Category: Syllabus

The Recipe: Cooking Up an Integrated Syllabus

Posted on by Kelly Hayes in Biblical Integration, Holy Spirit, Syllabus, Writing

The aim of this post is to offer step-by-step help in creating a biblically integrated syllabus. The syllabus can be described as the plan, the contract, or the map for the whole course. But here I am making the case that you can think of your syllabus as a recipe.

A recipe is the guide for making a dish. It outlines the tools, the heats, the ingredients, and more. Those who follow a clear recipe for a great dish often save themselves from frustration and disappointment. Having a recipe does not guarantee success; executing the meal is still necessary. But it is important to construct  your dish before it goes into the oven. Likewise, it will take the whole year to bake your course, but it should be fully constructed before you add the heat of the school year.

[Note of encouragement: In order to succeed, you do not need to throw away your existing material. This process outlined below is designed to help you improve what you already have.]

Step 1: Picture

It wasn’t always this way, but now most people find their recipes on the internet. Since webpages aren’t limited by space or color, we most often see a beautiful picture of the dish being described. This is usually at the top of the page. Why? Because it is a visual summary of what you can expect if you follow the instructions. Your course description can be thought of in the same way. The course description paints the picture for your class. It shows the students a snapshot of what they are getting into.

So, what does an integrated course description look like? And how do we get there? I engaged the topic of course descriptions in a previous post that is certainly worth reading. Here, like with a recipe, I am simply going to give some clear directions.

First, look at the course description that you have already constructed. If you have not included a course description in your syllabus, it is imperative that you write one. It does not need to be long, and there are many examples that you can access on the internet. Here is the course description/rationale from WRIT201: Intro to Creative Writing from Liberty University.

“The student will learn the literary components, complexity, and craft of creative writing, including how to successfully explicate selected poems, creative nonfiction essays, and short fiction. The student will also learn how to create original works of publishable quality.”

In order to integrate this description, we need to start asking the essential worldview questions that we want the students to be able to answer throughout this course. (For some help, check out this post.)

“The student will learn the literary components, complexity, and craft of creative writing (Why is it important to understand this variety of elements, styles, and means?), including how to successfully explicate selected poems , creative nonfiction essays, and short fiction (Why is it important to understand what an author means? ). The student will also learn how to create original works of publishable quality (Why is it important that we create quality, creative works?).”

These are just a few of the questions that we could ask (others might show the connection and importance of story-telling/fiction to Jesus’ parables, etc.), but these three questions are enough to fuel our integrated course from start to finish. Once we have the essential worldview questions in place, we want to design a biblical framework for answering them.

Our course descriptions must have scriptural basis. We cannot be biblical integrators without using the Bible. A Spirit-led class = A Scripture-led class. God has elected to speak to us through his Word, and we need not look for any other word from Him because the Bible is God-breathed—useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the servant of God will be fully equipped for every good work. His Word is sufficient. And his Word is the only authority for the church. Therefore, if you want God to work and lead and speak in your classroom, make space for his voice—the Bible. Let us not try to make God mute by emptying our syllabi of his words. So, next we investigate some ways in which the Bible speaks to our course questions.

“The student will learn the literary components, complexity, and craft of creative writing (Why is it important to understand this variety of elements, styles, and means? → Because the Bible is made up of many complex units, genres, and styles, and we want to rightly handle the Word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15.), including how to successfully explicate selected poems , creative nonfiction essays, and short fiction (Why is it important to understand what an author means? → Because God is the ultimate Author who speaks to us through the written Word, and we want to understand what He means. 2 Pet 1:20-21.). The student will also learn how to create original works of publishable quality (Why is it important that we create quality, creative works? → Because disciples are to teach all the things that Jesus taught, and He taught thoughtfully and creatively. Matt 28:18-20.).”

We are nearly done with our course description. Now we take out the essential questions, but leave the responses and Scripture references.

