Tag Archive for: Transformational Education

Reflecting on Transformational Impact

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Here at TeachBeyond, our mission is to provide transformational education to the students and communities in which we serve. Transformation—especially Holy Spirit initiated transformation—is not something that is easily measured; however, if we are serious about achieving our mission, then it would behoove us to spend time reflecting on where we are in our pursuit of this mission.

The School Services team, under the direction and leadership of Helen Vaughan, has compiled a list of Transformational Education Indicatorsthat we hope will help you do just that. Since Mark Giebink’s articlelast month focused on the foundational impact of personal transformation, we’ll look at the more professional indicators this month[1]. For access to the entire list, please e-mail schoolservices@teachbeyond.org.

Transformational Education Indicators[2]

Read each statement. Then reflect upon it and answer the question “how frequently is this indicator true in my life and practice?”  Use a response scale of 1) frequently, 2) sometimes, 3) rarely, and 4) never.

Personal Indicators:

  • I meditate on the scriptures, asking God to use them for personal transformation.
  • I truly seek to love all people with the same love Christ has shown me. 

Discipleship Indicators:[3]

  • I ensure that all my students hear about the saving work of Christ on the cross and how to become
    His follower.

I ensure my students have a developmentally appropriate understanding of the implications of the creation, the fall, the redemption, and the restoration of God’s kingdom on earth.

  • I reference scriptural underpinnings relevant to instruction, classroom management, and fellowship with my students.
  • I remind my students of my own brokenness and need for a Saviour.
  • My students see/hear my loving care for people who do not share my faith perspective.
  • I exhibit my intense love for Jesus to my students.
  • I provide my students with defined opportunities to appreciate and express love for God in each unit of study.

Instructional Indicators[4]:

  • I provide my students with lessons which point to the nature and character of God.
  • I provide opportunities for my students to enhance both their local and global community.
  • I ensure that my classroom has a climate of affirming and caring for each other.
  • I use a variety of teaching practices to help uncover different types of student gifting.
  • I teach my students biblical conflict management and ensure that it is used.
  • My students hear me affirming hope in our loving God in the face of a decaying and despairing world.
  • I engage my students in examining, then critiquing, how humankind is making use of the resources that God has given us.
  • I help my students see the possibility of suffering and being joyful at the same time, of turning defeat into victory.
  • I equip my students to swim against the tide in standing up for the oppressed, forgiving others, and having empathy.
  • I ensure that the processes and structures in my class promote the resolution of broken relationships, personal accountability, and restoration of peace.

Community:

  • I lead my class in positively contributing to the well-being of our school.
  • I lead my class in positively contributing to the well-being of our neighbourhood or city.
  • I lead my class in positively contributing to the well-being of our world.

TeachBeyond School Services Team
TeachBeyond, Global

This is our last issue of OnPracticefor the 2017-2018 academic year. Publication will resume in August 2018. Enjoy your summer holidays!

[1]Spending time developing our own personal relationship with Jesus is absolutely crucial to any of the rest of this work. Without our own lives reflecting the transformation brought about by the restorative work of the Spirit, all our efforts are nothing more than resounding gongs and clanging cymbals.

[2]The indicators published here comprise only a selection of the entire list.

[3]To be used in overtly Christian schools.

[4]To be used in all schools, references to God and the Bible indicate the source, but it is understood that in some cases these terms cannot be used with students.)

Photo Credits:Prayer. TeachBeyond Facebook Page, 16 Dec. 2017. Planting. Baby English Club Facebook Page, 4 May 2018.

Thinking in an “On Demand” world

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8709312455_b91c31faae_mOur world is increasingly fast-paced. Everything around us, from drive-in restaurants to on-line media-streaming services, caters to our desire to have what we want right now. Even our phones, with their magic genies—Alexa, Siri, Cortana—answer our questions within moments. We live in an “on-demand” world.

It is no wonder that in this context, our students are uncomfortable with silence. Not only do they not appreciate it, they don’t really know what to do with it. When a question is asked, they may expect that they have to know the answer right away—and if they don’t, then they can rationalise that they just aren’t smart enough or that the material is too hard. But we know that this isn’t the case. Our brains don’t function as “on-demand” devices. They need time to think, and thinking is a process. It takes time for students to take in information, decode it, process what is being communicated, formulate a response, and then come up with a way to communicate that response to others. This process takes even longer if you are dealing with students who are naturally introverted[1] or who are functioning in a second or third language.

