Tucked away in one of my educational psychology books is a Peanuts cartoon clipped from a newspaper years ago. It is a cartoon of Peppermint Patty, that endearing character who represents a teacher’s worst nightmare: the unmotivated student.
In…
I can trace my intrigue with Christian education to one single moment. That moment was when I stumbled upon a statement by Morton Kelsey that went something like this: For Christian education to be authentic, its approaches need to be…
When I talk to people about dialogical learning, they often reply, “Yes, we have great discussions in my class.” But discussion and dialogue, as learning methods, are different things. And then there’s conversation.
But conversation too can be…
How do you help students to get the point you’re trying to teach?
More often than not most of us try the direct approach: “Just tell them!”
But a paradox in learning is that often students do not learn what…
The counter-intuitive notion that learning is not an outcome of teaching can be a challenging concept.
This is natural, for several reasons.
First, due to our experiences, we tend naturally to associate teaching with learning.
Second, despite the logical connection…
Many folks who find themselves engaged in the task of congregational education tend to be able to jump right in and keep the programs running. And they do an acceptable, if not admirable, job of keeping things going smoothly. Programs…
May 20, 2019—Throwing out some old files and materials (New Year’s Resolution no. 7) I stumbled across an old final exam from a course I offered over two decades ago when I was teaching adjunctively. Reviewing the course material I…
May 6, 2019—An Episcopal priest played golf regularly with the local Baptist minister and two of his members. The priest kept inviting the Baptists to visit one of his services until they were embarrassed at not having gone. So they…
April 1, 2019—At a gathering of congregational educators the discussion centered on teaching in the church. We discussed the perennial challenges of training church teachers. Those challenges include getting teachers to participate in training events, getting them to see the…
March 18, 2019—A couple of days I received that phone call I enjoy so much. It goes like this:
Caller: “Hello, Dr. G? You probably don’t remember me, I was a student at the seminary a couple of years ago…
February 18, 2019—One major drawback to teaching in Christian education is the unwarranted, and often unintended, practice of setting ourselves up for inactive, non-participatory, learning. Many teachers of adults tend to shy away from challenging their class or group to…
February 4, 2019—Study and research on moral development was a standard area of study for Christian educators some decades ago. As with many disciplines, some studies wane as others take their place—new fads, emerging fields of study, whatever is deemed…
While it’s always exciting to see a post do well, it’s exceptional to watch some posts get attention year after year. In particular, a number of posts by our Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning, Israel Galindo (aka Dr. G.) continue…
December 3, 2018—At the heart of much of what is wrong with the educational program in many churches today is a continued failure to understand the unique corporate nature of both faith and Christian education formation. And while there is…
Starting new programs is not just a good idea, it’s necessary for cultivating a vital education and formation program. Programs tend to have a short shelf life—though many tend to be maintained long past their expiration date for effectiveness. In…
