Week Four : March 3

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This week we will work with ways to go about integrating resources from the social sciences into the process of religious education. As you've noted from the Boys book, there are many different ways to do this and it should always be a thoughtful process.

Learning objectives

By the end of this unit you should be able to:

Explain why developmental theory is an appropriate conversation partner for religious education.

Describe some ways in which developmental theory can not be the primary lens through which religious education is viewed.

Explain Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences.

Construct a learning unit that explores a biblical story through the lens of a particular intelligence.

Use Vella's twelve principles to assess a religious education curriculum.

Small group work

This week each group will be given one of Howard Gardner's forms of multiple intelligence (blue=logical/mathematical, green=spatial, orange=musical, teal=interpersonal). I'd like your group to take that form of intelligence, and develop a lesson plan for teaching Luke 10:25-37 that would be particularly effective for people who exhibit that kind of intelligence. Your small group can choose what age group you're working with, and what context you're working in, etc. Once you have a plan, put together a brief handout that specifies who you're aiming this lesson plan at, the resources you need to implement it, the goals you've identified for it, and any other useful pieces you think someone would need to go forward with it.

If you create a handout that has some formatting to it, please e-mail it to me by Friday (March 7) so that I can put it up on the web site for your colleagues to respond to. Otherwise,you could simply send it to the listserv as an attachment.

Once each of these is posted, your group should feel free to elaborate as much as they'd like to on your plan in our large group discussion. Then I'd like your small group to consider the other groups' ideas in light of Jane Vella's principles (found in my presentation for this week). How would you assess their plans? What do you think will work well, what do you have questions or concerns about?

Mary's presentation
I've split my presentation into a couple of different units this week, and each includes some handouts. You can find the opening page by clicking here.

Required reading
Read the Augsburg Fortress resource "Nurturing Faith." This is such a brief resource that I have not developed a reading guide for it. If you have questions, please post them to the discussion board.

Integrative questions

Now we're at the point in this course where a number of ideas should start to flow together. Take a look at your learning autobiography -- what pieces remain to be filled in? How have the exercises with history helped you to see your own history in a new light? In what ways have the kinds of processes we'll talk about this week --especially new frames for seeing what religious education can be about, and ways to assess it -- been present in your own religious education (either personally, or that which you have guided and shaped for students)?

Prayer requests

We ask prayers of healing and encouragement for Emily's grandfather, newly diagnosed with cancer, and all of his family as they struggle to support him in this illness.

You may not be aware of this, but you can also see which prayers are requested each week at Luther by going to the Luther Seminary page where the specific requests of our community in chapel are lifted up. Just click here.