So what does this mean for us in the classroom? One thing is that we as teachers can do is to provide the time and space to encourage thinking. We can help our students understand that thinking is a process, and that it is okay to take time to formulate an answer to a question. But we must remember that our actions often send a louder message than our words. So in addition to telling students about how the brain works, we need to incorporate thinking time into our classes.

One of the simplest—and most effective—ways to do this is to make it a practice to include wait time after asking a question. Wait time refers to the 5-6 seconds post question where you allow your students to think about their responses. But while simple, providing wait time is not always easy. These five seconds can seem like an eternity, especially when you are confronted by that student in the second row—you know the one, the student who is frantically waving his arm in the air and practically jumping out of his seat because he wants to share his answer. It can be hard to let the students sit in silence, especially when hands start to shoot up. It takes discipline on the part of the teacher to make this practice a consistent classroom routine. It can even, at times, feel like a waste of valuable instructional time.

However, when you intentionally make students wait before allowing anyone to answer, you are signaling to your class that you do expect everyone to take time to think about and be prepared to respond to what you’ve asked. You give your language learners time to translate or decode the question. You provide students who take a little more time to come up with a response the opportunity to raise their hands. You even provide those over-eager students the chance to really evaluate the answer they are dying to give, instead of just letting them blurt out the first thing that popped into their heads. The practice of wait time actually increases student engagement[2]. It also increases the likelihood that students will provide a correct or well-reasoned answer[3]. Wait time gives students permission to slow down in the midst of the frantic pace of modern life. And in freeing them from the pressures of life “on-demand,” we empower students to be in control of their learning, and help to boost their confidence. That’s a pretty great return on the investment of pausing just a few extra seconds in class.

Becky Hunsberger, M.Ed.
Coordinator of Teacher Education
TeachBeyond Global

[1] The physiology of how introverts process information is actually quite a bit different from the way their extroverted peers do. For more about this, check out some of the work by Marti Olsen Laney and others on what makes introverts different.

[2] Honea, 1982; Swift & Gooding, 1983.

[3] Rowe, 1987.

Photo Credits: On-Demand, WanderingtheWorld (www.ChrisFord.com), Flickr via Compfight cc.  Leicester Square McDonalds, vinylmeister, flickr. cc. Stopwatch, stevepaustin Flickr via Compfight cc.

Culturally Relevant Transformational Education

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This year we have been examining TeachBeyond’s core values as they relate to our mission of Transformational Education. This month we’ve come to the value of cultural relevance and I [Becky] have asked a team working in a culture that is “pretty much as far as you can get from the TeachBeyond offices and from the culture in which TeachBeyond grew up” for their perspective on this. Here’s what they had to say:

What is Transformational Education? How do you do it

Picture1These are questions we wrestle to make relevant to what we do every day. But, let’s make
it harder. Let’s consider if our answers work everywhere. Is Transformational Education the same in South America and South Asia? Do the same things work in TeachBeyond run schools that tell everyone about Jesus openly and in closed countries, where creative access opens quieter doors?

Our team is in a country, pretty much as far as you can get from the TeachBeyond offices and from the culture in which TeachBeyond grew up. When we considered these questions, we had to challenge ourselves to think about what transformational education means for us here, in our (non-TeachBeyond run) school. How do we bring transformational education into classrooms filled with real children and limited by our own busy schedules?

Here are some of our team’s thoughts on the matter.

First, “What is Transformational Education?”

Transformational education is bringing Jesus to students in an academic setting where we use education to build relational bridges strong enough to bear the weight of Truth, which is Christ-Centered and sees the students as unique individuals created in the image of God. This means that everything looks different. Discipline and teaching look different.  Classroom culture looks different. It is not easy. This type of education is done through the love of God-called teachers, and it challenges motives of both teachers and students.

 

Transformational education has many parts but at its essence is a relationship that moves students closer to fulfilling how God designed them. It is equipping the student through information, building skills, encouragement, challenges, reflection, and other experiences where a teacher/friend comes alongside to grow the student and feed each one’s spirit while educating the mind. This serves not only to improve that student’s life, but also to impact the greater culture.

Picture2It is education that helps each student grow to be the best he or she can be, developing the gifts and abilities that God has given them. This is a calling of transformation that takes place in natural ways until Jesus is invited into the person’s life and transformation with a capital “T” takes place. This ultimate transformation finds its fulfillment in a transformed life in Christ that changes lives from the inside out.

 

And, the second question: “What do we do to create Transformational Education?”

We approached the second question with the idea that we needed to move beyond the theoretical realm into the realm of the practical. So we tried to think of what we could do in our classrooms the next day to help bring about transformational education.

