done before and found to be very useful. They found the faculty quite engaged in the topic and willing to talk about their personality style as teachers. One of their most significant learnings involved the great diversity of teaching styles they all have, with each one being effective. They left with a greater appreciation for the gifts each of them brings to the classroom.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a departmental retreat to clarify faculty responsibilities and share resources as teachers of undergraduate and graduate students, to specify the role of Theology in undergraduate curriculum and how Loyola religion department faculty might best contribute to a revised core curriculum, to foster a sense of corporate identity as a department, and to continue exploring the nature of theology in relation to the requirement for the mandatum.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to gather faculty from the department of theology for a retreat to reflect upon the enormous changes and challenges of their new context within the university structure and to address these challenges effectively. Specifically, they hoped to share teaching and learning resources for their new situation in the university, specify the role of theology in the university's revised curriculum, and to foster a sense of corporate identity as a department.
The faculty retreat was held in 2003 before the beginning of the new academic year. The project director highlights the following successes of the retreat: the department was able to reconnect personally; they were able to hold "serious conversations about teaching and techniques for classroom management," and they were able to set priorities for future work together. As a result, "the department has been working towards a renewed sense of its identity and mission."

Proposal abstract :
This proposal seeks to enhance and deepen an ongoing discussion of the pedagogical implications of new work on the origins of race as a category within theological inquiry. We propose to bring the author of the signally important new book, The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race, to Luther’s campus for a discussion with a faculty book group which has been reading the book together, and for a faculty seminar in which we want to catalyze a deeper discussion of the pedagogical implications of this work for our curriculum.

Learning Abstract :
This grant helped faculty to explore the pedagogical implications of theological work which traces the social construction of race in the North American context. We identified three threads of discussion for our pedagogical work: 1) ideas vs. bodies: attention to "ideas" vs. "bodies" in Christian thought continues to have a huge impact on how Christian thought evolves and Christian faith is practiced; 2) desire vs. control: we need to cultivate desire to be in relationship as an intimate part of our knowledge of God, using "inquiry-driven" pedagogical models: and 3) violence: Christian intellectuals, even if they don't intend violence to happen, have a very high tolerance for a certain kind of violence in the name of protecting their theological narratives. Theological curricula should lead away from such a high tolerance for violence in the name of protecting orthodoxy, and lead towards humility and grace as a base for learning.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a faculty workshop that seeks: 1) to provide new teachers with a clear picture of the background, purposes, and core learning objectives of the foundational course; 2) to communicate with newer teachers concerning the range of options available for structuring this course and for employing the required set of scripture and classical theological readings; 3) to provide a forum wherein veteran teachers can share tips and “best practices” with newer teachers; 4) to establish lines of communication (initiated during the workshop and continued by means including the course website) for newer and veteran teachers of this course to continue such sharing and communication.

Learning Abstract :
The grant provided support for a workshop for new teachers in the theology core at Marquette. The workshop involved discussions about best practices for core course teaching, syllabus/class management, use of technology in the theology classroom, aiding students in the close reading of texts, and issues pertaining to lectures: purposes, potentials, and limitations.

Proposal abstract :
To redesign the pedagogy of a selected group of required courses through the critical introduction of multicultural teaching methods

Learning Abstract :
The project sought funds to redesign the pedagogy of a select group of courses through the critical introduction of multicultural teaching methods. The goals of the project were to introduce multicultural pedagogical methods to the faculty, to redesign a specific set of M. Div. courses, and to reflect upon and evaluate their experiences of experimenting with different approaches to multicultural teaching.
A group of eleven faculty participated in the project. They held workshops on intercultural communication, multicultural pedagogy (facilitated by outside consultant Eric Law), learning styles and multiple intelligences theory. They learned that small group learning is effective in certain introductory courses, that Law's mutual invitation method and "photolanguage" method is useful for small group dialogue, and the use of open-ended sentences as a teaching method for all students, not just those with limited English speaking abilities.

Proposal abstract :
Faculty workshop to explore and develop a pedagogical philosophy, structure, and resources for improving the required introductory Bible class at Messiah College.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought funding for a faculty conference aimed at improving the content and delivery of the basic Bible course. This included developing a consistent methodological approach, a statement of philosophy and expectations, the construction of web pages for biblical resources for teaching, and the development of computer-generated visual aids for instruction. An important outcome they hoped to achieve was the assessment and mentoring of adjunct biblical faculty.
The faculty conference enabled curriculum standardization. The remainder of the project focused on evaluating and mentoring the Bible teachers in the school, especially the adjunct professors. A high quality of teaching was observed and individualized mentoring had the effect of affirming teaching and strengthening morale. A website was developed and used to great benefit by the faculty.

Proposal abstract :
Support the seminary faculty as a community of scholars engaged in ongoing dialogue about teaching through faculty retreats, regular teaching workshops, and a resource library.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought ways to cultivate seminary faculty as a community of scholars who engage in ongoing dialogue about teaching and growth in their skill. Its goals were to develop ongoing areas for MTSO faculty to work together on cultivating themselves as teachers; to provide print resources for faculty to pursue excellence in teaching; to develop a web page for cultivation of teaching at MTSO; to seek ways to share their process with others both within existing institutional relationships and beyond them.
The faculty was able to get several important conversations about teaching going in two faculty workshops. They also were able to make gains in the area of instructional technology. Most of their work was spent on two faculty retreats that focused on teaching and learning. Overall, the grant money provoked vital conversation and great enthusiasm to continue discussion on topics of teaching and learning.

Proposal abstract :
The project will advance the development of Methodist Theological School in Ohio (MTSO) as a multicultural educational institution and increase its capacity for engaging race and privilege in relation to student learning through initial assessment, equipping, and planning. Critical incident narratives will be created based upon MTSO learning situations where issues of race and privilege are evident. These will function as a resource for assessment, transformative reflection on pedagogy, and preparation of students for diversity in their seminary experience. Engagement with the narratives will be coupled with resources that provide frameworks and strategies for inclusive classrooms. A pilot anti-racism team will lead initial assessment work, creation of narratives, faculty and campus events, and planning the next phase of MTSO’s initiative. Success of the project will be evaluated through pre and post project surveys of faculty and review of syllabi.

Learning Abstract :
Good intentions about addressing race also require good skills, dialogue, and commitment. Faculty members need to be equipped for their leadership roles in creating inclusive classrooms. Students may want to talk about race but need to know how to do that safely. It is important to understand what students experience in the classroom and to recognize that students are willing to share their experiences in an environment that fosters truth-telling and respectful listening. Faculty members need to have open conversations about race among themselves as well. Raising consciousness and opening conversations about race also raises expectations for change, which if not met can lead to disillusionment and disengagement. When addressing an issue that is as systemic and broad as race it is easy to attempt too much and lose focus.

Proposal abstract :
Mount Mary University theology and philosophy faculty will engage in sustained and comprehensive faculty development with a goal of fully re-conceptualizing "Search for Meaning," a team-taught theology and philosophy course that serves as the center of our core curriculum. As an urban, Catholic, women’s university with an increasingly diverse student population and a comparatively non-diverse faculty, we are keenly aware of the need for faculty development to connect our pedagogical approaches more directly to our students’ lives, experiences, and perspectives. We seek to reconceive the "Search for Meaning" course for our diverse population of students by engaging in faculty development regarding pedagogical methods that promote openness to diversity and a trauma-sensitive learning environment; acquiring new pedagogical skills for helping our students learn to listen attentively and speak empathetically; and creating a forum to promote sustained conversation and collaboration between faculty regarding pedagogical and experiences.

Learning Abstract :
Mount Mary University theology and philosophy faculty engaged in sustained and comprehensive faculty development with a goal of fully re-conceptualizing "Search for Meaning," a team-taught theology and philosophy course that serves as the center of our core curriculum. Within a two-year span, the Search for Meaning faculty convened for a three-semester bi-weekly reading group, two intensive retreats, and two workshops. During the final semester, in-depth workshops were offered to University faculty to share the insights gained from the efforts to integrate what faculty learned from the grant activities. The sustained conversation centered on promoting diverse perspectives in the classroom, clarifying the assessment goals for the course, and creating a joint theology and philosophy syllabus that clearly states the purpose and goals of the Search for Meaning.

Proposal abstract :
Nazarene Theological Seminary seeks to be “a missional seminary serving a missional church.” This requires that we do a better job of moving out of the “ivory tower” into ministry contexts. This project seeks to develop a process through which we can more fully explore the options and find ways to integrate contextual education into our ministry degree programs. A consultant will be invited to lead a faculty workshop to facilitate the exploration of the theories and models of contextual education and to coach the development of learning and teaching strategies for contextual education. Goals for the project include: (1) to assess what we have learned through various experiments in recent years, (2) to survey theories and models of contextual education, (3) to explore effective learning and teaching strategies in contextual education, and (4) to formulate core practices common to the various contextual education endeavors at NTS.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to equip faculty and adjunct professors to better formulate contextual learning strategies in the preparation of leaders for the missional church. Resource persons provided instruction in theoretical frameworks for contextual education and led experiential sessions to introduce learning strategies. In the semester following the instruction, professors reported an increased use of contextual elements in course assignments. The project might have been strengthened by interacting with students and congregations in at least one of the sessions. Next steps include the development of fully contextualized courses and program revision.

Proposal abstract :
A two-year faculty project to study when, where, and how difficult conversations about race, racism, and ecclesial formation occur at New Brunswick Theological Seminary and to research and implement strategies for facilitating such conversations through the use of Appreciative Inquiry and Theatre of the Oppressed in and outside of the classroom. A final, summative forum will be held with invited guests from area seminaries.

Learning Abstract :
We have learned to identify difficult conversations - what they are, when and how they occur, and when and how they might be suppressed. We have learned and implemented strategies for encouraging difficult conversations to happen, and, to be less anxious and more hopeful about the possibilities that these conversations offer. We have experimented with ways of navigating difficult conversations - Appreciative Inquiry, Theatre of the Oppressed, and triad experiments - and are in the process of developing strategies and locations to assess difficult conversations after they have occurred. This grant has made a difference in our life at New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Faculty, administrators and students have learned how to have difficult conversations, more often, and with more skill. We know that this will continue to be a gift for the Seminary's faculty, for our students, and for the communities we serve.

Proposal abstract :
1 and 1/2 day workshops to acquaint theology faculty with the concepts of student portfolios, to assess the use of these and to discuss students’ use of the portfolio from a personal and theological perspective.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to support a special project on student portfolio assessment designed to enhance teaching and learning through integration of portfolio assessment across their new graduate curriculum in theology. They hoped to pioneer theology faculty use of portfolio as an assessment tool to evaluate student growth in three competency areas: personal, theological and professional.
Workshops were held in collaboration with colleagues from their departments of Education and Social Work, who had considerable experience and expertise in the use of portfolios. The workshops included information on current research on portfolios in assessment, along with opportunities to devise strategies and templates for introducing the process to students. As a result, three of the participants began a process for developing a set of portfolio guidelines for the campus community.

