Jack, since you are adding this into your discussion question forums, do student's participate when they find out those posts will not count for classroom participation? Just wondering about the amount of student participation you receive.

Thank you,

Lorilee McAfee MHA, MSN, BSN, RN

Hi Jaci,

Thanks for sharing this information.  

It was helpful for me to understand how the students have multiple ways to access the DQs other than going to the Main Forum.

I have set up some Prayer Forms in some of my classes.  I posted an Announcement about this forum in my classes.  A few students have been in the Prayer Forum, but to go back to it the student must go to the Main Forum and go to All to see it after the week, I posted it is gone.

Take care,

Phillip Brown, Ph. D. 

Hi Jacy,

I am sorry that I spelled your name incorrectly.  Thanks for starting this topic.

Phillip

Hi Jacy,

In my experience, I am finding that most of my students are accessing the prayer forum. I had one forum where I requested that we pray for one another. Most of the students will share verses that they stand on or that they have found to be helpful to them.

As far as the CATs, I just strongly urge them to participate so that I can gauge their understanding of the objectives, some students will not, but you always have some that do so overwhelmingly, you may have more participants than non-participants. It can become quite lively providing further sources of information.

Dr. Smith

Thanks Jacy,

I put a faith Integration question in the main forum at times myself. It is surprising but many of the students state they are appreciative. It helps me as well as them.

God bless,

Hello Colleagues:

I actively use the course materials within my course to discuss my Faith and encourage students' to do the same. Within my course I actively discuss Faith within the framework how we as Christians should act and behave, especially applying ethics in a business environment within my classes.

Joseph Kennedy

I have a prayer forum and put a post on the calendar to direct the students. I don't see much activity because students are busy with the class requirements, family and jobs.  As a matter of fact one my current students is having surgery on Tuesday due to cancer concerns.  I posted in the Prayer Forum and in the DQ I asked all students to view the Prayer Forum and only one student posted.

I am finding it difficult to find resources on the GCU website to integrate faith.  Any suggestions would be welcomed.

Cindy 

Hello Cindy:

I normally find sites on the internet to coincide with my discussions on Faith in my classes. Also, I use videos from YouTube for my classes as well.

Joseph

Thank you Joseph, I am sure there should be quite a lot on line to integrate teaching and faith.  I just thought GCU would have a scripture for the day or ideas that we can easily access. 

Are your students receptive? 

Cindy

Hello Cindy:

Yes, when I place the biblical devotion within the content of the assignment. Such as in a discussion or applied to a specific assignment. Also, it lets the students' know that I would like them to have scripture in their assignments, especially when it comes to leadership or ethics in the work environment.

Joseph

Hello everyone,

Currently I start and end my class with prayer and many of my students state they appreciate it. I occasionally use the course materials within my course to discuss my Faith, provide students examples, and how it pans into nursing and encourage students' to do the same. I like the idea of putting a scripture and prayer for the week in the DQ forum and I will work on incorporating that as well.

Hello All,

I include a weekly devotional at the end of my weekly course announcement. I sometimes will get comments on it, additional verse or even a "thank you I needed that" type of comment.

  I also have a separate course announcement title "Faith Forum". I post a devotional and state that this is a space to share prayer requests or any other discussions on faith, if you wish.  I usually have 3-4 steady participants per class in this forum.

Have a nice summer!

Deb

I am late getting into this discussion, so my comments may not be chronological in terms of what has been said already.

When GCU approved its Doctrinal Statement, I signed up for the first faculty webinar.  I was shocked at the response of many of my peers who wanted nothing to do with it.  I hope the University has "cleaned house" and gotten rid of such faculty members.

I also teach for Liberty University in VA.  Every prospective faculty member has to agree to the Universities doctrinal statement.  I am the Subject Matter Expert for GOVT 360, Introduction to Public Administration.  Every one of my written assignments or discussion board activities has a grading rubric that includes scriptural or biblical worldview application.  The other courses I teach have at least one or two assignments or activities with scriptural application or biblical worldview application as a requirement, and students take a course that includes biblical worldview instruction..  And yet, here at GCU, not one of the courses I have been assigned to has a scriptural or biblical worldview application requirement.  I have wanted to attempt to add them to the course requirements when I do a course revision, but there have not been any opportunities to do a revision recently--and most of the courses in Justice Studies really need updating.