 

To bring about Transformation with a capital T, we do a lot less than we think. The Holy Spirit is the one doing the transformation so we should follow His lead, working prayerfully and humbly under His guidance. We have to start by ourselves being transformed which allows us to love students well as we guide them to truth in all areas and point them to Jesus as Creator, sustainer, redeemer, and life giver. This begins with prayer. Then it overflows in tangible ways that we can implement that can then open a door for the Holy Spirit to do His work.

 

We need to show that we care more about who students are than what they can do. We do this by speaking openly and honestly with students, loving them like Christ does, even when they are not particularly likeable. We treat students with dignity, even when they are slower or disobedient. We embody love, joy and humility when we enter our classrooms, and find ways to serve our students—not just as learners but as people—living out and expressing the hidden lessons of who God is through our actions of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. We live above reproach in a culturally relevant manner.

 

As we plan our lessons we have a higher purpose in mind, one that transcends our daily Picture3objectives and reminds students of the bigger picture. We work hard to create a great—and safe—environment for students to learn. We teach from a biblical worldview and encourage our students in new ways of thinking. We prepare ourselves by studying God’s word and His world, seeking to see and understand His presence in all aspects of creation (and by extension in all we teach). We let conversations with students become a priority and not an interruption.

 

Above all, we invite the Holy Spirit to show us where He is at work already in the lives of our students, our colleagues, and our subject matter. We listen to and respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in our classes and interactions and direct students, teachers, and parents to God in a way that wouldn’t happen if we weren’t here.  We do our best to include opportunities to introduce Him when appropriate (music or Scripture on agenda, keychain, etc.). And we have faith that He can do the impossible.

 

What do you think? Would these principles and practices of transformational education work in your cultural context?

A Team in Southeast Asia 
Edited by: Becky Hunsberger
Teacher Education Services
TeachBeyond Global

Photo Credits: All the photos in this week’s OnPractice are taken from different TeachBeyond owned or partner schools around the world

Expectations Matter

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3892422834_e4eb787ce8_z“What is the matter with you? I’ve explained this three different ways. Why are you still having trouble getting it? Maybe maths just isn’t for you,” my teacher exhaled exasperatedly as I sat, head in hands, attempting to understand a basic trig lesson. It has been about seventeen years, and I still remember the sting of his words, and how, after being an A student until that point, I gave up on maths because I was just too stupid to comprehend what everybody else seemed to understand.

Then there was my seventh grade science teacher who absolutely loved science and made all of us love it too. He made complicated topics seem simple and made us feel like mistakes were just part of the fun. Tests were never stressful as we’d come to believe we were capable of learning and comprehending every aspect of his class. He never raised his voice in anger; he never sighed in annoyance at having to reteach a lesson; he never rolled his eyes at a wrong answer. What he did, instead, was expect that every kid that walked into his classroom was capable of being successful, and he did everything in his power to make that a reality. It has been over twenty years, but I will never forget how he made me feel powerful and capable of just about anything.

Proverbs 18:21a says, “The tongue has the power of life and death.” What we say (and do) as teachers matters. If we believe that a child can be successful and express that in our words and actions, a child is likely to believe us. The opposite is true as well. When we roll our eyes at a child’s mistakes, sigh impatiently, or refuse to reteach the material a new or different way “because I’ve already taught it more times than I wanted to,” the child in front of us might just hear, “You’re not worth my time. You’re never going to understand this material anyway. Just give up.”

Expectations matter. Our attitudes matter. Teaching is exhausting. There is always more to do than you have time for. But we have to remember that what we say and do can change a child’s life for better…or worse.

I work at a school for students with autism, most of whom are with us because they have been unsuccessful in other programmes within their home district. They come to us because they have violent outbursts, modesty issues, or a variety of other concerns that cause them great difficult within a traditional learning environment. They have been shuttled from one teacher to another, from one school to another. They’ve been told that they’re bad, too hard to manage, and just not worth the effort. They carry themselves in a way that says, “You’re not going to like me either.”

On my first day in this job, a little boy bit me on the back of my arm, kicked my shins, pinched my breasts, and threw a table in my general direction. I sobbed to my husband that there was no way that I could make an impact in this child’s life, especially after what I’d heard about him. He’d been at this school for several years and “No one could manage or control him. It was just too hard.”

