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December 2006 Parents Progress Archives Planning to Visit?
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Common learning experience Students take course to understand Messiah’s foundation, identity, and mission In the spring of 2005, Messiah College officially introduced its first course designed to be a common learning experience for first-year and transfer students. Entitled “Created and Called for Community,” the course embodies the three key themes of creation, community, and vocation. The themes represent the foundational heritage of Messiah and outline key elements found in the College’s confession of faith. Ultimately, “Created and Called for Community” seeks to enhance students’ understanding of the mission and identity of Messiah College, which serves as the basis for the core course. “Created and Called for Community” was envisioned years ago by former president Rodney Sawatsky and then provost Kim Phipps, who is the college’s current president. They designed a common learning experience, from which students would be able to grasp Messiah College’s mission, identity, and foundational values. John Stanley, director of the core course and professor of Bible and religious studies, commented on the significant role the course serves in students’ education, saying, “We want students to understand Christian vocation as it relates to service, leadership, and reconciliation.” Messiah College is not the only college that requires students to take a core course, but according to Stanley, “Created and Called for Community” is unique. Similar courses rely primarily on ancient texts. However, “Created and Called for Community” utilizes a variety of 20th and 21st century texts in addition to ancient texts, maintaining a more contemporary curriculum. For example, Messiah students read "Gracious Christianity" by Douglas Jacobsen and Rodney Sawatsky and "God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our World" by Desmond Tutu. Designed as a required course within the general education curriculum, the course incorporates an interdisciplinary basis of learning. The fields that the course draws from include music, art, literature, Bible, theology, history, politics, psychology, sociology, environmental science, and leadership theory, among others. To parallel the focus on an interdisciplinary structure, the faculty who teach the “Created and Called for Community” classes also come from a wide range of backgrounds and specialties. Some faculty members volunteered to teach the class and others were selected. Faculty were evaluated against a number of criteria, including their level of commitment to interdisciplinary studies, and the depth of their exploration of Christian faith in connection with contemporary issues. In order to consistently evaluate the effectiveness of the course, faculty members who teach the course meet on a regular basis. Also, a 2006 survey was administered to students to assess their thoughts on the course and those teaching it. Students said their professor related the course to his/her faith and displayed an interest in the students’ learning. Improvements continue to be made to the course, such as adjustments to the reading list, to more completely embody the themes of creation, community, and vocation. John Yeatts, associate dean of general education, said that the course “attempts to directly communicate the content and implications of our Christian identity to the students.” Students experience community with each other through study sessions, special projects, and discussions. As part of the course, students write a faith journey narrative in which they consider how their faith relates to the themes of vocation, service, leadership, and reconciliation. “We are planting seeds that flower when students reflect upon their experiences in light of core texts,” Stanley added. To obtain more information on “Created and Called for Community,” parents are encouraged to visit www.messiah.edu/academics/general_education/core_course/. |
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