Discussion Questions
-
Explain, in your own words, Dr. Black’s visual of a book in the middle of two Bibles. What is she illustrating with this visual?
-
The visual Dr. Black used was powerful. I believe she is illustrating to build your planning or lessons on the foundation of God’s word. When we (the foundation) have God’s word in us we can then take the curriculum and scope and sequence and infuse it with Biblical truth and let God’s light shine through it to finish it off.
-
Dr. Black shared the importance of integrating scripture within our lesson plans, assessments, etc. I agree. As Christian educators we have the responsibility to build a foundation of biblical truth and a belief system. But that is not all. What a blessing to navigate learning in a way that teaches students how to “apply” biblical truth into their daily life.
-
All new knowledge that we are tasked with teaching to students should be surrounded by scripture. I don’t think this necessarily implies that our lessons must always start and end with scripture, but I am sure that will be made clear as the course progresses.
-
I think of the words alpha and omega when I see the visual that Dr. Black provided. We must remember to begin with God’s Word and end with God’s Word. All that we do, all of our materials, and curriculum must fit within the framework of the Bible. We should be asking, “Does all that I have planned to teach line up and fit within the boundaries of biblical truth?”
-
Dr. Black is showing us that as Christian educators we must realize that we begin and end education with the Bible. So it needs to be part of our lessons always.
-
What are some techniques you have used, or currently use, to encourage a growth mindset in yourself?
-
I have always had a growth mindset. My father who is 87 is still learning new things and has been his whole life, so I have followed in his example and read several new books each year so that I am broadening my understanding and learning new things at all times.
-
I try to listen to radio programs, read articles, and of course study the Bible and constantly asking God to teach me and show me “which way to go” “how to live” according to His will and purposes.
-
I think one of the techniques I use to keep a growth mindset is reflection. I need time to reflect in my classroom and in my daily life. It happens all the time, I think back on a lesson and how it can be improved. I also think back on conversations, on my answers and even my attitudes. I try to improve and many times, I have to go back and explain or redo. It is all a constant learning process.
-
I try to learn something new each day from the Bible and from my students that I may be able to carry on throughout the day and learn grow from it. I may even use it to change how a lesson is taught in the next class or how I present materials from that point in the current class.
-
My biggest motivator in keeping a growth mindset is reminding myself that it’s okay if I don’t know something because I may have never been taught that before. I can’t expect myself to have knowledge that has never been passed down, so I must give myself grace and time to either read and study the concept myself or allow someone else to teach me. I also remind myself that it’s better to go ahead and learn something and potentially not agree with it or use it than it is to never learn it and not know if it would have been helpful or not. I’ve never learned something new and then thought “Man, I wish I didn’t have this skill”, but many times I’ve missed an opportunity to grow and later thought “Man, if I had learned this earlier I would be super fluent in it now.”
-
What do you hope to gain from this course?
-
I hope that I will have a better understanding of how to integrate the Bible into my math lessons. I am hoping that I can show my students that many of the most practical lessons of life are in the Bible and so we shouldn’t leave it for only the big questions, but for all the little mundane ones as well.
-
I hope to effectively learn how to integrate the Bible into all of the curriculum I currently use.
-
I hope to gain some knowledge and wisdom to practically teach. I want to have a good testimony in front of my students, I want my content to be saturated with Christian standards and I want my students to be free to learn in my classroom. I like to hear practical examples and ideas that I can understand and use.
-
I hope to gain different ways to integrate Bible into my everyday teaching especially in Math and Science.
-
I hope to gain applicable knowledge and examples of how to effectively integrate Biblical teachings into my lessons. I hope to gain the skills and tools need to help guide me as i prepare lessons and units to make sure I’m instilling a Biblical worldview into my students.