My husband reminded me of two principles that I’d always clung to as a teacher: your expectations for the student matter, and it’s important that he knows you’ll like him no matter how bad he is.  My teaching assistant and I decided that we would choose grace and mercy for this child every single day, no matter what his behaviour. We would praise him for his positive choices, correct him when he chose poorly, and continue to like him through it all. We spent months managing this student’s aggression, teaching him to communicate through signs or visual aids, and showing him that no matter how “bad” he was, neither of us was going anywhere. After about fourteen months, this boy began sitting in a chair, doing work independently, communicating in his limited fashion, refraining from aggression, laughing, and showing his true potential to learn. Our behaviour specialist asked him why he was suddenly successful in our classroom and his response was pretty simple: “They like me.”

Expectations matter. They matter for students like me, an A student struggling in trigonometry; they matter for students with extreme learning challenges, students that people have seemingly discarded because “they’re just too difficult.”

When we behave like Jesus in our classrooms—picking our students up when they fall, choosing grace over exasperated eye-rolling, loving them when they just aren’t likeable, and believing that they are more capable than they think they are (especially with our help)—our children3892422834_e4eb787ce8_m thrive, no matter what other challenges they face. When we choose love, grace, and high expectations, we are choosing life for our students. That’s what transformational education is really about.

Andrea Davis
Special Education Teacher
TeachBeyond Associate

Photo Credits: Discouraged Student. and.e. Flickr via Compfight cc. Tantrum. larkin.family Flickr via Compfight cc

Love for Others, God’s Way.

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Susan was distracted all morning. Not her normal self, she couldn’t seem to start working and played with her crayons during directions. She talked to her neighbour during work time. Mrs. Jenkins corrected Susan a little, but mostly watched and let it go as just an odd day for Susan.

At lunch, Mrs. Jenkins had her first break, fifteen minutes to eat quietly. She took her first bite when someone stood at the corner of her desk. It was Susan.

“Mrs. Jenkins, could you help me? I don’t know how to do our work from this morning and I don’t want to take it home.”

“If you had paid attention, it wouldn’t be a problem.” That is what Mrs. Jenkins thought as she laid down her sandwich. Instead, she looked in Susan’s eyes and said, “Yes. Let’s see what we can do.”

32932339950_7d0969d68b_qWhen she finished, her break was gone. But, Susan was set.

This is love, God’s way. It is about what is best for someone else. It is about giving yourself, a sacrifice of some sort. It is about the thousands of moments and times teachers show God’s love by remembering His greatest gift to us and how much we don’t deserve it. And, then doing the same for a child.

Love, God’s way, is powerful. It breaks down barriers in lives and cultures and countries. Nothing can stop it as it seeps into hearts that are hungry for someone to care unconditionally, with nothing expected in return. It is radical in a world based on transaction. It is free. But, it requires sacrifice.

The life you give away is yours. While you may not physically die, your gift of your life for the sake of children demonstrates love, God’s way.

Whether rich or poor,36502702275_3c3194c158_m Christian or not, everyone craves this love. “Good” kids need to know that this love can’t be earned; it is not bought with good behaviour. Messy kids need to know someone is on their side, even though that love is expressed through caring discipline. God’s love differentiates according to need and changes lives.

As one of TeachBeyond’s core values, “love for others” brings purpose and power to what we do. It guides our words and choices both in the classroom and outside of it. It aligns our daily work with God, minute-by-minute, for any situation or place. Love is our method and our message. It is the goal of our instruction.[1] John tells us that it is how people know we are Jesus’ followers.[2]

This agapao type of love is not soft and sweet, although it can be. This love is not the world’s “love” that thinks first of hugs or chocolate or sex. God’s love is the sort that often acts in spite of the other person, not because of him or her. When God loved the world enough to give His only Son, it was not because He liked our sinful, messy, and rebellious world. This love takes strength and courage. It is not for the timid.[3]
Love, God’s way, has much more to do with choice and action than feeling, although often the feeling follows. This love shows itself in hugs and encouragement as well as discipline and demands. It acts in a way that is best for the other. It is hard work and empties us of self.

Last week, I sat with a team of TeachBeyond teachers in a sensitive country as they discussed Transformational Education. They are immersed in a world that strips away the easy answers. Each one of these experienced teachers talked about love as central to their job in the classroom.

And, they also understood that the only way to love like this is to first be loved by God and transformed by Him, to let the Holy Spirt make them different and empower them.

The beginning of love for others is to know and feel that you are loved. To meet God often enough to begin to understand the incomprehensible and overwhelming love He has for each of us. “We love, because He first loved us.”[4]

As Paul reminds us in Ephesians, may each of us “know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God” and that we may see Him “do far more abundantly beyond all the we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.”[5] God makes loving others possible.