“The student will learn the literary components, complexity, and craft of creative writing because the Bible is made up of many complex units, genres, and styles, and we want to rightly handle the Word of truth (2 Tim 2:15). This will include how to successfully explicate selected poems, creative nonfiction essays, and short fiction because God is the ultimate Author who speaks to us through the written Word, and we want to understand what He means (2 Pet 1:20-21). The student will also learn how to create original works of publishable quality because disciples are to teach all the things that Jesus taught, and He taught thoughtfully and creatively (Matt 28:18-20).”

Now that is a nicely integrated course description! And every other portion of the syllabus flows easily from there.

Step 2: Pieces

The next part of a recipe (after the picture) is a list of ingredients—getting all the pieces together. The syllabus should have a list of assessments, projects, etc. as well. These are your course ingredients.

For our Creative Writing class, we might have a list of assignments that looks like this:

Quizzes – 30%. Students will be tested on vocabulary, knowledge, and ability to recognize different genres/literary devices.

Analysis Paper – 30%. Students will choose an piece of approved literature to research and explicate. They will note the literary tools used to express worldview ideas in order to understand the rationale and aim of the author’s art.

Creative Essays – 40%. Students will demonstrate their understanding of by writing short, personal essays that employ techniques discussed in class.

Your syllabus likely already has something like this laid out within it. In order to integrate this section, simply take the questions that you asked in the course description and add them to the appropriate assignment as an essential integration question like so:

Quizzes – 30%. Students will be tested on vocabulary, knowledge, and ability to recognize different genres/literary devices. (Essential Integration Question: Why is it important to understand this variety of elements, styles, and means?)

Analysis Paper – 30%. Students will choose an piece of approved literature to research and explicate. They will note and evaluate the literary tools used to express worldview ideas in order to understand the rationale and aim of the author’s art. (Essential Integration Question: Why is it important to understand what an author means?)

Creative Essays – 40%. Students will demonstrate their understanding of by writing short, personal essays that employ techniques discussed in class. (Essential Integration Question: Why is it important that we create quality, creative works?)

Now, whenever you use your class time for a quiz/paper/essay, you have an integration question to work with: your assignments match and are married to your course description. The work is done, and you do not need to create new integration questions for any day that you engage one of these assignments. And, because you already have a biblical rationale to answer these questions in your course description, you are in great shape to reinforce what the Bible teaches throughout the year. You can keep going back to the central ideas that you have already laid out. This little bit of work now saves you much time and struggle later. And won’t it be great to finish the year and know that your students have grasped the ways in which their creative writing course is built from and toward God’s glory?

Step 3: Process

The final part of a recipe is the process—when and how to do what. In our syllabus, it is the same. We have all the components, but we need to have a plan for how to fit them together. This is where unit planning and your course objectives come in. Here are the measurable learning outcomes from Liberty’s WRIT201 course:

  1. Identify and discuss the major elements and characteristics of contemporary fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry.
  2. Develop and implement strategies for reading and evaluation of published contemporary literary works.
  3. Author original writing in three genres: fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry.
  4. Evaluate, edit, and revise original creative pieces of writing produced within the course.
  5. Identify trends and opportunities in publishing original writing.
  6. Demonstrate the ability to organize and work collaboratively with others.
  7. Discuss the deployment of creative writing in relationship to a Christian worldview.

All we need to do in order to integrate these objectives/outcomes is bring in our questions and answers from the course description and assignments. Notice what I mean below:

  1. Identify and discuss the major elements and characteristics of contemporary fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry in order to better understand important works including the Bible.
  2. Develop and implement strategies for reading and evaluation of published contemporary literary works in order grasp and rightly respond to the underlying worldview.
  3. Author original writing in three genres: fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry.
  4. Evaluate, edit, and revise original creative pieces of writing produced within the course in order to grow in creative and technical proficiency for the advancement of the gospel
  5. Identify trends and opportunities in publishing original writing in order to use my gifts to honor God.
  6. Demonstrate the ability to organize and work collaboratively with others in order to better serve the church and reach the world.
  7. Discuss the deployment of creative writing in relationship to a Christian worldview to grow in understand of God, his Word, and his world.

