Workshops 2006 - Faith in the Classroom

Faith in the Classroom:
Christian Perspectives on Teaching and Learning

David I. Smith


David I. Smith, Calvin College

July 17-21, 2006

Sponsored by the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning.


Seminar Description
There has been a good deal of discussion in Christian higher education regarding the integration of faith and learning understood as the development of Christian perspectives on the disciplines, but there is less extensive investigation of what it means to teach and learn in a Christian way. Can the processes of teaching and learning, as well as the material itself, be informed by faith? How is our calling as teachers affected by our faith? Does the Christian tradition offer developed answers to this question from which we can still learn in contemporary classrooms?

The goal of this workshop is to provide an opportunity for faculty to explore significant scholarly resources that can frame an understanding of our calling as Christian educators. The approach will involve close interaction with two particular sets of resources, drawing past and present into conversation. Going back to the roots of modern schooling, we will explore the educational reflections of John Amos Comenius, the 17th century Moravian thinker, on the relationship between faith and learning. His influence on modern education has been considerable, and his writings still attract international scholarly attention, yet his profound explorations of a Christian vision of teaching and learning remain unfamiliar to many in North America . Alongside Comenius we will examine various more recent attempts to articulate the calling of the Christian educator, including work from influential Christian educators such as Nicholas Wolterstorff (on pedagogy and justice), Mark Schwehn (on learning and virtue) and Parker Palmer (on the spirituality of teaching and learning).

Some reading will be assigned in preparation for the workshop. Time will also be scheduled in the afternoons during the workshop for individual study. It is recommended that participants come with particular questions that they wish to pursue during the week; there will be an informal opportunity to share progress at the close of the workshop. It is hoped that this workshop will not only enable participants to articulate more clearly the connections between faith and their own teaching, but also inform future scholarly work. This workshop is open to all Christian higher education faculty.

About the Director
David I. Smith is Director of the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning and Associate Professor of German at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is coeditor of the Journal of Education and Christian Belief and the Journal of Christianity and Foreign Languages. He has published widely on Christian education, including the recent books The Gift of the Stranger: Faith, Hospitality and Foreign Language Learning (with Barbara Carvill, Eerdmans, 2000) and The Bible and the Task of Teaching (with John Shortt, The Stapleford Centre, 2002).

Seminars 2006 Index


For further information contact:
Seminars in Christian Scholarship
Calvin College
1855 Knollcrest Circle SE
Grand Rapids MI 49546-4402
616.526.8558
fax 616.526.6682
seminars@calvin.edu