Proposal abstract :
Following up on the first session of the 2010-2011 Wabash Center Colloquy on Religious Commitments in the Undergraduate Classroom, my study purports to discern (1) the extent to which faculty members at Ohio Northern University are cognizant of their students’ religious backgrounds and understandings and (2) how that awareness affects their teaching and assessment of students. By introducing the topic on the Ohio Northern campus for the first time, this study should inspire more of the faculty to take seriously their students’ religious commitments and to design and present their courses accordingly. The study also might remind faculty members to consider their own religious perspectives and reflect on the impact that those may have on their instruction and evaluation of students.

Learning Abstract :
My survey of undergraduate faculty members at Ohio Northern University inquired whether they perceived that students' religious perspectives impacted their classroom learning. I expected many affirmative responses from colleagues teaching in disciplines that overtly address philosophical/religious issues or introducing subjects such as evolution and homosexuality that provoke controversy with some religious individuals. This prediction was accurate. Given our conservative setting, I anticipated that the majority of faculty contending that religious commitment influenced learning would allege that students' theological perspectives often impeded their learning. Findings here were less clear, as some respondents maintained that religious perspectives enhanced students' understanding and strengthened their work ethic. This project raised Ohio Northern's awareness of the effect of religious worldviews on students' learning and provoked interest in additional surveys on faculty religious commitments and on students' self-perceptions. It also gave rise to a discussion group addressing broader matters of pedagogy, faculty mission, and institutional identity.

Proposal abstract :
Support for project to create a dialogue between undergraduate and graduate theological faculty regarding teaching and learning theology, discuss teaching based on the mission of the university and specific outcomes expected of students, and discuss teaching methods that emphasize relationship formation.

Learning Abstract :
The most helpful aspect of the workshop was the lively daylong discussion on identity, vocation and mission and the needs assessment that followed. The discussions produced a serious self-analysis about theological education at this particular school at this time.

The consultation assisted the faculty by giving them a sense of belonging as one faculty for the first time. It allowed individuals to reexamine their calling and purpose in terms of the mission of the school. It made all parties concerned aware of significant needs in the faculty. It opened up possibilities for further conversations. It featured the consultant as a model teacher of adults that participants can emulate. It gave hope of improving teaching and learning at Oral Roberts University School of Theology and Missions.

Proposal abstract :
Increasingly, theological education turns to issues of formation. If curriculum focuses on what students study, and pedagogy hones in on how effective teaching and learning happens, then formation addresses the question: who do we want our graduates to be? That question raises another: who do we need to be as a faculty to guide our students, when we are ourselves in formation. Faculty formation is vital, on-going, and coterminous with the formation we offer our students. Our faculty will meet monthly for a year to develop more fully our dimensions of faculty excellence and to encourage a culture of collegiality and hospitality among ourselves and with our GTU colleagues.

Learning Abstract :
Increasingly theological education turns to issues of "formation:" Who do we want our graduates to be? At Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, faculty addressed the question by pointing to eight dimensions of ministry excellence and identifying four implementing perspectives (http://www.plts.edu/how_we_teach2.html)

As we worked these into our common life, however, we found ourselves facing another question of formation: who do we need to be as a faculty to support this work?

As faculty, we most faithfully and effectively form our students, when we are in formation ourselves. Student and faculty formation are coterminous, and they are ongoing.

As a faculty we committed to meeting monthly and outside regularly scheduled faculty meetings, in order to develop more fully an engagement in formation and to engender a culture of collegiality and hospitality among ourselves and with our GTU colleagues. These meetings would open with prayer, then discussion of brief vocational autobiographies, which faculty prepared and disseminated in advance. Finally, we shared a meal together.

Proposal abstract :
1 1/2 Day Retreat/Workshop to welcome four new faculty and affirm three near-retirement faculty by building of departmental identity and community through discourse on teaching.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought funds to support an off-campus workshop for religion department faculty, focusing on "person as teacher." The project intended to build community and colleagueship in the faculty by developing the department's reflection on teaching and the profession. It focused faculty on the unique stories of their teaching lives, to articulate qualities of good teaching, to honor an appropriate diversity of style and approach to teaching in the department.
The project director reported the following: "The seminar/workshop succeeded beyond expectation in creating a space within which the department would ‘welcome new faculty' by getting away together and enacting a culture of colleagues who openly and honestly discuss the craft of teaching … Our newer colleagues left the workshop with a deep sense of permission to speak about the challenges and rewards of teaching, with a sense that their senior colleagues view it as a craft on which one works throughout one's career, and aware that they have the freedom and are encouraged to teach in ways that draw on them at their best."

Proposal abstract :
Multiple activities (workshops, reflection group, teaching portfolios, etc.) to strengthen teaching during a time of major faculty turnover and transition by engaging in sustained, critical, collaborative reflection about practices of teaching and the profession.

Learning Abstract :
During a period of rapid personnel turnover, the religion department at Pacific Lutheran University applied for a grant from the Wabash Center. In a time of multiple retirements, our department needed to efficiently bring new faculty, who are transitioning from doctoral work and untenured teaching positions, into leadership positions. In its experience of numerous, concurrent retirements, Pacific Lutheran reflects a situation faced by many colleges and universities throughout the country. Of a ten person department, eight new faculty will join the department between the years 2000 and 2005. In addition to this challenge, the department faces a unique regional challenge of teaching religion in the Pacific Northwest. In this region, skilled pedagogy needs to take into account several factors. This is the most "unchurched" region of the United States and yet it contains the greatest diversity of practiced religions. Multiple retirements within the department and the pedagogical environment of the Pacific Northwest served as the impetus driving the specific goals of the grant.

Proposal abstract :
In the fall of 2004, Pacific School of Religion inaugurated a newly revised M.Div. curriculum to reflect four core values: critical thinking, contextuality, leadership/spiritual formation, and partnerships with faith communities. In order to embody our core values, foundational courses of the curriculum were reconfigured into integrative, interdisciplinary, team-taught courses. As we begin to “live into” this new curriculum, important pedagogical issues emerge which require intentional and sustained exploration by the entire faculty - most important of which are issues related to interdisciplinarity in research and team-teaching. This proposal presents our plan to create structured ways of engaging in conversation, documentation, and assessment of pedagogical theories and practices, especially as related to team-teaching, which are vital for the implementation of our M.Div. curriculum.

Learning Abstract :
We learned that working in teams in teaching is one way to encourage greater confidence in faculty in dealing with sensitive and powerful issues like race/ethnicity. We also learned that, in times of economic struggles, team-teaching is a luxury we cannot often afford. Short of team-teaching, having a faculty discuss with each other and work on actual syllabi is helpful. We also learned that diversity issues in theological education should be engaged by not only faculty who teach, but also the entire community (including students, staff, administrators, and trustees).
Beyond all the strengths this Wabash Grant has enabled us to develop in our faculty and community, its very presence as a source of funding for diversity issues in teaching has allowed PSR to keep its commitments to diversity fresh, relevant, and at the forefront of our work together as a theological community.

Proposal abstract :
This project entails the formation of a core group that will examine pedagogical approaches that foster multicultural, multiracial and multiethnic diversity at Palmer Theological Seminary. This core group will, at the end of the year, become a standing committee that will aid other faculty in assessing their own pedagogical strategies as well as providing newer resources such as bibliographies and assessment tools. During the year of training, the core group will further their insights and pedagogical abilities regarding approaches and resources that intentionally foster multicultural and multiethnic sensibilities. Specifically, the group will examine their syllabi, curriculum, bibliographies, and assessment tools to see how these take into consideration “difference” and how their classrooms aid the student in becoming aware of “difference” in their own learning and future ministries. An important aspect of this teaching self-evaluation is to factor in the reality of “embodiment”: how we assess and are assessed by others based on our physicality.

Learning Abstract :
The Diversity Colloquy at Palmer Theological Seminary provided me with the opportunity to dialogue with a group of exceptional and dedicated colleagues whose collective wisdom and experiences I have come to appreciate. Collectively, the experience allowed us to affirm the creative pedagogies we already practice in the classroom and to learn new strategies from each other. It gave us the courage to be more creative. It also heightened our awareness that to be a truly diverse institution is a complex and difficult enterprise. Everyone must be involved. I now teach students the skills I learned as the project's director about writing grants and their implementation. The single most important insight I gained was from a colleague who shared that the immigrant experience meant that one was "always careful of one's geography." Teaching in classrooms that foster diversity implies being respectful of others' geographies and appreciative of their gifts.

Proposal abstract :
At Payne Theological Seminary over 90 percent of the student population is enrolled in the distance education M.Div. program. Payne’s core faculty of six teaches over 90 percent of the online courses. Payne faculty has learned spiritual formation andragogy and online learning community building practices in two online and learning certificate programs. Implementation of learning is critical and is the focus of this exploration on how well Payne faculty are utilizing new technology mediums to support the teaching of student spiritual formation and development of rich online learning communities. Payne faculty will review relevant spiritual formation frameworks and identify concrete ways to strengthen spiritual formation andragogy throughout the M.Div program and deepen online community building using cutting-edge field models. Andragogical changes and online community building strategies will be implemented and assessed through two years. Lessons learned and field implications will be shared with the broader theological community through publications.

Learning Abstract :
Payne faculty reviewed relevant spiritual formation frameworks and identified concrete ways to strengthen spiritual formation andragogy throughout the M.Div program and deepen online community building using cutting-edge field models. Andragogical changes and online community building strategies were implemented and assessed through two years. Faculty took various approaches in their individual courses with varying degrees of progress toward the goals and priority of the grant project. All, however, open the door for a deeper and broader view of the liberative and community building resources available for spiritual formation in the Payne Theological Seminary context.

Proposal abstract :
A series of luncheon meetings for faculty to discuss recent literature in multi-cultural pedagogy, to share ways of improving syllabi, and to plan dissemination of the information through featured lectures workshop.

Proposal abstract :
The purpose of this grant is to facilitate reflection among the faculty members of the Pfeiffer University School of Religion about learning objectives and core competencies for our vocational and academic programs in religion, as well as implementation and assessment of our learning objectives and core competencies.

Learning Abstract :
At the start of our project we did not know if we were on the same page in how we envisioned our programs, but found that through discussion that we had unanimous agreement on all of our learning goals and competencies. We learned that having learning goals and competencies in writing gives us a foundation for developing our programs and our syllabi, and gives us a standard by which to assess our teaching practices and other activities that we promote in our department. Articulating these goals and competencies also gives our students a better picture of what is expected of them in their learning. We hope to meet again to pursue how we can better connect our learning goals and competencies to our teaching philosophies and strategies, and to have discussion about innovative ways we can design our learning environment.

Proposal abstract :
The goals of the grant program are to plan and execute a three-day strategic planning experience that will: 1) give the participants a clearer idea of the need for distance theological education in the Pacific Northwest; 2) build strategic alliances toward this end, and 3) develop a specific plan. Execution of the plan is not guaranteed, but through the planning process, the participants will be in a much better position to know how to go about it and what the need is.

Learning Abstract :
During the grant project all aspects of the proposal were carried out and the goals were fulfilled. Several lessons were learned. There is a lot of value in thorough research and in an iterative process over time. There is a lot of value in listening to consultants from the Church. There is a lot of value to a faculty-driven technology planning process. The ‘strategic' in strategic planning is all about finding just the right combination of models. In summary, the grant provided a giant boost to the technology planning process. It put the participants in a position to develop and refine a working model whose concept could be proposed to university administrators and on which could be started the work of developing a full proposal for implementation. The strong beginning to the planning process moved the participants well down the path in their overarching process and accelerated that process by many months.