Conclusion

I want to encourage and challenge you to make time to integrate your syllabi. It is a process, and it does take work. But it is an investment that I know you and your students will find worthwhile. More than that—it grounds your course in the Word, worldview thinking, and discipleship.

Malcolm Gladwell, Norton Juster, and the Biblically Integrated Syllabus

Posted on by Kelly Hayes in Biblical Integration, Culture, history, Quotes, Syllabus

In his foreword to The Course Syllabus, Robert M. Diamond opens by saying,

“The research on teaching and learning is consistent: the more information you provide your students about the goal of a course, their responsibilities, and the criteria you will use to evaluate their performance, the more successful they will be as students and the more successful you will be as a teacher.” (xi)

This has at least one clear implication concerning biblical integration: If learning more about God, his world, and our role in it (biblical integration) is a goal of the courses you teach, then that goal should be outlined in the syllabus. This should include what the details of that integration will be, what role the students will play in it, and how their understanding of it will be measured. When these goals, means, and measures are outlined in the syllabus at the start of the course, they are much more likely to be successfully carried out until the end. They are also more likely to be organized and helpful, while less rushed or stressful.

So where should you start? I think an idea from noted author Malcolm Gladwell can help. In an appendix to What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures, he explains that he often works to make “lateral connections”—combining together two good stories in order to build one great one. Why does this combination turn good to great? Because the two stories illuminate and illustrate each other. In Christian education, we are, in a sense, working to do this type of work. Through biblical integration, we show the glory of God through our subject matter, but we also show the uniqueness/importance of our subject in light of the God who made it and us.

Let’s dig deeper into Gladwell’s essay writing. He brings two stories together so that the content of each can be more clearly understood. He shows that the two are actually one story that is more connected than we might think at first.

One of his essays is called “The Picture Problem: Mammography, Air Power, and the Limits of Looking.” In that piece, he shows the difficulty of dealing with incomplete information and varying interpretations. Both x-rays of the human body and satellite photos of hostile territories can include helpful information, but no one is certain about what these pictures mean exactly. By bringing together two seemingly unrelated topics—military reconnaissance and cancer detection—Gladwell is able to get to the heart of deeper issue… in this case, that rightly interpreting limited data is difficult (or impossible). By writing about two seemingly separate issues together, he illuminates both. The two aren’t actually so separate after all. When we integrate our teaching, we are showing those same kinds of connections. But instead of medical and tactical issues, we are working with biblical worldview and course content.

Let’s jump back to syllabus design. We don’t have to be great essayists (though that would be great!), but we do have to write a meaningful course description. The Course Syllabus says:

“A strong course description early in the syllabus can generate student interest by providing a stimulating overview of the course, including its content, value, and the philosophical assumptions behind it. You can increase students’ enthusiasm and motivation by emphasizing the relevance of the course. You will also want the description to reflect your own values and attitudes.” (51)

In your syllabus (or course outline/essential goals/etc.), you must include the ultimate rationale for your course—biblical integration. Students need to understand the great value that they are receiving in understanding God, his world, and their place/role in his world better.

One of my most treasured books is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I believe that it may be the most important piece of fiction that elementary students should encounter. At the start, the reader is introduced to Milo; a little boy who “didn’t know what to do with himself… When he was in school he longed to be out, and when he was out he longed to be in.”  Why was he so disinterested?

“It seems to me that almost everything is a waste of time,” he remarked one day as he walked dejectedly home from school. “I can’t see the point in learning to solve useless problems, or subtracting turnips from turnips, or knowing where Ethiopia is or how to spell February.” And since no one bothered to explain otherwise, he regarded the process of seeking knowledge as the greatest waste of time of all. (9)

Throughout the book, Milo encounters all kinds of conflict and questions on his way to meeting Rhyme and Reason. By the end, he has been transformed in his thinking so that he is fully engaged and invested in living a meaningful life.

