Goals we’ve identified for the two weeks and one weekend of our time together

To practice reflecting on teaching and learning in ways that are sustainable for participants’ future work

To explore what it means to be committed to student learning in a theological landscape, and how to facilitate such learning

To introduce participants to some of the best insights available in teaching and learning in both the seminary, and wider higher education context (eg. course design, assessment, learning from/with difference, staying grounded as a teacher, building trust in a classroom, team-teaching, etc.)

To build relationships that will support and sustain participants over the year of the workshop, and perhaps beyond it

To explore some of the dynamics peculiar to theological education and the current context of theological education (eg. the shifting ecology of theological schools, working with students who distrust teachers, integrating technology into seminary education, working in a specific denominational context while being part of another, negotiating tenure and promotion, etc.)

Workshop schedule

Possible topics from previous Wabash workshops

Forming ourselves as a learning community

Who are we who teach? Crafting a teaching persona

Syllabus audit

Design of intellectual experiences

Mini-workshops on: questioning strategies, discussion, time management, lecturing, supporting critical reading, preparing a teaching portfolio

Metaphors for our teaching

The learning-centered syllabus

Teaching and resistance

Teaching as a vocation

Philosophies of teaching

Normative issues in the classroom: authority, inclusiveness, ethical issues, civic engagement, student development, religious pluralism

Personal commitments and public roles

Managing the competing commitments of seminary life (teaching, research, collegial engagement, church engagement, etc.)

Professional self-care

What do our guilds think about teaching? What do our denominations think about teaching? What do our students think about teaching?

Diversities in the classroom

Visual images in teaching

Teaching with tenure in mind

Classroom assessment techniques

Teaching and learning reflectively

Gender, race, class and other powers in the classroom

Other topics that occur to you

Teaching as if learning matters

What’s our mission got to do with it?

Where is God in this classroom?

Managing your time in a wifi world

Books and articles we might consider using

Teaching Reflectively in Theological Contexts

The Skillful Teacher

Subjects you’d like to present

Engaging white privilege, Mary

Teaching with technology, Mary

Framing Ideologies and the teaching/learning context, Evelyn

Using Theater of the Oppressed (TOPLAB) Techniques in Teaching, Evelyn

Other things we should be considering

Special field trips?

Movies we might use together? Finding Forrester - Teaching as Mentoring (I’ll bring some other titles)

How will we manage daily prayer/worship opportunities?

Other things to keep an eye on…

this is just a placeholder for other stuff, to spur your creativity!