I have just begun teaching an undergraduate course, “Basic Christian Beliefs,” as an adjunct professor at my alma mater, Friends University (www.friends.edu). This is something of a new experience for me. My primary training, at least in terms of my postgraduate work, is in biblical studies. I am currently in the final throws of my PhD thesis,* which develops a narrative-critical reading of Mark 4:1–8:30 (what I call the Sea Crossing movement), which attempts to demonstrate that the Markan disciples are repeatedly characterized as resistant to and opposed to Jesus' Gentile mission and their participation in it. (*Note that I speak of my “PhD thesis” instead of my “Ph.D. dissertation.” This reflects the fact that my degree is being pursued in the U.K. (University of St Andrews; Scotland) where they use fewer periods, and dissertations are called theses and vice-versa.)
As I indicate in the syllabus, the main objective of this course is for students to develop the ability to think theologically. I write that we are not simply going to learn about Christian theology (its history, concepts, and major contributors), but we are going to engage in the theological task itself, learning what it means to view our lives, our world, and their various problems and proposed solutions from within an orthodox Christian framework. “In short, we are going to do Christian theology.”
Given this objective, I am requiring students to develop and maintain a theological reflection journal which will account for the bulk of their assessed work (70% of their final grade). I've been reading up on learning journals (see below) and see them as possessing immense value for learning and as having significant potential for helping us achievement the course's basic objective to learn to think theologically. But, one of the challenges I am having with this assignment is knowing exactly how to describe what I envision and expect their journals being and doing. On the one hand, I want to provide enough detail and direction so that the students know how to proceed, which includes their having a clear understanding as to how they will be assessed; on the other hand, I do not want to provide too much detail because I want their journals to become their own. In short, I want the students to have the freedom to make their journals into something that will be the most beneficial for their learning while making sure that they are able to be assessed in as an objective manner as possible.
Consequently, one of the rationales for establishing this blog is to provide an example of the sort of stuff one might include in a theological reflection journal. And so, today as I was working through the week’s readings, lectures, and discussions and began to write out some of my thoughts, it occurred to me that what I was engaging in theological reflection and that the students might benefit from seeing what I do when I am developing this course. Moreover, much of the material I develop and work through on paper will not be able to be presented in class given the constraints of time, and so this blog provides an ideal place to post material that would be of benefit to the students taking Basic Christian Beliefs. I have also decided to make it public in case it could be of some interest and use to a wider audience.
As I indicate in the syllabus, the main objective of this course is for students to develop the ability to think theologically. I write that we are not simply going to learn about Christian theology (its history, concepts, and major contributors), but we are going to engage in the theological task itself, learning what it means to view our lives, our world, and their various problems and proposed solutions from within an orthodox Christian framework. “In short, we are going to do Christian theology.”
Given this objective, I am requiring students to develop and maintain a theological reflection journal which will account for the bulk of their assessed work (70% of their final grade). I've been reading up on learning journals (see below) and see them as possessing immense value for learning and as having significant potential for helping us achievement the course's basic objective to learn to think theologically. But, one of the challenges I am having with this assignment is knowing exactly how to describe what I envision and expect their journals being and doing. On the one hand, I want to provide enough detail and direction so that the students know how to proceed, which includes their having a clear understanding as to how they will be assessed; on the other hand, I do not want to provide too much detail because I want their journals to become their own. In short, I want the students to have the freedom to make their journals into something that will be the most beneficial for their learning while making sure that they are able to be assessed in as an objective manner as possible.
Consequently, one of the rationales for establishing this blog is to provide an example of the sort of stuff one might include in a theological reflection journal. And so, today as I was working through the week’s readings, lectures, and discussions and began to write out some of my thoughts, it occurred to me that what I was engaging in theological reflection and that the students might benefit from seeing what I do when I am developing this course. Moreover, much of the material I develop and work through on paper will not be able to be presented in class given the constraints of time, and so this blog provides an ideal place to post material that would be of benefit to the students taking Basic Christian Beliefs. I have also decided to make it public in case it could be of some interest and use to a wider audience.
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