Phone: (616) 526-8609
Email: dsmith@calvin.edu

B.A. (Hons) University of Oxford, UK.
P.G.C.E. University of Nottingham, UK.
M. Phil. F. Institute for Christian Studies, Toronto, Canada.
Ph.D. Institute of Education, University of London (Dissertation: "Modern language pedagogy, spiritual development and Christian faith: A study of their interrelationships")

Director, Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning

Research Interests
Foreign language pedagogy, particularly in relation to moral and spiritual development and Christian philosophy of education.

The role of metaphor in Christian educational discourse.

The thought of John Amos Comenius, the 17^th century educator.

Teaching Areas
Elementary and intermediate German language, German literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, foreign language methodology, German Interim Abroad

Background
A native of the United Kingdom, I have also studied in Canada and taught in Germany. Before moving to Calvin I worked as a researcher and teacher educator at the Stapleford Centre (www.stapleford-centre.org), a Christian educational institute in Nottingham, UK. There I was involved in an extensive curriculum project which produced, among other things, foreign language course materials designed to encourage the moral and spiritual development of learners. I have taught German, French and Russian in high schools in the UK, and served for a time on the executive committee of the Values Education Council of the United Kingdom. I currently serve as an editor of both the Journal of Education and Christian Belief and the Journal of Christianity and Foreign Languages.

NACFLA member

Books
Making Sense of Spiritual Development in Religious Observance and the Wider Curriculum (co-authored with Alison Farnell) Nottingham: The Stapleford Centre (2007).

Spirituality, Social Justice and Language Learning (co-edited with Terry Osborn), Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing (2007).

Spirituality, Justice and Pedagogy (co-edited with John Shortt and John Sullivan), Nottingham: The Stapleford Centre (2006).

The Bible and the Task of Teaching. (co-authored with John Shortt) Nottingham: The Stapleford Centre (2002).

The Spirit of the Foreign Languages Classroom. Nottingham: The Stapleford Centre (2001).

The Gift of the Stranger: Faith, Hospitality and Foreign Language Learning. (co-authored with Barbara Carvill) Grand Rapids: Eerdmans (2000).

Making Sense of Spiritual Development. Nottingham: The Stapleford Centre (2000).

Charis Deutsch, Einheiten A1-A4. Nottingham: The Stapleford Centre (2000) (editor).

Charis Deutsch, Einheiten 6-10. Nottingham, The Stapleford Centre (1998) (co-authored).

Entry Points for Christian Reflection within Education. (co-authored with Pam MacKenzie, Alison Farnell and Ann Holt) London: CARE for Education (1997).

Charis Deutsch, Einheiten 1-5. St. Albans, ACT (1996) (co-authored).

Book sections
‘Spirituality and Language Pedagogy: A Survey of Recent Developments’ in D. I. Smith & T. A. Osborn (eds.) Spirituality, Social Justice and Language Learning, Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing (2007): 13-29.

‘Moral Agency, Spirituality and the Language Classroom’ in D. I. Smith & T. A. Osborn (eds.) Spirituality, Social Justice and Language Learning, Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing (2007): 33-50.

‘Of Log Cabins, Fallen Bishops and Tenacious Parents: (Auto)biographical Narrative and the Spirituality of Language Learning’ (with K. Avila, S. De Young & A. Uyaguari) in D. I. Smith & T. A. Osborn (eds.) Spirituality, Social Justice and Language Learning, Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing (2007): 107-129.

‘Dialogue, Spirituality, and Voice: Verburg and Bakhtin on Speaking and Hearing’ in D. I. Smith & T. A. Osborn (eds.) Spirituality, Social Justice and Language Learning, Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing (2007) : 155-170.

‘Does God dwell in the Detail? How Faith Affects (Language) Teaching Processes.’ In R. Edlin & J. Ireland (eds.) Engaging the Culture: Christians at Work in Education, Blacktown, NSW: NICE (2006): 131-152.

