Identity, Vocation, and Culture of Teaching

Proposal abstract :
This project will develop a course that engages the interdisciplinary discourse of vulnerability and resilience as a way to equip seminarians and other religious professionals with concepts, skills, and strategies that will help them to become more creative, agile, and effective leaders in contexts of change and uncertainty.

Learning Abstract :
We used our Wabash Center small grant to design and teach a course that explored the relevance of theories of vulnerability and resilience to the tasks of religious leadership and social change. We believed (and still do) that these theories are essential to the formation of religious leaders and institutions capable of working creatively with the pace of change and the depths of uncertainty in contemporary life. We sought to develop pedagogically effective strategies for teaching theories of vulnerability and resilience in ways that students could apply to the diverse cultural contexts of their professional work. We employed a wide range of teaching strategies, from interactive lectures, paired learning (chavruta study), small group discussion, case study analysis and development, and world cafe conversations. Our goal was to find a way to teach these theories so that students were not only learning "about" them but also learning to think with them and to put them to use.

Proposal abstract :
James Evans, Rita Nakashima Brock and Orlando Espin are being asked to explore the discourses of our various disciplines with an eye to exposing the use of common categories and modes of argumentation that function as a cover for encoding Eurowestern culture, values, ideologies, and worldviews in subtle ways that ensure the dominance in discourse of those would-be normative voices. From discourses in the academic study of comparative religions to theology to ethics, there is a persistent tendency, usually fairly naively and with little forethought, to teach, think and write as if there were a normative modality that speaks to and for every intellectual endeavor. White academic scholars claim implicitly to engage a value-neutral discourse analysis that has somehow surfaced as a refined (and reified) modality across the whole academic waterfront. Sometimes the act is deeply encoded in a subtle choice of words that slant the whole argument in a particular direction—without being overly obvious in stating a bias. Insofar as we scholars of color find ourselves all too often adopting the same cognitional categories that have seemed to dominate discourse generally in the academy, our own discourses run the same risk of racialization. How can we scholars of color help each other and particularly help our White colleagues to identify this racialization of discourse? To that end, each invited speaker will give an hour presentation followed by small group discussions that will explore, based on what was said, how the racialization of their discipline impacts their teaching and scholarship.

Learning Abstract :
Presenters at this conference were asked to explore the discourses of our various disciplines with an eye to exposing the use of common categories and modes of argumentation that function as a cover for encoding eurowestern culture, values, ideologies, and worldview in subtle ways that ensure the dominance in discourse of those would-be normative voices. From discourses in the academic study of comparative religions to theology to ethics, there is a persistent tendency, usually fairly naively and with little forethought, to think and write as if there were a normative modality that speaks to and for every intellectual endeavor. White academic scholars claim implicitly to engage a value-neutral discourse analysis that has somehow surfaced as a refined (and reified) modality across the whole academic waterfront. Sometimes the act is deeply encoded in a subtle choice of words that slant the whole argument in a particular direction—without being overly obvious in stating a bias. Insofar as we scholars of color find ourselves all too often adopting the same cognitional categories that have seemed to dominate discourse generally in the academy, our own discourses run the same risk of racialization.

Proposal abstract :
Consultation to explore how Field Educators can sharpen the focus of their identity, paradigms, and methods of teaching as well as impact teaching in the theological curriculum.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to gather theological field educators from the Association of Theological Field Education for consultation to explore how as a guild they could envision their own paradigms and methods of teaching so as to greater impact teaching in the curriculum of theological education.
Project director reports that the group discovered that the topic of field educators as teachers represents a major new vision of field education that can potentially reinvigorate the discipline and make field education a more integral part of seminary curricula. They saw the project as having significant potential for the transformation of theological education in the ways that it can help seminaries integrate theory and practice more thoroughly in their curriculum. Finally, they realized through the consultation how little is known in the academy about the work of field educators, and thus their task as a guild to communicate to academic administrators in the larger academy about their work.

Proposal abstract :
Consultation to bring together Presbyterian teachers and others from Presbyterian Church (USA) institutions to reflect on how Presbyterian understanding can inform the ideals and practices of teaching.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to develop a consultation of Presbyterian teachers and other teachers from PC(USA) institutions who are strongly engaged in the Reformed tradition of higher education to reflect on how Presbyterian understanding can inform the ideals and practices of teaching.
One learning revolved around "the question of whether or not institution's Presbyterian element could be strengthened in the face of generally secular trend of the academy. While some were optimistic that so much might be done to strengthen Presbyterian related colleges, others felt that other colleges, especially those in the historical category, did not have enough Presbyterian identity left to strengthen." On the issue of pedagogical practice, they noted that while historically Presbyterian pedagogy was informed by the doctrine of the sovereignty of God and the lecture format, they teach students that struggle with that doctrine and prefer "a general approach of concerned teaching and active learning over lecture."

Proposal abstract :
The Athenaeum of Ohio/Mount St. Mary’s Seminary will host a one-day Culture & Pedagogy workshop on August 13, 2013, from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm involving 35 full-time faculty and relevant intellectual formation support staff. The workshop will demonstrate in a collaborative group setting how culture coincides with pedagogy from the reception of an international seminarian through his coursework and eventual ordination. The workshop will be preceded by a four-module online series posted within the institutional learning management system providing background information on intercultural competencies in the teaching and learning environment and on the challenges of cultural assessments in terms of academics and psychology. It will then be followed-up with a two-week discussion forum in which faculty will continue their conversation on the items presented.

Learning Abstract :
From the workshop's success at generating sixteen distinct strategic planning goals, we learned that our faculty can demonstrate a real interest and engagement in a topic that is perceived as ancillary at the present moment, namely, the need to pursue the study and implementation of intercultural competencies within the institution's teaching, learning, and administrative environment, acknowledging the institution's lack of diversity among its faculty, staff, and students.

From the disappointment in the lack of faculty and staff participation in the online workshop to the demonstration of their interest and enthusiasm in what might otherwise have been perceived as an ancillary focus, the faculty showed that it can step up to the plate in terms of future-visioning. The greatest contribution to the expanding conversation on teaching and learning that came out of the workshop is the Athenaeum itself as one of the first seminaries on record to undergo a focused examination of the USCCB Office of Cultural Diversity intercultural competency modules for implementation within its teaching and learning environment.

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 :
Regional consultation to prepare for publication a volume on active learning theories and applications by participants from the Upper Midwest Region AAR/Lilly teaching workshop.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to gather scholars in a regional consultation seeking to improve the quality of teaching and learning in religious studies and theology by preparing for publication of a volume on active learning theories and applications. This consultation grew out of a regional AAR/Lilly teaching workshop in the Upper Midwest Region.
The Wabash grant helped them to begin to recognize through their teaching experience in the classroom, what they had learned in the AAR/Lilly teaching workshop. The ability to have safe, positive relationships with peers allowed them to become more critically reflective of their teaching practices and course goals. It also assisted them in their ability to test out new methods with teaching colleagues.

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 :
The primary goal of this project is to focus and enhance reflection about the pedagogies of seminary chapel. A secondary goal for this pre-meeting is to strategize ways in which persons serving as Dean of the Chapel can promote conversation in and among our schools concerning the intentional pedagogies of seminary chapel programs.

Learning Abstract :
Pedagogies of Seminary Chapel was a conversation among persons in theological seminaries who serve as Dean of Chapel and who teach in liturgical studies. Seminary chapel programs may exist for many purposes including doxology, spiritual formation, and celebrations contextual to seminary life. Yet seminary chapel programs are pedagogical: worship forms us. Continuing tensions surrounding seminary chapel programs include whether or not chapel is understood to be a lab for experimentation or a place for students to see and practice the particulars of a tradition. Some will question whether or not certain worship traditions have ritual continuity that should be modeled. Adding to this are tensions accompanying increasing denominational diversity of a student body and the ways that this diversity is or is not reflected in chapel. Ongoing issues are the role of chapel in schools' mission and programming and seminaries' self-assessment of the integrative nature of theological education.

Proposal abstract :
What presuppositions about the work of ministry do professors bring with them when they teach? How do these same presuppositions shape the way that professors teach? This project addresses these questions using qualitative research. The researcher will gather data from professors and graduates of seven seminaries. Using interactive qualitative analysis, the researcher will discover themes about religious leadership and the relationships between these themes. An external evaluator will provide feedback to the researcher at the mid-point of the project. Participating schools will receive reports on findings. In addition, larger analysis will inform suggestions for changing teaching and learning in other settings. Grant funding will enable the researcher to study schools in Massachusetts, Illinois as well as Texas. Findings will be shared with the schools that participate in the study, at conferences, and on a study website.

Learning Abstract :
Using interactive qualitative analysis, participating faculty and ministry practitioners created mindmaps of what it is like to be a minister serving a congregation. A mindmap depicts aspects of a phenomenon as elements (themes) in a closed system. Themes are arranged from the most influential (drivers) to those most influenced or shaped by other themes (outcomes). The maps of professors and pastors shared several themes in common included Caring, Leading, and Word & Sacrament. Pastors named some themes not articulated by faculty, such as Witnessing God's Action, Pastoral Maturity, and Accountability. Professors and ministers generally disagreed about the relationships between themes, especially about which themes were drivers. Findings should move theological schools to ask their graduates in congregational ministry about their actual (rather than ideal) work and lives and to take seriously what graduates say when faculty consider changes in pedagogy and the curriculum.