Proposal abstract :
George Fox Evangelical Seminary serves both a local, commuter learning community and a hybrid community that combines online coursework with face-to-face intensives. A recent decline in local students led to the creation of a revised curriculum that will bring greater parity between the two learning communities. At the heart of this curriculum is the “shared-hybrid” course, with a population of both local and online students. This project explores the pedagogy of this new delivery method. It revolves around three workshops. During the first two-day, retreat-style workshop, a professional facilitator will help the seminary assess its current pedagogy and practice and then imagine the challenges and opportunities in shared-hybrid courses. In the second workshop, nine months later, we will expand pedagogical dialogue to include course design. The focus of the final workshop, after a year of implementation, will be evaluation, with an eye toward improvement and then dissemination of our learnings.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a one day faculty workshop to examine how the concept of learning outcomes can improve course delivery and student engagement with the course material. As a result of this retreat, faculty will have an increased understanding of the pedagogical implications of “learning outcomes” and their use in student assessment, be able to clearly articulate how they are assessing students in foundational courses and how these assessment pieces relate to “learning outcomes” principles, and identify places on their syllabi where learning outcomes principles could be more effectively employed to increase student learning.

Learning Abstract :
Queen's Theological College received a grant in order to hold a day-long workshop for theological faculty to develop learning outcomes for effective teaching. The aims of the workshop were to: 1) gain an increased understanding of the pedagogical implications of learning outcomes, 2) articulate how to assess students and how assessment pieces relate to the learning outcomes, 3) identify places where learning outcomes principles could be more effectively employed. In the development of learning outcomes for the M.Div program faculty discovered that the attributes they had self-identified matched and achieved a balance within all four of the outcome areas identified in the standards of the Association of Theological Education, namely 1) religious heritage, 2) cultural context, 3) personal and spiritual formation, 4) capacity for ministerial and public leadership. It was noted that learning outcomes for foundational courses were most often set in in relation to Bloom's Taxonomy of learning in the "cognitive domain" - knowledge, comprehension and application. In foundational courses within the area of ministerial and public leadership, it was more likely that learning outcomes included Schulman's level of learning described as "Commitment and Identity."

Proposal abstract :
Project Purpose. To form learning communities that will train our own faculty leaders so there is faculty ownership of the assessment processes as we inaugurate the third phase of the department's strategic plan: formalize a standardized model for ongoing program review that is learning-centered, pedagogically driven, and practically actionable. Project Goals/Outcomes. The projects desired outcomes are to: (1) embed clear assessment rubrics in the department's program review that make the reflexivity between learning outcomes and teaching methods more visible and practical, (2) design a protocol for ongoing revised program review that more explicitly provides constructive feedback for advancing a departmental culture of assessment through critical, creative, careful and collaborative reflection about the practices of teaching and learning, (3) integrate the new electronic delivery/collection of the department's undergraduate and graduate assessment and evaluation tools, (4) foster proactive assessment in the department by conducting three weekend retreats for the faculty where they can reflect on the scholarship of teaching and share their insights and critiques as they devise and implement a standardized assessment model for ongoing program review, (5) offer all interested faculty one-course release time so they can increase their familiarity with, facility toward and participation in the assessment process, (6) compose a departmental handbook on assessment (student learning) and evaluation (faculty teaching) that outlines the model for cultivating ongoing departmental reflection on pedagogical excellence and its implementation, and (7) manifest the department's commitment to ongoing assessment of student learning by creating a departmental assessment committee to help ensure that the DTS faculty own all assessment processes and that those processes are both practical and pedagogically relevant.

Learning Abstract :
The grant's title attempted to triangulate three elements that enabled our faculty to see assessment as a tool rather than an inconvenience. We engaged each element with a question. First, why do we teach? The collective answer – so students learn – enabled us to view assessment as proactive pedagogy underwriting the teaching/learning/grading process. Second, what do we teach? Here the importance was on functioning as learning community that created the department's learning goals. Third, how can we measure/improve student learning? In response, the faculty created numerous rubrics that help measure learning, and with these rubrics, we recommitted ourselves to ongoing review so student learning improves. Time and communication were the invaluable assets in answering these questions. In and through the conversations, the faculty answered another question: who are we as a department? We learned that mission and identity lie at the heart of assessment. Although we had heard this before, we had little corporate understanding of what it meant because the department had never explicitly discussed together why, what and how we teach.

Proposal abstract :
Saint Paul School of Theology proposes a three-year project to attend to three distinct pedagogical challenges for the future of theological education. First, instead of fitting new technologies into old pedagogies, how are teaching and learning transformed by shifting needs of students who are “digital natives” or “digital immigrants” and/or distance learners? Second, instead of relying on note-takers and extended deadlines, what pedagogies virtually eliminate the need for “accommodations” for students with learning disabilities because courses are designed flexibly with resources and opportunities open to diverse learning styles and needs? Third, instead of engaging student diversity with the tools of the 1960s, what new teaching and learning strategies anticipate future student racial/ethnic demographics and interracial educational experiences? Proleptic pedagogical strategies reflect the praxis and prophetic goals expressed in the seminary’s mission and values, which challenge faculty to make theological education accessible and transformative for the next generations of seminarians.

Learning Abstract :
Saint Paul School of Theology developed a grant project entitled "Pedagogy: Teaching from the Future to Distance, Disability, and Race." The faculty learned that diversifying our teaching/learning resources makes us more agile in responding to diverse students, classroom contexts, educational opportunities, as well as the needs of the church. We have learned to be more astute observers of students and their contexts, which compels us to be more skilled and flexible in pedagogy that responds to concrete and changing social locations and cultural experiences affecting the teaching and learning environment. Our proleptic pedagogy depends on attentiveness to changes in teaching resources and contexts - pedagogy is rooted in praxis and cultivation of imagination in teaching and learning.

Proposal abstract :
Two departmental retreats with outside professional consultants, the first to consider the pedagogy of a Scripture course intended for the traditional college sophomore, and the second to reflect on and assess the teaching of that course during the prior year.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to develop a consultation on learning Bible at Seattle Pacific University in order to develop new strategies for teaching scripture as a required course. This would be accomplished through faculty retreats with nationally known scholars of teaching, as well as conversations with student focus groups.
The project director reports that the consultation was provocative and successful in accomplishing the stated goals. They reported the following implications of the consultation on the future of the Bible course: 1. develop a process to train and utilize advanced students as participant observers; 2. use of the "clearness meeting" to engage in formative faculty conversations regarding teaching and vocation; 3. to develop longitudinal surveys to evaluate long-term student learning; 4. to support and encourage writing and consultation on issues related to the course; 5. use of teaching portfolios for faculty teaching this course.

Proposal abstract :
Support for two faculty conversations about experience with the theological education of transfer students and pedagogical issues and strategies specifically related to teaching transfer students.

Learning Abstract :
Our early findings confirm that transfer students represent a special and often neglected population on college campuses. This is true not only of their social lives and academic pursuits but also of their integration into the religious ethos and theological curriculum of church-related colleges such as Seattle Pacific University. If a church-related college requires its transfer students to complete courses in religion/theology/Scripture, then its faculty has the moral obligation to adopt a pedagogy and course content for these required classes that fund a species of theological education to address the particular needs and outlooks of transfer students. We further find that this species of theological education will likely differ from that used in theological education of native students. We conclude that our faculty must create a separate curriculum of theological education for transfer students, with a discrete taxonomy, content and pedagogy that is geared to the learning curve of this student population.

Proposal abstract :
The purpose of this project is to enable every Seattle University graduate to attain a level of “theological literacy” through one of many options for a required introductory level course in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. The proposed project’s goals are: 1) to identify what theological literacy means as it pertains to graduates of this university, and 2) to determine the pedagogical implications of that understanding, and compile pedagogical resources to address those implications.

Learning Abstract :
In reflecting on the three faculty retreats, the co-directors have identified the following learnings: 1) Members of the department are hungry to talk about teaching and learning in our context, and in particular to strategize about what works and does not work well in our classrooms and why. 2) Having articulated clear learning objectives-through close collaborative effort-we share a strong desire to become more apt at assessing the extent to which these learning objectives are met. 3) We realized more deeply than before, the distinct characteristics of undergraduate theological education in the Pacific Northwest. Known as the most "unchurched" region of the nation, our regional culture includes a prevalent unfamiliarity with religion and a disdain for religious faith that must be accounted for in classroom teaching. 4) We have a great deal to learn from each other about teaching, and we have a deep sense of respect for one another as teachers. There is a delightful sense of shared receptivity for learning from each other.

Proposal abstract :
The study interviews present and past students of color from ETSS to learn how the seminary can make curricular, pedagogical, and administrative changes that respond to the particular needs of seminarians of color. The study will result in recommendations of ways the seminary can effectively address the unique life experiences and heritage of persons of color. Possible changes in curriculum might include course bibliographies that are inclusive of authors from a variety of heritages, a two-day workshop on race and privilege that includes faculty and staff as well as students, and a faculty discussion on the effects of our privileged status on our teaching.

Learning Abstract :
The study interviewed present and past students of color from Seminary of the Southwest to learn how the seminary can make curricular, pedagogical, and administrative changes that respond to the particular needs of seminarians of color. The study resulted in recommendations of ways the seminary can effectively address the unique life experiences and heritage of persons of color. The final report was shared with the senior administration and all regular faculty, which led to significant discussion on diversity at the institution. The seminary created a task force on diversity to address the issues raised in the final report of the project.

Proposal abstract :
Students are not required to take religion courses at Shenandoah University, yet the school emphasizes that students gain proficiency in global awareness, including religious understanding. This proficiency is assessed as an outcome of the First Year Seminar Going Global program, an assessment in which students have demonstrated improvement in every aspect of global competencies with the exception of religious understanding. In response, the goals of this project are to prepare faculty to infuse religious literacy into First Year Seminar courses and that, as a result of this infusion, students will become more religiously literate. In order to prepare faculty to infuse religious literacy into First Year Seminar courses, this project will fund a learning community focused on drawing out religious themes embedded in four existing First Year Seminar courses, faculty workshops, and stipends for faculty to infuse religious literacy into their First Year Seminar courses.

Learning Abstract :
Faculty and students are eager to participate in discussions about the role of religion in public spaces but often do not have the resources to be able to navigate conversations around religion. Through a series of faculty workshops and interdisciplinary conversations, this project attempted to create resources for faculty to infuse teaching about religion into existing courses, particularly courses with a global focus, so that faculty are prepared for questions about religion and how they intersect with existing course content. Through this process, faculty learned how to navigate questions around how religion makes a difference in the world instead of shying away from discussions about religion. This project revealed the value of outreach from the religion faculty to other faculty on campus and how religion faculty can partner with other members of the faculty across campus in order to promote the understanding of religion.

