Dan Beerens, vice president of learning services at Christian Schools International, focuses on Christian education in his blog Nurturing Faith. In this blog entry, he writes about using case studies.

There it was on the front page of our local paper – the graduation speaker at a local high school telling students the oldest untruth in history – “…seniors told they’re ‘the boss’ of the journey that awaits them.” I wondered how many people reading it thought “That’s not right.” How many people’s “there’s something wrong with this worldview” detectors went off? I know mine did. It was the same line that Satan gave to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden…and it is still in heavy use today.

The basic problem of most worldviews outside of the Christian worldview is that they place man at the center as opposed to God/Jesus. 

Let’s look at four examples:
(1) Moral relativism – what I believe about truth is a personal preference, there is no absolute truth – a popular philosophy in the age of postmodernism where all beliefs, values, behaviors, and ideas are seen as being equally valid. This philosophical position is reflected in Smith and Denton’s assertion that the predominant religious view of today’s youth (see my post of 11/11/06) can be labeled “moral therapeutic deism.” This concept helps to explain why we have such a large number of people professing Christ in this country, but not accepting the truth claims of Jesus and not dealing with the issue of making him Lord – a cheap grace position that does not count the cost of discipleship. Evangelicals with a worldview who are dealing with Lordship issues make a difference. Therefore this is the hard stuff, the Lordship piece that we must take on with our kids.

(2) Materialism – our culture reflects a “get all I can for me” mentality. In a fascinating book called The Progress Paradox Gregg Easterbrook points out that “the percentage of Americans who describe themselves as ‘happy’ has not budged since the 1950’s, though the typical person’s real income more than doubled through that period.” Are we demonstrating something different to our kids? Materialism leads to isolation and leads away from community and submission to others. Materialism needs to be countered by gratitude and humility.

(3) Utopianism – the belief that human nature is basically good and the existence of sin is denied – one of the main findings of the Smith and Denton study is the belief by teens that “good people go to heaven when they die.”

(4) Fatalism – “whatever will be, will be”, a “this world only” perspective. Smith and Denton refer to teens who lack a “morally significant universe.” These are youth who have not received or have rejected strong moral grounding. In his book The Road to Whatever: Middle Class Culture and the Crisis of Adolescence Elliot Currie paints a bleak picture of these type of middle class students who have been raised in high demand, low support homes and who then turn to drug use, binge drinking, destructive violence, and suicide as a respond to a culture that doesn’t seem to care.

If we accept the research/thinking of Barna (and others throughout history) that a child’s spiritual identity is mostly set by age thirteen, then what does this mean for us as school and church educators dealing with the issue of worldview? Where should we be putting our efforts?

Colson has pointed out that there are four basic questions that everyone deals with in constructing their worldview:

• Where did I come from?
• Why am I here?
• Where am I going?
• Does life have any meaning and purpose?
• How will we help our youth deal with these questions?

A helpful teaching tool that has been used in business, law, and medicine has been thecase study. Case studies are basically stories with an educational message. They deal specifically with people in action and the consequences of their actions and behavior. Case studies help us compare what values are being applied and what worldview is being advanced. The example at the beginning of this post could be considered a simple case study.

Here's a set of DRAW questions you can use for a discussion of “What engaging instructional strategies will help your students?”
 
Define: Get the facts defined.

1. What are your students like?
2. What are your students studying?
3. What connections are your students making between what they study and what the Bible teaches?

Respond: Get the facts responded to in terms of feelings/experiences.

1. What do you students do when they are engaged/disengaged during a lesson?
2. How do you feel when your students are engaged/disengaged during a lesson?

Analyze: Get the facts, feelings, and experiences analyzed.

1. How does being engaged help students learn?
2. How does being engaged help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches?
3. What engages/disengages your students?
4. What instructional strategies disengage your students?
5. What instructional strategies engage your students?

What’s next?: Get next steps considered.

1. What engaging instructional strategy will you use?
2. How will using this instructional strategy help your students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches?

Here's a set of DRAW questions you can use for a discussion of “How can you meet student learning needs?”
 
Define: Get the facts defined.

1. What are your students like?
2. What are your students studying?
3. What connections are your students making between what they study and what the Bible teaches?

Respond: Get the facts responded to in terms of feelings/experiences.

