Resources

The work of faculty is stressful, yet most stress studies focus on faculty's research rather than teaching. This study examined the experience of nine tenured professors in search of answers to these questions: What classroom interactions do faculty find stressful? Why do faculty find these activities stressful? How do faculty explain, perform, and organize classroom practices to cope with these stresses?

Discusses information technology in theological schools. Challenges in the implementation of technology; Sample of theological resources; Factors that drive the creation of virtual seminaries.

Explains that diversification of the faculty brings intellectual diversity in scholarship. Importance of ethnic diversity in colleges and universities to the viability of higher education in the United States (U.S.); Status of the recruitment and retention of faculty of color in the U.S.; Advantages of diverse faculty in the academic community; Effects of affirmative actions in higher education to colored people.

Elizabeth Ellsworth finds that critical pedagogy, as represented in her review of the literature, has developed along a highly abstract and Utopian line which does not necessarily sustain the daily workings of the education its supporters advocate. The author maintains that the discourse of critical pedagogy is based on rationalist assumptions that give rise to repressive myths. Ellsworth argues that if these assumptions, goals, implicit power dynamics, and issues of who produces valid knowledge remain untheorized and untouched, critical pedagogues will continue to perpetuate relations of domination in their classrooms. The author paints a complex portrait of the practice of teaching for liberation. She reflects on her own role as a White middle-class woman and professor engaged with a diverse group of students developing an antiracist course. Grounded in a clearly articulated political agenda and her experience as a feminist teacher, Ellsworth provides a critique of "empowerment," "student voice," "dialogue," and "critical reflection" and raises provocative issues about the nature of action for social change and knowledge.

Discusses the fact that despite a decade of changing ideas about student learning and instruction based on learner-centered education, most faculty still rely on lectures. Identifies individual and group dynamics that impede collaborative learning, considers the moral base of collaborative learning, and offers some guiding principles of growth-oriented learning.

Ask yourself key questions about the proposed group activity, be certain that the activity furthers course objects, allow for team building, encourage students to monitor group processing, promote individual accountability, etc.

There has been little systematic thought about the pedagogical issues that technology creates in theological schools. Addressed both theological institutions and individual professors, this paper addresses basic pedagogical questions. What are the most effective ways to employ technology in the classroom? Are there guidelines for distinguishing productive activities from merely flashy ones? And, what "rules of thumb" exist for enabling novices to make the best use of computer technology for theological learning?