Proposal abstract :
This grant will fund a two-day workshop on facilitating dialogue across difference for faculty and graduate students in the Graduate Program in Religious Studies at Southern Methodist University. Workshop participants will learn communication and pedagogical techniques to assist them as teachers and participants in creating conditions for constructive conversations about issues many find contentious, divisive, and polarizing especially at the intersection of identity, belief and world view in religious studies classrooms.

Learning Abstract :
This grant funded a two-day workshop on facilitating dialogue across difference for faculty and graduate students in the Graduate Program in Religious Studies at Southern Methodist University, based on the methodology of Reflective Structured Dialogue as used by Essential Partners, a non-profit that specializes in conflict management. Workshop participants learned communication and pedagogical techniques to assist them as teachers and participants in creating conditions for constructive conversations about issues many find contentious, divisive, and polarizing, especially at the intersection of identity, belief, and world views in religious studies classrooms. Specific topics included making "safe enough" spaces for difficult conversations, thinking of teachers as facilitators, the importance of preparation for dialogue, what makes a good dialogue question, the potential uses of dialogue on campus, and the biological roots of polarization.

Proposal abstract :
The grant will fund a day long retreat for the faculty of St. Andrew’s College. New faculty and a new principal will dialogue with established faculty to build community and study pedagogy and how it relates to curriculum at St. Andrew’s.

Learning Abstract :
The faculty retreat was a good way to form collegial relationships and to begin heightening the importance of conversations about teaching and learning matters. The use of an outside facilitator also appears to have been a good move. Sharing of visions, hopes, and dreams could provide a solid foundation for subsequent discussions about what fuels individual faculty in their careers and teaching. The foundation will hopefully prove to be a touch stone to which faculty will return as they explore curriculum and assessment concerns over the next few years.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a project focused on specific issues related to pedagogy and “Catholic Identity.” Two goals are regarded as primary for the grant: 1) enhancing the quality of classroom teaching, particularly in the introductory undergraduate classroom, and 2) providing a variety of opportunities - “venues” - for substantive conversation among all department members concerning theological and pedagogical issues, particularly involved with introductory undergraduate courses. We hope to accomplish the goals through a book discussion, workshop, and meetings.

Learning Abstract :
Two events for full time faculty and adjunct faculty in the Theology department were funded by the grant. In the fall, the full time faculty met to discuss Terrence Tilley's Inventing Catholic Tradition. In February, both full time and adjunct faculty, as well as college administrators, met with Tilley over dinner to discuss his book. As an additional outcome of his being on campus panel discussions were held on the relationship between Catholicism and "an academic community," as well as a discussion of Catholicism and feminism. It is hoped that future activities will promote excellence in teaching (including specific theological and pedagogical strategies) in the context of exploring these relationships.

Proposal abstract :
The purpose of the grant is to explore connections - especially pedagogical connections - between theology and literature. In dialogue with colleagues from our own English Department, we will investigate a more rigorous use of literature in theology courses as an effective means of theological exploration. The members of the English department hope to find ways to help their students delve into some of the spiritual and religious questions in literature.

Learning Abstract :
This project sought to explore the pedagogical role that literature can play in theology classes and courses. Guest lecturer and author Marilynne Robinson gave our faculty language for what we are attempting to teach our students, and helped us explore the ways that literature, like religious experience, can disclose the sacred in "ordinary" experience. We studied the analogous way in which theological discourse and works of literature are formative of the imagination.

The effective use of literature in theology will depend significantly on the time, energy, care and instruction that are associated with it. We look forward to continuing the fruitful conversation about the connections between theology and literature, between aesthetic and religious experience.

Proposal abstract :
The faculty desiring to be proactive, agrees that further attention is needed to enable ourselves to construct more effective teaching and learning environments with students culturally different from ourselves and from each other. In organizational development terms, we are exploring a transition from being a “non-discriminating” organization toward an intentionally “multicultural” organization that is seeking ways to ensure the full inclusion of all.

Learning Abstract :
I faced my greatest difficulty up front when first investigating if the faculty was willing to examine white privilege. Some suspected that my proposal of a two day workshop on that subject was a judgment, perhaps even an indictment, of the seminary. Convincing them otherwise was the most important work I did as it led to whole hearted participation by most of them during the two day process, and a strong commitment to continue examining institutionalized white privilege. The focus forced all of us to reconsider how we manage the classroom moment, and the necessity of empowering students of color to participate in ways respectful to their culture of origin for the sake of their learning.

A small portion of the faculty found this subject painful to address because of their personal histories. It was important to acknowledge and respect their pain.

Proposal abstract :
Develop a textbook and other curricular resources in support of a new core-curriculum undergraduate introductory course in theology, doing so through a process of collaborative authorship among members of the department faculty.

Learning Abstract :
As initially designed, this project fell short in its estimate of the amount of time and energy that would be required to implement a core curriculum course with as many sections, as many students and as many adjunct faculty members as came to be the case for our Perspectives on Christianity: A Catholic Approach. As a result, the process of consensus building among the faculty has proceeded much more slowly than was originally anticipated. In addition, institutional complications, including the organizational details of a new university-wide core-curriculum, the need to coordinate course offerings across several campuses and with theology faculty in two distinct colleges of the university, and the implementation of new features of a university-wide information technology infrastructure have increased the challenges involved in this process.

It quickly became clear that the original intention, to produce a collaboratively authored printed textbook for our Perspectives on Christianity: A Catholic Approach represented an inadequate solution. This initial disappointment actually opens doors to opportunities of a different sort: it becomes increasingly clear that the St. John's University's Academic Computing Initiative will play an important role in the development of curriculum resources and course materials. These course materials, taking advantage of the flexibility and scalability of digital technology, can be customized and updated much more easily than conventional printed textbooks. In addition, digital technology has the potential for facilitating more interactive teaching and learning. Web-CT, the St. John's Campus Pipeline gateway, the wireless network and the notebook computers in the hands of freshmen provide both an incentive and a practical opportunity for our faculty to implement appropriate and well-designed digital technological teaching and learning resources. Because digital technology looms large in the consciousness of our undergraduate students, as a "given" of their world, it also provides faculty with an opportunity to tap into the "new literacy" in teaching theology and religion. The university administration has shown considerable interest in this dimension of the project, and has encouraged the department to proceed.

On the plus side, our faculty's intensive and systematic attention to the design and implementation of Perspectives on Christianity: A Catholic Approach has yielded significant positive outcomes, inasmuch as this work has focused our attention intentionally and deliberately on issues of teaching and learning. Implicit assumptions about successful teaching came to the surface for examination and for revision. At the same time, the department's collaboration in the design of this course has resulted in a stronger sense of the department's shared mission, and has increased the concern of the full-time faculty for the faculty development of our adjunct faculty colleagues.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a two day workshop to address the pedagogical issues involving teaching theological literacy through Scriptures to first year students.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought funds to support a two-day workshop in the summer of 2004 to address the pedagogical issues involved in teaching theological literacy through Scripture to their first year students. It was their hope that the workshop would help them to better articulate the pedagogical vision in the courses, to problem-solve some teaching and learning issues particular to their contexts, and to cultivate a language for presenting the method to the liberal arts community of learner in their university.
The project director reports very engaged and useful conversation was held around four key sets of questions:
- What is our vision for the experience, engagement, and lifelong learning in theology offered by these courses? How do our course goals flow from our vision?
- What are the primary pedagogical issues in presenting scriptural materials to different first year audiences? How do we address these issues?
- How is our teaching in this set of first year courses "La Sallian Catholic"?
- How may we best present these materials to students and other faculty that will facilitate the liberal arts emphasis of the St. Mary's University campus?

Proposal abstract :
Support for a workshop to explore how a theology department at a Catholic University structures an upper-division general education course (or collection of courses) to teach the Roman Catholic Tradition.

Learning Abstract :
Five members of our department met over fourteen hours to discuss how they might more effectively teach upper-division general education courses in basic Catholic Christian theology. One of the best outcomes of these workshops was that we came to a greater self-understanding about the possibilities and limits within "Faith Traditions 2" courses, as we teach them in theology. We assessed the reality of the Gen Ed student's exposure to Church tradition. We are going to adjust some language to accommodate a better sense of student preparedness and liberal arts content. We discovered ways to encourage critical thinking/analysis in our courses, and decided to continue focusing and brainstorming on how to do this effectively. We decided to adjust some course offerings to better address the reality of our mix of students. And overall, the big picture is clearer to all of us. We as a teaching community have a stronger basis on which to understand and present what has felt in the past like an amorphous set of classes. Brian McDermott's essay on theological literacy was helpful: when he defines theological literacy as having to do with "learning new ways to learn, with developing a new, more complex form of consciousness; and with taking responsibility for, and trusting what one has come to know. It is helpful to be reminded that what we are about is inviting students to an informed conscience, where they take responsibility for their own beliefs. If we can teach students this kind of theological literacy - through presenting the tradition, analyzing it, and encouraging dispositions of appreciation - we will have succeeded in our work.

Proposal abstract :
It has become increasingly clear that lay ecclesial ministry in the Catholic Church is becoming both accepted as a vocation unto itself (particularly through the 2005 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' 66 page statement Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord), as well as ecclesiastically standardized (through the certification and, in some cases, accreditation standards within the USCCB text The National Certification Standards for Lay Ecclesial Ministry). We ask the Wabash Center to fund a day-long workshop comprised of theology department faculty (plus two associated university parties) to discuss what we are currently providing in terms of spiritual formation, and what needs to be added through coursework or extra-curricular opportunities, in order to help students meet the national standards requirements for spiritual formation.

Learning Abstract :
Increasingly the Roman Catholic parishes have required evidence of formation and professionalism in the booming field of lay ministry, best exemplified by the recent documents Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord (USCCB) and the National Certification Standards for Lay Ecclesial Ministry. While we can track how effectively we are teaching to those standards based in knowledge and ethical practices, as professors we have difficulty providing and assessing a systematic program in a student's spiritual development. Since the standards require this evidence, we created a faculty and staff workshop to discuss how to best provide spiritual formation for majors: an opportunity to study the richness of spirituality for lay people, and the tools to self-monitor their own spiritual development. The workshop resulted in a plan of action to provide this program for majors and minors, parallel to the academic program, with collaboration between the faculty, campus ministry, and local churches.

Proposal abstract :
A new generation of students with particular goals and a changing, more diverse faculty have highlighted a disconnect between the St. Mary’s University Theology major curriculum and student learning needs. We aim to foster constructive pedagogical discussions in order to better address student learning needs and invite students to apply their study of theology to challenges and opportunities in the modern world. We seek a Small Project Grant to support a year-long cycle of facilitated retreats and assessments to craft a new major curriculum that more explicitly supports student formation aligned with student values and learning. Over the course of 2018-2019, we will surface key learning outcomes, and develop a major path(s) to better allow our students to achieve these articulated outcomes. We will also develop multiple assessments to measure students’ understanding of the major and its relation to their learning and values, and thereby evaluate the new curriculum’s effectiveness.

