Christianity Commons^™

Eating Baby Food Or Eating Meat? Student Voices On The “Everyday” Use Of Powerpoint In University Teaching, Christina Belcher, Kimberly Maich

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This research study centres on the use of PowerPoint in university classes. It poses the question: How do students perceive PowerPoint specifically and technology overall impacting their university experiences as a process for learning, as an element of social community building and as a worldview lens for examining and critiquing their world? In a qualitative ethnographic narrative, based on the work of Dorothy Smith, student voices in the everyday are heard in order to provide insider perceptions on the key question. Twenty-four volunteer participants signed consent to engage in focus groups flowing from 3, twenty-one hour face-to-face courses. These courses …

A Visit To The Kilns: A Formative Experience For Two Christian Teacher Educators, Karen S. Buchanan, Thomas D. Buchanan

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The C.S. Lewis Study Centre at the Kilns is located near Oxford, England in the previous home of C.S. Lewis, the highly influential 20th century Christian intellectual and apologist. Two professors, who coupled a brief stay at the Kilns with an inquiry into the life of Lewis and his writings, present insights into their work as teacher educators. Three main areas are explored. The first area is the nature of our work, including a discussion of the distinct roles associated with Christian teacher educators and the importance of professional community. Next is a discussion on the quality of our work, …

Iccte Spotlight: Josiah Philipsen

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

As a Technical Editor for ICCTE and a Project Manager at Miller Technologies, I have a passion for helping others with technology. I remember a fellow student in the third grade asking me how to fix a problem in Microsoft Word. My reaction was to click yes to everything that popped up on the screen, because that made sense to me. I ended up erasing the entire document … oops, but my passion for helping others in their technology grew with a little more skill. I enjoy tech questions and getting to meet new people. If you would like to …

Preparing For The Crossfire: Equipping Evangelical Leaders For Service In Public Schools, Gary F. Sehorn Dr.

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This article addresses the preparation and support needed by evangelicals who serve as administrators and teacher leaders in public school settings. Educational leadership is lonely, demanding, and draining. This article explores the unique challenges evangelical leaders face because of the ongoing conflict between conservative Christians and public schools. Work-related conflicts that evangelicals experience in the workplace due to faith and the cultural dynamics that fuel this conflict are described. Strategies are proposed for Christian colleges and universities to prepare school leaders for the cultural crossfire.

Exposing The Roots Of Low Self-Efficacy For Math: A Multi-Case Study Of Students In An Urban Middle School, Joshua Emmett, Daniel Hall, Corey Mckenna

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This multi-case study of historically low-performing 7th grade students in a math class at an urban middle school employed a theoretical framework based upon Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory to discover the causes of low self-efficacy for math. The study utilized a cross-case analysis of four students who demonstrated varying degrees of self-efficacy. To serve students similarly situated, Christian teachers need to know what these students are experiencing and an understanding of the causes of low self-efficacy can inform their professional practice. Christian teacher educators can also benefit from understanding the context into which teachers of such students will serve so …

Iccte Spotlight: Dr. Scott Headley

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Dr. Scot Headley, Professor of Education at George Fox University and Dean for the School of Education, is the Editor at Large for the ICCTE Journal. Scot assists the Editor by troubleshooting technical and process issues and in consulting on aims and means. Previously, Scot served as the Editor for the Journal and currently serves as the Past President of ICCTE.

Letter From The Editor, Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

I have been contemplating my Sunday church service, where the meditation was based on finding peace even in times of productivity, from Philippians 4:6-9. As our academic calendars change gear and progress to a difference pace, giving us space for more peace that may allow more meditative reading, I invite you to join with me in reading our Summer Issue 8(2) of the ICCTE journal. Already, we are receiving and processing manuscripts for our Fall Issue. God has been good to us.

The Teacher As Servant-Leader, David W. Anderson

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Any Christian philosophy of education must begin with acknowledging God to be the Creator of all that is, and as the source of all Truth. All knowledge is derived from, or in some way related to, the Creator God. Three elements that inform our understanding of education are:

• our having been created in the image of God;
• the creation mandate; and
• the principle of stewardship.

