Teaching is a noble profession (pardon the cliché). Is teaching a sacred profession? How do our faith commitments shape our interactions with students? How do we fulfill Baylor’s Pro Ecclesia calling in the classroom? To explore these and related questions, the Institute for Faith and Learning and the Academy for Teaching and Learning are pleased to continue our monthly faculty luncheon series titled, “Engaging Faith: Teaching and Learning at Baylor.” Participation for each seminar is limited to the first 15 registrants. Lunch will be provided courtesy of the IFL and ATL. Spring seminar topics and registration information appear below.
Spring 2013 Engaging Faith Seminars
Spring 2013 Engaging Faith Seminars will focus on Baylor’s aspiration to “provide transformational education that increases students’ desire for wisdom, understanding of calling, and preparation for service in a diverse and interconnected global society” (Pro Futuris).
Thursday, February 21 | 12:30-1:30
TRANSFORMATIONAL EDUCATION: Pedagogy and the Christian University
Green Room, McMullen-Connally Faculty Center
Does pedagogy matter at a Christian university? Guest speaker Dr. David Smith (Calvin College) contends that, while often overlooked, the practice of teaching is a vital component of educating students for wisdom. Teaching animated by faith invites a distinctive pedagogy informed by practices definitive of the Christian tradition—practices that open students to the rich formation that accompanies true scholarship. Smith is director of the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning at Calvin College. Recognized as an expert in the field of Christian pedagogy, he speaks internationally to educators from grade school through higher education and serves as an editor of both the Journal of Higher Education and Christian Belief and the Journal of Christianity and Foreign Languages. His most recent book is Teaching and Christian Practices: Reshaping Faith and Learning (edited with James K. A. Smith).
Monday, April 8 | 12:30-1:30
VOCATION and SERVICE: Serving God, Serving Others
Green Room, McMullen-Connally Faculty Center
How might educational and vocational commitments translate into service? Ask the Doyles. Dr. Eva Doyle (HHPR) and Dr. Robert Doyle (Biology) embrace experiential learning as a primary tool for professional preparation and development. By compelling learners to engage in service learning experiences, the Doyles seek to deepen conceptual understanding, enhance practical skills, promote leadership, and transform the meaning of service. The Doyles will describe several service learning activities they engage in with Baylor students each summer in Brazil.