Proposal abstract :
This grant project was conducted in the context of the Wabash Center’s
2013-14 Colloquy on Religious Commitments in the Undergraduate Classroom.
Why are my students not talking about their religious commitments? What’s at stake for them either way? How can I (or should I) encourage them to engage the conversation? This student-led project will explore the dynamics of religious commitments in a small town in rural North Carolina where religion is part of the everyday life. Working with a faculty member, select religion majors will conduct surveys and interviews to assess the contours and constraints of the talk about religious commitments in the college environment. From their evaluation, they will devise strategies to inform faculty and staff, and evaluate their success the following semester. They will report the results of their study in a Scholars Symposium and to the Board of Trustees. The desired outcome is to develop a robust conversation about religious commitments in this Eastern North Carolina undergraduate college, and to promote leadership and research among Religion majors.

Learning Abstract :
Alexander Astin, et al, argue that conversations in the classroom about meaning and purpose in life ("spiritual quest") enhance other college outcomes, such as academic performance, psychological well-being, leadership development, and satisfaction with college (2008: 10). This student-led project assessed the contours and constraints of the talk about religious commitments in the college environment with surveys, individual interviews, and class questionnaires. They found that most students wanted to engage conversations of personal identity, meaning, and purpose in the classroom, to ask questions to each other about their religious commitments and to learn how to describe their own. Instructors can facilitate these conversations by developing personal relationships with the students, setting norms, using small groups, linking the conversations to course content, and being flexible. The student team presented their findings in a Scholars Symposium.


Students discuss their part in the project



Powerpoint slide show reviewing the project

Proposal abstract :
To mentor graduate students in the craft of teaching by a variety of experiences which engage student and teacher alike, including instruction and critical reflection on pedagogy, supervised teaching experiences, and team-teaching experiences with faculty members.

Learning Abstract :
The project had six components that included: 1) a workshop, 2) four colloquies, 3) bi-weekly meetings, 4) a weekend conference, 5) mentoring and teaching critiques, and 6) ongoing project assessment. The workshop was focused on the development of skills in the use of various digital technologies, syllabi development, increased understanding of the Baylor University system, and teaching practice sessions. The colloquies provided a venue for conversation among 20 graduate students and a host of faculty about specific texts related to teaching and learning in theology and religion. Peer-led sessions in bi-weekly meetings were designed to promote conversation among students on the "nuts and bolts" of teaching. The sole weekend conference was dedicated to a presentation and discussion about the pros and cons of technology in the classroom. The project director also engaged graduate students in one-to-one conversations about their teaching after observing a class session. The evaluation of the project was ongoing and involved exit interviews with participants in the project.
The results included the following. Student participants in the project ranged in classroom teaching experience and skill. Graduate students regarded the entire experience as helpful for their development as teachers. Enthusiasm ran high among participants and has encouraged other Ph.D. students to consider involvement with a similar course. The response to the project has been overwhelmingly positive. So much so that the department of religion of Baylor University is considering making the colloquy a requirement for all of their Ph.D. students.

Proposal abstract :
This project will examine current and proposed ministry formation contexts to determine the best pedagogical strategies for encouraging personal, spiritual, and professional growth for an Incarnational education in the 21st century. A team of faculty will visit current and proposed ministry settings to discern the best pedagogical methods to form the reflective practitioner and well-formed minister. In light of primary contextual research, current readings in theological education, and a deep concern for improved assessment of our distance MDiv program, the team will compose a definition of ministry formation in language coherent with our seminary’s new mission statement: Bethany Theological Seminary equips spiritual and intellectual leaders with an Incarnational education for ministering, proclaiming, and living out God's shalom and Christ's peace in the church and world.

Learning Abstract :
Our research indicates that skills in relationships, technology, and multicultural awareness are most important to current and proposed ministry settings in the formation of ministers in the 21st century. With the interviews being couched in terms of what is different from past education for ministry, most people in our interviews assumed competency in biblical studies, preaching, teaching, etc., and did not name them in their responses. Assessment for skills in relationship was embedded in the evaluation process for Bethany Theological Seminary's Ministry Formation and modeled in the teaching methods for learning in community. The curriculum structure and pedagogical strategies will need to be continually assessed to assure that we are teaching toward and assessing for these competencies in our offerings throughout the educational process and across the academic disciplines.

Proposal abstract :
Two-day meeting of faculty from the eleven seminaries of the Episcopal Church to focus on theological pedagogy and the vocation of seminary educators. Leader of the event will be Parker Palmer.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to gather together members of the faculties of all the seminaries of the Episcopal Church for a conference on issues of pedagogy and vocation fro teachers in theological seminaries. They hoped to begin a conversation about issues of teaching and vocation among Episcopal seminary teachers, which would then be continued in the individual seminaries. They also hoped to build collegiality, solidarity, collaboration and cooperation among Episcopal educators and seminaries.
Virtually the entire faculties of the 11 Episcopal seminaries attended for a total of 110 participants. The conference was led by Parker Palmer. The final report indicates, "The agenda was intensive, and the focus clear. In the evaluations, many participants noted that the conference exceeded our original expectations and was the occasion of the highest quality for learning about these issues." Participants expressed a deeper sense of their vocation as teachers as a result of the conference. Individual seminaries report ongoing conversation as a result of the conference.

Proposal abstract :
At Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, fourteen worship services each week are a key component of spiritual formation and also provide opportunities for students to develop skills for clergy leadership. Faculty and ordained members of the seminary staff regularly lead these services, but they do not currently have a shared understanding of their role and authority in decisions about the services at which they preside and about the ongoing worship life of the seminary. A one-day workshop for faculty and ordained members of the seminary staff will enable conversation about the pedagogical implications of worship and about the authority of faculty and ordained staff in shaping that worship.

Learning Abstract :
Seabury-Western Theological Seminary engaged in a one-day workshop for faculty and ordained members of the seminary staff in order to enable conversation about the pedagogical implications of worship. Particular attention was given to questions associated with the authority of faculty and ordained staff in shaping seminary worship in relation to issues of worship and student formation. At Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, fourteen worship services each week serve as key components for spiritual formation and also provide opportunities for students to develop skills for clergy leadership. Faculty and ordained members of the seminary staff regularly lead these services, but a common understanding about their role and authority in decisions about these services is mixed. Hence, the project sought to directly address pedagogical issues directly associated with community worship and student formation.

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 :
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 proposal describes a process for enhancing the capacity of the faculty and administrative staff for nurturing effective teaching and learning in culturally and racially diverse classrooms. The project will involve shared reading and expert leadership in 3 faculty seminars during the spring 2006 fall 2006 semesters to develop competencies in pedagogical resources and practices that support effective teaching and learning in diverse settings.

Learning Abstract :
The Faculty and administrators directly related to degree programs committed to a combination of reading and workshop participation led by an expert educator in the area of diversity and pedagogy, Dr. Christine Stanley. We were able to purchase and read selectively from a recent edited volume, Teaching Inclusively: Resources for Course, Department, and Institutional Change in Higher Education, Edited by Dr. Mathew Ouellett. We focused on two areas: effective pedagogical strategies in diverse classrooms and constructing multicultural syllabi. In the first workshop we addressed issues such as attention to the racial and cultural social locations of faculty as well as students, familiarity with different learning preferences across and within various racial and cultural groups, and inclusion of clear and diverse assessment strategies.

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 :
To conduct a series of workshops focusing on a variety of topics relating to pedagogical issues pertaining to teaching religion at Calvin College in the twenty-first century.

Learning Abstract :
The project of strengthening our ongoing conversation on pedagogy in the Religion Department at Calvin College succeeded in making us aware of the different challenges that face us as we teach either an introductory Bible course, theology course or world religions course, as well as the commonalities we share. For example, each course contains its own distinctive flash points. However, we also noted much similarity in how we respond to those hot topics: we each work to carefully listen to the student's concern; we each strove to enhance critical thinking on the issue at the same time that we affirm the faith commitment of the student. These positive, reflective conversations were conducted by creating a safe space for each participant, providing good food and a comfortable place off-campus for our workshop, encouraging participants to choose the topics and inviting a respected leader to convene each workshop.

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 :
Study leave grant to support research and writing, consultation and training to expand the awareness of theological faculties to the praxis of theological teaching.

Learning Abstract :
During the basic year of the grant the research and organization of the field notes from the interviews, observations of classroom teaching, and focus group conversations with the six faculty members from Candler who participated in the project were completed. Plans for writing by the project director had to be postponed after he was invited to direct a much larger research project on teaching practices in theological education by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. After focusing on the development of a research design for the new Carnegie project, a way was found to integrate the research that was already accomplished with the Candler faculty into the larger Carnegie project.

This led to three further research activities with the Candler professors. These activities included: 1) Continuing email correspondence with the original six on the subjects of "space" in teaching and the dynamics of mystery in teaching; 2) Meeting with the Candler six to obtain their support for reviewing the chapters in the Carnegie book that this project director will write; and 3) Obtaining the agreement from the six to complete a questionnaire on theological teaching practices that will be compared to reflections on teaching by theological educators across the country.