Learning Abstract :
A new generation of students with particular educational and professional goals and a changing, more diverse faculty have highlighted a disconnect between the St. Mary's University Theology major curriculum and student learning needs. This Small-Project Grant supported a year-long cycle of facilitated faculty retreats and assessments meant to foster constructive pedagogical discussions in order to craft a new major curriculum that more explicitly supports student formation aligned with student values and learning. During 2018-2019, we surfaced key learning outcomes, and assessed our current major curriculum in light of these outcomes. We committed to curriculum redesign and worked to develop a major path(s) that better allows our students to achieve these articulated outcomes. While the process of curriculum redesign is not complete, we are better focused on the needs of our students and our department, and have articulated the critical steps necessary to better meet those needs.

Proposal abstract :
A project designed to bring together a faculty work group from the religion department of St. Olaf College to explore strategies for using scholarly research to enhance teaching and to develop mentoring skills and relationships among the faculty. It is hoped that reflection on the articulation about the interaction between scholarship and teaching will shift how the department thinks about and plans for student learning, particularly in the intermediate general education and major courses taught in the St. Olaf religion department. Goals: 1) To enhance departmental culture by bringing established and beginning faculty together for conversation about constructive and meaningful ways for fostering integration of scholarship and teaching in a liberal arts context; 2) To use these faculty conversations to mentor pre-tenure colleagues in the development of their vocational identities as scholars and teachers by providing occasions for them to reflect on how their pedagogical strategies interact with their scholarship, and vice versa; and 3) To examine whether and how a more explicitly articulated interaction between scholarship and teaching results in shifts in how we think about and plan for student learning.

Learning Abstract :
Initiating new colleagues into a department is a complex process for which the term "mentoring" may be inadequate. While new colleagues do benefit from mentoring in such areas as teaching, where experience is lacking, they are experts in other ways; moreover, they bring fresh perspectives from their graduate work that can help departments reframe old problems and move toward new solutions. Programs that foster sustained conversations on scholarly interests acknowledge this expertise and encourage peer-to-peer interaction with senior colleagues. While such programs do not replace the myriad other ways that pre-tenure faculty learn about teaching, scholarship, and campus citizenship, they do provide a context for self-conscious reflection about these different elements of an academic vocation.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a 2-day workshop for faculty devoted to enhancement of teaching and learning in The Bible in Culture and Community. Goals for the project include: enhancing student learning in The Bible in Culture and Community course, exploring modes of instruction appropriate to first year students and to biblical materials with the goal of developing students' abilities as interpreters of biblical materials, and to increase interaction and collaboration between instructors of the course.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to hold a two-day workshop for specific St. Olaf faculty devoted to enhancing the teaching and learning in their required first-year course in Biblical and Theological Studies, called the Bible in Culture and Community.
With a strong turnout, almost ¾ of the faculty who teach this course attended the workshop. The project director reports as particularly useful, "a long conversation about what sorts of interpretive assignments are appropriate to the particular set of students in these courses." Another goal was to explore modes of instruction. This was met with examples provided by an outside consultant. Enhancing student learning was a goal, and it could not be evaluated until used in classes. However, they planned to evaluate the new techniques upon use to determine effectiveness. Finally, informed follow-up appeared to be occurring as colleagues reported results to each other. More formal sessions were planned for ongoing critique and evaluation.

Proposal abstract :
Dr. James Keating, from the Institute of Priestly Formation, Omaha, has been invited to lead days of reflection for St. Peter’s Seminary Faculty based on the ideas he presented in Resting on the Heart of Christ (IPF Publications: 2009). The days of reflection will be organized around talks and meditations on four sections of the book. The days will help faculty renew their personal identity in Christ, and build their knowledge of how to integrate all aspects of formation - human and spiritual-into their instructional work, with a particular focus on the integration of spirituality with academic theology. The sessions will enhance the teaching skills of the seminary faculty as they practice and learn to model contemplative practices in their pedagogy, ultimately disseminating these practices to seminarians and lay students.

Learning Abstract :
Deacon James Keating led the faculty in an exploration of how to integrate spiritual and intellectual formation in his idea of the "saintly intellect". The faculty were encouraged to embrace a more contemplative model of teaching that integrates affective, prayerful, and spiritual dimensions within an approach that will remain intellectually rigorous. Emphasis was placed on the ultimate aim of all dimensions of formation to lead toward "an intimate and unceasing union with God". Reflection on the beauty of truth and especially the beauty of Christ on the cross is a key to this integration. Modeling a contemplative style of theology will inspire students to continue to pursue a reflective intellectual life in their future ministry.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a faculty retreat/workshop to translate departmental outcomes assessment into institutional effectiveness.

Learning Abstract :
The project has enabled the Seminary to make significant progress in its development of a comprehensive institutional assessment plan, which will provide an objective basis for the betterment of theological teaching and learning being accomplished by our school; the improvement of courses and programs for effective curriculum revision; feed the results into an overall strategic planning process; and provide objective measures of institutional effectiveness.

To a significant degree, the project enabled us to: 1) Focus on institutional improvement efforts; 2) Define and document effective educational practices both in the general field of theological education, and in the particular guilds of academic theological inquiry (e.g., Church History, Pastoral Arts and Praxis, Patristics, Scripture, Spirituality, and Theology); 3) Understand and elaborate effective educational practices to promote student learning in theology, and improve institutional effectiveness as a school of professional formation and theological education; and 4) Steer in-house professional discourse about educational assessment and evaluation in the teaching and learning of theology and religion.

Proposal abstract :
How can a viable Community Engagement program be conceived and how can faculty be better equipped to approach CE at Tennessee Wesleyan University in Athens, TN? This grant offers interested TWU faculty and community partners the time and resources to learn more about and to re-imagine their CE programs. How can existing programs be better connected to the classroom? How can community partners be better engaged? What new CE opportunities can be established with the surrounding community? Participants will confer with one another concerning courses, syllabi, and practices, thus creating an extended dialog on the TWU campus about the best practice of civic engagement. This experience will be a “laboratory” in which to gain stronger bearings in the CE literature, and to experiment with adaptation of CE philosophies and practices on this particular campus.

Learning Abstract :
Tennessee Wesleyan University in Athens, TN, has instituted a service learning component as part of graduation requirements. How can service learning at TWU rest on a firm philosophical foundation and be more intimately connected with classroom learning? That question formed the basis for this grant project, which funded books for a small reading group during the 2016-17 school year. The group included faculty and a local minister who has been a vital community partner with the university. The group read Clingerman, Locklin, et al, Civic Engagement, and Colby, Ehrlich, et al, Educating Citizens. Conversation went far in inspiring renewed thinking about CE in our context. Locklin's CLEA model, it was agreed, provided a foundation for partnership between learning and transformative community action. Outcomes include development of a CE component as part of a new honors program and, possibly, an Appalachian Studies program.

Proposal abstract :
What can we do to rekindle faculty commitment to community engagement at TCU? I think the answer might be a simple one: we need to provide a welcoming space within which faculty can meet, share ideas, and build community among ourselves, so that we can then work together to strengthen TCU's community engagement efforts. Through this project, I will work with Dr. Rosangela Boyd, director of TCU's Office for Community Engagement, to catalyze a series of lunchtime conversations among interested faculty. Topics might include a moderated discussion of a recent scholarly article, a roundtable of faculty addressing a topic of mutual interest such as working with youth or seniors, or a guest presentation by one or more community partners or faculty from other institutions. To encourage their participation, in addition to an intriguing topic of conversation, we will also provide attending faculty with a free lunch.

Learning Abstract :
This Wabash mini-grant grant supported the convening of a group of faculty at TCU who work on community engagement. By talking together over a series of lunches, we were able to learn more about each other's projects, thereby discovering and being able to connect with faculty who share similar interests in including community engagement components in our classes. One lunch included several representatives from long-term community partner organizations with whom faculty work. In addition to helping us give back a free lunch to these invaluable partners, the Wabash grant also enabled us to gather crucial information from our community partners about what we are doing well as faculty partners, and where we could improve.

Proposal abstract :
In order to prepare adult learners for a shifting cultural environment, the faculty will reimagine the means and the methods of delivering the curriculum. The core faculty will attend three (3) two-day retreats, led by three educational consultants, to increase their knowledge and capacity to utilize a Transformative Learning model, Interdisciplinary Learning methods (problem-centered) and Adaptive Leadership learning strategies. The intention of this one-year project is to align the efforts of the faculty by introducing Transformative Learning theory as a conceptual and functional model to anchor the formative methods and goals of the curriculum. Interdisciplinary Learning is used to support the collaborative work of the faculty across the curriculum and equip them to teach and model a problem-centered approach to focus the curriculum. Adaptive Leadership strategies, such as case-in-point teaching, will offer the faculty additional student-centered learning methods. This project is the first of a three-year focus on faculty development and curricular alignment.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to increase the collaborative efforts of an interdisciplinary faculty by introducing three learning models that focused on student formation and meaningful learning. The faculty attended four (4) two-day retreats, led by three educational consultants and a learning specialist, to increase their knowledge and capacity to utilize a Transformative Learning model, Interdisciplinary Learning methods (problem-centered) and Adaptive Leadership learning strategies. The result of this project was a higher expressed desire for collaborative efforts and connective relationships among the faculty. Moreover, Transformative Learning theory was identified as a conceptual frame to view the formative goals of the curriculum, and knowledge of Interdisciplinary Learning and Adaptive Leadership strategies were increased. The project revealed the importance of faculty spending time building relationships, talking together about teaching and learning and their individual learning practices. This was found to enhance their desire for collaborative teaching, scholarship and curricular evaluation.

Proposal abstract :
Thorneloe College School of Theology (TCST) at Thorneloe University is coordinating a weekend workshop for its faculty members, all of whom teach by distance education and are spread across Ontario. This would bring, for the first time, all the faculty members together to explore the opportunities and challenges that are brought to bear through teaching theology at a distance. This workshop would focus on the methods and tools that work best for undergraduate distance teaching in theology, particularly in the rural and remote contexts that many of TCST’s students experience in northern Ontario and other similar locations in Canada. What could result from this workshop is a greater sense of cohesion and cooperation from among the faculty, the development of faculty capacities for assessment of students learning at a distance, a greater appreciation for a common pedagogy, and a shared sense of vision for the teaching of theology at TCST.

Learning Abstract :
The Workshop funded by a Small Grant from the Wabash Center brought together, for the first time, faculty members teaching Theology courses at a distance at Thorneloe University, as well as students enrolled in its programs. As a result, the Administration of the University has learned of the value and importance of scheduling such get-togethers on a regular basis. As well, the Faculty and Administration have learned directly from students about the rewards and frustrations of taking a Theology program almost exclusively by distance education. And finally, we have identified those areas in our Theology curriculum in need of updating, revision and administrative attention. These results and learning outcomes from the Workshop would benefit anyone teaching Theology at a distance, particularly through an institution located outside of a main urban center in Canada that serves a diverse and diffused student population spread across the expanses of Ontario and Canada.

Proposal abstract :
The mission statement of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School can be summated by the University motto: “Forming Students to Transform the World Through Christ.” This project will address the need to reflect on the meaning and significance of this statement in light of its power to inspire reflection and activity in several critical areas, namely, vision for faculty and administration, curricular development, and pedagogy in the classroom. The working committee will seek to determine if they are pursuing all avenues needed to empower the construction of a theological community that remains faithful to its biblical and theological foundations, while “forming students” in a way that equips them to meet the theological, demographic and ministerial challenges presented by a growing diversification of voices and concerns in the United States as well as in the world along the lines of race and culture.

