Resources
Journal Issue.
This modified "note from the classroom" is a dialogue between two scholars about African American study of the Bible. Bellis introduces the subject by advocating the primacy of social location and the African American student's religious experience in the method that she uses in her classes. (Her sample bibliography, syllabus and course outline for teaching about the Bible in African American perspectives can be found on the Wabash Center web page: http://www.wabashcenter.wabash.edu.) Brown's response takes a different stance with regard to the relative importance for exegesis of historical-critical method and the reader's social location. While Bellis and Brown agree on the appeal that the King James Version holds for many African Americans (but for different reasons), their differing assessments of translations, the distinctiveness of African American interpretations, and the ethnicity of Biblical characters models a lively discussion of issues in teaching and learning.
This modified "note from the classroom" is a dialogue between two scholars about African American study of the Bible. Bellis introduces the subject by advocating the primacy of social location and the African American student's religious experience in the method that she uses in her classes. (Her sample bibliography, syllabus and course outline for teaching about the Bible in African American perspectives can be found on the Wabash Center web page: http://www.wabashcenter.wabash.edu.) Brown's response takes a different stance with regard to the relative importance for exegesis of historical-critical method and the reader's social location. While Bellis and Brown agree on the appeal that the King James Version holds for many African Americans (but for different reasons), their differing assessments of translations, the distinctiveness of African American interpretations, and the ethnicity of Biblical characters models a lively discussion of issues in teaching and learning.
The theological classroom is a place where dynamics of diversity and multiculturalism enter not only the understanding and interpretation of the course material, but also the very processes of teaching and learning. But how is one to learn and assess what students and professors are experiencing as cultural differences, and how is one to sort out the personal characteristics from the cultural? This essay, underscoring the importance of asking students about cultural issues, discusses a few such issues via some anecdotal data.
One of the difficulties in teaching religious studies in Asia is that many religious theories and case studies are closely related to Western countries and therefore the knowledge and teaching material have a strong Western cultural bias. The cultural differences make teaching rather difficult and, most importantly, lower students' motivation to learn. To deal with the problem, this researcher attempted to introduce material on indigenous religions in various subjects in order to test whether such material would enhance student motivation. The material included newspaper articles, articles in books and journals, television programs, and documentary films. This paper is the result of an experiment in education and personal reflection on the use of indigenous religious materials in teaching religious studies in the Asian context.
Six years of the Cross-cultural Colloquy at Virginia Theological Seminary, located in metropolitan Washington, D.C., have alerted the two participating American teachers to some peculiarities of their own American culture, some peculiarities of the home cultures of foreign students, and the importance of the work which foreign Christian leaders must do to select and translate from their new learnings when they begin to turn their minds towards resuming responsibilities at home. We observe that this Colloquy also meets characteristic needs of non-Americans studying theology in the USA: it offers them conceptual tools and an oral forum for explaining to themselves odd aspects of American culture, emotional support during that time of adjustment, and inducements to begin formulating ways to take both curricular and extracurricular learnings and begin to apply them in the settings to which they will be returning. We commend this model for consideration by schools where foreign or minority-culture students' place in the curriculum and in the community of teachers and learners is ill-defined or remains less than satisfactory.
International seminarians seeking an education at academic institutions located in the United States often face a host of learning challenges. Seminary faculty that teach in these institutions are often confronted with a need to adjust their teaching methods to facilitate learning by international students. This essay outlines specific strategies to facilitate academic success of international seminarians by offering specific teaching methods for faculty and learning strategies for international students. Topics include training faculty in how to respond to diverse learning styles, expanding learning environments beyond the classroom, methods for enhancing student participation, and development of assignments. Strategies for student success include developing skills in how to improve note taking, critical reading, and writing.
The article explores the distinctiveness of Hispanic or Latino/a persons and implications for teaching practice in theological education. It reports on findings from a workshop for non-Hispanic faculty that was conducted at the Hispanic Summer Program in 1901. The content is broadly defined, and the context and persons of theological education are considered in addressing the particular learning characteristics that can typify Hispanic persons. The work draws upon the pioneering work of Dr. Eldin Villafañe (The Liberating Spirit) who identifies cultural distinctiveness among Hispanic persons in the United States. Suggestions related to each of those characteristics are proposed for teaching practice with the expectation that transformation in practice can foster greater inclusion of Hispanic persons in theological education.
Issues of racial and cultural diversity and racism pose particular challenges for effective teaching and learning in diverse theological classrooms. In this essay the author outlines specific strategies to confront racism and engage racially and culturally diverse students. Through the use of a model for understanding multicultural dynamics of teaching and learning, the author helps readers consider four epistemological categories: knowing our students, knowing ourselves as instructors, knowing how we teach, and knowing what we teach.