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 :
The identification of a spectrum of characteristics that can be categorized as distinctive to the doing of theology latinamente invites critical reflection with respect to pedagogy. The privileging of context, relationality, and the daily in a communal construction of knowledge is worth exploring in a teaching/learning media that require flexibility, creativity and interactivity. The content and methods of Latin@ theologies suggest pedagogical approaches that can also inform such areas as distance education, field education and professional ministerial development.

Learning Abstract :
Among the many insights of Latino/a scholars is the privileging of the daily/lo cotidiano as source and ground of our theologies. This embrace of context also implies an awareness of the fluidity of nuestra vida cotidiana and an openness to the complexities, ambiguities, particularities and surprises that accompany serious engagement with daily living. So imagine my surprise to discover that my ambitious pedagogical agenda as outlined in my fellowship application would become a victim of the particularity of my daily reality.

During the grant period a trip to Puerto Rico allowed for a block of time for research and reading to create an upper level graduate course on sources and methods in Latin@' theologies. The choice of Puerto Rico was intentional because San Juan marks the beginning of the Catholic Church in what becomes the USA and its constellations of states and territories. This primal See is often neglected in Catholic histories of the US church. The venue provided access to historic churches as well as visual evidence of the impacts of hybridity and colonization, two prevalent themes in Latin@' theologies. Furthermore, a Caribbean focus illustrated the rich diversity of Latin@' roots, peoples, and perspectives, a necessary consideration since too often Latin@' experiences are conflated into Mexican and Mexican American categories. This trip also presented an opportunity to catch up with some of the more recent scholarship by Latin@' theologians with an eye toward how these resources might fit into a syllabus exploring sources and methods. Because of the online aspect of the proposed course and the Latin@' characteristics imagined for it, some time was spent digitally photographing a variety of images.

There were several unexpected outcomes that included opportunities to speak at the biennial consultation of the Association of Theological Field Educators and at the Center for Ministry Development utilizing some of these images in a manner that drew specific appreciation for their pedagogical value from participants at both meetings. In addition to developing two new proposed courses for doctoral students, I was able to integrate scholarship from Latin@' contexts and underscore the value and contribution of this theologizing for the greater academic and ecclesial contexts.

Proposal abstract :
This project seeks to prepare lay and ordained ministers in the Roman Catholic Church to better serve Latin@s, the new demographic plurality, by resourcing faculty across the curriculum at a Roman Catholic school of theology and ministry. The design is grounded in an organic approach that recognizes that the development of intercultural ministerial competencies in students calls for teaching/learning strategies built on the interconnectedness of cultural, theological and practical knowledges as well as particular ways of being community. This project intentionally includes the theological component because it is often ignored in ministerial competency development programs. The project utilizes accompaniment as a means of resourcing faculty. By inviting an interdisciplinary team of Latin@ theological educators, the project establishes within the school faculty community a teaching/learning network of Latin@ colleagues who form a critical mass--for the duration of the project--of those who are usually underrepresented on theological faculties.

Learning Abstract :
The challenge of resourcing graduate school faculty to prepare students as ministers, teachers, and theologians for service in a church that has rapidly become plurality Latin@ is magnified by the reality that the majority of theological educators are not Latin@ let alone familiar with the distinctive theologizing that arises from Latin@ theologians and contexts. This educating of a faculty is best achieved in settings where typically underrepresented Latin@ faculty establish a critical mass and are viewed as expert peers. The cultivation of relationships of peer accompaniment reduces tensions and establishes networks for collegial engagement within the project parameters and beyond. In this project, the commitments, sources and methods of Latin@ theologies offered strategies for teaching/learning, informed pedagogical trajectories and program design.

Proposal abstract :
3-day meeting of women professional theologians to expand and develop a conversation about theological vocation, including mentors and mentoring, identity of the theologian, and the scholar’s relation to Christian tradition.

Learning Abstract :
Project sought to explore issues that face women who are dedicated to a life of faith within the Christian church yet who also work within an academic theological context. The conversation would be developed through a three-day conference. They hope to generate a vocabulary to make such discussions easier, as well as to discover and share resources for the integration of voice and vocation.
From the conference, the group discovered several "middles ways" that they need to negotiate. One involved the role of their personal spiritual lives in relation to their academic professional lives, particularly represented in the religious studies discourse. Another negotiated middle involved radical and conservative ideologies in regards to feminist sensibilities. Other issues involved generational distinctions, social location, and secular contexts.

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 :
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 :
This consultation will gather fifteen Asian and Asian North American scholars drawn from diverse religious studies and theological subfields for a five-day retreat in Southern California to address concerns that are particular for Asian North American faculty in mid-career and to attempt a longitudinal mentoring plan for Asian North American faculty in different stages of their career.

Learning Abstract :
The Mid-Career Asian and Asian North American Religion and Theology Faculty Colloquy gathered 13 participants at Claremont School of Theology in the summers of 2016 and 2017 for reflection on mid-career challenges and issues, including teaching, research, career development, mentoring, and the balance of life and work. Participants took field trips to Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple and the Jain Center of Southern California to understand Asian religious communities' contribution to society. The colloquy helped participants to reflect on their past experiences as teachers, articulate visions and vocations as teachers and scholars, develop long-term career plans, identify issues in their institutional contexts, and recognize new strategies and resources in their work. It provided a supportive environment for participants to share their vulnerabilities and discuss intricate racial politics in religious studies departments and seminaries. Participants will use various Asian North American networks to strengthen communication and collaborative work. We hope to disseminate findings from the colloquy through publications, blogs, and podcasts.

Learning Abstract :
The purpose of this project was to bring together PhD alums and faculty of the Claremont School of Theology to reflect on the art of teaching in our context, our own history and practices of teaching, and how we want to transform our teaching in the future. We are gifted with a diverse array of exemplary teachers, however, we do not have much reflective time or space, thus this grant gave us the opportunity and accountability to do this work. Some of the subjects raised by the project include, supporting conversations among faculty on teaching beyond content-delivery; supporting teaching assistants and doctoral students in their development as teachers, and, examining our educational priorities and ethos in the context of teaching and learning. Lastly, what are the unique contributions which CST can make to the field of teaching through the work of our faculty and alumni?

Proposal abstract :
This grant supports and advances efforts underway in the Pastoral Care and Counseling Program at Claremont School of Theology to develop faculty resources for the provision of education that is culturally responsive.

Learning Abstract :
In the effort to increase effective pedagogy in racially and culturally diverse contexts, there is no substitute for a teaching staff that is culturally and racially diverse. Students learn from the particular identities and perspectives of the instructors and also from observing and participating in the instructors' teamwork. Our capacity to provide pedagogy responsive to the cultural and racial diversity of our students and the communities they serve was greatly enhanced when we reached beyond the academic community to persons and agencies providing direct service to diverse communities in need of assistance. The grant writers were aware that building professional relationships that will yield cultural and racial diversity within an organization is accomplished very slowly. Even knowing this, we overestimated what we would be able to accomplish during the period of the grant.

Proposal abstract :
Our department will enhance and institutionalize engaged learning practices focused on interfaith encounter. We aim to establish an expectation that every graduating Religious Studies major will have experienced at least one interfaith engaged learning practice. This Wabash grant will support us in our efforts to create the conditions that would make this expectation feasible and sustainable. This grant will fund three types of programs: 1) Specific events designed to generate interest for and facilitate reflection on the project, including a foray dinner, mid-point meetings for evaluation and correction, and a final summative conference bringing together all stakeholders. 2) Faculty enrichment to design and implement engaged learning practices in the classroom and abroad or away. 3) The institutional infrastructure to sustain these practices long-term by providing course releases and stipends for faculty who will take the role Student Engagement Coordinator.

Learning Abstract :
Our goal that every Religious Studies major would have experienced at least one interfaith HILE by the time they graduate was more or less met, as was the expectation that majors would highly value these experiences—that was the easy part! What was harder to measure, we learned, was whether our changes would be recognized by the upper administration. So publicity needs to be a factor in any teaching project, especially in light of the crisis in the humanities on most college campuses. Some of our most successful events were interfaith activities that cost very little in funding (and indeed were not a line item in our original budget) but generated a lot of positive media! Finally we learned that changing our department's culture takes food, robust conversation, reading common texts, but it also will take hiring new faculty when our senior colleagues retire, and not losing tenure-track lines!

Proposal abstract :
Ten seminary colleagues of differing race, ethnicity, and gender will be invited to join in a process of reflection and analysis of their character and practice as teachers by participating in two workshops based upon the pedagogical model of transformative mediation.

Learning Abstract :
This project was designed as a collaborative investigation of the applicability of the theory of transformative mediation to teaching in the seminary classroom. To that end, the project director invited nine colleagues to participate in two workshops during the fall and spring semesters of the 2003-2004 academic year and to complete weekly exercises for self-reflection and self-assessment during the fall semester.