This is good news indeed. And students like Susan are counting on it.

Joe N., Th.M.
Elementary School Principal
Asia

[1] 1 Timothy 1:5

[2] John 13:35

[3] 2 Timothy 1:7

[4] 1 John 4:19

[5] Ephesians 3:19-20

 

Photo Credits: Teacher & Students. Global Partnership for Education – GPE Flickr via Compfight cc Veddah girl. Allesandro Pucci. via Wikimedia Commons. cc. Art Project. All32932339950_7d0969d68b_q4Ed Flickr via Compfight cc

Joe has served in Christian school leadership in three schools  over a span of 32 years, spending 14 of those as a headmaster and the rest as a principal. Additionally, Joe has been a speaker, writer, and consultant for Christian schools. He is now serving with TeachBeyond as an elementary principal in Asia.

Integrity: Teaching Via Example

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As teachers, our influence extends far beyond our handling of the taught curriculum. In fact, often the most enduring impact that we make comes from the hidden curriculum that we model on a daily basis. This hidden curriculum is made up of our values and the way we act on them. It is here that transformational education often begins to take root.

Integrity is one of TeachBeyond’s core values. You can find many definitions of integrity, but I particularly like this one from yourdictionary.com: ‘Integrity means following your moral or ethical convictions and doing the right thing in all circumstances, even if no one is watching you’.

Our challenge is to demonstrate integrity in every circumstance. In the classroom, there are many opportunities to do this and perhaps the most powerful is the way relationships are managed. Teachers who are always fair and consistent are respected by children. Most people remember a teacher who treated them unfairly but many also remember their favourite teachers who were always kind, always fair and always firm in sticking to their principles.

Integrity can be demonstrated in the classroom by modelling the behaviour you expect from your children. If you expect children to be on time and ready to learn a19947785424_75b28506f0_mt the start of a lesson, then you need to expect the same of yourself. If you expect children to listen carefully to you and to each other, then it is important that you listen properly to them. It is a great temptation to carry on with whatever you are doing when a child comes to tell y
ou something, but consider how you would react if they did the same when you were talking to them. When you make a mistake, do you apologise? When you do this as a teacher you are showing children the right and biblical way to behave and you will inspire children’s confidence.

Living with integrity is not limited to within our classrooms. We can demonstrate integrity by the way we relate to our colleagues, to school visitors and to parents. As you prepare for a new school year it is a good time to reflect on how you contribute to staff meetings, how you respond when there is staff conflict, or how you act when a colleague has a problem. In all these circumstances, we know the right thing to do. Integrity demands that we act on this knowledge.

Colleagues, parents or school visitors often have an uncanny knack of wanting to speak with you at a bad moment. How do you respond? Very often, it is time or the lack of it that poses the biggest challenge to our integrity. Do we make time for people who genuinely need our attention by stopping what we are doing or arranging a more suitable time to meet? Or do we make a quick excuse to protect ourselves? As soon as we start to use excuses and look for shortcuts we are in danger of losing our integrity. Honesty is always the best policy.

Consider these scenarios:

  1. Your colleague is struggling with a family illness and you see she is upset at break time. She asks if she can talk to you after school though you already have personal plans? Do you make up an excuse?
  2. You promise to bring a resource to show a child and you forget it. You know they were looking forward to this. Do you admit you forgot or make up an excuse?

As believers, Jesus is our role model. He always did the right thing. Even when he was tired he had time to treat everyone with compassion and care and to give them his full attention. He exemplified a life filled with integrity. I pray that we too will aspire to Jesus’ example. May we be teachers who always act with integrity.

David Midwinter
UK National Director
TeachBeyond, UK
Photo Credits:  True North. Wiertz Sébastien Flickr via Compfight cc.

Engaging in Godly Play

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The third grade class, seated in a circle around the Desert Bag, were coming to the end of the Godly Play lesson of “The Ark and the Tent.” Our tent was a reconstructed shoe box, painted gold, with large pieces cut out so that the children could see inside. The items were the ark, a menorah, altars, etc. The whole was partly obscured by pieces of fabric or leather to indicate the special coverings. We had been considering what it takes to get ready to come close to God. On an impulse, I picked up the coverings and placed them completely over our tent box. There was a gasp from the group.

tabernacleComments flew around the circle: “now it would be dark in the tent,” “the sun could shine in a bit,” “but there would be the light from the lamps,” and “we can still come close to God in the dark and God can come close to us.”

This last statement is very meaningful for the children. They have seen from various other lessons how people and God have come close to each other. They are piecing together their spiritual language.