When we integrate our courses, we are explaining to our students the ultimate why behind what we teach. We are sharing with our Milos why they should bother with our classes. We are to be Justers and Gladwells because we are showing meaningful connections to students so that they can understand how their work fits in with the ultimate questions of origin, meaning, morality, and destiny.  So, let’s get to the nitty-gritty. How do we put all this together?

The syllabus is a manifesto, a treasure map, a workout plan, a personal letter, a contract. And we want it to be a meaningful, vibrantly biblical one. I have offered some ideas about getting started here: Ideas on How to Do Biblical Integration. In addition, I walked through the three options in that post from a math point of view here, here, and here. Those are all good examples that I suggest you look at and make use of before the launch of the next school year.

Elementary School teachers, simple questions like, “What does this show me about God?” or “How can this help me live for Jesus?” can go a long way. For example, if students are learning to count, you might ask them if there is a number that God can’t count. Or you might point out how amazing He is since He knows the number of hairs on each of our heads (Luke 12:7). If you are working on reading, you might talk about how important it is to read so that we can hear God speak in the Bible—the book He put together for us. And the list could go on. But it really helps to put these questions in your course objectives (and even match them to specific units) in the beginning of the year. It will help things move smoothly, systematically, and less stressfully all year long.

Middle and High School teachers, I would suggest including a mention of biblically integrated rubrics in your syllabus. Using a rubric that includes an integration component helps the students see that it is a priority and it allows them to participate in the integrative work themselves.

Finally, below are some examples from Liberty University’s online syllabi. I have copied the course descriptions from  three subjects and included thought-provoking questions of my own in parentheses. These questions can function as samples that you can use as you integrate your own course description. Look for one in your subject area and think through it. The basic idea is to get your thinking jump-started.

English 101: COURSE DESCRIPTION/RATIONALE

Through the critical engagement of a variety of texts, including written, oral, and visual, this course prepares students to become careful readers, critical thinkers, and skilled writers. (Can you think of any biblical reasons behind why growing as reading, thinkers, and writers might be valuable?) Drawing upon rhetorical theory, it emphasizes the practices of analytical reading, informed reasoning, effective writing, and sound argumentation. (Why is it important that we can understand others and make a case to them?) The course requires 4,000 words of writing in no fewer than five writing projects, three of which are argumentative essays incorporating external sources. (Why is practice important? Why must we support our arguments with credible sources?)

Reading and writing are essential for success in college and in life. (Why are they so essential?) In English 101, the student will further develop his/her skills in analyzing texts, processing that information in the context of his/her worldview, and articulating his/her conclusions clearly to a particular audience. (What does it look like to process content according to a Christian worldview? Why should we be able to customize and argument for different audiences?)

HIEU 201: COURSE DESCRIPTION/RATIONALE  

A survey of the major currents in Western civilization from its beginnings in the ancient Near East to 1648. (Why is it important to trace the history of civilization? How does the Bible, the Church, and the biblical worldview fit into the development of Western Civ?)

This survey course introduces students to political, economic, military, religious, and cultural developments of the ancient, medieval, and early modern periods that constitute the foundation for the modern West. (How does the biblical worldview come to bear on how we think about politics, economics, the military, religion, and culture? How have these ideas developed over time?) It is a required prerequisite for upper-level courses in European history, and it may also fulfill a portion of the General Education requirement.

MATH 201: COURSE DESCRIPTION/RATIONALE

Introduction to descriptive statistics and probability, probability distributions, estimation, tests of hypotheses, chi-square tests, regression analysis, and correlation with applications in business and science. (What role do these measurements play in understanding the world? What do they tell us about our ability to know things? [Crosslisted with BUSI 230] (Why is this information so valuable to business?)

