Integrating
Faith and Learning
In the College Classroom
Part
II
Course Design and Content
By Bill Walthall
In pondering the difference between
expertise and experience, I have concluded that an expert is one who speaks much
about theory but has little to say about practical application. On the other hand, the experienced person
tends to practice all the right things but isn't sure why, other than because
"it works." In integrating
faith and learning, surely there much be some middle ground between these
extremes. As college teachers, we need
to pursue this area more fully.
In Part I, I shared some of my
successes in attempting to integrate teaching and ministry. I discovered very early that setting a
spiritual tone changed the students' perception of me and their subject
matter. Whether interspersed with faith
principles or not, the course syllabus took on a different meaning for the
students. I attribute this response to
the ministry of the Holy Spirit, as He gives meaning and purpose to the
students.
In Part II, I would like to share
some of my efforts to integrate faith and learning in course design and
content. In tackling this aspect of
faith and learning, I immediately ran into problems for the following reasons:
(1) the required course content had already been predetermined without an
integration of faith and learning; (2) a required volume of material had to be
covered within an established period of time, so tampering with content was
risky; (3) content was already fairly condensed; (4) many students saw a
dichotomy between faith and academic life--feeling that the two should be kept
separate and not overlap; (5) the literature offered few specifics on ways to
integrate faith and learning in the field of allied health; and (6) I wasn't
sure just what to integrate.
With that introduction, let me now
share some ideas I have found helpful in integrating faith into learning. As an
allied health teacher, I found that my course content provided fertile ground
for such integration.
Since the knowledge of God through
the Scriptures is central to my life, I began seeking ways to integrate the
Bible into course content. In each of
my teaching areas I inserted information relevant to the Scriptures. For instance, in covering "Burn Management," I used a Bible
dictionary and encyclopedia in putting together a two-page outline of the
significance of fire and burning from a Biblical perspective. The insert included the domestic, religious,
penal, and figurative uses of fire and served as a launching point for brief
discussions of such subjects as the Lord's power and presence, purification,
the symbol of the lake of fire, and Gehenna.
More importantly, however, the outline opened the door for deeper
insights into the psychological reactions that may occur in burn victims. Combining Biblical and psychological facts
offered new insights into both, as well as the area of medical management.
I have found this method to be
helpful in another area--"Evaluation of the Hand." Using a Bible dictionary, I found many
references to the hand, both literal and figurative. Once I have given basic
groundwork in terms of physiology and movement, a discussion of Jesus' healing
of the man with the withered hand becomes more meaningful to the students.
One of the most exciting aspects of
this topic comes when the class as a whole researches the effects of Roman
crucifixion on the hands of Jesus. This
involves not only practical learning, but also offers new insights into the
miracle of the resurrection.
A d to ½-inch nail driven into the distal
forearm just behind the wrist (nails were never driven through the palms, since
they would tear out from the weight of the body) would result in severe damage to
internal structures (nerves, tendons, vessels, et cetera). And to this the probable dislocation of the
shoulders and associated nerve damage, and without a miracle, it would have
been impossible for Jesus to use His hands for many of the postressurection
activities listed in the Gospel narrative.
A careful study of this subject helps many students gain a better grasp
of the reality of the miracle.
As I designed my course curriculum,
I had to struggle with a basic question: What was to be my emphasis in terms of
course content-Bible knowledge or allied health? Actually, the answer was decided for me because State board exams
test allied health knowledge, not Bible information. But students' knowledge needs to go beyond the requisites of
qualifying examinations; thus, they need a sound Biblical philosophy mingled
with their book knowledge. My approach
then was to insert Bible principles into health information wherever possible,
while still meeting the standards of accountability.
The second area of integration, and
certainly a most crucial one, is the application of practical aspects of Bible
knowledge and Christian living in real-life situations. Here again, the Scriptures serve as the
central focus.
For example, the book of Job offers
a case study in grief reaction and suffering.
Although this is an important area for students to know about when they
enter the field of allied health, it is even more vital for them to work out
their own philosophies on the subject.
There is a simple method for
accomplishing this. Stopping at
convenient points in the syllabus, I interject typical case studies. After I elaborate on the physical aspects of
the problem, I challenge the students to relate the case study to the spiritual
realm. Such questions as, "Knowing
what you do about this patient and his disability, how do you think he is
reacting to God?" Or, "To what portions of Scripture would you point
this patient if he asked, 'Why did God let this happen to me?' or 'Why is God
allowing my child to suffer like this?'"
Although this area borders on
Christian philosophy and theology, it also encompasses practical issues that
should be dealt with by allied health students.
Another method that can be helpful
is the use of illustrations. This easy-to-implement method involves comparing
or contrasting Biblical principles with the subject matter. For instance, in "Manual Muscle
Testing" we discuss the relationship between the agonist and the
antagonist muscles. Sometimes they
balance each other and sometimes they work together, but other times one has to
relax while the other contracts. This
is a beautiful illustration of the relationship between our own minds and the
mind of Christ.
In other unit dealing with muscles,
I discuss the principle that any loss of muscle strength or join integrity
makes walking more difficult and results in greater energy drain on the
body. The spiritual parallel is this:
If our spiritual lives are out of joint or are weak in some area because of
sin, then our walk as Christians is more difficult and draining.
From there, I go on to illustrate
the difference between strength and endurance in a muscle. A muscle may have the appearance of
strength, but when given an endurance test, it fails. So it is with the Christian.
He may appear to be strong on the surface (knowledge, savvy) but fail
the test if it is prolonged and he becomes discouraged. Therefore, we must be consistent in
strengthening the spiritual life just as we would build endurance into a
muscle-by repetition with a moderate amount of resistance (Make it work!).
The illustrations relating to the
body are so numerous that endless examples could be cited. But how are these to be applied in the
classroom? My method is to ask a lot of
questions. Sometimes these questions
come spontaneously; most of the time they require a lot of preparation, especially
if I want to quote a verse with the illustration.
The above materiel offers a brief
overview of some of my discoveries in integrating faith and learning in the
college classroom. Most discoveries
have come by trial and error; some through the help of my friends. I feel strongly that the Holy Spirit is the
Prime Mover in this integration process, for He brings out that complete
integration and seeks to achieve a perfect unity of creation. I am convinced that any Christian teacher
who desires to integrate faith and learning can do so if he determines to make
his teaching a ministry and seeks wisdom and help from the Holy Spirit.
I would like also to suggest open
communication among college teachers, through journal articles and other means,
in order to share specific, practical ways of integrating faith and
learning. Surely there must be an
abundance of knowledge and experience in the field that can be shared. Such communication could open excitement
avenues for the integration of faith and learning that would benefit both
teacher and student.