Those Who Can, Teach: Teaching as Christian Vocation
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Overview
For many aspiring academics, the transition from doctoral student to classroom teacher is a challenging one. The classroom culture, the needed pedagogical skills, and the expected level and type of work are significantly different in the two environments. Nevertheless, most doctoral students go on to teach in undergraduate or seminary classrooms. To prepare the PhD students at McMaster Divinity College to negotiate this transition successfully, the faculty holds a biennial colloquium covering the major dimensions, both theoretical and practical, of a Christian teaching vocation. On the basis of the presentations of the colloquium, the essential topics have been addressed in essays prepared for this volume for the benefit of all who aspire to excellence in their teaching, especially those in Christian higher education.
- Contains essays on the topic of Christian teaching as a vocation
- Discusses the transition from student to teacher
- Provides both theoretical pedagogical help as well as practical tips on teaching
- “Introduction: Teaching as Theological Vocation,” by Stanley E. Porter
- “Developing a Philosophy of Education,” by Stanley E. Porter
- “Pedagogy and Course Objectives,” by Michael P. Knowles
- “Designing and Evaluating Learning Experiences for Courses,” by Mark J. Boda
- “Developing a Syllabus,” by Cynthia Long Westfall
- “Sculpting a Lesson: The Art of Preparing a Classroom Learning Experience,” by Lee Beach
- “Teaching Introductory New Testament Greek,” by Lois K. Fuller Dow
- “Teaching Biblical Hebrew: Practical Strategies for Introductory Courses,” by Paul Evans
- “Leading Intentional Theological Reflection in the Classroom: The Merging of Mind and Heart,” by Wendy J. Porter
- “From Doctoral Program to Classroom,” by Steven M. Studebaker
- “The Upside-Down Professor: The Professor in a Christian Institution,” by Gordon L. Heath
- “Spirituality of Teaching and Theological Integration,” by Phil C. Zylla
Top Highlights
“First it helps us determine where students are in terms of the content that we have planned.” (Page 115)
“When formulating your objectives, make sure that they correlate with the assignments, course content, and reading, so that it is clear that the components of the course are designed to fulfill the objectives. The final composition of your syllabus allows you to think critically about how these components fit together and places you in a position to make adjustments.” (Page 93)
“The third feature of the Greco-Roman educational system, as already noted, was that it was based upon imitation of the great examples of the past.” (Page 12)
“The first is that the goal of education was that those who benefited from it would be able to lead the good life of a productive citizen.” (Pages 11–12)
“The second feature is that the education was elitist.” (Page 12)
- Lee Beach
- Mark J. Boda
- Lois K. Fuller Dow
- Paul Evans
- Gordon L. Heath
- Michael P. Knowles
- Stanley E. Porter
- Wendy J. Porter
- Steven M. Studebaker
- Cynthia Long Westfall
- Phil C. Zylla
At last there is a book written by experts in theological education that will help those who wish to teach effectively these truths. Stanley Porter and his colleagues provide some practical steps for bridging the chasm that normally separates teaching and learning styles. Teaching should be seen as a means of informing scholarship and vice versa, and this masterful collection of essays shows you deftly where and how to begin this journey.
—Don Page, professor emeritus of graduate program, Trinity Western University
Stanley Porter explicitly and implicitly addresses the negative effects caused by an almost universal absence of graduate school instruction in the fundamentals of good teaching. . . . These reflections cover a wide range of both theoretical pedagogical considerations . . . as well as practical pointers on effective teaching. Noteworthy throughout these very helpful essays is the acknowledgement of the seminary or Christian college educator's need for humility, patience, enthusiasm, and dedicated, prayerful commitment to the teaching task.
—Deane E.D. Downey, professor emeritus in English and interdisciplinary studies, Trinity Western University
Those Who Can, Teach provides educators—both veterans and beginners—with the clear thinking and practical advice that all of us wished we had before entering the classroom for the first time. All of us on occasion have remarked how odd it is that one can earn a PhD without any instruction in how to teach! Those Who Can, Teach shows us how this problem can be rectified.
—Craig A. Evans, Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies, Acadia Divinity College
- Title: Those Who Can, Teach: Teaching as Christian Vocation
- Author: Stanley E. Porter
- Series: McMaster Divinity College General Series
- Volume: 3
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2013
- Logos Release Date: 2015
- Pages: 226
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Theology › Study and teaching (Higher); Christian education › Teaching methods; Christian college teachers › Training of
- ISBNs: 9781620329368, 1620329360
- Resource ID: LLS:THOSEWHOCANTEACH
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T03:22:07Z
Stanley E. Porter, PhD, University of Sheffield, has taught for more than 30 years in post-secondary institutions in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. He is a Greek and New Testament expert, and, since 2001, has been the president, dean, and professor of New Testament at McMaster Divinity College. He's best known for his works on verbal aspects in New Testament Greek, is actively involved in OpenText.org and the Linguistics Institute of Ancient and Biblical Greek, and is a regular columnist for Christian Week.
Porter is the author or editor of numerous New Testament and Greek studies, including Idioms of the Greek New Testament, Discourse Analysis and the New Testament: Approaches and Results, and Dictionary of New Testament Background. He has edited over 80 volumes and authored 28 books on various New Testament and related topics, including How We Got the New Testament: Text, Transmission, Translation, and The Gospel of John in Modern Interpretation. Plus, he's published more than 450 journal articles, chapters in books, and dictionary entries and regularly speaks at major conferences and other venues around the world.
His interests include Greek language and linguistics, hermeneutics and various methods of interpretation, and a range of New Testament studies from the Gospels to John to Acts to Paul. He is also a papyrological and text-oriented research specialist and is interested in the wider Greco-Roman world. Outside of academia, Stanley has served in young adult ministry and has assisted in developing a lay training institute for the local church.
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