Tell me, Doc! “What do I have to do to learn this?”

One pedagogical bandwagon that I've been happy to board is the move to rethink assessment. How do we teach in such a way that evaluation is a means rather than an ends in the learning process? Educator Robert Talbert has been moving from traditional grading to specifications grading in his STEM courses at Grand Valley State University. … Continue reading Tell me, Doc! “What do I have to do to learn this?”

“Gradating” Understanding in the Religious Studies Classroom

The idea is to create an environment where students are encouraged to learn from their mistakes and to get help when they can't figure something out on their own.

Teaching Religion 101 –The Old School and the New School

On August 29, 2014, members of the Society of Biblical Literature and the American Academy of Religion shared tweets on what they had been taught as students and what they are teaching now as professors. Thanks to everybody who was a part of it. And a special thanks to the Forum for Theological Exploration, Seminarium, and the … Continue reading Teaching Religion 101 –The Old School and the New School

Racism–It’s not for Saturday Morning Cartoons or Sunday School Curricula Anymore!

Yesterday in my Bible and Race in the United States of America class, I asked students how differently they might read the Bible were it introduced with the following disclaimer:

Devices Equal Bad Note-Taking? It’s not that simple!

But we cannot forget that the default mode for schooling (from Early Childhood to HigherEd) is pen and paper...When we talk digital note-taking and other electronic engagement, we must consider that most students--let alone, teachers-- are picking up skills on the fly.