Nov. 27-29, over 800 Christian educators attended the ACSI International Christian Educator Conference in Hong Kong. Conference plenary speakers included Gary Chapman,  Bruce Lockerbie, Bridget Mary Aitchison, David Sun, and Phil Callaway.

Conference participants attended over 150 workshops, including 2 Close the Gap Now workshops:

• Ask Good Questions
• Assessment Helps Your Students Learn

The conference was held at International Christian School.

"Help Your Students Make Connections Between What They Study and What the Bible Teaches" by Michael Essenburg was recently published in ACSI's World Report. The article describes a process teachers can use to identify the relevant Biblical principles they want students to connect to course content and skills.

On August 7, the teachers of International Christian School (Hong Kong) continued their efforts to help their students understand and apply a Biblical perspective by focusing on the 4 Biblical perspective fundamentals:

1. Targeting Biblical perspective
   
2. Asking Biblical perspective questions
   
3. Assessing understanding and application of a Biblical perspective
   
4. Meeting student learning needs

During this Close the Gap Now workshop, participants:

• Considered questions: What’s exciting about helping students apply a Biblical perspective? Why does God ask questions? How does assessment affect student learning?
  
• Identified Biblical perspective questions they will ask students.
  
• Developed assessments using the 4 characteristics of an effective Biblical perspective assessment.
  
• Developed a plan to meet 1 student learning need regarding understanding and using a Biblical perspective.

“Use Assessment to Increase Student Use of a Biblical Perspective of Course Content"  by Michael Essenburg was published in ACSI's World Report.

“Measure Mission Achievement” by Michael Essenburg was published in ACSI's World Report.

On Feb. 8, 25 Mountainview International staff completed a Close the Gap Now workshop, focusing on increasing student understanding and application of a Biblical perspective by using questions, using assessment, and meeting student needs.

During the workshops, participants considered questions:

• Why does God ask questions?
  
• What makes a good question good?
  
• How can you use your Biblical perspective questions effectively?
  
• How can assessment increase your students’ understanding and application of a Biblical perspective?
  
• How can you meet your students’ learning needs?
  
• How will you use what you have learned?

As a result of the workshop, participants commented:

• “I need to change the focus of my teaching from simply facts-based to more critical thinking and Biblical perspective teaching.”
  
• “I realize I need to understand how God sees my subject and approach it from that view.”
  
• “An insight I had is that Biblical integration can be both relevant and intentional.”

Jan. 3-5, Christian educators attended the ACSI International Christian Educator Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Conference keynote speakers included Joseph Kim, Dave Wilcox, and Donald Lichi.

Conference participants attended a variety of workshops, including 4 Close the Gap Now workshops:

• What Do You Want Your Students to Understand, Be Able to Do, and Value?
  
• How Well Are Your Students Achieving Your Student Learning Outcomes?
  
• Use Assessment to Measure and Increase Student Understanding and Application of a Biblical Perspective
  
• Meet Student Learning Needs to Increase Student Application of a Biblical Perspective

The conference closed with a banquet held at Pan American Christian Academy.

ov. 8-10, Christian educators attended ACSI’s International Christian Educator Conference in Bangkok, Thailand. Speakers included Bruce Hekman, Isabel Searson, Harlan Lyso, Tom Penland, Dave Wilcox, and Michael Essenburg (of Close the Gap Now).

Following workshops on community and school improvement, conference participants attended 2 Close the Gap Now workshops that focused on biblical perspective:

• Use Assessment to Measure and Increase Student Understanding and Application of a Biblical Perspective
  
• Meet Student Learning Needs to Increase Student Application of a Biblical Perspective

The conference closed with a visit to the International Community School of Bangkok.