Participants expressed appreciation for the opportunity to reflect on their teaching both individually and with a small group of colleagues. The single consistent criticism was difficulty with finding time every week to write out responses to the weekly exercises on-line. If this project were undertaken in the future, the participants might be organized in dialogue dyads or triads bi-weekly to discuss the impact of the theory's insights on their teaching.

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 :
The doctoral program at Drew Theological School has a reputation for adventurous transdisciplinarity and social engagement, training scholars for the critical and creative transformation of the disciplines, the academy, and the society. This two-year grant project aims to align the pedagogical and professional mentoring practices of the PhD program with this transformational curricular ethos, cultivating both students and faculty as rooted, innovative, and courageous teacher-scholars. Through structured curricular workshops, teaching colloquia, and collaborative learning projects, we seek to initiate a culture shift in PhD mentoring toward co-learning and collaboration among Drew’s vibrantly diverse faculty and student body. At the end of the project, students will have developed a robust teaching portfolio and faculty will have identified next steps for embedding mentoring for contextually adaptive, interactive, and transformational teaching and learning throughout the PhD curriculum.

Proposal abstract :
Support for an African-American cohort group to engage the central question of how our embodiment of Black Church/Black Theology/Black culture influences our teaching in theological and religious studies. Goals include: charting the impact that Black presence has had on theological pedagogy; consideration of the liminality of Black theological education at this critical time in its history; and to write an anthology concerning the influence and embodiment of Blackness on theological education.

Learning Abstract :
In our research about the presence, influence, role and contribution of African-American professors on the classrooms of religion and theological education, it was our hunch that white supremacy and patriarchy are still a major obstacle and genuine threat that demands critical strategy both in the identity politic with colleagues and also in the classrooms with our students. We suspected that the presence of race is a critical aspect to the curriculum in general and the teaching practices, specifically. We wanted to analyze the teaching practices that Black professors have developed and have come to rely upon that will push-through or thwart some of the racism, classism, and sexism involved in teaching and learning. During our research, we rehearsed a multiplicity of issues and strategies which a Black professor negotiates daily and which White colleagues are not burdened by. We were fascinated at the amount of attention the presence of our Black bodies, our literal physicality, received in the classroom and have written about these issues of body. A major thread of our work had to do with the role and strategies we use to educate others about their own racist behaviors that keep them from a critical understanding necessary in our disciplines and subject matter. And significant time has been spent by our group advising, discussing and strategizing on ways of maintaining health, sanity, creativity, and faith.

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 :
This grant aims to build an Interdisciplinary Faculty Diversity Group to develop and deepen capacities to engage diversity in teaching and learning. It aims for institutional change that welcomes and negotiates complex diversity. This project, with the support of the Principal, will involve six (half) of the Faculty in a three stage process, concluding junior and mid-career faculty in co-operative and individual work on diversity and “whiteness” dynamics in Canada, in the United Church, and in our classrooms. Professors of Christian Education, Christian Ethics, History of Christianity, Old Testament, Theology, and Worship will undertake this project in six sessions plus interim work from Fall 2005 to Fall 2006.

Learning Abstract :
Overall, the project contributed to fostering the agenda of Emmanuel College to be "contextual" and integrative in its theological education outcomes. A workshop on diversity was conducted with outside consultant, Dr. Matt Ouellett. The project was a starting point to build upon for future groups and constituencies which include the United Church of Canada, Aboriginal Christians/communities, Curriculum Review folks, Lexington Seminar participants, and more members of the faculty.
A list of resources by consultant Professor Wenh-In Ng (expert in racial justice and education for contextual ministries) was created for the group. The group did not get as much reading done as they had hoped in the original plan but new knowledge about themselves and their students was generated. Discussions were held regularly on content and methods from their different disciplines and experiences and syllabi were shared and discussed. All participants said the project was personally and institutionally worthwhile.
Many faculty members are committed to exploring and implementing the value and practices of "diversity" in some concrete ways. The faculty has been energized by talking about what it loves to do - teach! The Wabash grant made possible space and resources for gathering, reflecting, engaging and connecting to consider some tough issues relating to "diversity." In the process, the faculty involved became a trusting and collegial team who want to teach and learn in their various classrooms and institutional arrangements with diversity and justice as a living, connective tissue.

Proposal abstract :
Project Purpose. To strengthen the teaching training program for doctoral students in religion at Emory University by revising the evaluation process in two ways: 1) reframe the overall process of evaluation to focus on producing a teaching portfolio; 2) develop a peer evaluation process as part of the second year teaching experience. Project Goals. Primary Goal: Revise process for evaluating doctoral teaching in order to improve skills and to promote self- sustenance of program. Secondary Goals: 1) Begin to devise an overall evaluation process which will enable doctoral students to compile a teaching portfolio; 2) Revise written evaluation process by which faculty evaluate doctoral students as part of their portfolio; 3) Develop a peer evaluation process which will contribute to the students' learning and which can continue to be sustained, regardless of financial support; 4) Offer a workshop in peer evaluation that will train students and a select group of faculty in peer evaluation skills.

Learning Abstract :
The project's main goal was to "revise the process for evaluating doctoral teaching in order to improve skills and to promote self-sustenance of program." The project was centered on the development of graduate student teaching through use of peer teaching reviews.

Graduate students were equipped with basic skills for peer mentoring. They collectively worked with the project directors to enhance skills in peer mentoring, develop their abilities to reflect on how the experience can improve teaching, and to discuss future training needs. The program was mutually regarded as a positive experience and they shared a hope for future training. Ongoing work also involves specific attention to development of knowledge and skills in teaching religious practices and expansion of knowledge about teaching and learning resources.

Proposal abstract :
Teaching theologians, church leaders, and bishops will gather for two consultations between their regular biennial meetings to develop, identify and promote practices in pedagogy that are congruent with the theology of the ELCA.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to gather together teaching theologians of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and church leaders to clarify their vocation as teachers and to strengthen their roles in the life of the church. They hoped to develop ways of thinking and to initiate practices that better express and embody their vocation as teaching theologians. They also hoped to promote pedagogical practices congruent with the theology of the church.
The first consultation focused on the vocation of the teaching theologian in the ELCS. While no clear relationship between Lutheran theology and pedagogy was established, clear understanding of "Lutheran Leanings" in scholarship and teaching was articulated. It especially affirmed its character as requiring teachers to "teach in an ecclesially public manner." The second consultation focused on Evangelical theology and oversight in a pluralistic society. This allowed both bishops and teaching theologians to develop better common purpose and understanding of each other. An important outcome of the consultation was the proposal of a new association of teaching theologians in the ELCA who will meet regularly.

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 :
The purpose of this grant would be to enable a committee of Franciscan School faculty to spearhead the Global Theological Education Initiative by: 1) exploring the pedagogical structure and design of the program and how the new initiative would be integrated into the goals and mission of the Franciscan School; 2) framing the underlying pedagogical questions/issues that need to be wrestled with; 3) engaging the larger faculty in formulating how this initiative would affect the pedagogical formation of students to be globally conscious leaders; and 4) determining what a larger teaching-learning grant would look like.

Learning Abstract :
The Global Theological Education Initiative has engaged the Franciscan School faculty in valuable conversation about pedagogical strategies for accomplishing key aspects of our mission - to prepare students for full participation in a global church; to engage them in intercultural learning, and to form them in relationships of mutuality, respect and justice. We recognize that stretching our curriculum to include local, national, and international immersion experiences creates a whole new configuration of places, players, perspectives, and processes by which our theological education and ministerial formation take place. Based on the work this Wabash Grant has supported, we move now to a phase of experimentation during which faculty will be directly involved in planning/executing/evaluating specific immersion courses and reflecting together on the teaching-learning experiences that unfold.

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 :
The teaching of peace at Fresno Pacific University’s Center for Peacemaking & Conflict Studies (CPACS) arises out of theological commitments in the University’s heritage. Training of international scholar-practitioners has been carried out for 15 years through CPACS but begs for formal assessment beyond scattered anecdotal evidence. By inviting international graduates to participate in a consultation, an assessment can be made regarding formative, yet often hidden assumptions, operating in CPACS, the health of the CPACS international training program and ways that CPACS faculty can improve their pedagogy with respect to the intercultural teaching of peacemaking.

Learning Abstract :
The project centered on a consultation gathering with international alumni that provided a platform for exchange and reflection. We learned about the varied and creative ways that alumni have implemented peacemaking initiatives in their home contexts, thereby enlarging everyone's imagination with respect to what it means to be agents of peace in different parts of the world. On the whole, alumni were displaying signs of the intended formation envisioned in our master's program. It became clear that the work of adapting teaching from one context (western) into other (often nonwestern) settings is a multi-sided task implemented by both faculty and students. While faculty strive to help international students to understand conflict and peacemaking concepts in ways that are context/student-sensitive, there remains much that students must undertake to critically apply this knowledge.

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 :
The purpose of the project is to take steps toward establishing a departmental culture that is committed to the scholarship of teaching and learning, with the expectation that doing so will positively affect the learning outcomes for our students. The goals for this project include: 1) developing a fuller understanding of who our students are; 2) engaging in critical reflection about the advantages and disadvantages of the pedagogical strategies we employ; and 3) including long-term part-time faculty as well as those who are tenured or tenure-track in collective reflection on pedagogical issues.

