Content

Lecture theatres have in recent history been perceived as physical, teacher-centred, orderly, transmissive and passive. Contemporary higher education classrooms can be virtual, learner-centred, non-linear, transformative and active. Teaching is viewed as a continually evolving activity based on engagement, review, reflection and revision in order to best address the needs of 21st century higher education student cohorts. Within the context of theological education, this unit considers the theories and best practice in contemporary higher education which follow from what research reveals about adult learning, both online and face-to-face. The unit invites participants to consider their vocation as a higher education teacher and examine their practices in the light of their personal journey as a theological educator and the institutional understanding of theological education demonstrated by their context.

Unit code: DE8029L

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Foundational

Unit discipline: Education Studies

Delivery Mode: Blended

Proposing College: Australian Lutheran College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Identify and critique influences upon themselves as theological educators

2.

Identify issues raised for themselves, institutions and stakeholders by different perspectives of theological and higher education

3.

Analyse key principles of adult education

4.

Apply good practice principles in adult education to designing and teaching a learning experience

5.

Evaluate a learning experience with the assistance of a peer observer.

Pedagogy

Group discovery, peer learning, practice and reflection, self-reflection, literature research.

Indicative Bibliography

  • Biggs, John B. 2011. Teaching for quality learning at university: what the student does. Philadelphia: Society for Research into Higher Education: Open University Press.
  • Brookfield, Stephen D. 1995.* Becoming a critically reflective teacher*. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, (esp. chapters 4–7).
  • Brookfield, Stephen D. 2015. The skilful teacher: on technique, trust and responsiveness in the classroom. 3rd ed. New York: Wiley.
  • Coakley, Sarah. 2006. ‘Theological scholarship as religious vocation.’ Christian Higher Education 5: 55−68.
  • Jarvis, Peter. 2012. ‘Adult learning: andragogy versus pedagogy or from pedagogy to andragogy.’ In The Routledge International Handbook of Learning, edited by Peter Jarvis and Mary Watts. London: Routledge, 134–143.
  • Jones, Gregory L., ed. 2001. The scope of our art: the vocation of the theological teacher. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
  • McDowell, John C. 2009. ‘What Athens has to do with Jerusalem: the wisdom of reason, the publics of theology.’ Pacifica: Australasian Theological Studies 22, no. 2 (June): 125–147.
  • Mortiboys, Alan. 2010. How to be an effective teacher in higher education: answers to lecturers’ questions. London: Open University Press.
  • Palmer, Parker J. 2010. The heart of higher education: a call to renewal. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  • Poe, Harry Lee. 2004. Christianity in the academy: teaching at the intersection of faith and learning, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
  • Ramsden, Paul. 2003. Learning to teach in higher education. London: Routledge.
  • Ringenberg, William C. 2006. The Christian college: a history of Protestant higher education in America. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker.
  • Rogers, Jenny. 2007. Adults learning. 5th ed. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press.
  • Sherlock, Charles H. 2009. Uncovering theology: the depth, reach and utility of Australian theological education. Adelaide: ATF Press.
  • Thompson, Geoffrey. 2015. ‘The functions of theology: loosening the nexus between theological education and ministerial formation.’ Colloquium 47, no.2: 208–220.
  • Werner, Dietrich, David Esterline, Namsoon Kang, and Joshva Raja, eds. 2010. Handbook of theological education in world Christianity: theological perspectives, ecumenical trends, regional surveys. Oxford: Regnum Books International.
  • Wilkens, Steve. 2005. Christian college, Christian calling: higher education in the service of the church. n.p.: AltaMira.
  • Theological education has long been a male-dominated domain. Theological Education, 45 no.2 (2010) addresses issues of gender and leadership in theological education.

  • *At least one of Biggs, Mortiboys, Ramsden or Rogers recommended for purchase

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Peer Evaluation

Evaluate a learning experience with peer input 2000 words

2000 34.0
Learning Resource

Design and deliver a learning experience based of good adult learning principles 2000 words equivalent

2000 33.0
Portfolio

Peer Assessed Portfolio Triple Text Study Students will engage with a set text and consider it in the light of two others, the first from a set list, the second of their choosing. They will identify issues for themselves, their vocation and their students, and discuss these with a peer mentor. 1500 words Reflection Students will reflect with a peer on their own formation as a theological educator 500 words

2000 33.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 19 Oct, 2017

Unit record last updated: 2019-10-31 14:59:15 +1100