Abstract for Session 5B

“The ‘Received Course’: Following Practices in the Core Curriculum,” Glenn Sanders (Oklahoma Baptist University)

Abstract
Teachers who attempt to apply Christian practices in a well-established core course face several obstacles.  They may not have complete control of the course’s goals and content.  Broad institutional goals demand consideration, and  such goals may even determine pedagogy.  The expectations and standards of the particular discipline can have influence.  Finally, student expectations about the goals, methods, and results of the college classroom can limit a teacher’s options.

Given such a “received” core course, how might the application of practices proceed?  A fifteen-month attempt revealed seven interrelated goals and corresponding applications of practices that suggest a useful typology.  Two applications in particular clearly influenced both teaching and learning: the use of Christian practices as “interpretative lenses” in teaching the humanities, and the conscious effort to draw on Christian ideas about community in the development of classroom assignments and pedagogies.

A brief recounting of my efforts to draw on Christian practices will suggest the parts of the typology and how they came together.  The presentation will then describe how Christian practices can serve as “interpretative lenses,” drawing on student responses to suggest positive effects.  Finally, the narrative of application will suggest how a colleague and I attempted consciously to focus on Christian community-building as a way to improve learning.

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Abstract for Session 5C

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