The fact that humans are created in the image of God (Ge 1:26-27) sets the stage for our educability. Essential to our understanding of that image are such attributes as language (communication), reasoning, imaginative and …

Servant Leadership: Making A Difference In University Tesl Programs, Sarah Tahtinen-Pacheco

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Teaching English as a Second Language is a broad field with programs designed to teach students from all languages and cultures around the world. Currently, the field is facing an urgent need for qualified teachers and leaders due to increasingly high numbers of immigrants and refugees. To meet this challenge, universities must have a plan for adequately preparing teachers to work with the growing population of non-native English learners.

Creating these programs require an understanding of ways to support English learners academically, linguistically, and culturally as they transition into English speaking schools. Based on the need for support, this article …

Book Review, Cathy E. Freytag

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Anderson, D.W. (2012). Toward a theology of special education: Integrating faith and practice. Bloomington, IN: Westbow Press. ISBN: 978-1-4497-7249-9

Those who have read David Anderson’s earlier works will recognize that he has devoted his career to developing what might be referred to as a “theology of disability” or a “hermeneutic of special education” (p. 225). His book, Toward a Theology of Special Education: Integrating Faith and Practice, is a comprehensive treatise on what it means to approach the work of a special educator through an explicitly Christian worldview lens.

Doing Impacting Being: A Case Study Of Service Learning As A Method Of Faith And Learning Integration, Calvin G. Roso

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

C. S. Lewis argues that Christians become more like Christ by practicing to be something they are not: “Pretense leads up to the real thing . . . very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to start behaving as if you had it already” (Lewis, 1952, p. 160). Likewise, educators indicate that when students practice and apply their learning “true understanding is demonstrated” (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006, p. 67). Even Jesus, the Master Teacher, modeled experiential integration in training His disciples (Matthew 10:1-15; Luke 9:1-6; Mark 6:7-13). Doing impacts being—what we do and experience shapes …

Actualizing Faith Learning Integration: Exploring The Tensions Of Mindful Teaching, Susanna Steeg

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This reflective paper describes the experiences of a first-year faculty member negotiating the meaning and living out of faith learning integration within her particular institution. The triple tensions of mindful teaching (ethics/power, individual/collective, and contemplation/action) are framing constructs for this discussion of faith learning integration. Autobiographical narratives of three particular experiences in the author’s first year offer opportunities for readers to reflect on the tensions inherent in mindful teaching as it pertains to faith and learning. The author invites consideration of the institutional supports and constraints within these conversations while sharing vignettes revealing the personal nature of these decisions.

How A Christian Ethic Of Care Can Inform The Organization And Structure Of Schools Of Education, Paul Shotsberger

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

A natural outcome of a Christian ethic of care is the adoption of structures and organizations that facilitate or enhance this kind of caring. This article investigates these kinds of structures as they relate to schools of education. Discussion and recommendations focus on moving away from a hierarchical model toward a more organic structure where authority and decision-making are more distributed, communication is emphasized, and collaboration is the norm.

Religious Identity Formation Among Adolescents: The Role Of Religious Secondary Schools, Timothy J. Wang

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The purpose of this article is to examine the role religious secondary schools play in the religious identity formation of adolescents. Although several research studies have found a correlation between enrollment in private religious schools and adolescents’ religious identity formation, the researchers of these studies have only speculated about which specific characteristics of religious schools are responsible for this formation in the lives of adolescents. Through a review of the literature, the present article identifies several characteristics of religious secondary schools that may contribute to the process of religious identity formation: a community of religious peers, the presence of religious …

Book Review: Metaphors We Teach By: How Metaphors Shape What We Do In Classrooms, Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

As I sit to write this review, I find myself musing over the sub-title to this text, How Metaphors Shape What we do in Classrooms. Worthy of a place in educational texts, this context of shaping targets a consideration for everyone working educationally with students. In this context, this book provides readers with much to think about. In my perspective, it is this consideration toward what I will call the heart and dispositional sensibility of education, a Christian sense of place, so to speak, that makes this book valuable.