Learning Abstract :
The activities envisioned in the proposal were all undertaken successfully and the department is already enjoying all of the hoped for benefits. Most importantly, one of the outcomes was that by bringing together both full and part-time faculty for reflective discussions about pedagogical issues, this project has helped the department to set a high standard regarding the kind of community they hope to become.

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 :
Catholic theological institutions and seminaries are seeking ways to address the mismatch between the perceived needs of older students and the comprehensive education package of the institution. One way to resolve this is to provide ongoing and continuous education programs through the online databasing of 60-second asynchronous videos.

Learning Abstract :
In the creation of theophony.org, we have learned from its successes and disappointments both that developing an online video archive for an institutional globalization initiative is useful for engendering dialogue with stakeholders and that the management of its development will be less challenging the closer to the living reality of the institution one keeps it. By way of contribution to the expanding conversation on teaching and learning, we anticipate the idea of intentionally addressing global vision initiatives, such as evangelization/inculturation, ecumenism/unity, interfaith dialogue, and authentic human development, will be strengthened as engagement in theological course materials is constantly brought back to the level of practical applications in ministerial settings. We also anticipate a greater sense of interdisciplinary engagement as the database we have created helps learners draw connections between systematics, history, scripture, pastoral theology and moral theology. We feel our investment in energy and resources has been useful and meaningful.

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 :
Weekend consultation of representatives from the religion departments of six Presbyterian colleges to compare programs, share resources, and discuss other aspects of teaching and learning.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to create a consultation on teaching Bible, theology and religion in evangelical colleges related to the Presbyterian Church (USA). The purpose of the consultation would be to investigate, discuss, and clarify the purposes, goals, curricula and place of the departments of Bible/religion/theology in evangelical Presbyterian liberal arts colleges. The consultation would consider the importance and place of these departments for Christian higher education, focusing on their necessity for Presbyterian/Reformed college education.
The response of the participants were very positive. The project director reports that the discussions were thought provoking, new friendships and networks were made, and each participant was affirmed in his teaching vocation. An affinity was gained though participants also recognized the diversity and uniqueness of each school.

Proposal abstract :
This project hopes to develop a one year (6 months of the academic year) program for seminary students in their second (”middler”) year that would help them identify the different aspects of privilege and how these influence one’s interpretation of others and the world. This program would be implemented during the 2007-2008 academic year.

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 2-meeting consultative process in which faculty members from four seminaries, representing a diverse array of traditions (evangelical, reformed, Catholic, and Lutheran) explore together how their actual practices of teaching have changed in relation to curriculum shifts undertaken in response to the changing context of the church in North America.

Learning Abstract :
The four schools involved in this grant found the project so helpful in large part because it gave them room to create and practice reflection that was deliberately appreciative, and thus primarily generative in character. Such processes are neither short, nor easily assessed in quantitative terms--they are also largely shunned or marginalized within academic practice. Given that the central thrust of a seminary organized to support an apostolate requires a teaming approach, and given that few faculty have had experiences of teaming in teaching (true teaming, as opposed to "parallel play"), it becomes all the more necessary to create room for this kind of faculty development. The pressures and exigencies of contemporary theological education work against the kind of space and time an "abbey" or "monastic" approach to theological education might make possible. Given that reality, finding ways to support faculty development through shared approaches to teaching is a highly fruitful and generative investment.

Proposal abstract :
Building on conversations about our vocations as teacher-scholars at mid-career in the summer 2007 Mid-Career Colloquy on Teaching and Learning in Theological Schools, participants during the fall semester will interview colleagues regarding their understanding of their vocations. Each participant will interview a junior colleague, a mid-career colleague, and a senior colleague to solicit their responses to three questions: 1) How do you understand your vocation within your institution at this stage of your career? 2) From your perspective, what are the major factors in your school that support your sense of vocation, and what are the major factors that do not support your sense of vocation? 3) What action, practice, or strategy do you use to help you maintain a sense of your vocation and vocational commitments given the realities of life in your institution?

Learning Abstract :
Due to the success of these interviews, I would consider using them as a regular part of Wabash workshops and colloquies. Interviewing colleagues as a part of our colloquy provided the following contributions to our participants: 1) a larger perspective on the vocation of the theological educator, 2) a clearer view of their own understandings of themselves as theological educators, 3) an opportunity to build relationships with their own colleagues, 4) a better sense of their own institutional cultures, 5) and a fuller sense of the state of theological education today. While the nature of the interviews might vary from workshop to workshop, they provide a great source of information and learning for members of the workshop or colloquy.

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 :
Support for a study on the impact of the culture of the seminary on theological education and ministry formation. Particular attention will be given to the increasingly culturally diverse student population's impact on theological education and ministry formation.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought funds to convene a task force to plan a study of the impact of the culture of the seminary on theological education and ministry formation. This study would be part of a larger effort by the NCEA Seminary Department to develop resources for Roman Catholic theological schools and college seminaries to effectively address issues of cultural diversity that impact the institutional aspects of the seminary program, classroom teaching, pedagogy and interpersonal relationships.
The planning meeting was held successfully in June, 2004, with a proposal developed as an outcome. The project director reports: "The planning grant was essential for the preparation of the proposal. Without it the Seminary Department would not have been able to convene the planning meetings … These conversations underscored both the potential value and the complexity of the proposal initiative."

Proposal abstract :
The NCEA’s Seminary Department provides a number of services to its member institutions, including an annual convention, a biennial institute for the preparation of seminary formation staff, ad hoc consultation, special gatherings, various research projects, and the publication of the Seminary Journal. The goal of this project is to extend the range of NCEA services into providing coordination between seminaries through a distributed learning network qualifying professors in member schools to teach courses online to students enrolled in member schools. In doing this, NCEA hopes to strengthen the process by which member schools share human and material resources with one another. It is NCEA’s expectation that this will not only offer learning opportunities not currently available to students, but that it will also improve the quality of teaching through a combination of the principles of adult learning and the use of appropriate technologies to establish student-oriented learning environments.

Learning Abstract :
The Catholic Distance Learning Network was established for the purpose of providing coordination among seminaries to teach courses online to students enrolled in member schools, and this made necessary the development of a training program to certify seminary faculty in online teaching and learning. We also sought to improve the overall quality of teaching based on the principles of adult learning and the use of appropriate technologies to establish student-oriented teaching and learning environments. In pursuit of our mission, we accomplished our primary goals, certifying by the spring of 2010 44 faculty members in seventeen Catholic seminaries and theological institutes. In our working directly with seminary faculty and developing onsite faculty and student workshops on the campuses of participating seminaries, we also set in motion a process by which these schools could pursue the issues raised by the CDLN within their own communities. Half a dozen of the participating seminaries did, in fact, exchange students so that all students and faculty participating in these exchanges engaged one another's institutional cultures in pursuit of areas of study that faculty might not otherwise have had the opportunity to teach and students the opportunity to learn.

What we learned in the three years of funding by the Wabash Institute is that the CDLN could provide a meaningful hub for seminaries and theological institutes interested in sharing their courses with one another but that for such an organization to meaningfully fulfill its purpose, it needs the support of institutions that already have a strong infrastructure in distance learning. Most Catholic seminaries and theological institutes do not yet have such an infrastructure. While the training of a given faculty member from a given institution in the use of exemplary tools and practices is good, it may not be the most effective way to go about helping the institution realize its mission. For that reason, the CDLN has to also be proactive in helping entire academic programs retool themselves on the use of appropriate technologies for face-to-face or online instruction. Only when the individual infrastructures of the member seminaries and theological institutes are developed will a structured network like the CDLN be fully able to realize its broader vision of helping them share their human and material resources with one another.

To that end, the CDLN retooled itself in the spring of 2010 to provide a fee-based training program for faculty interested in receiving certification in online teaching and learning and a fee-based consultation and workshop program for academic departments interested in transforming their teaching and learning communities through the use of appropriate technologies. It also placed all of its training materials on its website at www.catholicdistance.org for the free and unrestricted use of those interested in learning the essential elements of online teaching and learning. In addition to providing the essential elements necessary for a successful online teaching experience, the certification program materials offer a solid pedagogical foundation for those desiring to pursue additional studies in the use of technology in face-to-face teaching.

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 :
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 :
Project funding will support the reconfiguration of how religion, theology, and pastoral ministry skills are taught to the rapidly-changing student body in our MDiv program. This project will support twelve faculty members each interviewing three alums who have graduated since 2003. As a seminary that remains deeply committed to our MDiv degree as one important component of our mission, we are currently revising this degree to better meet the rapidly-changing needs of (1) those interested in traditional and emerging forms of church ministries, and (2) those who desire a strong theological education for their current and future work as change agents in organizations outside of traditional religious institutions. We know that we have much to learn from these 36 alums as our seminary undergoes its most significant renovation of its faculty, degrees, and related programs since the early 1970s.

