MOODLING THE INTRO COURSE
R. F. LUMPP
RMGP AAR/SBL REGIONAL
ILIFF SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
MARCH 19, 2011
1
IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD TIME FOR THE IDEA
• CURRICULUM CHANGE (From essence to
existence)
• GENERATION CHANGE (Millennial Sociality
and SBNR)
• PEDAGOGICAL CHALLENGE (Sensibility)
• DEVELOPING TECHNOLOGY (It’s there…and
not going away)
• NEW FIELD PERSPECTIVES (Mazuzawa +
from “about” to “with”)
2
CURRICULUM CHANGE
(From essence to existence)
• NEW REGIS COLLEGE CORE EMPHASIZING
CATHOLIC AND JESUIT IDENTITY AND
MISSION
(“How ought we to live?”)
• “RELIGION AND THE HUMAN QUEST”
• INCREASEDEMPHASIS ON ROLE OF
RELIGIOUS STUDIES IN CORE CURRICULUM
3
PEDAGOGICAL CHALLENGE
(Sensibility)
• Varied learning styles (MBTI)
• Don’t care for chalk and talk
• Prefer listening to one another
than listening to faculty
• Enjoy and expect variety
• Shorter attention span
4
PEDAGOGICAL CHALLENGE
(Sensibility)
• May need remediation in
school skills
• Don’t see relationship
between school and life
• CSAP: taught to the test
• May resist relevance
5
GENERATION CHANGE
(Millennial Sociality and SBNR)
•
•
•
•
Social Networking
Less tradition knowledge
Shrinking Planet
Enjoy group work, especially if it’s not goal
oriented
• Expect immediacy
• Etc.
6
DEVELOPING TECHNOLOGY
(It’s there…and not going away)
• Like flexibility of online work
• Difficulty prioritizing
information
• Need help with linear
organization
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NEW FIELD PERSPECTIVES
• Tomoko Masuzawa. THE INVENTION OF
WORLD RELIGIONS
• SBNR
• DIVERSITY IN COMMUNITY AND
RELATIONSHIPS
• DIALOGUE (knowing with) over KNOWLEDGE
ABOUT
• SHOPPING FOR LIFE RELEVANCE, APPLICATION
• Etic vs. emic
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FOCAL QUESTIONS
• WHAT DO WE NEED TO BE IN THE SAME
PLACE FOR?
• WHAT KINDS OF ASSIGNMENTS BEST
ENCOURAGE ENGAGEMENT, LEARNING?
• HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH FOR AN INTRO?
• WHAT SLOs ARE MOST ASSESSABLE?
• WHAT RESOURCES ARE MOST EFFECTIVE?
(Textbooks vs. Wikis and YouTubes)
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FOCAL QUESTIONS
• WHAT CLASSROOM FORMATS WORK
BEST?
• HOW MUCH STUDENT REPORT AND
PRESENTATION?
• ORAL VS. WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS?
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FOUR SEGMENTS
1. BASIC PHILOSOPHY OF
‘RELIGION’
2. ICONS OF RELATIONSHIPS,
SOCIETY, COMMUNITY
3. ICONS OF COSMOS
4. ICONS OF HUMAN DESTINY
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THE “PLAN”
FOUR SEGMENTS:
1. BASIC PHILOSOPHY OF “RELIGION
History and etymology
Definition: “Religion”=
Intensive and Comprehensive Valuing
Committed and holistic life-quest
Vocabulary: holy, sacred, power, tradition...
Plato’s Cave and Line
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State of Mind
Mental Activity
Object/Outcome
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ICONS OF COSMOS
• SIMPLE COSMOLOGICAL EXPRESSIONS
– Chant, dance, and contingency
• LAKOTA STAR COSMOLOGY AND LIFE STYLE
– Directions, experience, value
– Constellations, geography and seasons
– Wakan
– Tipi and Sun Dance
• UNITY OF CHINESE EXPERIENCE
• LAO TZE excerpts from TAO TE CHING
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ICONS OF RELATIONSHIP, SOCIETY,
COMMUNITY
• INDIA:
– VARNA/CASTE: work and social organization
– HOLY COWS: Indian ecology and economy
• CONFUCIUS: Deliberate tradition and social
cohesion
• EXODUS 20: Treaty/Covenant and community
– Formation of community
• FIVE PILLARS: The architecture of community
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ICONS OF HUMAN DESTINY
• YOGA: the quest/search and human
differences
• 4 NOBLE TRUTHS/8 FOLD PATH
• ZEN & JODO
• KINGDOM OF GOD
• Passover/Sabbath, etc
• KINGDOM OF GOD
•
Holy Week
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