Learning Abstract :
This grant funded a series of conversations among faculty, administration, and current/past students on the minority presence at Trinity and Trinity's main mission as a divinity school. This groundwork emphasized the need for curricular, co-curricular, and substantial financial aid to recruit and retain racially diverse students. The Mosaic Learning Communities program was established that aims to assist M.Div. students prepare for their future work in multi-ethnic communities. The yearly program of the MLC consists of a fall retreat, guest speakers, formation work with faculty and fellow students, peer-mentoring, and local connections to churches in the area.

Through this project we learned that when you find others across the disciplines that share your interests and passion for a project, it may be the start of a journey whose end cannot be imagined yet.

Proposal abstract :
Faculty interested in the implications of ethnicity/race for theo. ed. and for ministry in congregational settings will meet 15 times for lunch/discussion and have guest speakers to address these issue.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to gather faculty weekly over lunch on the topic of the implications of ethnicity/race for theological education and for ministry in congregational settings.
Their gatherings were successful in forging and strengthening the relationships among the faculty. A rich conversation on ethnicity and theological education was carried out. Faculty felt the lunches were safe spaces to explore difficult issues that were seldom, if ever, discussed in a larger faculty setting. A result of these meetings was the commitment of the group to engage in a joint writing project focusing on ethnicity and race as a way of bringing the conversation more to the center of institutional life at the school.

Proposal abstract :
Theological education has insufficiently equipped most church leaders to engage many crucial challenges to human life and dignity - largely due to pedagogical deficiencies connected to the compartmentalization of bioethics in the theological curriculum. The proposed initiative seeks to begin the process of correcting this insufficiency through a series of three meetings in early 2007 involving 12 Trinity faculty members. These meetings will be driven by a pedagogical purpose: to learn how a theological faculty can teach students most effectively to understand and engage crucial bioethical challenges.

Learning Abstract :
Once faculty members in every discipline of the curriculum are equipped to make the conceptual connections between their disciplines and bioethical challenges, they can become highly energized to develop appropriate pedagogical strategies for insuring that their courses help students to understand and engage vital bioethical challenges. This project mobilized such a team of teachers through readings, a set of three extended meetings, and a final reflection instrument that fostered further pedagogical strategizing. The project also uncovered a serious obstacle to classroom effectiveness. Teachers need better tools - case studies in particular-to bridge from their particular disciplines to bioethical issues. They need better understanding of how to mobilize the resources of their disciplines to address ethical case studies. And they need to be equipped to engage the unique pedagogical challenges involved in using highly inter-disciplinary bioethics case studies in class. A follow-up initiative is being developed to address these needs.

Proposal abstract :
Our grant will be used to design a senior capstone course in Religion and through a process of backwards design embed key learning goals in other courses. We will hold a series of three workshops over the 18-month grant period to explore and focus our learning goals and design a new capstone course for the major. With full departmental participation, we will identify the skills needed to reach those learning goals and then embed these skills into Religion 2400, the theory and methods course required for majors, as well as our upper division courses. The main outcome at the end of the grant period is to have re-designed our major to concentrate on those specific goals and the skills needed to reach them. As a result, there will be more transparency about these goals among faculty and students and increased complementarity between our courses by level. It will become clearer to religion majors how skills are transferrable, which will make the major stronger, and allow students to confidently apply these skills in a wide range of careers.

Learning Abstract :
Our grant was used to design a senior capstone course in Religion and through a process of backward design, to embed key learning goals in other courses. We held a series of three workshops to explore and focus our learning goals, embed specific skills into courses, and design a new capstone course for the major. We learned that re-working a senior capstone and sophomore seminar for the major would fundamentally alter the structure of the major and how our major served Trinity's new Pathways curriculum. Aligning our courses with both Pathways and the skills taught in the new curriculum has made religion courses more desirable to students outside of the major. Our new capstone is also designed to serve religion majors regardless of what their plans are beyond Trinity and we hope that they can now enter the workforce and graduate school with a ready toolkit of specific skills that they learned in the religion major.

Proposal abstract :
This project consists of a series of three educational opportunities for a selected group of faculty, staff, and students at Union-PSCE to intentionally read about, reflect upon and decide on issues of cultural diversity as they apply to its academic and institutional life. The twofold purpose of the project is to train a representative group in fundamental concepts and practices of cultural diversity and to generate the conditions to establish institutional and academic policies that will move Union to become a more effective multicultural theological institution.

Learning Abstract :
This project, with important modifications that resulted from the dialogical and democratic process it engendered, was successful in achieving its twofold purpose, that is, to train a representative group from the Union-PSCE community in fundamental concepts and practices of cultural diversity and, on the other hand, to generate the conditions to establish institutional and academic policies that will move Union-PSCE to become a more effective multicultural theological institution. It is now clear that there is a significant group of students, staff and faculty convinced of the need for Union-PSCE to pay serious attention to issues of diversity in general and multicultural diversity in particular. Nevertheless, more needs to be done in a more sustained and extended manner in regards to the first part of this purpose.

During Workshop III, Dr. Maxine Beach, our guest speaker, affirmed that with the work done through this project, Union-PSCE has begun an important process that respects all parts of our institution as having something to offer to the conversation about multicultural diversity. Dr. Beach said that given the special circumstances currently at Union-PSCE (e.g. in the process of a Curriculum Review, working on a new Strategic Plan, and with a new president beginning this year) "Union-PSCE has a great opportunity to stop and be able to make some decisions about whether or not this is something {we} want to embrace fully, as a priority, and not something that would be nice to do if we have the time and money."

The challenge now, especially for those with "decision-making" power in our institution, is to discern where, how and when to implement those changes (institutional, academic, etc.) that will enable us to become a more effective multicultural theological institution. The good news is that decisions have already been made, as Appendix E shows, that point to the fact that the challenge has been assumed and that the work done in this project will continue to bear fruit in the near future.

Proposal abstract :
A department retreat and year-end follow-up session to develop a common exegetical method and effective ways of teaching it.

Learning Abstract :
The grant effectively enabled the biblical department at Union - PSCE to review and improve how the department teaches biblical exegesis, particularly in its core courses (i.e., Introduction to the Old Testament and Introduction to the New Testament). The biblical faculty had noticed throughout recent years a decline in the quality of exegesis papers and in the passing rate on the Bible ordination exams of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Many students felt that the various faculty members were teaching exegesis in different ways and expressed the need for more uniformity in method and expectations.

Following an all-day retreat in the fall, the use of a new exegetical guide in the introductory courses during the year, and new strategies of teaching exegesis throughout the school year, the biblical faculty met again at the end of the school year to assess both the new guide and the teaching strategies in light of the goal of improving students' exegetical skills.

Proposal abstract :
Pedagogy in religion and theology has traditionally concentrated on a narrow range of cognitive-centered learning styles, neglecting a wider range of “ways of knowing” that, on a day to day basis, structure the educational experiences of students and teachers alike. The proposal “Teaching Sense” expresses a desire to open the teaching-door onto a broader world of learning—the world of touch, smell, emotional knowing, visual/spatial engagement, and so on, by asking the question: how might learning be enriched by a fuller appreciation for the ways in which learning engages all the senses? The proposal uses art to bring pedagogy into classrooms across the curriculum. To this end, the project will take a two-pronged approach that alternates between disrupting and provoking traditional pedagogy by engaging in partnerships with “sense practitioners” (professional artists), and by consolidating and stabilizing the pedagogical shifts through four all-faculty workshops over the course of an academic year.

Learning Abstract :
Participation in Teaching Sense provided an opportunity for faculty to discuss both the obstacles to and benefits of partnering with non-seminary professionals in the classroom and generated important reflection on teaching styles and approaches across the seminary curriculum. The partnerships with artists provided unique discussions about pedagogical practice, teaching and learning styles, and the role of sensory-based education in traditional seminary disciplines. Out of conversations about their artist-partnerships, faculty discovered similar challenges in the classroom and were able to share strategies as teachers that created common ground across disciplines. As a result, the participating faculty committed to creating an ad-hoc group that will continue to meet and discuss innovative pedagogy and share teaching experiences. Reflection also prompted a commitment to collaboration among faculty participants and a commitment to greater use and awareness of the resources of city artists and the New York urban environment.

Proposal abstract :
This project aims to develop a statement articulating a theology of theological diversity, attentive to racial, ethnic, and class issues, which can guide implementation of curricula and a culture of theological diversity in the seminary learning environment. The difficult conversation at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities (UTS) arises both from its ecumenical nature, and its simultaneous commitments to gender justice, racial justice, and cultural diversity. Students, faculty, and staff, have differing theological commitments, which often reflect racial and cultural differences, leading to tensions in dialogue over difficult issues. The project seeks to construct a theology of theological diversity and to train the faculty to facilitate dialogue and provide an atmosphere of theological and cultural diversity in the classroom through syllabi content and classroom conversation and conduct. It ends with evaluations and findings that will form the basis of an article on teaching theology in a theologically diverse setting.

Learning Abstract :
In a project that was admittedly ambitious, we set out to develop a "theology of theological diversity" that would inform the learning environment of a liberal seminary that would prepare it for the cultural and racial diversity that it seeks. We articulated our hopes in several ways, for example, that students could be theologically multilingual, or would embrace and not simply tolerate theological diversity of experiences, beliefs and expressions. We realized that because of the impact of our null curriculum, we have to be very intentional about welcoming theological diversity and cultivating dialogue. To this end, several professors have added books and/or course objectives to their syllabus to promote and guide classroom learning and discussion.

Obstacles that we encountered in the first (main) portion of our project we were able to address with some success in the extension period. We learned to write course objectives, goals, and assessments. We had extended substantive theological discussions within the faculty, and a substantive discussion on the purposes of theological diversity. We modeled our new confidence and ease with diversity to our students and staff.

Students have responded positively to changes that have been made. There has been much appreciation of the ability and encouragement to express differing theological beliefs and experiences. There is a desire to continue theological diversity discussions.

There is much future learning to do. We have started down a path that is vital to our mission and viability as an institution of theological education. We need to continue down this path. We need to continue growing in our embrace of theological diversity. We need to grow in our ability to use course objectives to articulate and thus achieve an atmosphere of welcome in the classroom. We need to continue modeling this for the students, both old and new.

This grant has made a significant impact on the theological atmosphere at United, and we are very grateful.

Proposal abstract :
This grant will help transform the seminary’s corporate culture and institutional patterns from a more ‘passive’ and ‘symbolic’ affirmation of cultural diversity toward becoming a more fully inclusive institution in its identity and structures.

Learning Abstract :
The year-long process (Fall 2006– Spring 2007) provided an opportunity for the various participants of the seminary life to come together as a community and to strongly express their commitment to make it a culturally diverse and racially just institution. The community realized that it is not nearly where it wants to be: a culturally diverse and just institution. It has become clear to the community that good intentions are not enough. The community believes that a major change in the ethos and environment must happen at United Seminary for cultural diversity and racial justice to happen in the classroom, for racial-ethnic minorities to come and feel at home in the seminary, and for the curriculum and strategic direction to embody cultural diversity and racial justice. The major change cannot, however, happen unless specific goals, actions and accountability are identified in light of the vision.

