Resources
"Teaching Difficult Texts." 1000 word essay describing a student-interactive, small -group discussion of challenging texts.
"Teaching Difficult Texts." 1000 word essay describing scaffolding to help students engage a challenging text.
"Teaching Difficult Texts." 1000 word essay describing role playing exercise to help students engage a challenging text.
"Teaching Difficult Texts." 1000 word essay scaffolding student engagement with difficult texts from non-Western Christian contexts.
This Forum collects the papers presented at a 2010 panel at the Society of Biblical Literature, an outcome of a Wabash Center funded grant project. The project examined the unique dimensions and experiences of teaching Biblical exegesis at the six historically black theological schools (HBTSs), including discussion of the unique needs of HBTS students and their communities, and appropriate learning goals and effective teaching practices for this context. None of the biblical studies faculty were prepared as graduate students for the unique challenges that they have encountered teaching at a HBTS, so they have all had to “learn on the job” how best to approach the unique needs of the student body. The brief statements collected here summarize the findings from the project, describe and analyze some effective teaching strategies, and offer suggestions for continuing the conversation.
One page Teaching Tactic.
One page Teaching Tactic to help students understand the contingencies of historical documents.
One page Teaching Tactic to help students engage course readings.
Much debate exists regarding the purpose of education. This article explores the idea that religious education can be used to inspire change and action in the lives of students beyond the classroom. We describe a study of students who took a required religion class at a private religious university. The intended outcomes of the class centered on encouraging students to make the following changes in their lives: to develop a habit of regular scripture study, to use new methods to study the scriptures, and to make positive choices in their lives. Specific assignments were designed to encourage these outcomes. At the end of the semester, students were surveyed as to whether they had made changes in their lives in these three areas. The vast majority of students reported that they had made changes in their lives because of assignments given in the class. Implications and limitations are discussed.
Blog post that describes an alternative approach to classroom discussion/debate. Students are not asked to debate but to repeat back the position of their opponents. Then, students are asked to reach a consensus position together.