Resources

This Forum explores what the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) has been learning about formation in online contexts through the Educational Models and Practices project. Deborah Gin's opening essay briefly enumerates operating assumptions, several widespread misconceptions, and emerging recommended practices. G. Brooke Lester proposes a definition of formation as transformation towards community, which is grounded in constructivist learning theory. He then reflects on the possibilities for this kind of community through online learning environments. Barbara Blodgett's contribution draws on “transactional distance theory” to analyze how a variety of pedagogical techniques (both online and face to face) can work to either exacerbate or minimize the distance between learners, which is an important contributor to formation and community. The Forum originated as panel presentations at the November 2017 Society of Biblical Literature and American Academy of Religion conferences.

This article is for those educators who want to become more intentional in their craft of teaching. The authors introduce eight different pedagogies through their historical lineage, intending for readers to gain an appreciation for, and understanding of, the broader trajectory of educational philosophies, and illustrate how common teaching techniques can be shaped by the pedagogies. By familiarizing themselves with a specific educational philosophy or philosophies, educators begin to identify and name the ways they teach, how students best learn, what counts as knowledge, and the desired outcomes. In doing so, educators increase their opportunities to provide more meaningful and impactful education. This article also includes quick‚Äêreference guides to the pedagogies for readers to return to frequently.

This paper claims that programs in prisons are challenging the very who, where, how, and what of theological education. The author draws on research from the fields of pedagogy and prison studies, nearly a decade of experience teaching master's level seminary‚Äêstyle classes in prison, and the findings of a two‚Äêyear cohort of prison educators convened by the Association of Theological Schools for their Educational Models and Practices Project. Addressing displacement as a learning strategy, classroom diversity, the use of student experience, narrative grading strategies, and classroom ritual, the author shows how the teaching strategies emerging from prison classrooms provide vibrant models for the theological academy at large.

This article presents a pedagogical approach to training seminarians for faith leadership in the era of what Heidi Campbell has called “networked religion.” It argues that the increasing digital mediation of religious practice, expression, and community represents an opportunity for students to explore and inhabit ministry sites and roles from “within” the seminary classroom. Using education scholars' discussions of new digital geographies, gaming scholars' conception of game space, and reflection on classroom‐tested “quick challenges,” the author presents pedagogical principles for designing authentic new media learning experiences. Such activities bridge teaching spaces and ministry spaces to promote active learning through observation and immersion, simulation and role‐playing.

The article discusses two versions of a complex role‚Äêplaying exercise in undergraduate courses on Buddhism. The pedagogical exercise demonstrated how imagination cultivated through creative writing could be used to enhance learning about history, culture, and religion. Students were also challenged to generate an understanding of religious practice that arose from both cognitive and sensory learning. The project showed that by interacting with a form of engaged pedagogy that worked with the imagination, without leaving the classroom students developed a deep care for and active engagement with communities located spatially and temporally far from home. With empathy and critical reflection, they came to see how religious meaning is constructed at a communal level through embodied action and emotional sensibility.

This article considers the “create your own religion” or “fictive religion” assignment as a pedagogical tool, contextualizing it within the scholarship of teaching and learning, and positioning it as a tool for broad adoption in a variety of courses. I argue that we ought to conceptualize the fictive religion assignment as an instructional game, and make use of scholarship on teaching through games as a foundation for my analysis. While I offer the example of my own fictive religion assignment as a case study, the overall argument is a theoretical one, namely that the assignment works because of the nature of games.

This essay provides a brief overview of an educational board game developed by the author for use in upper division Old Testament classes. The game, extending in stages across the semester, heightens student learning by requiring strategic thinking about various historical, political, and geographical relationships. Appendices and links to online material provide full details necessary to adapt the game in local classrooms.

The issue is richly augmented by a set of teaching tactics (Allen, Ghosh, and Woodard and Mabry) across a range of religious traditions which briefly describe further practices that can be productive in the classroom.

The issue is richly augmented by a set of teaching tactics (Allen, Ghosh, and Woodard and Mabry) across a range of religious traditions which briefly describe further practices that can be productive in the classroom.

The issue is richly augmented by a set of teaching tactics (Allen, Ghosh, and Woodard and Mabry) across a range of religious traditions which briefly describe further practices that can be productive in the classroom.