Letter From The Editor, Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

I am sitting in my study with a cup of coffee … (this only happens in summer). Prior to crafting this letter to you I paused to chuckle – as a miner of words – on this quote from C. S. Lewis:

Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. (Lewis, C.S. (1995) Letters to children. New York, NY: Touchstone)

I have learned a lot from C. S. Lewis. I may not yet write an editorial letter that …

Using Storytelling To Integrate Faith And Learning: The Lived Experience Of Christian Esl Teachers, Monir Nazir Atta-Alla

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

English as a second language (ESL) settings lend themselves more easily and naturally than others to storytelling-based discussions and activities that integrate faith and learning. Stories and storytelling offer students from diverse backgrounds a compelling mechanism for understanding their world and creating shalom learning community conducive to the restoration of wholeness of the learners. This qualitative study explores the perceptions and lived teaching experience of Christian teachers regarding the integration of faith and learning in ESL settings through using storytelling. Findings indicated that storytelling is an effective tool for the integration of faith and learning in ESL settings. Using storytelling …

Book Review: To Change The World: The Irony, Tragedy & Possibility Of Christianity In The Late Modern World, E. Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

In reflecting on James Davison Hunter’s thesis To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, & Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World, I must admit experiencing rising tension as to whether this book is to be a harbinger of hope, or another postmodern harbinger of doubt regarding the possibility of Christianity in our current environment.

In unpacking such deliberations, I begin by outlining the form, content, and intent of Hunter as to his purpose, his theology for faithful presence and shalom, and my final musings. As with any review, the hope is to have the reader read the …

Faculty Perceptions Of Teacher Professionalism In Christian Schools, James A. Swezey, Donald E. Finn

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Able school administrators understand that teachers are their most valuable asset. If Christian schools are to effectively serve the families who entrust their children to their care, teachers must demonstrate both professional competency and godly character. This study was an investigation of faculty perceptions of teacher professionalism at ten Christian schools in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. An online survey of 24 items was completed by 230 teachers (males=30; females=200). The survey instrument was a modified version of Tichenor and Tichenor’s (2009) four dimensions of teacher professionalism. Data were analyzed using a multivariate analysis-of-variance (MANOVA) …

Cultural Humility: A Framework For Local And Global Engagement, Eloise Hockett, Linda Samek, Scot Headley

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Many institutions of higher education have implemented local and global engagement opportunities as a way to expose both students and faculty to different cultures and further their knowledge of those cultures. One of the primary goals of these cultural experiences is for students and faculty to become more culturally competent. However, it is possible that our current way of thinking and promoting cultural competency within education specifically may not go deep enough and could be considered limiting in the ways we partner, collaborate, and interact with people groups different than ourselves. Cultural humility, a construct currently accepted in some professional …

Toward An Agenda For Teacher Education In Christian Colleges And Universities, Daniel C. Elliott

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The first (United States of America) national symposium by major teacher educator organizations took place in December 1995. The Association of Teacher Educators, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, and the US Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement sponsored and conducted a National Congress on Teacher Education. Leading national figures in teacher education presented their views to the almost 500 delegates. Focus groups examined the views and reported to a conference coordinator. The coordinator, in turn, synthesized the concerns, ideas and recommendations into a daily log of issues. I list some of the salient points …

Iccte Spotlight: Dr. Laura Barwegen

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Dr. Laura Barwegen, Associate Professor of Education at Wheaton College, is an Associate Editor for the ICCTE journal. Laura assists the Editor in the process of manuscript reviews. Her careful diligence assures that your work is reviewed in a timely manner.

Letter From The Editor, E. Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

In the act of pondering the majesty of God’s Creation, I never tire of observing the slide of Autumn as it nestles into Winter and the beauty of the snow that follows. It is good to reflect on the comforting flow of God’s grace, beauty and consistency.

