This book
is a treasure trove of essays which cover everything from syllabus creation to
lesson-planning, all within the context of Christian higher education. Here’s
some of the highlights so far (I’m halfway through the book):
The first
chapter by Stanley Porter covers “Developing a Philosophy of Education.” Now,
as far as pure writing style, Porter is not my favorite author (though he’s
essential for any student of NT Greek and linguistics), and this essay is not
exactly the easiest to read in the world. Having said that, content-wise it is
fantastic, and I learned a lot from it. Porter covers the various views of
education (both historically and philosophically), the weaknesses and strengths
of each, and how a Christian educator should go about interacting with his or
her students. Especially significant is Porter’s statement near the end,
drawing on the work of Gilbert Ryle, that “The ability to teach oneself and
think for oneself is what distinguishes education from merely training” (p.
36).
My
favorite chapter so far, however, is Mark J. Boda on “Designing and Evaluating
Learning Experiences for Courses.” This essay alone is, in my humble but
correct opinion, worth the price of the book. This essay is very much student-centric,
in that it is designed to help teachers meet the needs of the student. Boda
discusses such topics as consistency in grading (p. 68—“I have found that the
more time I spend reflecting on why and how I evaluate students’ assignments
and communicating clearly the evaluation I give to my students, the less
problems I encounter with students over grading”), how to grade, etc. The
section at the end on “Best Practices” is fantastic, especially his discussion
on professor feedback on papers. One of my pet peeve is papers I received with a
grade but no feedback, or unhelpful feedback. In one of my doctoral integrative
seminars, I got an assignment back with the remark, “Not bad, but not great
either,” at which point I wanted to scream, “Then show me how to do ‘great’!”
In my opinion, feedback on assignments is part of teaching, and I hope to
emulate Boda’s excellent advice.
Here’s a
list of all the essays in the book, for those interested, as well as a link to
the Amazon site for the book (click here):
1.
Stanley
Porter, “Developing a Philosophy of Education”
2.
Michael
P. Knowles, “Pedagogy and Course Objectives”
3.
Mark
J. Boda, “Designing and Evaluating Learning Experiences for Courses”
4.
Cynthia
Long Westfall, “Developing a Syllabus”
5.
Lee
Beach, “Sculpting a Lesson: The Art of Preparing a Classroom Learning
Experience”
6.
Lois
K. Fuller Dow, “Teaching Introductory New Testament Greek”
7.
Paul
Evans: “Teaching Biblical Hebrew; Practical Strategies for Introductory
Courses”
8.
Wendy
J. Porter, “Leading Intentional Theological Reflection in the Classroom: The
Merging of Mind and Heart”
9.
Steven
M. Studebaker, “From Doctoral Program to Classroom”
10.
Gordon
L. Heath, “The Upside-Down Professor: The Professor in a Christian Institution”
11.
Phil
C. Zylla, “Spirituality of Teaching and Theological Integration”
And while
we’re discussing Christian pedagogy, let me also mention my friend Thomas
Hudgins’ new book (a revision of his dissertation) Luke 6:40 and the Theme
of Likeness Education in the New Testament (click here for the Amazon.com link).
