Resources

At the November 2008 meeting of the American Academy of Religion, the History of Christianity section sponsored a panel around the question: "What are the key challenges, opportunities, and goals in the History of Christianity classroom today and how best should teachers respond to them?" Beginning with brief sketches of institutional context and identification of one or more pivotal choices each makes in the course they teach, the panelists explored critical themes and issues that arise in teaching the history of Christianity, first with each other and then through interchange with the audience.

A 1000 word essay on using textbooks in introductory courses (or not).

A 1000 word essay on using textbooks in introductory courses (or not).

A 1000 word essay on using textbooks in introductory courses (or not).

One page Teaching Tactic: students take turns in the role of "teaching assistant" to increase motivation and attention to the material.

One page Teaching Tactic: an exercise that treats student groups unequally, to learn about empathetic identification with biblical figures.

One page Teaching Tactic: a treasure hunt by which students learn about the attributes of God.

One page Teaching Tactic: students compare two theology textbooks to gain a new understanding of diversity.

In an attempt to engage students' higher-order thinking skills, we developed a documentary filmmaking project for our introduction to theology course. By documenting certain aspects of the theology of John Wesley and John Henry Newman (God, creation, revelation, Jesus, the church), students were able to delve deeply into these themes, better understanding them and their interrelationships. The project helped the students to actively practice historical theology, rather than passively learn about it through lectures. In addition, the project emphasized research skills, quality of writing and creative production, and a professional presentation at a screening.

A challenging intercultural teaching experience provided an opportunity for engaging embodied pedagogies that facilitated border crossings of language, age, gender, and experience. Influenced by the work of Augusto Boal, the author describes how improvisation, role-play, music, and drawing led seminary students in Mexico into sacred time and space toward relevant learning. Drawing upon the critical pedagogy of several educators yields implications for teaching theology and religion. The essay also invites readers into dialogue about how such border crossings can benefit their own teaching.