Understanding Bible by Design: Create Courses with Purpose (Seminarium Elements)

Todays seminary and religious-education instructors are expected to design and redesign their courses more nimbly than in the past. We have to adapt our courses to novel learning environments, for more diverse learners, toward more diverse vocations. At the same time, institutional rewards for time invested in course design are fewer than ever. Understanding Bible by Design introduces the reader to Understanding by Design: an approach to course design that is proven time-efficient and grounded in the instructors most closely-held convictions about her subject matters big ideas and essential questions. This books contributors (one in Old Testament, one in New Testament, and one in Jewish Studies) demonstrate the value of Understanding Bible by Design for the Biblical Studies instructor, whether at seminary or university, face-to-face or online, from the intimate seminar to the massive MOOC.

Lesters synopsis of course design and suggested action is followed by a collaborative dialogue with Jane S. Webster and Christopher M. Jones. Webster and Jones provide practical commentary regarding the successful implementation of Lesters proposed approaches. As a group, Lester, Webster, and Jones create a text that extends pedagogical innovation in inspiring but practical ways.

Christopher M. Jones is visiting assistant professor of religious studies at Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin, where he teaches courses in early Jewish literature and theoretical approaches to religion. He holds a PhD in Hebrew and Semitic Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MTS in Old Testament from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.

Jane S. Webster is professor of religious studies and director of faculty development at Barton College in Wilson, North Carolina. She is the author of Ingesting Jesus: Eating and Drinking in the Gospel of John and co-editor of Teaching the Bible in the Liberal Arts Classroom and Lady Parts: Biblical Women and The Vagina Monologues.

G. Brooke Lester is assistant professor of Hebrew Scriptures and director for emerging pedagogies at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. He curates and blogs at Seminarium and anumma.com.