1. How do your students feel about connecting what they study and what the Bible teaches?
2. What encourages/discourages you about how your students are connecting what they study and what the Bible teaches? 

Analyze: Get the facts, feelings, and experiences analyzed.

1. What helps/hinders your students connecting what they study and what the Bible teaches?
2. Which student learning needs do your students have?
3. Which student learning need would you like to meet?
4. What are some ways you could meet this student learning need? 

What’s next?: Get next steps considered.

1. What action step will you take to meet this student learning need?
2. How will this action step help your students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches?
3. When will you take this action step?

Key idea: Understanding how you teach from a Biblical perspective helps your students understand and apply a Biblical perspective.
 
Meet 2 of your students:

• EunHae comes from a Christian home, is a pastor’s kid, and has always attended Christian schools. She didn’t reach her potential on your last Biblical perspective assessment, and she doesn’t seem to understand how you teach from a Biblical perspective.
• Thomas comes from a non-Christian home, has parents who work in the business world, and is attending a Christian school for the first time. He didn’t reach his potential on your last Biblical perspective assessment, and he doesn’t seem to understand how you teach from a Biblical perspective.

Question: How can you help EunHae and Thomas do better on the next Biblical perspective assessment?
 
Answer: By helping them understand how you teach from a Biblical perspective—which, in turn, helps them understand what Biblical perspective is and how to apply it.
 
Question: How can you help EunHae and Thomas understand how you teach from a Biblical perspective?
 
Answer: Simple. Just explain how you teach from a Biblical perspective. For example:

• When teaching short stories (like “How Much Land Does a Man Need?”), explain that you selected the stories because you want them to see that material possessions will never satisfy a person.
• When assigning groups, explain that God made us to work together—so that’s why you’re assigning groups.
• When asking essential questions (like “What’s wrong with the world?”), explain that you are asking questions because questions help them use God’s gift of thinking and because you want them to grapple with creation-fall-redemption-restoration.

Meet your students’ learning needs. Help your students understand how you teach from a Biblical perspective. Today.

Dan Beerens, vice president of learning services at Christian Schools International, focuses on Christian education in his blog Nurturing Faith. In this blog entry, he writes about helping students address difficulties and dilemmas.

Powerful opportunities – teachable moments – as teachers and administrators we crave these times when it seems every student’s eye, ear, and heart is hyper tuned to the subject at hand. However, sometimes we find ourselves in circumstances we would never hope for, yet provide teachable moments that will never be forgotten…. 

I will never forget the response of prayer by my teachers in my childhood days following the assassination of national leaders and the sudden tragic death of a fellow student’s father in an accident. These are times when our words and actions are extraordinarily important in terms of how we reveal our own faith and shape the faith of those for whom we are responsible. It is our responsibility to make sure that we are equipped and ready for these situations of life difficulty whenever they may emerge with students….
 
Dilemmas are more problematic because we are making choices between potentially unpleasant outcomes. Dilemmas also reveal our character and belief systems, leaving us open to criticism by those who judge our decisions and actions. We need to teach students how to make tough decisions when faced with dilemmas – what will be the guiding principles for them on which to base their decision? As Christians we believe the Bible is that source of truth for discernment.

Dan Beerens, vice president of learning services at Christian Schools International, focuses on Christian education in his blog Nurturing Faith. In this blog entry, he writes about reflective writing, an instructional strategy you can use to help your students connect what they study and Biblical teaching.

One of the best and most popular practices that teachers can use to encourage student faith development is the strategy of reflective writing. Reflective writing assignments help students to think more deeply about life and to make sense of it. As Thackeray said, “There are thousands of thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up the pen and writes.”

The writing process helps connect the writer to their inner life – to their own emotions, beliefs, and forces them to make thoughts and ideas concrete. When we write something we are forced to try to articulate what it is we want to convey. This practice is an opportunity to connect a student’s head with their heart, to ask them to bring expression to what they understand and what they believe. It is one of the better ways for teachers to understand a student’s thinking and thought process – their mind and heart….

Reflective writing is a very significant tool for Christian educators to connect head and heart. When this practice is used over time it can demonstrate to students their journey of spiritual growth.

To help your students better connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, DEAL with your students’ learning needs:

• Define your students’ learning needs.
• Explore the how you can respond to your students’ learning needs.
• Act.
• Look at the results.