Big theological questions : using inquiry-based pedagogy in teaching theology and religion to undergraduate students
Title
Big theological questions : using inquiry-based pedagogy in teaching theology and religion to undergraduate students
Subject
VTS Thesis Collection
Faith development
Religious education of young people
Young people -- religious life
Description
By Tracy Wenger Sadd. -- "The purpose of this study was to test whether or not using inquiry-based pedagogies, specifically big questions inquiry and appreciative inquiry, to teach Christian theology and religion in an undergraduate first-year seminar course would result in experimental group students reporting increased development of their inner lives and also greater advancements in interfaith understanding and bridge-building behaviors, regardless of the students’ religious or non-religious affiliations, as opposed to comparison group students. This research was conducted over a two-year period, from the students’ entry into college until the end of the students’ sophomore year.
The quantitative results suggest that an inquiry-based pedagogy applied to the teaching of theology and religion can advance students’ spiritual development or enhance their “inner lives” if spiritual development and inner lives are defined in the following ways: Being more aware of who I am, being able to clearly articulate my beliefs, increased curiosity, increased spiritual quest, increased happiness, increased satisfaction with self, finding a sense of what makes life meaningful, and finding a sense of purpose in life. The quantitative results also suggest that an inquiry-based pedagogy applied to the teaching of theology and religion can increase students’ dispositions and behaviors related to what Alexander Astin, Helen Astin, and Jennifer Lindholm call “ecumenical worldview,” and what Eboo Patel calls pluralistic bridge-building behaviors.
...
As a result of this research, the national chaplains networks should consider possible student learning outcomes for student spiritual development, as well as standardizing some best practices for inviting students not only to learn facts about the religions of the world, but also for inviting students to reflect to on their own religious beliefs or non-religious philosophies, not just as systems or institutions of thought and practices, but also as personal theologies or philosophies of life." -- (Abstract)
The quantitative results suggest that an inquiry-based pedagogy applied to the teaching of theology and religion can advance students’ spiritual development or enhance their “inner lives” if spiritual development and inner lives are defined in the following ways: Being more aware of who I am, being able to clearly articulate my beliefs, increased curiosity, increased spiritual quest, increased happiness, increased satisfaction with self, finding a sense of what makes life meaningful, and finding a sense of purpose in life. The quantitative results also suggest that an inquiry-based pedagogy applied to the teaching of theology and religion can increase students’ dispositions and behaviors related to what Alexander Astin, Helen Astin, and Jennifer Lindholm call “ecumenical worldview,” and what Eboo Patel calls pluralistic bridge-building behaviors.
...
As a result of this research, the national chaplains networks should consider possible student learning outcomes for student spiritual development, as well as standardizing some best practices for inviting students not only to learn facts about the religions of the world, but also for inviting students to reflect to on their own religious beliefs or non-religious philosophies, not just as systems or institutions of thought and practices, but also as personal theologies or philosophies of life." -- (Abstract)
Creator
Sadd, Tracy Wenger
Source
See record for print version in VTS Library Catalog.
Publisher
Virginia Theological Seminary
Date
03/2015
Rights
© Copyright 2015, Tracy Wenger Sadd.
Files
- Date Added
- June 21, 2017
- Collection
- VTS Doctoral Theses
- Citation
- Sadd, Tracy Wenger, “Big theological questions : using inquiry-based pedagogy in teaching theology and religion to undergraduate students,” Bishop Payne Library at Virginia Theological Seminary, accessed April 28, 2024, https://vtsbpl.omeka.net/items/show/1.