*        *        *

Some think that children are like empty vessels waiting to be filled with knowledge given them by adults. Telling the Great Family at BEC 2016However, this view ignores the truth that each one of us—children included—are created in the image of God. Children are more than just empty vessels. If we observe carefully we will see that children have much inside already.

 

The early years of childhood are spent by the child trying to give words to what they intuitively are aware of. Jerome Berryman, the deviser of Godly Play, wanted to find a way whereby children could develop a religious language which would give meaning to what they knew but couldn’t express. After extensive research and work with children, Berryman and his wife combined the discovery-learning style that their own children were experiencing in their Montessori school and Berryman’s own theological training. Each session begins by welcoming children into the circle of community. Facilitators then share a story from the scriptures and invite the children to wonder about it. This wondering leads into a time of creative response or play. Sessions end with a feast (snack) and blessing.

Godly Play is much more than an interesting way to tell Bible stories. It has, in fact, more in common with the practice of spiritual companionship. Adults and children together discover where God is working in their lives. Godly Play seeks to help the children to think theologically and maintain their sense of wonder and mystery. It’s a doorway into Spirit-led transformation.

P1080944

As the facilitator of Godly Play, the Story Teller learns all the lessons in the Godly Play curriculum by heart. But adult and child, we learn and practice as we go. This learning together in community with children is both humbling and delightful. It can be challenging to wonder what Jesus meant when He said that unless we, the adults, become like little children, we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. What is it about children and Jesus’ relationship with them that we need to somehow copy? One thing is that as adults we can share in the serious play of spiritual nurture.

Godly Play supports the significance of play in the life of the child. It leaves space in the lesson for silence, slowness, and personal discovery. In the creative response time children will busy themselves building with wooden bricks, modeling with clay, drawing, etc. Some times the bricks become Nineveh or some other biblical place. In my classroom recently, they became a Prayer Labyrinth. This intentional response time allows children the opportunity to deeply engage in the creative process which gives space for them to work on big questions about life. In a safe environment they can give themselves permission to think about difficult issues such as death, meaning, aloneness, and the threat of freedom without having to explain their thoughts to an adult. This is their own discovery-learning time: a space for the Holy Spirit to meet the individual child.

 

For more information about Godly Play, you can visit the Godly Play Foundation webpage. They have resources and training available in a variety of languages (including English and German) and in many countries around the world.

 

Helen Spencer

Godly Play Specialist

TeachBeyond Eurasia

 

Born and brought up in the UK, Helen Spencer has been involved in overseas mission work since the middle 70s mostly in Eastern Europe. After her youngest son graduated from high school (BFA), she was introduced to Godly Play. She now practices and teaches Godly Play in eastern Europe where she is involved with Baby English Club. Helen has found that the elements of Godly Play bring together three of the areas of life that are important to her–creativity (art), storytelling (drama), and nurturing children–and this has a continuing positive impact on her life.

 

Photo Credits: tabernacle. shelia.blogspot. Storyteller. N. Spencer.

Transformational Perspectives: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa

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This issue of OnPractice is taking a slightly different format than normal as we hear from one of our school leaders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Heritier Fima will share with us his perspective on what Transformational Education looks like. A complete transcript (in English) can be found after the video.

I want to say a big hello to you. My name is Heritier Fima, and I am the administrator (Head) here at the Fateb Kinshasa Academy. We’re very happy to be partners with TeachBeyond who really has at their centre a vision to transform and use education as a means to transform children’s lives.

Kinshasa is a big city with a lot of people and a lot of schools. There are things that are particular to our school. Most schools in this area teach subjects like science, maths, and even Bible, but it’s hard to really find what makes that school different. And do we see a difference? So a lot of these schools really struggle with integrating their faith in the daily lessons in a very practical way–in how we prepare and what we teach. That is a struggle in most of the schools in our area here in Kinshasa.

This is what makes the Fateb Kinshasa Academy hopefully different from other schools. We believe that we can integrate God’s Word and God’s values, even at a very young age (3, 4,and 5 year olds) and that’s what makes a difference.

So [a] Christian worldview is really what we are talking about. We believe that it’s not only in the classrooms with these young children, but we also want to integrate it with our administration, the people working for our safety, [and with those] who cook and clean. So it’s at all different levels that Christian values and worldviews should be integrated in all things in the school. So if we don’t live that, and reflect these values, how are our children going to learn these things?

In French there is an expression (and I’m not sure if the translation is going to work), the beautiful woman gives the best that she has.

