Here's a set of DRAW questions you can use for a discussion of “How can you design assessments so that your students connect a Biblical perspective with their lives?”
 
Define: Get the facts defined.
In the past week or unit, what connections did your student make between…

1. Course content and life?
2. Course content and the Bible?

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

1. What’s comfortable/uncomfortable about having your students connect course content and life? course content and the Bible? course content, the Bible, and life?
2. What’s comfortable/uncomfortable for your students in terms of connecting course content and life? course content and the Bible? course content, the Bible, and life?

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

1. How does making connections impact student learning?
2. How does connecting course content and the Bible help students apply a Biblical perspective?
3. How might connecting course content, the Bible, and life help students apply a Biblical perspective?

What’s next?: Get next steps considered.

1. What questions can you ask your students?
2. How can you use questions to help your students love God?

Your students’ objective is to better connect what they study and God’s story of creation-fall-redemption-restoration. You want to help your students achieve their objective. Good.

Now what? Help your students achieve their objective by meeting 1 of their learning needs.

Question: What are you students’ learning needs? To identify your students’ learning needs, review the list of 10 questions below. Note which questions you think you need to answer in order to meet your students’ learning needs:

1. How can you help your students see the importance of creation-fall-redemption-restoration?
2. How can you help your students understand that creation-fall-redemption-restoration can be connected to course content?
3. How can you show your students what connecting course content and creation-fall-redemption-restoration looks like?
4. How can you help your students understand how you teach using creation-fall-redemption-restoration?
5. What vocabulary words do your students need to learn?
6. What engaging instructional strategies will help your students?
   
7. How can you give your students opportunities to think through answers for themselves?
8. How can you provide time during class for reflection?
9. How can you design assessments so that your students connect creation-fall-redemption-restoration with their lives?
10. How can you give your students more practice?

Take action: Answer 1 of the questions you noted. Then use your answer. You might be tempted to answer more than 1 question. Don’t. Keep it simple and doable. Just answer 1 question—then use your 1 answer.

Remember, the goal is not to have an answer. The goal is to use your answer to help your students connect what they study and creation-fall-redemption-restoration. 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.

You hear a student say: “To really get this Biblical perspective stuff, I need to connect the Bible with my life, not just with what I study in class. If teachers would give me chances to connect the Bible with my life–my music, my relationships, my problems—I think I could get it. One of my homeschooler friends got to analyze a favorite song from a Biblical perspective. That sounds pretty cool.”

You think: “I want my students to apply a Biblical perspective to what they study. That’s a big challenge. This is school, so isn’t getting students to apply a Biblical perspective to what they study good enough? I don’t know that I’m up to helping kids connect Biblical perspective, course content, and their lives. But come to think of it, when I’ve done this, kids come alive. I wonder what I can do.”

Your goal: You want your students to increase their understanding and application of a Biblical perspective. (You recognize that the more your students connect a Biblical perspective, course content, and their lives, the more likely they are to get it.)

Your reality: You decide to take a good look at your current practice. You start by looking at 5 of your assessment prompts, figuring that this is a good way to gauge how often you have students connect Biblical perspective, course content, and their lives. You notice that your assessment prompts require students to connect Biblical perspective to course content, but not to their lives.

So, you talk to colleagues about adding “life” to your assessment prompts, and they share some of their assessment prompts. You read the prompts, highlighting the “life” sections:
You think: I can do that. I can add “life” to my assessment prompts. Then, if I teach to my prompts, students will have practice connecting Biblical perspective, course content, and their lives—during lessons and on assessments!

Question: In a given unit, what part of your students’ lives can you ask them to apply a Biblical perspective to?

• Books
  
• Co-curricular activities
  
• Current events
  
• Fashion
  
• Hobbies
  
• Internet
  
• Life experiences
  
• Life goals
  
• Money
  
• Movies
  
• Music
  
• Relationships
  
• School issues
  
• TV
  
• Other: ______________________________

Your will dos: You have a goal. You have reflected on your reality and options. Now is the time to act. What are you going to do? Having a goal and reflecting on your reality and options does not result in your students seeing this as important. Taking action does.

Here are 3 possible action steps:

1. Modify an existing assessment prompt so that it requires your students to connect Biblical perspective, course content, and their lives.
   
2. Modify your unit content map so that it includes the content and skills your students need in order to do your assessment.
   
3. Prepare your students for the assessment by teaching the revised unit content/skills.

Help your students connect Biblical perspective, course content, and their lives. Today.

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Teachers, to what extent does this describe your thinking? Principals, to what extent does this describe your teachers’ thinking?

To really get this, I need to connect the Bible with my life, not just with what I teach in class. If I could connect the Bible with my daily life, I think I could get a better handle on teaching from a Biblical perspective. I read about current events, and I’m not always sure how the Bible applies.

If the above describes your thinking or the thinking of your staff, what are 5 things you could do to connect the Bible with your life? Pick one and implement it. Today.