The Wabash Center's Dialogue On Teaching

While the learning curves of faculty are sharp and while there is uneven institutional change – re-tooling and adapting to virtual environments is happening.  Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Israel Galindo (Columbia Theological Seminary).   

While the mission of theological education remains solid, the institutional turmoil has been exacerbated by the crisis of the pandemic.  These two prominent presidents will discuss the ramifications, implications and possibilities for seminaries during this societal upheaval.  Additionally, they will discuss the heightened uncertainty of the vocations of religion and theology scholars in the acade...

What if this is a moment to recast educational institutions toward integrity and imagination?  This threshold moment could be a time for justice in education.  Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Maureen H. O'Connell (La Salle University). 

What if my presence is dangerous to the well-being of others? Taking agency and responsibility as an act of spirituality and faith maturity.  Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Emmanuel Y. Lartey, the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Pastoral Theology and Spiritual Care at Candler School of Theology. 

What if face-to-face is not the best kind of teaching?  Constructing community must be intention in any delivery system.  Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Marcia Riggs (Columbia Theological Seminary). 

In this time of uncertainty and grief, religious leaders need new and old imaginations to unleash the power of liturgy and sermons to heal, comfort, and inspire. What intellectual, spiritual and creative wells can be drawn upon to address the suffering of the people? Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Lisa L. Thompson (Vanderbilt University) and Dr. Richard Voelz (Union Presbyterian Seminary).

How is the pandemic a cause of revelation? Resisting the sink into doom, and rather unveiling opportunities for hope, might be the challenge of the moment. Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Tina Pippin (Agnes Scott College). 

The pandemic has caused questions and new curiosities to come alive in this moment. Learning through discovery is of mutual benefit to teacher and learner. Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Mary Hess (Luther Seminary).

Teaching during the pandemic needs deep listening, resistance to expedient actions, and awareness that people are differently vulnerable and differently resourced. Adjusting syllabi might mean asking ,“In what ways does the course content relate to this crisis moment?” Every course will need a different pivot, adjustment, or change.  Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Joretta Marshall (Brite Divi...

Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Marsha Foster Boyd (Luther Seminary) and Dr. Stephanie Crumpton (McCormick Theological Seminary). Pandemic, crisis, quarantine, homeschooling, working remotely, job loss, grief and sorrow - all experiences of stress, strain and struggle. This conversation will focus upon issues of care for the soul during this time of Covid-19. What practices of self-care are ne...

We start where we are!  Teach from the disorientation of the pandemic with reliance upon mutuality and interdependence one with another.  Our adult learners share in the suffering, as well, they share in the discovery as we learn together.  Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Bobbi Patterson (Emory University). 

Conventional and online teaching are two options, and competency based theological education is a third option. Adding competency based theological education is a viable response to the COVID crisis in education.  Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Kent Anderson (Northwest Baptist Seminary, British Columbia).   

School campuses and classrooms have become ghost towns. What has the pandemic crisis done to all of education.  Crisis is calling us to think creatively about the need for communal epistemologies.  Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Kenneth Ngwa (Drew Theological School).  

Students are asking questions about the pandemic, the messages of the Bible, and faith during crisis. What does it mean to teach the Bible in ways that recognize contemporary crisis and opportunity?  Dr. Mitzi Smith (Columbia Theological Seminary) and Dr. Roger Nam (Portland Seminary) discuss their creative approaches to teaching biblical literature and interpretation during this pandemic.

What would it mean to face failures in education which are being laid bare in this moment of crisis? Risking the perilous questions could lead to prophetic imagination and moral renewal of church and society. Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Katherine Turpin (Iliff School of Theology). 

In this time of liminality, listen for student needs and student requests about their own learning, curiosity and unique family situations. Consult with colleagues about teaching in ways previously unexplored. Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Rolf Jacobson (Luther Seminary). 

Creating worthwhile experiences for students using a digital platform can provide new, interesting and creative options in teaching. Cultivating the digital imagination will help teaching into the future. Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Kwok Pui Lan (Candler School of Theology - Emory University). 

The theo-poetic is the root from which all theology grows; discussion on the importance of rituals and rites of passage during crisis and the poetry which assists in survival and “thrival.” Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Heather Murray Elkins (Drew Theological School). 

Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Emilie Townes (Vanderbilt University - The Divinity School) and Dr. Valerie Bridgeman (Methodist Theological School in Ohio).  In crisis times, the creative voice speaks to the soul. The scholarly voice does not have to eclipse the creative voice. As published poets and scholars, these womanists will talk about their creative process and its influence upon their...

Do not confuse online teaching with crisis teaching – we are in crisis! Rather than fighting to maintain normal, consider ways of survival, ways of being realistic, and humane while teaching during the pandemic. Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Almeda Wright (Yale Divinity School). 

This moment of crisis has rendered most of us speechless, unable to articulate or reflect upon the unfolding crisis. What other kinds of knowledge will assist us with grappling with this kind of suffering, isolation and grief? What metaphors, similes, sounds, body postures/movements, or ways of knowing will aid us? Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Carolyn Medine (University of Georgia).

The barage of sustained crisis is weighing heavily.   Even while enduring crisis, moments of clarity about issues of vocation, identity, and spiritual awareness are possible. What are questions of discernment which comfort, guide, and stabilize us during this time of flux.  Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. Su Yon Pak, Senior Director and Associate Professor of Integrative & Field Based Educ...

Practical and heartfelt ways to bring closure to the semester, be in quarantine with your family and loved ones, and not succumb to unrealistic expectations during the pandemic.  What is the least you will require from your self and from others?  Dr. Angella Son (Drew Theological School) discusses. 

The initial shock of the pandemic crisis is over - the prolonged crisis keeps unfolding. Our up-ended lives are riddled with fear, grief and uncertainty. What does it mean to cope with the experience of “working twice as hard to get half as much done?”  This is a conversation with Mindy McGarrah Sharp (Columbia Theological Seminary) about coping in these moments.

What does it mean to coach students as the course moves to online teaching? Teaching during the COVID 19 crisis requires we maintain classroom community.  Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts a conversation with Dr. Bernadette McNary-Zak (Rhodes College).