Teaching and Christian Practices: Reshaping Faith and Learning - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802866859 ISBN 13: 9780802866851

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2011

Synopsis

In Teaching and Christian Practices several university professors describe and reflect on their efforts to allow historic Christian practices to reshape and redirect their pedagogical strategies. Whether allowing spiritually formative reading to enhance a literature course, employing table fellowship and shared meals to reinforce concepts in a pre-nursing nutrition course, or using Christian hermeneutical practices to interpret data in an economics course, these teacher-authors envision ways of teaching and learning that are rooted in the rich tradition of Christian practices, as together they reconceive classrooms and laboratories as vital arenas for faith and spiritual growth.

About this title

About the Author

David I. Smith is director of the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning, Calvin College, and associate professor of German at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

James K. A. Smith is associate professor of philosophy at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and executive director of the Society of Christian Philosophers. His books include Desiring the Kingdom, The Devil Reads Derrida, and Who's Afraid of Postmod

Review

Perry L. Glanzer
— Baylor University
“Christian professors who seek to integrate their faith into their teaching often lack wise guides. Fortunately, David I. Smith and James K. A. Smith here provide a work in which thoughtful Christian teachers lead readers through reflections upon their own efforts to transform their pedagogical habits by incorporating unique Christian practices. As I read and pondered these insightful stories, I found myself constantly rethinking my own teaching routines. This book represents Christian educational philosophy at its practical best.”

Craig Dykstra and Dorothy C. Bass (from foreward)
"If you want to see great teaching in action, read this book. If you believe that college classes can be communities of learning where knowledge of self, others, and the world is sought in response to God’s call and the world’s need, read this book. If you yearn for pedagogical wisdom capable of sustaining resistance to consumerist and instrumentalist pressures on teaching and learning, read this book. . . . This excellent book is one of the best we have ever read on the subject of pedagogy. It is also one of the best we know on the subject of Christian practices."

Religious Studies Review
“This is now the go-to volume for inspiring — as a first step rather than a final word — more holistic pedagogies what will make a difference for teachers and students, for teaching, and learning, within the Christian higher educational context.”
 
Midwest Book Review
“A thoughtful resource for examining the harmonious and potentially beneficial side of the co-existence between faith and pedagogy.”
 
Journal of Adult Theological Education
“A stimulating book and a challenging one.”
 

Edition details

• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0802866859
• ISBN 13: 9780802866851
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 237
• Editor: Smith David I., Smith James K. A.