Proposal abstract :
A three year forum of plenary talks, panel discussions and graduate student workshops on issues surrounding the teaching of the academic subject of religion to undergraduates in a liberal arts environment.

Learning Abstract :
The project was designed as a three-year forum of plenary talks (Wabash Center lectures), conferences, and graduate student workshops on issues surrounding the teaching of the academic subject of religion to undergraduates in a liberal arts environment. Each year a theme was identified in order to prompt extended discussion in the forum and promote ongoing conversation about specific topics. Two goals were identified as primary aims for the forum. The first was to start a discussion within the University of Chicago community about specific challenges and opportunities associated with teaching undergraduate students about religion. The second goal involved providing a locus for graduate students to consider questions highlighted during the forums in an "inspiring, practical, and meaningful way."

Through the grant, participants were able to reflect on and practice different design methods and models for teaching and learning. Topics and issues included: teaching and diversity, portfolio development, comparative methods and teaching religion, teaching an introductory course in religious studies, self as teacher, student religious experience in the classroom, etc. The series of forums, conferences, workshops, and meetings aided fellows involved with the Forum to develop skills as critically reflective teachers. Graduate students regarded the experience of involvement as highly beneficial. In addition, a number of additional outcomes have emerged from the grant – formation of a discussion panel on pedagogy at the 2004 Midwest AAR meeting, publication of a special issue of Criterion http://marty-center.uchicago.edu/fellows/chicagoforum.shtml, and an ongoing student developed workshop on pedagogy.

Proposal abstract :
In Religious Studies at the University of Dayton, the majority of courses fulfill general education requirements. Students too frequently enter those courses expecting minimal academic requirements. Yet precisely because Religious Studies courses are central to the distinctive educational experience at the University of Dayton, they can make the study of religion central to students’ integration into the academic culture at the University of Dayton. This large group project involves all the Religious Studies instructors in a process that will produce a clear articulation of specific learning outcomes and pedagogical strategies to establish Religious Studies as a substantive influence in students’ developing a passion for academic excellence in the study of religion while at the University of Dayton and long after they graduate. Project Goals. Religious Studies general education instructors will collaborate in a year-long process to determine learning outcomes in Religious Studies general education courses, especially the university-wide requirement, REL 103 "Introduction to Religion," and to identify a range of pedagogical strategies for realizing those outcomes so that all undergraduates engage in the study of religion in ways that contribute substantively to the culture of academic excellence at the University of Dayton and give students the basic critical skills and intellectual confidence required to pursue the study of religion-related topics beyond the four years of undergraduate study. A written version of these learning outcomes and pedagogical strategies will serve as a resource for those who teach Religious Studies general education and as a point of departure for ongoing discussions of the teaching-learning process in Religious Studies.

Learning Abstract :
Participating in this year-long discussion of teaching general education courses, particularly the required introductory course, reaffirmed the importance of the required course in establishing a positive academic climate at our institution. A well-constructed, first-year course with clearly stated objectives and sound pedagogical strategies can have a significant influence on how a student engages in learning at the university. About 75% of this work is done before the course even begins through a carefully planned syllabus. The teaching consultants plus those who shared best practices re-confirmed how important it is for the teacher to have realistic expectations of students, and in general education courses that usually means expecting them to excel through gradually more challenging reading and writing assignments. The best teachers seem to have the best students, i.e., the students who are motivated to go beyond what they initially thought themselves capable. Though exceptional abilities in teaching are a gift, effective teaching is a skill that can be acquired and improved. To improve requires a willingness to be challenged to become a better teacher which in turn requires thinking of teaching as a communal activity - something for peers to observe and discuss with each other. The current focus on quantitative evaluation system, plus the divisions among adjunct, full-time, and graduate assistants, works against fostering a teaching community learning from each other and being supported by each other in their shared commitment to academic excellence. The grant provided an opportunity to see other possibilities, to recognize the communal dimension of teaching. Continuing to promote those practices that foster a teaching community in the Religious Studies Department is the legacy of this grant.

Proposal abstract :
This project aims to promote more effective teaching of religious history, with a focus on the Abrahamic traditions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. A 16-month multi-layered series will foster sustained conversation among those who teach in this area. Over the course of three semesters prominent scholar-teachers with specializations from antiquity to modern America will engage faculty and students on three levels: 1) a broader public lecture; 2) a smaller seminar on pedagogy for faculty and graduate students; and 3) informal discussion over meals. They will address new methodologies in teaching and research, the benefits as well as the limitations of the secular setting, and the overlapping identities of both historical religious communities and contemporary religious historians in the postmodern university. While the primary target audience is faculty and graduate students at the University of Florida, a volume of essays is intended for those who teach religious history at other institutions.

Learning Abstract :
Despite both the practical and conceptual challenges involved, we learned that an extended, multi-layered series is an effective means of generating and sustaining dialogue on a circumscribed theme. Though a large public university, the University of Florida is somewhat off the beaten track of many very prominent academics. In organizing this series, we were careful to invite scholars who not only lectured, but engaged in individual and group meetings with faculty and graduate students. This truly fostered the development of an intellectual community and ongoing conversation. We were very pleased that a core group of approximately 20 graduate students attended lectures and seminars presented by twelve different scholars over the course of three semesters. This project, then, was ultimately successful in promoting teaching and learning about religion in history and in shaping those who engage in this endeavor at the University of Florida and at other institutions.

Proposal abstract :
In Fall 2008 we will implement a new interdepartmental religious studies major that requires students to take courses from a variety of departments. Given the potential for students to come away from this program with a fragmented understanding of the study of religion—as they are exposed to a variety of approaches to religion and methods for studying it—we aim to develop coherence in the major by developing deeper intellectual and collegial relationships among those who will be teaching in it. We seek to learn about one another’s approaches to religion, to discuss and reflect upon strategies for interdisciplinary teaching, and to develop ways to foster students’ experience of a coherent, unified degree program. Toward these ends, we will hold a four-day workshop in June 2008, preceded by a planning meeting in March; create a formal collaborative group; make information available on the web; and confer with invited scholars.

Learning Abstract :
This project, developed in anticipation of the launching of a new interdepartmental major in Religious Studies, was intended to foster new relationships and connections among the faculty, coming from several different departments, who would be teaching our courses, in an effort to ensure that students' learning in the new program would be coherent. The centerpiece of the project was a three- and one-half day summer workshop, whose content was developed by the participants in spring planning meetings. The workshop was highly successful in fostering intellectual community among the participants and instilling a commitment to self-reflection and innovation in teaching about religion in the context of the interdepartmental program. A second one day conference was held the following summer which involved religion faculty from other schools in the area. The community that developed from the project has been apparent in and beneficial to both the functioning of the steering committee which guides the new Religious Studies Program and in the monthly workshops, attended by both faculty and students.

Proposal abstract :
The fellowship will offer the necessary support, both in terms of time and resources, so that the research and planning needed to facilitate a three-day workshop/retreat for the other religion faculty can be accomplished. During the workshop, the religion faculty will work on the planning and development of the new, required, and recently approved course for Religion majors: RELS 480: Religion Capstone, which will be taught in the fall semester of 2010.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to bring together the religion faculty to share their diverse ideas about the newly approved and soon to be taught religion capstone course. The hope was that, at the end of our time together, we would have developed a shared vision of this course, as well as articulated solutions to the many practical matters inherent in such a project – including everything from which classroom would be best, to articulating objectives and assessments. During the faculty's time together, we were able to explore in depth our own ideas about what a capstone course should be, as well as to enter into dialogue about how we might meld our disparate ideas into a coordinated effort. We were not able to accomplish as much as we had hoped, but did make decisions regarding several fundamental issues (for example, the three primary foci of the course that will become basic to our course objectives). We also agreed to continue meeting during the upcoming semester so that progress toward realizing our goal might continue.

Proposal abstract :
The Department of Theology and Religious Studies (THRS) at the University of San Francisco seeks financial support for an intensive faculty workshop dedicated to collectively studying and articulating our department’s undergraduate teaching mission in light of two factors in tandem: our faculty’s diversity and our university’s Jesuit Catholic mission. Our diverse department faculty—both theologians and religious studies scholars with specializations spanning the world’s major religious traditions—do not presently share a common understanding of the pedagogical goals, learning outcomes, and missions/identities of our department and university. We aim to develop a collective understanding of how our teaching mission as a THRS department at a Jesuit Catholic university can be translated across the diversity of our approaches to the study of religion. Thus, we aim to host an intensive colloquy for our full-time faculty to examine these issues and reflect on how they impact student learning and teaching in THRS.

Learning Abstract :
The Department of Theology and Religious Studies (THRS) at the University of San Francisco conducted an intensive weekend-long workshop and a follow-up two-day workshop for the full-time faculty of USF's THRS Department to collectively study and articulate the department's undergraduate teaching mission, in light of both our faculty's diversity and our university's Jesuit Catholic mission. Our workshop activities helped us to dig deeply into a complicated dialogue about the challenges of a coherent teaching mission, to move toward greater unification of departmental purpose and teaching goals "outside the box" of old dilemmas about identity-based diversity, and to help us generate the concrete beginnings of a common vocabulary (including what language we would do best to avoid) for a new teaching statement. In summary, as a result of our workshops, it appears that the vision of the Jesuit educational mission as an open project is perhaps a basis for connecting the diverse contributions our department's faculty into a common teaching mission for our department.

Proposal abstract :
The Samuel Proctor School of Theology (STVU) is a vibrant theological community whose educational task is being stretched in many ways. One of which is the matter of responding to an ever-growing non-residential student population who are desirous of online course offerings. This proposal is an attempt to engender extensive faculty discussions about teaching with technology, explore some online course offerings, and integrate findings from those courses into the overall curriculum revision process.

Learning Abstract :
While not all of the faculty members understood how they could enhance their courses through the use of technology, they were open to exploring ways to do it. They believe that the huge classes we have can certainly be better served by some aspects of technology. They are also keely aware of the fact that our student demographics have changed and that students come to seminary with a good deal of technological experience. Though the faculty members are not allowing the mad rush to online learning evidenced in many theological institutions to influence their thinking and decision making, they are genuinely open to ways in which the technology can best serve the student and the institution. This is a very healthy place to be for any institution seeking to integrate technology into the curriculum.

Proposal abstract :
The purpose of this small grant is to support a campus conversation on the pedagogies of teaching about religious diversity and conflict led by the Religion department and supported by the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Religion and Theology. The focus of the conversation will be the recent book by Jonathan Sacks, Not in God's Name.

Proposal abstract :
The teacher-scholars of Wake Forest University School of Divinity recently revised the school's curriculum to reflect the diversity of the student body and contemporary ministry contexts. This academic year, we want to extend this process and consider the pedagogical shifts that will mirror the values embedded in our curriculum. To this end, we propose to convene a series of five faculty conversations on learner-centered teaching. The goals of the project are threefold: 1) to convene a formal conversation that will develop the pedagogical implications of the curricular revision; 2) for a majority of our regular teaching faculty to develop a learner-centered technique in one of their courses within the next year; and 3) to equip faculty with the ability to help students to reflect on how they learn in divinity school, including strategies for overcoming resistance to learner-centered pedagogy.

