Asynchronous pedagogy in a theological setting

These are slides that accompanied a presentation I offered to the BSK faculty in August of 2023.

1. Mary E. Hess
Luther Seminary
August 22, 2024
finding a way forward…
Asynchronous learning

2. a brief outline
Today
•my slides are here for you — let’s talk together and refer to them only
as necessary!
•2/4 process to discuss specific challenges at BSK
•harvesting in a large group
•resources for further engagement

3. conversations in pairs/
quartets

4. what is your most pressing concern right now
about teaching in this modality?
where do you find support for engaging that
concern?

5. harvesting in a circle
process

6. what does the research
say?

7. Promises
•to reach more students in ways that are conducive to deep learning
•to make it possible to work with students from around the globe
•to create intentional frameworks for formative learning
•to create opportunities for learning that extend far beyond formal
degree programs, while drawing on such programs
•to create more flexibility for faculty (and others designing such learning)
•to contradict taken for granted authority and classroom structures —
which can be very constructive and engaging!

8. Contradictions
•it can be difficult to support embodied presence and learning
•it can be challenging to create learning that deepens awareness of and
responsiveness to nonverbal forms of language
•unless careful attention to this goal is engaged, it can be very difficult to ensure
equitable forms of equipment for each student
•unless an institution is committed to intentionality it can become one more burden
on faculty with few resources for learning
•it can be more expensive than other modalities, depending on how you resource
students
•it tends to contradict taken for granted authority and classroom structures — which
can be confusing and distracting

10. a trinity of ideas
Key dynamics
context collapse
authority, authenticity, agency
ignite, curate, practice

11. goal needs to be to
create shared context

12. how to build context?
remember
authority, authenticity, agency

13. figure out the most manageable way to ensure your presence
authority
CIQs (Brookfield’s critical incident questionnaires)
pre-recorded (short!) intros/outros that touch on current events (could
be a prayer, could be a brief comment the course, etc.)
do not assume agreement or support for what you are teaching
simply because you are the faculty member: be open, humble, and
manifest a learning posture
always presume good intentions on the part of your students, until
proven otherwise
consider offering a clear “office hours” time when students can drop in

14. a few options in asynchronous settings
authenticity
ask yourself how to invite your students to “feel” their way through
your learning objectives
create shared experiences via pre-produced media (youtube is
full of good stuff, and I’ve listed some options later in this slide
deck under the “ignite, curate, practice” section)
invite students to describe their context using photos and
narrative (audio/sound)
go slow in the beginning, so you can speed up near the end (think
about “theory U” work)

15. further ideas
agency
check in with certainty the first week! in other words, make sure that
everyone on your list is engaged in some way — try a treasure hunt
with your syllabus, do an untimed quiz, ask for a video response to a
question using something like padlet
while you may be in asynchronous mode, you can ask students to
pair up (or in trios) to meet synchronously via their zoom accounts
offer lots of options in terms of reading (perhaps a list?), assignments
(consider ungrading), yet hold a clear line with deadlines

16. ignite, curate, practice!

17. ignite (engagement) examples
•Sen. Raphael Warnock’s DNC speech
•exploring James Cone’s ideas from The Cross and The Lynching Tree
through the anniversary of Strange Fruit
•glimpsing historical trauma through a piece made by a youth collective in
Idaho
•No Good Reason (Natalie Merchant records a song written by a teen
experiencing homelessness)
•How Can I Keep From Singing (virtual choir inviting song amidst pandemic)
•What kind of an Asian are you? (using humor to explore micro aggressions)

18. curate (representation) examples
•Enter the Bible (a basic biblical site by Luther Seminary)
•the Pluralism Project (Harvard)
•a visualization of Robert Kegan’s orders of consciousness (Steve
Thomason)
•the Law School Dean’s Antiracism Clearinghouse
•a Racial Justice Bibliography (weblog, in particular)
•lectionary resources (slides at Vanderbilt, an African American lectionary,
WorkingPreacher, TextWeek, etc.)
•choose a topic and do some wikipedia sleuthing!

19. practice (action and expression) examples
•choose a topic and ask your students to “chatGPT” it
•wisdom in the age of information (Maria Popova in story)
•a retelling of the story of the woman at the well
•the Washburn Blackbox Acting program (young people writing their
own plays)
•the President sang Amazing Grace (Joan Baez sings a song by Zoe
Mulford)
•Bomba Estéreo - Soy Yo (music video of a young girl’s joy and
resilience)

20. a word about research:
pay attention to whether something is
pre or post pandemic lockdown

21. specific resources
•Faculty Focus essays on teaching with tech (most are very recent)
•special journal issue on “higher education futures at the intersection
of justice, hope, and educational technology” from Springer (summer
2024)
•“Striving for digital equity in higher education” from the journal The
Scholarly Teacher (June 2024)
•Lausanne Movement’s piece on Christian faith and technology (June
2024)
•AAC&U student guide to AI (August 2024)

22. more to explore
•The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed
Learning
•Tech in Churches reports (post pandemic)
•Heidi Campbell’s research (do a search on her name at this site,
which is an open access site at TexasA&M)
•The Scholarly Teacher
•Teaching Theology and Religion
•The Wabash Journal on Teaching

23. I’d love to stay in touch!

24. more info:
Mary E. Hess
meh.religioused.org
[email protected]