'The Charis Project: Spiritual and Moral Development Across the Curriculum.' In R. Sutcliffe (ed.), Teaching and Learning about Values: Resources in the Developing Curriculum, London: VEC (2000): 29-36.

'Spirituality and Teaching Methods: Uneasy Bedfellows?' in R. Best (ed.) Education for Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development. London, Continuum (2000):52-67.

'Modern Languages.' (with S. Dobson) In S. Bigger & E. Brown (eds). Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Education: Exploring Values in the Curriculum. London: David Fulton (1999): 98-108.

'Culture, Conflict & Communication: The Troubled Waters of Modern Language Pedagogy.' In D. Blomberg & I. Lambert (eds.), Reminding: Renewing the Mind in Learning. Sydney: CSAC (1998): 52-76.

'Beyond Yesterday: Facing the Challenge of Educational Change.' In J. G. Shortt & T. Cooling (eds.), Agenda for Educational Change, Leicester: Apollos (1997): 24-38.

Journal Articles
'Coral Gardens and Classroom Ecology', Journal of Christianity and Foreign Languages 7, (Spring 2006), 87-90.

'The Poet, the Child and the Blackbird: Aesthetic Reading and Spiritual Development,' International Journal of Children's Spirituality 9:2 (2004): 143-154.

'Technology and Pedagogical Meaning: Lessons from the Language Classroom,' Christian Scholar's Review 33:4 (2004): 511-526.

'Contours of Religion, Scholarship and Higher Education,' Journal of Education and Christian Belief 7:2 (2003): 157-170.

'Spiritual Development in the Language Classroom: Interpreting the National Curriculum,' Language Learning Journal 26 (2002): 36-42.

'Incarnation, Education and the Boundaries of Metaphor,' Journal of Christian Education 45:1 (2002): 7-18.

'Editorial: Reflections on Authenticity,' Journal of Christianity and Foreign Languages 3 (2002): 3-9. Read Online

'The Bible and education: Ways of construing the relationship,' Themelios 26:2 (2001):29-42. Reprinted in Journal of Education and Christian Belief 5:2 (2001):119-133.

'Christian Belief and the Spirituality of Education,' Whitefield Briefing 6:3 (2001).

'Gates Unlocked and Gardens of Delight: Comenius on Piety, Persons and Language Learning,' Christian Scholar's Review 30:2 (2000): 207-232.

'Metaphor, Scripture and education,' (with J. Shortt, T. Cooling) Journal of Christian Education 43(1) (2000): 22-28.

'Faith and Method in Foreign Language Pedagogy,' Journal of Christianity and Foreign Languages 1 (2000): 7-25.

'Secularism, Religion and Spiritual Development.' Journal of Beliefs and Values 21:1 (2000):27-38.

'Cross-curricular Spiritual and Moral Development: Reflections on the Charis Project.' Journal of Christian Education 42:2 (1999):27-34.

'Knowing as Wisdom in Blomberg and Comenius.' Journal of Education and Christian Belief 2:1 (1998): 27-37.

'In Search of the Whole Person: Critical Reflections on Community Language Learning.' Journal of Research on Christian Education 6:2 (1997): 159-181.

'Beyond Accord: Can 'Spiritual Development' Move us Forward?' Journal of Education and Christian Belief 1:1 (1997): 33-46.

'Communication and Integrity: Moral Development and Modern Languages.' Language Learning Journal 15 (1997): 31-35

'What Hope After Babel? Diversity and Community in Gen 11:1-9, Exod 1:1-14, Zeph 3:1-13 and Acts 2:1-13.' Horizons in Biblical Theology 18:2 (1996):169-191.

'Rediscovering a Heritage: Lull, Bacon and the Aims of Language Teaching.' Spectrum 28:1 (1996): 9-28.

'Christian Thinking in Education Reconsidered.' Spectrum 27:1 (1995): 9-24.

'Can Modern Language Teaching Be Christian?' Spectrum 25:1 (1993): 25-38.

Also various popular articles. See, for example, a recent article on foreign language textbooks.

Download (pdf) a recent public lecture on Christian education, exploring how faith relates to the teaching process.