Learning Abstract :
As Pacific School of Religion (PSR) undertakes a revision of our MDiv degree program, this Wabash-funded project supported the work of five faculty members and one senior administrator who interviewed (and, in most cases, shadowed) 30 of our recent alums in their current ministry/work settings. The goal of these interviews was to understand the work of these alums so that our revised degree remains responsive to current trends in ministry and better prepares future PSR students to succeed in traditional and non-traditional fields of service to church and society. The conclusions of this study include (1) "5 Affirmations" of the degree program: Field Education; Contextual Learning Opportunities; The Graduate Theological Union (GTU); Community Life; and PSR's Centers; and (2) "4 Recommendations for Improving the PSR MDiv Degree Program": eradicating Racism and White Privilege/Supremacy; Spiritual Formation; Community Life; and the need for a course in Non-Profit Administration and Management.

Proposal abstract :
The RRC is planning a three-year initiative to enhance pedagogies of formation in text and language courses. We appreciate the significance of pedagogies of formation in fostering rabbinic identity and integrity. Since RRC already has strong co-curricular support for spiritual formation and an exemplary program in practical rabbinics, and since we have a curricular focus on texts and languages, we will concentrate on integrating pedagogies of formation in these areas. We will convene an advisory committee of RRC alumni to consult on rabbinic formation and assist in designing and monitoring our intervention; gather data regarding implementation of pedagogies of formation among RRC text and language teachers; provide individual coaching and peer support groups for text and language teachers; monitor the effectiveness of the project and design modifications; and disseminate results through publications and presentations.

Learning Abstract :
Our most powerful learning involved the importance of cultivating the faculty's own formation as clergy educators. It was through becoming more self-aware, connecting with their passions for course material, learning to deliver feedback with honesty and warmth, ad supporting each other through satisfactions and frustrations that faculty members could expend their capacities to mentor students in rabbinic formation. To most effectively cultivate the faculty's formation, we structured reflections, discussion, and text study into small cluster meetings, regular faculty meetings and in-services, as well as bringing RRC alumni (working rabbis) into conversation with faculty members. We also came to view text and language acquisition not as an adjunct to rabbinic formation, but as an integral component, "a whole attitude and approach in which the text becomes the students' frame of reference, their window on the world."

Proposal abstract :
Help support research through surveys and interviews to investigate professors’ knowledge and use of resources for their professional development as teachers, and to develop a profile of the teaching force in Canadian Christian higher education.

Learning Abstract :
This program sought to assess through a survey profile the use of professional development resources among the faculty at seminaries, Bible colleges and Christian liberal arts colleges in Canada, so as to develop a profile of the teaching force in Canadian Christian higher education.
They obtained data from 165 faculty from the schools surveyed. Wabash money was part of a larger project funded with other monies. As of the period of this grant, no significant results were yet reported and the work continued.

Proposal abstract :
The REA proposes to host two events at its 2014 annual meeting under the aegis of the Wabash Center. The first is a daylong pre-conference event for students, teachers, and practitioners that will unfold in two parts. Participants can choose to be present for one part or both parts of the day. The second event is the Ph.D. student breakfast, traditionally sponsored by the Wabash Center, which provides a setting at the Annual Meeting where students gather to hear from senior scholars on thriving as a teaching scholar inside and outside the academy. Both events will address particular ways that scholars can equip themselves to address the changing contexts of teaching and learning through creative expansion of their repertoire of teaching practices and partnerships.

Learning Abstract :
This small grant was focused on inviting faculty and doctoral students in the field of religious education into engagement with the ecology of digital scholarship and teaching, while nurturing their vocational development. A series of workshops on digital culture and pedagogy which stressed issues of a scholar's "digital presence" and "teaching with experience using digital tools" were offered as a pre-conference event just prior to the 2014 Annual REA meeting. A breakfast seminar for doctoral students was also held during the convention, at which Dr. Willie James Jennings offered the language of artistry as a rich resource for sustaining the vocation of a scholar/teacher in this complex and rapidly transforming scholarly field. In particular he invited doctoral students to consider the adaptive challenges and opportunities the field of religious education poses to them, and he offered the generative framework of being an artist as a strategy for engaging such challenges.

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 :
Support for the religion department to engage in a sixteen month process to study the interplay of institutional, departmental, and individual history, culture, and vocation to enhance instructional excellence.

Learning Abstract :
The project coincided with a prolonged and unsuccessful search for a candidate who would supplement the department's current curriculum, especially in the area of World Religions. This was a disappointment and an obstacle towards making full use of the time and resources of the project.


On a much more positive note the project allowed us the opportunity to spend time together as a department sharing our own stories, building personal and intellectual relationships, reflecting on the nature and direction of our department and envisioning hopes and plans for the future development of the department.


We have affirmed our intention to be fully involved in the engagement of Christian piety and intellectual inquiry without sacrificing academic integrity or rigor; to offer a critical approach to the study of religion that encourages students to develop a personally mature and critically reflective faith. Faculty members see themselves as scholar-teachers who are interested in and committed to the Christian mission of the university and preparing students for vocations in both church and society."

Proposal abstract :
The small grant will be used to gather a leadership team of women scholars/ teachers of religion and theology to discuss the notion of indignation as a rubric for understanding women faculty issues -- particularly teacher identity, the influence of indignation on vocation, classroom practices, and oppressive forces which seek to render women faculty powerless. In addition, the leadership team will develop proposals for further development of pedagogies of indignation in relation to women faculty.

Learning Abstract :
This planning grant was used to design a project for women who teach and who are simultaneously activists. We are interested in the lives of women who work for justice as they teach and who take seriously their emotional health and well being as well as those who are curious about the role of emotions in the classroom. We see the current phenomena to be problematic - the phenomena of a dramatic increase of women in leadership and very little transformation in the curriculum of higher education. Our plan is to create communal conversation for women so that we might (in an extended conversation) fashion, discuss and create practices for teaching that incorporate the activist spirit and that also take the emotional side seriously. This grant allowed face-to-face meetings with our leadership team to better shape and focus our project.

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 :
This grant project was conducted in the context of the Wabash Center’s
2013-14 Colloquy on Religious Commitments in the Undergraduate Classroom.
This project focuses on developing tools to promote the use of language in religious studies and theology classrooms that fully includes students with commitments either to religions different from those that dominate religious discourse in our culture, or to no religion at all, and even those who consider themselves anti-religious. These tools will include scenarios of improvisational dialogical play, readings and questions for discussion, and a checklist for religious privilege. The project co-directors will create these tools by analyzing work that has been done in this area consulting with two other scholars in this field, and interviewing with key participants in interreligious dialogue. We will present these tools in 2014 to the other members of the “Religious Commitments in the Classroom” Wabash colloquy. Publication of our work in an interreligious journal such as Buddhist-Christian Studies and/or presentation of it at a professional conference are also potential outcomes for this project.

Learning Abstract :
How can sensitive, intelligent people with commitments to different religions and to no religions at all, as well as those who consider themselves anti-religious, engage responsibly in a classroom discussion about religion? While professors in religious studies do this every day in their own classrooms, we wondered how inclusively we are doing it. How well are we managing to welcome everyone in the room and to make use of all their good ideas? Because inclusive language is an integral part of encouraging all voices and all religious commitments (or lack thereof) in the classroom, we designed an in-class survey on religion that excludes most mainstream Americans, in order to generate that feeling of exclusion in those who might not otherwise have experienced religious exclusion before. We also created teaching tools such as a handout on more inclusive terms, a bibliography, and selections from a test of Christian privilege.

Learning Abstract :
Through the generous grant of the Wabash GPTI program we were able to reconnect with many of our graduates and gather valuable feedback regarding their training at SBTS and their subsequent experience as teachers. Through the on-campus consultation we learned that while we have done a generally good job of training our graduates to be skilled in their specific fields of study, we have not provided them knowledge of or training with regards to the challenges of teaching at the undergraduate level, which is what most are actually doing. This GPTI has given us the impetus and data to pursue ongoing evaluation of our PhD program and to effect changes that will directly impact how we train our PhD students as teachers.

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 pilot program funded by this grant will involve all first- and second-year Ph.D. students in an ongoing series of monthly presentations and discussions on pedagogy and related matters, along with an independent student forum for further reflection on the issues raised. These experiences would offer more structured and comprehensive preparation for practice teaching (normally undertaken in the third or fourth year) than students presently receive, and would better equip students for their subsequent teaching careers. The program would draw upon resources from the university’s Center for Teaching Excellence and the Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility as well as from the Graduate Program in Religious Studies (GPRS) itself, enabling students to relate issues in the teaching of theology and religion to broader concerns within higher education generally.

Learning Abstract :
The Graduate Program in Religious Studies at SMU has been able, with the support of its grant from the Wabash Center, to establish an ongoing two year program of monthly conversations among faculty and students on the practice and theory of teaching in theology and religious studies. Our "Conversations on Teaching and Learning" have become a fully integrated part of the student experience in our doctoral program. The very enthusiastic response of Ph.D. students to this program shows that it meets a deeply felt need among future faculty members for substantial training in pedagogy as part of their graduate education. The success of the program has made it a high priority for us, and we have found the resources needed to continue it.

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 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 :
Support for a faculty in-service program with specific training in writing instructional objectives in order to effectively integrate their specific theology course outcomes with the mission statements of their academic departments and the primary mission statement of the seminary.