As members of a society increasingly devoted to the use and misuse of numbers, students must learn to correctly interpret and construct statistical presentations in all areas of public discourse, especially in their major fields. (Why is our society tilting toward mathematical/scientific presentations?) This course emphasizes the major applications of statistical knowledge rather than its theory. The course seeks to educate men and women who will make important contributions to their workplaces and communities, follow their chosen vocations as callings to glorify God, and fulfill the Great Commission. (How do we make the most of these skills for the glory of God?)

The Rubric and Biblical Integration

Posted on by Kelly Hayes in Bible, Biblical Integration, Rubric, Syllabus

In Every Bush is Burning, I make the case that if biblical integration is in the syllabus and the assessments, it will be much easier to ensure that you really teach in an integrated fashion. As teachers, we want our students to be prepared for their exams. We want them to accomplish what is mapped out in the syllabus. However, as with most things, integrating assignments/assessments is often easier said than done.

Here is one area that can help you make great strides to integrate your class: Include integration in the grading rubric.

The purpose of a rubric is to assess student performance against stated expectations. Therefore, if you regularly include an integration component into your rubric, you will then teach students to integrate everything they do. Look at the (incredibly basic, bare-bones, lightweight) example of a rubric that might be used in any class that assigns papers, presentations, etc.

Style/Grammar (40) Good: … Fair: … Poor: …
Content (40) Good: … Fair: … Poor: …
Biblical Engagement (20) Good: Accurately, thoughtfully shows connection to biblical ideas/themes/principles. AND cites/references specific Scripture passages. 16-20pts. Fair: Makes some effort to show connection to biblical ideas/themes/principles. OR cites/references specific Scripture passages. 10-15pts. Poor: Does not engage biblical ideas/themes/principles. OR presents inaccurate/shallow understanding of biblical teaching. 0-9pts.

Notice that all students are expected to participate in biblical integration. It is not something that they consume, but something they contribute. They are expected to practice thinking about their topics from a biblical worldview. This means that they are growing in their critical thinking, Bible study, and gospel communication. That sounds like a win for Christian education to me!

PS: This really can be done across subjects and in many different ways. Here are some examples using themes from the book of Jeremiah. In English, a student might note the brokenness of the heart (Jer 17:9) that arises in so many literary themes. In Anatomy/Biology, they might note design that God employed in making his people (Jer 1:5). In Music, they might talk about the different ways that God has given us to express emotion (Jer 33:11; 48:36).

Ideas on How to Do Biblical Integration

Posted on by Kelly Hayes in Biblical Integration, Syllabus

One of the most exciting parts of being a teacher can be seeing how your subject/content-area is a part of the discipleship process. Here are three ways that you can go about starting to think through your class. NOTE: These can be especially helpful if you think through these issues with your course descriptions, unit goals, or essential questions in hand.

The Worldview Question Approach

Some (like John Frame, James Sire, Martha MacCullough, and many others) employ worldview questions to organize thinking. A very basic version of this is:

Origin  – Where do we come from?
Meaning – Why are we here?
Morality – What’s right and what’s wrong?
Destiny – Where are we going?

Biblical integration can be accomplished by asking, “How does my course relate to these questions? Does it answer them? Does it help me understand any of them better? How so?”

The Perspectives Approach

John Frame advocates a way of looking at issues from three points of view based on God’s authority (the normative perspective), his control (situational perspective), and presence (existential perspective). 

Authority – What does God (especially through his Word) say about this topic or how we should handle it?
Control – How does God demonstrate his power over, in, and through this topic?
Presence – What does it mean for us to live our lives in his presence regarding this topic? 

The Stewardship Approach

In Genesis 1:28, God’s Word speaks of subduing and filling the earth. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus calls his followers to make disciples. The big question here is simple:
How does my course content help students be better at ordering the world and making disciples? What skills can they learn here to be more equipped for a faithful life?

These are just three options, but they can be a great place to start!