Learning Abstract :
How can faculty at an ecumenical divinity school nurture a learning climate that mirrors the great value the school places on diversity? The teacher-scholars of Wake Forest University School of Divinity were motivated to pursue this question after completing a curricular revision in the 2014-2015 academic year. This revision added four "Area Requirements," which name core competencies for contemporary religious leadership in relation to gender and sexuality, race and class, religious pluralism, and ecological well-being. The goal of the grant project was to develop the pedagogical implications of the curricular revision by creating a conversation around learner-centered teaching and implementing learner-centered techniques in our courses. We imagined that learner-centered teaching might be an ideal means to help students reflect on how they learn in divinity school, so that they might overcome various forms of resistance to the self-examination that this transformative education requires.

Proposal abstract :
Wartburg Theological Seminary faculty members are engaged in online instruction for both degree and certificate programs. We are accredited by both ATS and HLC for delivery of comprehensive distance education programs. Our church body, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has both Masters level and Certificate tracks toward ordination. We are seeking support for the honorarium of a consultant (2 days @ $500 per day = $1000) to help us develop and implement new and enhanced online teaching and learning strategies and methods focused on communal formation of our students, who are engaged in online teaching and learning. We propose for the consultant to provide two workshops for faculty members, full time instructors and adjunct instructors. We are asking the consultant to offer an introductory workshop on Tuesday, November 3, 2015 and an advanced workshop on Wednesday, November 4, 2015. This proposal follows the format of the very successful workshop provided by the Wabash Center Consultant Program in October 2014. We are also requesting $1500 for the purchase of textbooks to be used by workshop participants.

Learning Abstract :
Wartburg Theological Seminary faculty members are engaged in online instruction for both degree and certificate programs. This project provided a consultant and reading materials for a two day workshop. The workshop had three goals: 1) To provide new and creative strategies and methods for extending the communal and relational ethos of our seminary in the online teaching environment that are coherent with the mission statement, learning outcomes, and curriculum of our school; 2) To provide ongoing instruction in online teaching and learning for new or recent instructors in striving toward excellence in online teaching and learning; 3) To build and promote excellence in the overall online teaching and learning initiatives of the school. The workshop was most effective in introducing new faculty to effective practices of teaching and learning online. The workshop also gave instruction and encouragement to all faculty to implement new methods for engaging students in asynchronous teaching and learning.

Proposal abstract :
Purpose: Establish a culture of conversation about teaching and learning within the Wesley faculty through an ongoing reading and discussion group over one academic year. Participants: The first year will limit the group to faculty within their first 6 years at Wesley. We will read selected portions of Stephen Brookfield’s, The Skillful Teacher. Each meeting will focus on a case study from our classroom experience. Meeting format: Gather for meal and build community, share teaching high and low, discuss Brookfield reading and discuss participant's case study.

Learning Abstract :
Junior faculty members are open and eager to discuss their experiences and concerns as classroom teachers. Their struggles and questions are still relatively fresh, so they are motivated to share and learn. Without such conversation, these more junior faculty members can feel very alone in their teaching. One way to build confidence is through small-scale, junior faculty-only conversations as starting places. A safe, hospitable environment, perhaps off campus, allows open, honest sharing about difficult classroom experiences. This serves both to create space for each of these teachers to find their own teaching voice in conversation with colleagues as well as to form a cohort of faculty who are comfortable talking about classroom teaching. Lastly, it may serve well to have a senior teacher facilitate the group in order to encourage curiosity about classroom teaching, and provide structure for our meetings so that none of the participants are responsible for the logistics.

Proposal abstract :
This project will help faculty to understand and then address the changes resulting from students increasingly accessing information via digital means. McLuhan (1964) and Ong (1982) noticed that technology was changing the way that students receive, process, remember, and then pass on information. More recently, Jonah Sachs (2012) observed that contemporary learners are now accessing information through digital means to the extent that they exhibit the characteristics of oral learners (as opposed to print learning characteristics). As a result, he described these learners using the term “digit-oral.” This project will provide means for faculty to evaluate their own students and then coach faculty to adjust their teaching approaches for digit-oral learners accordingly.

Learning Abstract :
Faculty now have a more complete understanding of why there a shift in student learning preferences from "print" learners to "digit-oral" learners is taking place. As well as which teaching methods are most helpful for digit-oral learners, knowledge of findings from recent research regarding digit-oral seminary students, and what changes can be made in the classroom to better serve digit­-oral learners. This project is part of a larger conversation regarding the theories of student learning. Categorizing a student as a "print" or "digit­-oral" learner benefits instructors by revealing which teaching methods are likely to be most effective. Understanding the effect of technology on learning styles is an ongoing field of study, but understanding the print - digit-oral spectrum can help instructors more effectively teach their students in the 21st century.

Proposal abstract :
WTS is in the midst of faculty turnover during the next several years due to program expansion and retirements. This creates a large pre-tenure faculty. Wabash has shown that investing in pre-tenure faculty creates a vibrant institution. We are also in the midst of a strategic planning process that places missional theology at the center of the curriculum. The pedagogical and curricular needs of this vision would be directly enhanced through critically-reflective practices among pre-tenure faculty. The fact that new faculty will comprise the majority of the WTS faculty makes this an opportune time to shift to a more collaborative and missional paradigm of teaching and learning for the formation of leaders for the church. This grant proposes a pre-tenure faculty development model to explore the question, “How can the playful, collaborative, and reflective model of Wabash’s pre-tenure workshop serve to develop pre-tenure faculty towards our institutional (missional) vision?”

Learning Abstract :
The grant for pre-tenure faculty emerged from a desire to develop a faculty culture that seeks a way of being colleagues for one another, in a culture of collaboration, creativity, and curiosity. It was a twenty-month engagement for 12 pre-tenure faculty members to explore vocational identity and missional theology, as well as develop practices and habits for critically-reflective, multi-cultural, and anti-racist pedagogies. The grant adopted the values and practices from Wabash's pre-tenure colloquies yet operated within one theological school. The following list of goals guided a collaborative effort: 1) develop a faculty development culture around intentional conversation on teaching and learning, hospitality through feast and friendship, and encouragement to write, publish and speak for the church; 2) provide opportunities to share institutional memory between senior faculty members and pre-tenure faculty; 3) discover a collective identity as pre-tenure teachers at WTS and "inhabit our unique identity as teachers;" 4) continue the pre-tenure group with expanded focus on fellowship, understanding the institutional context, and sharing the successes and struggles of the work-life balance for the pre-tenure faculty; 5) share case studies from classroom experiences; 6) discuss becoming critically reflective teachers and experiment with critically reflective pedagogies; 7) engage in multi-cultural pedagogies through experimentation and evaluation; 8) intersect the multi-layered assumptions of missional theology with critically reflective and multi-cultural pedagogical strategies. Further deepen these practices within this group and the entire faculty of WTS; and 9) celebrate the writing and research of our colleagues with a view toward the tenure process. These nine goals were engaged through monthly lunches focused on teaching cases from participant classroom experiences; quarterly gatherings with segments of the longer-term faculty, administration, and emeriti professors; and two retreats. The grant period allowed exploration more than complete fulfillment.

Proposal abstract :
Western Theological Seminary has lived out its primary mission of preparing leaders for the Reformed Church in America for 141 years. This has led to a particular profile in faculty, administration, and enrolled students that lacks significant diversity. In recent years, the seminary has come to realize the need to engage the multicultural realities in the community and the church. We engage these conversations, knowing that this change will be both challenging and at times difficult; yet, we are committed to the journey. This grant will allow us to engage these difficult conversations and to further institutional moves we have already made in our approaches to theological education and formation for ministry, in a context of increasing community and institutional diversity.

Learning Abstract :
Through two years of difficult conversations, we in the Western Theological Seminary community have grown in understanding the challenge of diverse growth. Engaging the whole community in this discussion has been a challenge. Sometimes, we have met the challenge and found satisfaction in the ensuing conversation. At other times, for a variety of reasons, we have failed to find the space for the conversation to take place. The two twin challenges of engaging community members of the majority culture who have difficulty seeing the importance of the conversation, while supporting community members outside the majority culture in their growth and their sense of belonging in this context have seemed at times overwhelming. The grant encouraged leaders to continue the process and to seek ways to creatively address inevitable tensions that arise on this journey.

Proposal abstract :
Following a major curriculum revision, Weston is interested in assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of the teaching, learning and formation in the three years of the new M.Div. program.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to assess student learning that occurred as a result of their new M.Div. curriculum. They sought to contract with Interaction Associates (an internationally known consulting firm, who helped them develop and implement the revised M.Div. program) to plan and execute a process of evaluation and development.
The project directors report that the chief issues and concerns that were raised of the teaching and learning in the new curriculum focused on several new areas: the first year Ministry and Vocation seminars, the second year Theological Synthesis course, the third year Integrative seminar, the overall flexibility of the program, and the needs of the students preparing for either lay or ordained ministry. As a result of the study, several recommendations were made: eliminate the Ministry and Vocation seminar, reduce the Theological Synthesis course to less credit hours, continue the Integrative Seminar with the inclusion of case study work and a final evaluation by the whole faculty, increase electives, and decrease departmental requirements.

Proposal abstract :
The project is centered around creating a faculty discussion and working group focused on Vella's teaching strategy of learning tasks. Participants will read her book (Taking Learning to Task: Creative Strategies for Teaching Adults) and discuss possible ways of including her strategy in their classes. Each member will use this strategy once in a class and will make plans to include at least one learning task in the next semester. We will meet for five off-campus lunch meeting of two-hours each.

Learning Abstract :
I learned the immense value that a safe and structured conversation on teaching and learning can be for department colleagues. In our department we tend to each teach separate courses so we do not have ongoing conversations about texts and outcomes.

I think it was very valuable to have a thoughtful book as a conversation partner at our table. Our teaching is something that is very personal and it is easy to become defensive about it, but a third party in the form of good text allowed us to discuss our teaching practices using this outsider as the reference point.

A good meal set such a nice tone for these conversations. Being off-campus also seemed to allow for greater openness and more freedom in exploring very personal issues about how we structure our classes.

Proposal abstract :
Collaborative project amoung members of the Junior Faculty at Yale Divinity School to write and publish an edited volume reflecting primarily on two complementary subjects: a)the formation of faculty and students in theological education and b)the vocational experiences and responsibilities of faculty in theological schools that contribute to the quality of theological education.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to support a collaborative project among junior faculty members at Yale Divinity School to write and publish an edited volume on a) the formation of faculty and students in theological education, and b) the vocational experiences of faculty that contribute to the quality of theological education.
Over a two year period the seminar participants gathered monthly to discuss topics related to the project, such as spiritual formation in the classroom, issues of authority in the classroom, racially diverse teaching, publishing and grant writing. With large turnover the seminar became a key location of orientation for new junior faculty. The original goal of producing and edited volume was changed upon the departure of the first project director; the goal was then changed to producing individual writings for various publishing venues.