Portfolio: Section Four

Tracking your skill development

This is the section of the educational leadership competencies where you will most likely find yourself with multiple growing edges. One of the reasons why the EL requirements are spaced as they are in the curriculum in the MDiv degree in particular an introductory course at the very beginning and a final course near the end is that we set the stage for learning about educational leadership, and then we expect you to spend the bulk of your coursework and internship gathering the materials and learning the skills you ll need. The final EL course is a chance to polish and demonstrate your achievements in this arena.

If you have already demonstrated competency in a particular element, please provide an example or two. For those competencies which are still emerging in your practice, try to imagine how you might meet them in the rest of your time in the degree program. Will you work on a specific issue during your internship? Will your contextualization site be willing to give you room to practice a particular element? Are there ways in which you could shape assignments in your other classes to help you demonstrate competence in a specific area?

The specific competencies identified in this area are as follows:

3a capable of adequately developing, critiquing, and tailoring curriculum materials for use in a specific context (this includes denominational issues)

3b capable of supporting theological and biblical reflection in a variety of contexts, and with a variety of people involved

3c capable of supporting cross cultural engagement

3d capable of supporting intergenerational learning

3e capable of engaging at least one pressing contemporary learning challenge from within a faith community framework (denominational pluralism, interfaith dialogue, media culture, environmental pressures, socio-political unrest, peace and justice issues, race and class issues, gender, disability, etc.)

3f capable of recruiting, training, supporting, supervising, evaluating and affirming volunteers in the shared ministry of Christian faith nurture