Resources
One page Teaching Tactic: final projects for an online course.
One page Teaching Tactic: teaching critical thinking skills by interpreting real-life ethical issues.
Reflecting on the complementary pedagogical models on teaching courses related to religion and the environment presented in this issue of the journal by Kevin O'Brien (“Balancing Critique and Commitment”) and Jennifer Ayres (“Learning on the Ground”), I suggest ways in which these essays form a conversation about teaching. Together, O'Brien and Ayres show how the classroom must acknowledge the materiality and embodied nature of learning, the emotional and intellectual levels of commitment, and the place of critical reflection on our everyday practices and actions. O'Brien and Ayres show the benefits of more fully reflecting on the ecology of the classroom – the relationship between individual members of the educational community, and the educational environment itself – in religious studies and theology.
If theological education is to prepare religious leaders who will respond faithfully and capably to ecological challenges, what models of teaching and learning will best equip them for this work? In conversation with environmental education theory and examples from diverse learning contexts, this paper proposes a model of “learning on the ground” which is characterized by engaged and embodied pedagogy through participation in earth-honoring social practices. See a companion essay in this issue of the journal (Kevin J. O'Brien, “Balancing Critique and Commitment”) and a response to both these essays (Forrest Clingerman, “Pedagogy as a Field Guide to the Ecology of the Classroom”) also published in this issue of the journal.
Courses about religion and the environment should work toward a synthesis of critical thinking – teaching students to examine and question the interplay of environmental degradation, religious traditions, and new religious movements – and advocacy – helping students to embrace, articulate, and refine their own environmentalist commitments, in religious terms when appropriate. To meet these goals, teachers of religion and the environment can learn from literature on balancing faith and critical analysis in other religion courses. This literature will help us to clarify the goals of our courses, critically examine the environmental movement with our students, and remain trustworthy to those who do not share environmentalist commitments. See a companion essay in this issue of the journal (Jennifer R. Ayres, “Learning on the Ground”) and a response to both of these essays (Forrest Clingerman, “Pedagogy as a Field Guide to the Ecology of the Classroom”) also published in this issue of the journal.
This article describes the process through which the Wabash Center Guide to Internet resources in religion was conceived and developed. The resulting structure of the Guide is described, and comments are made concerning possible ways in which the Internet can contribute to the learning process in theology and religious studies. A vision for the future of this Guide or other similar efforts is also outlined.
Journal Issue.
This book explores one of the enduring issues in educational research and one of the challenges for formal education. That is, understanding the relationship between learning in one context, setting or time and a subsequent related learning experience or activity. The chapters in the book examine the issue drawing on existing theory as starting points but using each author’s own research to push existing boundaries of what we know in terms of the ideas captured in the title of the book: transfer, transitions and transformations of learning. The chapters explore the issue through a range of approaches and settings including: possibilities for a concept-context approach to transfer, transfer between knowledge domains, transfer as an iterative process between contexts, transfer as boundary crossing between vocations, transfer as integration of theory and practice, transferring standards in assessment, representation in the transition from novice to expert, transformation of self through sustainability education, transforming identities of first year design and technology teachers and the role of implicit knowledge in understanding the relationship between declarative and procedural knowledge in the transition to expertise. This book should be of interest to teachers in schools and the adult education sector, research students, teacher educators, researchers and policy-makers who are involved in learning in, through or with technology. (From the Publisher)
Click Here for Book Review Abstract: Given the continued plight of men of color in college after a decade of ineffective interventions focused more on “fixing the student” than on addressing the social, structural and institutional forces that undermine his academic achievement, this book is intended as a catalyst to change the direction of the dialogue, by providing a new theoretical framework and strength-based models for developing strategies for success. This book brings together five of today’s leading scholars concerned with the condition of males of color in higher education – LeManuel Bitsóí, Edmund T. Gordon, Shaun Harper, Victor Sáenz and Robert Teranishi, who collaborated closely through of a series of conversations convened by the College Board to diagnose the common factors impeding the success of under-represented males and to identify the particular barriers and cultural issues pertaining to the racial and ethnic groups they examine. This cohesive volume starts with the recognition that understanding males' disengagement from the classroom requires determining what it means to be a male in a non-dominant group in today’s society. The authors use the methods of feminist theory to uncover the impact of dominant paradigms of White, middle-class, heteronormative masculinity on men of color in general, to define what comprises masculinity for various groups, subgroups and individuals, and to lay bare the social and institutional forces that perpetuate constructions of masculinity that negatively impact men of color. They demonstrate that researchers and practitioners alike must pay more careful attention to within-group diversity as they study college men of color and create initiatives that respond to their varied needs. They establish the need for men of color campus initiatives to be mindful of the masculinities with which students enter college, as well as how they develop, negotiate and perform their gender identities on campus; the vital importance, in developing programs and interventions, of addressing the sociological undercurrents of men’s bad behaviors and poor help-seeking tendencies; and for providing opportunities for men to engage in critical individual and collective reflection on how they have been socialized to think of themselves as men. This book advances the critical priorities of increasing enrollments and completion rates among college men of color, and of graduating well-developed men with strong, conflict-free gender identities. For practitioners who work with these populations, it offers insights and signposts to create successful programs; for researchers it offers a set of new directions for analysis; and for policymakers, new ways of thinking about how policy and funding mechanisms ought to be reconsidered to be more effective in responding this issue. (From the Publisher)
Click Here for Book Review Abstract: Explores the nature and role of wisdom in education. Modern scholarship has struggled to come to terms with the meaning of wisdom and its significance in the field of education. This book examines the importance of pursuing wisdom in schools by turning to ancient and medieval sources for clarification concerning the nature of wisdom. Sean Steel argues that our current emphasis on the development of rigorous critical-analytic thinking skills, on assessment, and on accountability in education has negatively impacted the ability of schools to foster an environment in which both students and teachers might pursue wisdom. Although in recent times efforts have been made to incorporate the pursuit of wisdom into schools through Philosophy for Children (P4C) and contemplative education programming, such initiatives have missed their mark. Steel therefore recommends not more accountability in education for the purpose of ensuring global competitiveness, but rather the institutional promotion of periods of leisure or schole in the school day. Drawing upon his own experiences as a teacher who has tried to encourage students to search for wisdom, the author discusses some of the challenges and pitfalls of wisdom seeking. He also offers examples of various wisdom-seeking activities that might bear fruit in the classroom. (From the Publisher)