Learning Abstract :
The Wabash Center has substantially contributed to curriculum development and improvement of student learning, leading to accountability and excellence in teaching. Orienting faculty to learning outcomes and incorporating them into courses was one of the workshop objectives and is evidenced in syllabi now produced. Father Brennan surpassed expectations by presenting material in a compelling way to achieve faculty "buy-in". A review of departmental meeting minutes shows that this improved discussions on discerning the quality of student learning and teaching. The workshop moved the faculty toward excellence in teaching by effectively communicating an appropriate use of learning outcomes. Individual faculty have begun to think in terms of assessing individual student performance and the quality of overall student learning throughout the curriculum. In particular, the institutional self-study submitted to ATS for attaining accreditation reflects a greater awareness of the importance of degree program standards and outcomes, and developing strategic plans to promote and protect the quality of theological education offered at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary.

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 :
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 :
A consultation in May 2008 will bring together racial ethnic women professors teaching religion and theology in predominantly white university and college settings in order to share pedagogical models and strategies for teaching. Racial ethnic minority women face particular challenges when they enter the classroom, and the religion classroom, itself, poses special challenges that complicate these women’s professional and personal lives. We want to explore, in the grant period, what happens when racial ethnic minority women enter the space of the religion classroom, both to them and with students, how this affects teaching, and what strategies may be employed to ease this interaction. In a time when pedagogy is embodied and strives for transformation of professor and student, a “colored” body, particularly in a predominantly white institution, brings forth a variety of response that is both overt and hidden. This is an opportunity for racial ethnic minority women professors to be reflective about their teaching and teaching context, share teaching strategies, and shape models of support within departments and institutions that will encourage recruiting and retaining women minority academic faculty in the disciplines of Religion and Theology.

Learning Abstract :
Racial ethnic minority women teaching in the Religious Studies or seminary classroom experience unique tensions. As, often, the only person of color and/or the only woman, these teacher-scholars find themselves analyzed by the gaze of both students and colleagues. From students, this gaze can exoticize the professor, bringing about unsettling moments in the classroom for which generating teaching strategies that both uncover racism and sexism and teach students to "read as the other" is necessary. From colleagues, this gaze can make the racial ethnic woman wonder continually if her colleagues believe she "measures up" to their standards, making the racial-ethnic woman either paralyzed or defensively over-productive in her teaching and scholarship. While such activity may lead to excellence in the career, the perfectionism, stress, and fatigue, ultimately, may undermine the teacher-scholar's longevity. Collegial support, teaching strategies, self-care, rest, and open conversations among racial ethnic women scholars, such as the conversation in this consultation, generate support, opportunities for publication, and teaching strategies that open true paths to excellence and sustained, transformative careers in the academy.

Proposal abstract :
Ethnographic interviews with Christian anthropologists working in seminary settings in order to develop a broader understanding of how they construct their vocation as theological educators and examining how this relates to broader questions of vocation in academic settings.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to interview Christian anthropologists who teach, or who have formally taught in theological seminaries. This work was part of research by the grantee related to a larger project of the "Wabash Center Consultation on Vocation: A Career in Theological Scholarship."
The project director was able to conduct 20 interviews during the time of the grant. He reports that the grant funds supported a "significant block of research," helped to redirect his interviewing more toward the topic of vocation, and clarify the importance of seminary "as a crucial social location" in which Christians struggle to integrate various forms of knowledge."

Proposal abstract :
This project seeks to adapt a theoretical model for understanding racial/ethnic identity development as a valuable tool for under-represented minority (URM) faculty working in mostly white theological institutions. The primary purposes of this project are, first, to offer URM faculty in theological education a theoretical framework for them to define the personal and institutional significance of their belonging to a particular racial/ethnic group while working in a theological school with mostly white students and faculty; and second, to make available to white faculty and seminary officers a theoretical tool to better understand the institutional and academic implications of having URM as members of their faculties. The adapted model of racial identity development to be proposed will be based on documented shared experiences of URM faculty in theological education, bibliographic research on faculty of color in Higher Education, and the racial identity development theory developed by William E. Cross and analyzed by Beverly D. Tatum.

Learning Abstract :
Working in this project has been one of the most stimulating and rewarding academic experiences I have had during my almost ten years as a theological educator in North America. It allowed me to build upon my own experiences and the experiences of those in theological education who, like me, share two characteristics: one, that of belonging to a racial/ethnic minority (REMF); two, that of teaching in a predominantly white theological institution (PWTI). In conclusion, the quantitative and qualitative data of this study shows that discrimination based on race and ethnicity, which increases when gender and age are factored in, is very much an open and deep wound for the majority of REMF working at PWTIs. What is at stake is too serious to keep this reality concealed or unaddressed. It affects the present and the future well-being of the first and the present and future integrity of the mission of the latter. Theological institutions are called to mirror the values of God's reign and not those of society. Therefore, their leaders should commit themselves to the understanding and transformation of this reality for the sake of what is central to the theological enterprise: the church and its mission in the world.

Proposal abstract :
A series of luncheon meetings to discuss issues surrounding teaching and learning, to experiment with a process of peer observation and evaluation of teaching, and to plan a workshop with an outside consultant to address teaching and learning issues that have emerged in the colloquium.

Learning Abstract :
This project has reinforced our sense of the importance of structuring learning about teaching into a faculty's life. Overall, the workshop on teaching during a required "day of work" for the faculty, though more expensive in time and money, was more successful in reaching a broad group of faculty and having sustained discussion about teaching, than the optional, periodic lunches, though focusing such lunches around specific topics can be helpful. Having the right resource person from outside the faculty can be important too. Not only are the skills of the person important, but having them present adds an extra sense of purpose and focus to the discussion of teaching. It was very difficult, however, to move forward on peer observation of teaching as envisioned by the grant.

Proposal abstract :
In its 2003 Proposal to ATS to implement a new PhD program, The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) seminary stated: LTSP is fully committed in all its programs to explicitly dealing with issues of globalization and with gender, race, and ethnic concerns. The PhD program will also serve to further issues of justice and quality, as students engage theology on issues in the public arena. This grant seeks to help LTSP live into this commitment by addressing the role in which its teachers both teach and advise Graduate students who are from different cultural backgrounds. This grant will provide opportunities for LTSP professors to help them recognize the different cultural modes of communication and styles of learning of International Students, be conscious of the different social locations of International Students both within the classroom as well as in the seminary community, and develop different pedagogical tools for teaching in such an environment. Through this process, LTSP will develop an academic environment that will allow the gifts and abilities of International Students to be respected and encouraged, so that they might flourish and grow academically.

Learning Abstract :
This grant has been an extremely valuable "first step" as our faculty strives to be intentional about being effective teachers in multi-cultural classrooms. The grant allowed the faculty to meet and begin a public conversation about these issues. Having several outside professionals speak to the faculty provided authoritative voices about the general needs and practical methods in teaching and advising International Students. It was our hope that the grant would publicly raise the awareness and provide tools, and in this regard the grant succeeded. The question is now, where do we go from here? Currently, a plan has been submitted to the administration to lay out a plan for an "international Student Office" where the seminary could continue to be intentional about providing both holistic support for International Students as well as continued learning opportunities for faculty to address pedagogical issues when teaching in multi-cultural classrooms.

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 :
Support for a project to mentor two MA students who will teach their own courses - the introductory course in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The students will learn how to craft lectures, construct the syllabus, develop tests and do all the work of a teacher of record.

Learning Abstract :
Mentoring graduate students into the role of teachers of record is as difficult a task as mentoring them in their role as scholars. There are a number of tasks that seasoned faculty do automatically - whether we do them well or not: construct a syllabus, plan daily work, develop examinations, and keep assessment going in the classroom, either formally or informally. These are the things on which I worked with two students. What I found is that the syllabus is often thought of, initially, as a list of books to read and activities to perform for grades. Teaching a new teacher that a syllabus is a design of intellectual experience and that each day contributes to that design is the most important thing I think I communicated. This is somewhat necessarily difficult to grasp for young teachers who are trying to figure out what material should be covered and how, but once the idea is communicated that "coverage" is not the real task, but learning, these young teachers begin to find their own teaching styles. I learned that mentoring new teachers is very labor intensive. Our, and I doubt few, departments do enough in this regard. One disappointment I had was learning that the demands of a research one institution, such as mine, leaves little time for students and professors to gather informally. Those informal settings often are the places that another form of education and mentoring takes place. I want to make more room in my day for such encounters.

Proposal abstract :
This grant project was conducted in the context of the Wabash Center’s
2013-14 Colloquy on Religious Commitments in the Undergraduate Classroom.
The proposed research project forms the centerpiece of the REL400 seminar, entitled "Theologies of Nonviolence." The project seeks to answer the following working question: What is the relationship between the religious commitments of Mount Union students and their commitments to nonviolent belief, practice, and lifestyle? Another version of the question currently under discussion is: Do stronger/higher religious commitments translate into stronger/higher commitments to nonviolence? While the project does not explore religious commitments solely, they are a key concern of the project insofar as they are explored in conjunction with and connection to undergraduate commitments to nonviolent belief and practice and to related social issues.

