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Workshop for Early Career Theological School Faculty This workshop invites those in their first years of teaching in theological schools to join a community of generosity and hospitality that responds to early career professional and vocational development. Together they will: Wrestle with generative questions about teaching and learning Learn how to live a life of the mind without losing one’s mind Discover ways to engage institutional and cultural realities that are liberative and life-giving Imagine teaching that constructively engages and transforms the larger world through creative thinking and risk-taking The workshop will gather 14 faculty members for a week in two successive summers at Wabash College, and a weekend winter retreat in a warm location. There will be a balance of plenaries, small group discussions, workshops, social time, and opportunities for relaxation, exercise, laughter, and lots of good food and drink. Goals Participants will join a collaborative cohort in which they will: Reflect critically on processes of learning that foster intellectual curiosity Discover ways to sustain practices of teaching and learning with passion Understand and navigate institutional cultures Explore deepest convictions about teaching and learning in theological schools Honorarium and Fellowship Participants will receive an honorarium of $3400 for full participation in the three workshop sessions, plus local expenses and travel. In addition, participants are eligible to apply for a $5000 workshopfellowship for work on a teaching project during the following academic year (2019-20). Read More aboutPayment of Participants Read More about the Workshop Fellowship Program Participants Front Row: Paul Monson (Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology), Rebecca Esterson (Graduate Theological Union), *Rolf A. Jacobson (Luther Seminary), *Bar J. McClure (Brite Divinity School at TCU), Daniel Orlando Álvarez (Pentecostal Theological Seminary). Second Row: Joseph Gordon (Johnson University), Sunggu Yang (George Fox University), Emily Peck-McClain (Wesley Theological Seminary), Ashley Hicks White (Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary), Timone Davis (Loyola University Chicago), Christine J. Hong (Columbia Theological Seminary), Helen Kim (Candler School of Theology – Emory University). Back Row: *Paul O. Myhre (Wabash Center), Scott Hagley (Pittsburgh Theological Seminary), Jennifer Awes-Freeman (United Theological Seminary of Twin Cities), *Andrea C. White (Union Theological Seminary, NY), *Eduardo C. Fernández (Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University), Jeney Park-Hearn (Seattle University). *leadership/staff position. Dates First session: July 9-14, 2018, Wabash College Second session: January 24-27, 2019, Corpus Christi, Texas Third session: June 17-22, 2019, Wabash College Leadership Team Rolf A. Jacobson, Director,Luther Seminary Barbara J. McClure, Brite Divinity School Andrea C. White, Union Theological Seminary-NYC Eduardo C. Fernandez, Jesuit School of Theology, Santa Clara University Paul O. Myhre, Associate Director, Wabash Center Important Information Travel and Accommodations for Summer Sessions at the Wabash Center Travel and Accommodations for Winter Sessions in Texas Philosophy of Workshops Policy on Participation Map of Wabash College Campus Travel Reimbursement Form Things To Do In Crawfordsville - Recreation Foreign National Information Form Payment of Honorarium Fellowship Program For More Information, Please Contact: Paul Myhre, Associate Director Wabash Center 301 West Wabash Ave. Crawfordsville, IN 47933 800-655-7117 myhrep@wabash.edu

This article focuses on Reflective Structured Dialogue as a set of practices developed in the context of conflict resolution that are well suited to handling quotidian uneasiness and extraordinary moments of disruption in religious studies classrooms. After introducing Reflective Structured Dialogue's history, goals, and general practices, the authors consider its uses in classroom settings. They argue that a classroom in which teachers understand themselves as facilitators, and in which students are experienced in structured dialogue practices – including being comfortable in a state of intellectual “wobble” – is one more apt to be able to engage with, and more likely to benefit from, disruptive events.

A panel at the 2016 American Academy of Religion conference staged, taped, transcribed, and edited this conversation about the challenges and opportunities of teaching in a “nano department” – an undergraduate religion or religious studies department (or combined religion and philosophy department) with only one, two, or three faculty members. Two things quickly become evident: one is the impossibility of coverage of the full religious studies curriculum, and the other is the necessity for collaboration with other departments. Neither of these is unique to nano departments, but there exists an intimacy between students and faculty in small departments, a necessary freedom to rethink the place of the study of religion in the liberal arts curriculum, and a disruptive value in what can be critiqued and contributed from a marginalized position. Arguably, nano departments are the canaries in the academic coal mine, charting the future of the humanities that cannot be discerned from the vantage point of Research-1 contexts.

One page Teaching Tactic: a discussion exercise on the first day of class fools students in order to disrupt their prior assumptions of what constitutes a “real religion."

One page Teaching Tactic: discussion of a classical text that moves students from description to analysis and evaluation.

One page Teaching Tactic: scaffolds progressively more nuanced student understanding of difficult religious studies theory.

An extended metaphor for teaching. This essay draws out the useful parallels between the best kind of teacher and the Good Witch of the North, Glinda, from The Wizard of Oz. Unappealing to many viewers or readers of the classic children's story, Glinda offers an inspiring reminder of four important pedagogical points: (1) the master teacher always treats her student as a peer; (2) the master teacher acknowledges and encourages her student's abilities but lets her learn how to exercise them on her own; (3) the master teacher is often not equivalent or even similar to anyone the student has encountered before; and (4) the master teacher is not a surrogate parent but a more distant figure.

This article reports on a practitioner action research project focused on developing, trialing, and reflecting upon a continuous and formative-assessment plan for a foundational New Testament survey course. Three pedagogical convictions are discussed and drive the design of the assessment. Seven to nine assessment items (depending on level of study) based on course learning outcomes and informed by Bloom's taxonomy of learning, were developed and implemented. Students provided feedback on the assessment through an anonymous online survey. The results demonstrate that students preferred continuous assessment to an exam and major essay, and that they better achieved the course learning outcomes. In conclusion, this style of assessment is effective in driving and assessing student learning and so provides a basis for further action reflection.

What does it mean to teach virtue, or to learn it? We consider this question through an institutional review board (IRB) supported research study attending to student learning experiences in undergraduate ethics courses at a Catholic university with an explicit commitment to social justice. This essay draws on and interprets qualitative data concerning the outcomes of select pedagogical approaches that involve exposing students to the experiences of others: the use of narratives; participation in structured experiential learning activities; and community engagement through deep listening and facilitated dialogue. We focus our interpretation around the implications of these pedagogies in relation to student understanding of and attitudes regarding three character traits identified as “other-regarding” virtues in theological and philosophical scholarship – altruism, compassion, and solidarity. This paper considers the implications of these pedagogies and the practical effects of different sorts of teaching strategies on students' self-understanding as moral agents

Grammar-translation pedagogy is the standard for biblical language instruction. Second language acquisition scholars have argued that grammar-translation is ineffective and not empirically justified. Moreover, evidence suggests most seminary graduates do not use biblical languages effectively in ministry. Task-based instruction is an important alternative pedagogy which focuses on the tasks students will be using the language for and designs the curriculum around those tasks. A task-based approach de-emphasizes translation and memorization of forms. Instead, the emphasis from the beginning is on biblical interpretation and exposition. Available software based resources offer new possibilities for task-based teaching, as students can identify forms and vocabulary and have access to a library of resources. A task-based pedagogy using these tools enables students to quickly develop skills in biblical interpretation that are normally reserved for the third or fourth semester of study. Task-based pedagogy offers great promise for effective and efficient biblical language pedagogy.