The ICCTE journal, in its rhythm of bi-annual publication, has seasons as well. As I end this year and prepare to enter the next one, I have the task not only of introducing what is in this issue, but what you can look forward to in the coming months.

Teaching Our Education Students To Teach Christianly, John Van Dyke

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

What does it mean to teach Christianly? We may not always agree on what it means. There can be no doubt, however, that the calling of teacher education departments in Christian post-secondary institutions is to prepare students to teach Christianly, whether in public or Christian schools. But how do we do this? I shall address this question by considering four themes:

• current conceptions of what it means to teach Christianly,
• an alternative model,
• the context of teaching Christianly, and
• some implications for our teacher education programs.

Iccte Spotlight: Dr. Susanna Steeg

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Dr. Susanna Steeg, Associate Editor, is the newest member of the ICCTE editorial team. She serves as both a reviewer for the journal, and editorial assistant for manuscripts prior to the final copy edit process.

Leadership In Private Christian Schools: Perceptions Of Administrators, Suzanne Harrison

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to discover the perceptions of private Christian school administrators about leadership characteristics, roles, and teacher professional development. The co-researchers first conducted a demographic survey and focus group interviews with six administrators from K-12 or secondary private Christian schools in Oregon and Washington. Themes that surfaced from the data were who we are as leaders, success and celebration, and what we do as leaders. Results showed that administrators of private Christian schools tended to focus on the importance of the vision and mission of their schools, keeping in mind their influence as spiritual …

Teacher Candidates’ Perceptions Of The Integration Of Faith And Learning As Christian Vocation, Laurie R. Matthias, Karen Wrobbel

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The overriding purpose of Christian liberal arts colleges in the United States is to offer a comprehensive education to their students. Inherent in this goal is the deliberate integration of Christian faith with academic content; it is, after all, what differentiates Christian institutions of higher education from their secular counterparts (Muntz & Crabtree, 2006). The mission statement of Trinity International University (TIU) in Deerfield, Illinois is to “educate men and women for faithful participation in God’s redemptive work in the world by cultivating academic excellence, Christian fidelity and lifelong learning.” The Division of Education that prepares candidates for certification to …

A Weighty Issue: Finding The Balance Between Justice And Mercy In The Classroom, Ruth Givens

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Considering the conundrum educators face with administering ethical decisions concerning their students, the author discusses the options of Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill, which utilize rationalism to adjudicate decisions requiring issues of equity in their classrooms. However, the author addresses the conflicts inherent among Christian educators whose spiritual perspectives transcend rational presuppositions as the only methods to make decisions that contribute balance and fairness to those deciding between justice and mercy.

Christian Special Educators Responding To The Call To Serve: The Perception Of Disability With A Christian Worldview Lens, Nilsa J. Thorsos

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Most Christian special education teachers respond to a call to teach children with disabilities and are inspired to share the plan, purpose, and perspective of Christ; in other words to have the mind of Christ (Tucker, 1996, p. 29). This paper examines how the Old and New Testament traditions permeate the way people with disabilities are perceived in Western culture. An examination of the Old Testament shows a perception of disability as connected with sin, a manifestation of God’s punishment and exclusion of people with disability from the temple (Winzer, 1993, p. 17). The New Testament provides narratives of compassion …

The Effect Of Professional Development On A Mexican Mission School: A Case Study, Vickie S. Cook

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Since the early 1990s, there has been a growing body of literature regarding the facilitation of deeper thinking among educators based on the opportunity for in-service professional development (Darling-Hammond, 2003; Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, & Yoon, 1999, 2001; Reeves, 2010; Smith & O’Day, 1991). In-service professional development provides teachers with the opportunity to consider alternative solutions to teaching and learning situations. Providing solid professional development is the goal of schools globally. This effort can be challenging to small private schools that are pouring as many resources as possible into the necessary materials and curricula for their students. Few budget resources …