Anyway, I feel that if GCU takes its standing as a Christian university seriously, it needs to  (1 ) make sure all faculty members support that philosophy;

(2) make sure all students coming to the university understand and are taught about the Christian worldview and its application in all areas of education.

(3) include scriptural or biblical worldview application in assignments and activities, including the grading rubrics for them.

(4) and, although not related to this topic, end the Open Enrollment Police and screen students with English placement exams and prerequisites for courses so students are prepared for the courses they enroll in, and we instructors can stick to teaching our topic, not basic English grammar.

I will leave my comments at these for now.

I look forward to seeing your feedback to them.

-Dick

Good Afternoon -

I too may be late to add my comment, but what I have done is find a Bible verse applicable to what the week's topic of discussion is all about.  Say for example, if the students will be working on improving their budgeting and money skills, I look for verses that emphasize being a good steward, overall stewardship, how money can transcend into idol worship - things along that nature.  I then ask them for their opinions on the verse, or if they have any personal experiences they can contribute, and if so, did they feel their actions were positive in light of what is said in the Bible verse.  I've gotten some good responses and some lively conversation threads. I also try to incorporate faith into my responses to show them that there is a connection, big or small, to actions and God's Word.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment.  Have a good day!

Darlene.

Hello Colleagues:

Richard, I read your post and I agree, faculty members should accept and abide by GCU’s doctrinal statement. However, many students' are getting to know who Jesus Christ is and as faculty we should provide specific biblical references from the Holy Bible within our student assignments. Unfortunately, most students' today do not know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, they were not raised in Christian homes. I accepted Christ when I was 25 years old, I was not raised in a Christian home. As faculty, we should do our best to provide realistic scenarios and information from biblical perspectives into our assignments in order for students' to understand and relate to Christian beliefs, from our Holy Father in Heaven. One of the best ways I have been incorporating biblical truths in my classes, is through my prayer forums in my classes. Several students' have real situations in their lives and for me to help and guide them through biblical truths is a way for them to understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Joseph

I would like to recommend the book "The Wisdom of Solomon at Work; Ancient Virtues for Living and Leading Today",  It can be read in an afternoon. It ties the virtues of the faith of Job, the courage of David, the compassion of Ruth, the integrity and justice of Moses and the wisdom of Solomon to contemporary examples of how we face the same struggles in our lives and challenges us to conduct that deep self examination that these figures did to strengthen their relationship with God.                                                                      

Manx, Charles, Karen Manz, Robert Marx and Christipher Neck (2001). The Eisdiom of Solomon at Work: Ancient Virtues For Living and Leading Today. Better-Koehler Publishers: San Francisco.

Denise

Interesting discussion. A few observations.

I have put a prayer forum in some of my classes. In some classes I got no interaction; in one class I had several participants. 

I have mostly taught online classes for the past five and half years.. I recently begin teaching cohort classes for Master-level counseling program. I talk to the class about praying with the class in the first night. I also talk about praying with clients when in the profession. This is an important discussion because one of our ethical standards is that counselors do not force their values on their clients. To model this, I believe that teachers of counselors should not force their values such as prayer on their students. To date, the students have decided that I will not begin classes with prayer. I do begin each class with a Biblical text that illustrates the theme of the week. Students are open to the thoughts the texts present.

I also incorporate a Bible verse at the end of each weekly announcement.

I have added a Christian worldview question in my CATs one time. No students responded to the question. I found that interesting.

Jacy, I did count the Christian worldview CAT as a possible participation grade. Still no response.

Ron

Araxi asked, "I am wondering if placing prayer suffices GCU doctrinal statement or should we as faculty be incorporating Christian scenarios within the content of the assignment?"