We see a change in children who came and did not know about or even think about asking for forgiveness if they hurt their little classmate, and now we see changes in those things where they are living their values as well. We are having children memorise by heart and carry God’s Word in their hearts. Parents are surprised and so pleasantly pleased, they even sometimes think, is this school or a church? because of the way that their children are taking home things from the Bible. There is a change in their lives, and that we emphasise that here.

DRCAnd a little bit of advice I can give other schools who are maybe trying to implant this Christian worldview in their schools. Let’s be patient with the children we are trying to develop. As we teach these things, it takes time for these things to really implant. Those seeds need to take root in their hearts and to see them grow. Sometimes change happens fast, and sometimes other things take a long time and it is a slow development. Be patient with those children so that we can see and have faith. Be patient, and pray for these children, that we see a change and transformation in their lives. We need to surround them, love them, and walk beside them as they walk towards a future where they will also make an impact on others around them.

This is what we wanted to say with the things that are happening here at the Fateb Kinshasa Academy.

Heritier Fima
Administrator, FATEB Kinshasa Academy
TeachBeyond DRC

Translation: Tamera Peters, School Start-up Consultant
Transcription: Chelsea VanBuskirk, School Services
Photo Credit: FATEB Kinshasa Academy

Intellectual Virtues: Changing the Way You Think

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Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Romans 12:2 (NLT)
Teachers use a variety of routines in their classrooms to establish clear expectations that help keep things running smoothly. The same process used to establish management routines can also be used to develop thinking routines in the classroom. One of the goals of transformational education is that as students grow in their understanding of God and themselves, we want them to develop as thinkers. We want them to grow and develop intellectual virtues[1].

Intellectual virtues guide how a person pGod transformrocesses, interprets, and interacts with knowledge and truth. The virtues—which include curiosity, courage, honesty, carefulness, tenacity, fair-mindedness, humility, autonomy, and attentiveness—help to guide and develop someone’s disposition, or habits of mind. As Christian educators, we can identify what intellectual virtues are important for our courses, and then provide opportunities for our students to develop these virtues. This is true regardless of how openly we can talk about our faith in the classroom.

There are some practical tools that teachers can use to help develop intellectual virtues, but to be most effective these tools need to be used routinely.  It is through practice and repetition that the students will begin to change the way they think, and to develop intellectual virtues. Here are two thinking routines that can be implemented into a variety of classroom settings.

See, Think, Wonder Routine: (intellectual virtues – curiosity, carefulness, attentiveness)STW
This routine can be used in a variety of ways; it encourages close observation skills, the ability to connect to prior-knowledge, and curiosity.  Students write down or say what they see in a photo, painting, or science demonstration.  As they are making these observations they are identifying details that help prepare them for learning new information.  After they record what they see, the students can identify what they think about the picture or demonstration.  This step activates prior knowledge and helps the teacher identify misconceptions.  The last step is for the students to write questions or record what makes them wonder.  As they do this, they are creating a purpose for learning. Students can use this routine to preview a text-book chapter or picture book, to make observations during a science demonstration, to create text-dependent questions for a reading passage, or to look at photos from a certain time period in history.

 Connect, Extend, Challenge Routine: (intellectual virtues – courage, fair-mindedness, humility, autonomy) CEC
The Connect, Extend, Challenge (CEC) routine is a versatile thinking process that can be applied in many different settings.  The students are asked to identify how what they are learning connects with their prior understanding or experiences. They then identify how the new learning extends their understanding.  The last step asks the students to record either how the new learning challenges their prior-understanding, or what is challenging about the new learning.  This routine provides opportunities for classrooms to identify possible distortions of truth, and equips students to be able to actively work through any misconceptions. Part of being intellectually humble is acknowledging that there are opportunities to learn in every situation.  Intellectual courage empowers individuals to not shy away from standing up for truth, even when it is difficult.  The combination of being courageous and humble means that students will be open to new learning, but not afraid to take a stand against distortions of truth. The CEC routine helps to facilitate this way of thinking. CEC can be used to record notes during a lecture or reading assignment, to activate prior-knowledge at the beginning of a unit, to reflect on a unit of study, or to organise a journal entry.

ELL Connection:

When combined with routines that require student discourse, such as Turn and Talk or Round Robin, these thinking routines use a great deal of language and students are highly engaged.
These routines were developed through The Visible Thinking Project. Researchers from Harvard’s graduate school of education have developed a series of routines that teachers can use in their classrooms to help develop intellectual virtues. These are just a few tools that educators can use to help develop Christian thinkers.  The important thing to remember about routines is that they need to be used multiple times in a variety of ways.  The goal is for the students to internalise these different approaches to thinking without having to be prompted by a teacher.