Learning Abstract :
This Wabash Center grant-supported project involved a student-led, mixed methods research project which served as the centerpiece of an upper-level seminar on "Theologies of Nonviolence." The project was developed and conducted collaboratively from beginning to end with students and sought to explore the relationship between undergraduates' religious commitments and their perspectives about ethical and social issues related to nonviolent belief and practice. The work involved engagement with the literature of faith-based nonviolence theory and practice, a survey of juniors and seniors at the University of Mount Union, qualitative interview data collection and analysis, and a formal class presentation at SCHOLAR Day, Mount Union's annual undergraduate research forum in late April.

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 :
This grant will facilitate a planning conversation within the Divinity School at Vanderbilt toward the incorporation of the problematic of race and ethnicity across the theological curriculum. The conversation will be conducted during the 2005-2006 academic year.

Learning Abstract :
This was a planning grant toward a major grant proposal involving the inclusion of the racial-ethnic problematic at all levels of institutional life and practice of the Divinity School, so that it truly becomes able to welcome all, to educate all, and to minister to all-as it has formally committed itself to do. Most useful for our discussions was the model for institutional analysis, Multicultural Organization Development, formulated by Professor Bailey Jackson. This proved crucial in establishing where we stood and what needed to be done to move toward an ideal vision. Quite useful as well was to involve a variety of individuals representing major units and programs of the institution – all were involved in reading key material in racial-ethnic discourse and critical pedagogy. Also quite useful was the task of moving in common toward the conceptualization and formulation of the major grant proposal. In conclusion, this was a project with no disappointments and multiple successes.

Proposal abstract :
Three yearly meetings of this group of theologians will serve as a "forming ground" for the development of a major seminary textbook that helps students explore the relationship between classic doctrine and present day challenges.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to fund three years of gatherings (renewed for two extra years) of the Constructive Christian Theology working group. Its aim was to develop a major introductory textbook addressing all the major themes of Christian theology from a contemporary North American ecumenical perspective. They also aimed to create a "forming ground" for a new generation of North American theologians.
The meetings consisted of panel discussions and subgroup work on topical subsections. In addition to the work, the weekend was filled with good colleagueship and a growing sense of their shared vocation as professors of theology. The developed textbook was completed and published under the title, Constructive Theology: A Contemporary Approach to Classical Themes (Fortress, 2005).

Proposal abstract :
This project proposes a process for constructing a womanist signature pedagogy for educating Black clergy. In particular, we are seeking a year-long consultative initiative among the nation’s premier womanist seminary/religious studies professors to develop a pedagogy that is aware of the impact that race-class-gender disparity has on the formation of the Black Church in general and Black clergy’s theological formation in particular. In anticipation of this long awaited reflective context and workshop, 29 womanist theological educators and religious leaders have committed to work towards a womanist signature pedagogy that aligns with the logos of theological education, the pathos of transformative education, the ethos of womanist thought and the theos of Black religious traditions.

Learning Abstract :
This project grant sought to develop best practices, teaching resources, and pedagogical strategies to assist womanist theological faculty in transmitting womanist thought for practical implementation for the ongoing process of educating Black clergy. Due to racist assumptions, unreflective sexism, and underlying obstacles caused by economic strife, Black clergy are in need of womanist insight in their work to engender social and spiritual empowerment in their congregations. The project hoped that developing a womanist signature pedagogy would stimulate and support a mutually relational learning community for Black clergy. Via in depth interviews, consultations, collaborations and nation-wide conference between womanist scholars and religious leaders/activists, this initiative not only assessed operative distortions that create a gap between the classroom and the church, but also analyzed how bridging the gap could positively shape and revive Black Protestantism. In addition, this project encouraged and empowered its greatest asset, Black church women and clergy.

Proposal abstract :
Fifteen leaders from the various Baptist traditions will hold two five-day consultations around issues of Baptist identity and the vocation of the theological teacher within theological education.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to gather a group of Baptist theological educators around issues of Baptist identity and the vocation of the theological teacher within theological education. It worked to facilitate dialogue among Baptist scholars regarding their vocation and identity amid transitions in denominational and congregational life, to discuss ways of teaching Baptist heritage and identity to theological students who do not know or appreciate that heritage, and to develop networks for connecting new theological centers of Baptist studies and identity. The second phase of the project expanded to include educators at Baptist undergraduate institutions. The group was able to highlight distinctly Baptist approaches to education and vocation and to publish learnings in these areas in various venues. Creating important relationships and networks among teachers over how teaching and curricula are dealt with in the sometimes difficult climate of current Baptist education was one of the most important outcomes.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a teaching and learning workshop for Wartburg Theological Seminary Faculty, to be led by a Wabash Center consultant.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to fund a workshop on teaching and learning conducted by Wabash center faculty, reproducing for single faculty the process used for the Wabash Teaching Workshops. This included focus on one's vocation as a teacher, exploring teaching methods, teaching assessment, grading teachers as mentors, diversity among students, technology, collegiality of teachers and accountability in teaching.
They found that the workshop significantly expanded their use of educational technology in teaching. They describe it as having had "a major and lasting, transforming effect on the teaching of several courses." Their discussions on curriculum were fruitful, highlighting several contended areas that required extended work in a future workshop. The discussions on their common work as Wartburg faculty were very positive and useful. Finally, they found the outside facilitators connected to the Wabash Center to be excellent.

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 :
To examine the life and works of Paulo Freire (1921-1997) and demonstrate the relevance of Freire’s theories and methods for the study of theology and the practice of ministry in the twenty first century.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to develop a course on the work of Paulo Freire focusing on insights and implications for theology and ministerial practice in the 21st century. Other aspects of the project involved the development of an article on Freire's pedagogy as well as a presentation to the AAR annual meeting.
The course sought to integrate the process of doing theology in liberating, relevant and meaningful ways, without the form and content of liberation theology dominating. The course was successful in its creative design and faithfulness to the grant intentions. The major learning involved the opportunity for the professor to reflect with greater intentionality on her own professional development. Engaging this material in course design provided renewed focus and enthusiasm for the professor's teaching, with greater explicit articulation about her commitment as a teacher.

Proposal abstract :
Support for a conference with the goals of intellectual, pedagogical, and community development around concerns about the insider/outsider (subjectivity/objectivity) issue in teaching Religious Studies. Professors and grad students will be encouraged to develop, discuss and share strategies for dealing with religious identities in the classroom. Professors and undergrad students will be encouraged to recognize the parts they play as a shared learning community in the Religious Studies classroom.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to fund the conference of religion scholars to examine teaching and learning issues around negotiating both a private religious identity and a public academic identity. They hoped to examine ways that teachers are both insiders and outsiders to the tradition they teach, and the teaching strategies that are approach to that reality.
The project director reports that the conference occurred in February 2004 with a total of 60 participants. They found that the small group discussions were quite worthwhile for both students and faculty. Overall, they were most pleased with the diversity of the audience, with the mix of faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students.

Proposal abstract :
Series of three workshops involving biblical scholars who teach in colleges, universities, and seminaries in the Charlotte area to explore methods, models, and resources for teaching the New Testament.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought to develop consultation on teaching and learning with Biblical scholars from the Charlotte-Rockhill area. The goal would be to explore methods, models and resources for teaching the New Testament, especially the introductory level course.
The project met the group's expectations with its emphasis on practical, classroom oriented discussions. One of the most positive benefits of the consultation was the opportunity for new teachers to have an informal opportunity to share strategies and information with one another and to be mentored by more senior colleagues.

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.

Proposal abstract :
A consultation in May 2007 will bring together women teaching/scholars of religion who are seeking to combine action for social change with their academic profession so that they can share models and create new models for educational transformation. The participants are already committed to changing from a predominantly lecture model to an interactive and collaborative pedagogy that involves the students in integrating what they learn with their own vocational life goals. The consultation provides an opportunity for them to work together as an intergenerational, interracial and interfaith group to share their transformative strategies.

Learning Abstract :
The consultation succeeded in bringing together female teaching scholars of religion who seek to combine action for social change with their academic profession to share models and create new models for educational transformation. The consultation evoked lively debate and thoughtful reflection with specific action plans that will be fine-tuned by the participants. This kind of transformatory consultation required an engaged pedagogy that has a commitment to dialogue and critical reflection. Hence, the educational transformation we sought to discuss, addresses the structure of theological education and pedagogical strategies that will enhance teaching and learning such that students and teachers recognize that education is not a neutral enterprise, but a crucial vehicle for shaping broader societal values explicitly and implicitly.

Proposal abstract :
Planning grant for collaborative project to produce a book on the vocation and practical methods of theological teachers.

Learning Abstract :
The project sought funds to expand the current literature on ‘Theological teaching" through the writing of a book entitled, The Formation of the Theological Educator. The book would focus on two concerns: the nature of the educative vocation in a theological school and the various contexts within which faculty find themselves working as "theological teachers." They hoped to combine narratives of common everyday experiences of teaching with more general reflections on the teaching vocation. The work would be intended as a tool for all teachers of religion in general, but especially for junior level faculty.
The project leaders felt that the reflective process that the grant supported generated "an inventive and substantive conceptual framework" for the book. They found that the book could advance the contemporary debate on theological education by suggesting an original framework by which to construe theological education.