So, try out the Connect, Extend, Challenge routine yourself.  How did this article connect with your experience as an educator?  How did it extend your understanding of developing Christian thinkers?  How has this article challenged you, or what challenges can you identify with using these routines in your classroom?
As we regularly practice these thinking routines in our classrooms, we will begin to see our students hone their own thinking and develop intellectual virtues. It allows us to open a door through which our students can experience God’s hand transforming them into a new person by changing the way they think.

Leighton Helwig, M.Ed.
Philippines National Director/Regional Education Specialist
TeachBeyond

[1] Philip E. Dow, superintendent of Rosslyn Academy in Kenya, has written a helpful book on the topic: Virtuous Minds: Intellectual Character Development.

Templates for both these routines can be found on the TeachBeyond wiki page.
Photo Credits: L. Helwig

Transformed Teachers Bring Transformational Education

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“TeachBeyond teachers are ‘born again’ teachers – that is, teachers who themselves have been transformed and filled with God’s Holy Spirit to become empowered for a ministry of transformation.”[1]

It wasn’t yet 8:00 a.m., and it had already been a difficult day. So when Levi[2] came to school late and out of dress code—again—I snapped. It wasn’t my finest hour, yelling at this 11th grade boy in the middle of the school foyer. Even in the moment, I was aware that this was not the right way to handle the situation—but I didn’t really care. After sending Levi to call home for appropriate attire, I took a deep breath and left the school grounds. For about half an hour I stormed around the neighbourhood, tears streaming down my face, trying to ignore the stares of the construction workers who must have thought this foreign lady who kept passing them was majnuneh—crazy. Eventually, I calmed down enough to have a rational conversation with the Lord and by the time I returned to the school I realized that was not the only conversation I needed to have.

The wary look on Levi’s face when I pulled him out of maths confirmed what I already knew.3892422834_e4eb787ce8_m  It wasn’t easy, but I apologised to this young man for the way that I had conducted myself. While affirming that violation of school rules still had consequences, I acknowledged that I was wrong for losing my temper and that I was sorry. He was wrong, but so was I.

At TeachBeyond, we talk a lot about transformational education, but the truth is that while education can open many doors and provide many opportunities for students, this is not the type of transformation that we mean. We want more for our students than entrance into good universities, more than advanced economic opportunities or emergence as good global citizens. We want our students to experience life to the full—life that comes through the indwelling power of the Spirit of God. We want our students to know Truth and to make connections between God’s Word and the world He has created. Wherever we find ourselves teaching—in contexts that welcome the gospel, or those that are hostile to it—we do what we do because we believe in the transformational power of the Holy Spirit to bring this life abundant.

502363271_72597af8e0_mIf we want to see our students, schools, and communities transformed and filled with God’s Holy Spirit, we cannot rely simply on best teaching practices—though they are important. Transformational education comes about when teachers themselves are being transformed. This basic truth is so foundational to what we are called to do in the classroom that it bears restating from time to time.

If we want to see life-giving transformation happening in our students, then we as teachers need to be intentional about pursuing our own relationship with Jesus. We need to root ourselves deeply in His presence, and open ourselves up to the encouragement and chastisement of His Word. As we do so, our lives will begin to reflect the transforming work that He is doing in us.

When I blew up at Levi that morning, he saw me at my worst. But the Lord gives grace, and as I allowed the Spirit to work in my heart to convict and correct me I was able to show Levi something else as well. I was able to show him that Jesus can change the heart of an uptight, angry principal. I may never know what, if any, impact that encounter had on Levi, but I know this: in that moment, I was transformed. My heart learned a bit more how to soften towards Jesus and towards my wayward students. I started to look a little more like Jesus that day.

While our stories of transformation are not always as dramatic as the one above (and praise the Lord for that!), our lives are often the loudest testament of the gospel that our students hear. Regardless of whether we can openly proclaim biblical truths, our lives bear witness day in and day out to the truth of what we believe. So if we really want to see those around us transformed, we need to tend to our own faith lives. Transformational education begins with the Holy Spirit’s transforming work within each one of us. And that is something worth celebrating!
Becky Hunsberger, M.Ed.
Coordinator of Teacher Education Services
TeachBeyond

[1] George Durance, “Transformational Education: An Effective Expression of the Gospel”

[2] The name has been changed.
Photo Credits: Given Up. and.e. Flickr via Compfight cc. Desperate Prayer. Mathieu Jarry. Flickr. cc.