Good question,. When we have questions about faith integration in these Faculty Discussions I wish some staff from the University would participate. I have not seen any participation from the university's leadership or administration. We are having this discussion in a vacuum. I feel it is a bit like the blind are leading the blind.

It is rather interesting to "listen" to this discussion on Integrating Faith in the Classroom. I say interesting because, as much as I've read about "Bible verses" and so on, no one has offered an operational definition of faith. However, based on the insinuations in the discussions, the reader is left to associate faith with Judeo-Christian dogma. But what of the learners, who are not sympathetic to this worldview; should one conclude that one cannot integrate faith in the classroom? According to the New Testament scriptures in the Hebrew Bible, "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb.11:1, KJV). For Otto Scharmer, author of Theory U, it is to call the future into the present (presence); whereas, social scientist, such as Bandura would conceive of faith as a form of self-efficacy (believing in one's abilities to complete a task ...and this belief does not mean you know you have the ability; it is the substance of things hoped for."

A complex phenomenon, such as faith, needs an operational definition, so we are sure that the discussion stays on stream.

Thoughts, anyone?
Hazel

Ron and All,

I asked this question because most of you mentioned that you start the class with a prayer.  It is great and I concur but my understanding of the doctrinal statement  is

• Incorporating a Christian worldview into the classroom. 
• Incorporating Christian Worldview in a Spirit of Open Inquiry

https://cirt.gcu.edu/gcufaculty/frc/facultyacademy/odw/doctrinalstatement

Although, I don't do it religiously, because the topic at hand sometime is not easy to incorporate.  Also, in my class, I have had students from various religious backgrounds.  I find the student sometimes caught in the middle not sure what to say. Ideally, it would be great to build into the curriculum - DQs, paper, etc. 

On the other hand, I have students who bring into the discussion Christian view and I find the rest of the students don't respond to the student and I am the only person engaging with the student.  

Araxi, To date I have never started a class with prayer and would only do so if 100% of the students were in agreement with it. This in keeping with our ethical guidelines found in the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics. 

I have asked students if other professors begin their classes with prayers. They tell me they have never had a class opened by prayer by an instructor.

Ron

Colleagues, Araxi reminded us that the doctrinal statement exhorts us to "incorporate a Christian worldview into the classroom ... ." My interpretation of that does not translate to incorporating "religion" in the classroom. I propose that opening with prayer is opening with religion; this may be an affront to others in the learning environment. I would say that to incorporate a Christian worldview is to look for the universal truths in the Judeo-Christian Bible, and speak that truth into the classroom. Let me try to illustrate it this way:
In the Bible, the historical Jesus asked those, who would follow Him to love their neighbours. The scriptures tell us how God so loved ... that He sacrificed himself. In addition, we are told a parable of the Samaritan, who helped a stranger he found beaten on the side of the road. How might we transfer the essence of these stories into the classroom? By following God's example, as facilitators, we may have to make sacrifices for the growth and success of our learners. We may sacrifice a day-off to help a learner grasp a concept, so (s)he can move forward with an assignment or catch up with the class. The Bible is not the ONLY Holy Book that speaks of love one to another; so does the Quran and the Bhagavad Gita. So, to speak of God and Jesus is to speak "religion"; whereas, to speak of the essence of the love of which these books refer is to incorporate a universal truth which, when lived, results in individual and organizational growth.

This does not mean I do not pray for my learners; I do so on the Class Wall or in Individual Forum. I pray for the learners and those who will assess their performance during their Defense - whether Proposal or full Dissertation. Christian worldview does not have to be built into the curriculum for us to incorporate it into the classroom. In the Book of Proverbs, we are given a glimpse into the lives of ants - how they store up food. What does that have to do with the classroom? We can encourage learners to save their discussion threads, especially if they have some good sources. When it comes time to write their dissertations, they can always refer to them. This isn't a "religious" viewpoint; it is a universal truth: We save for a rainy day ...

Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts, "as iron sharpens iron" (Prov. 27:17).

Hazel

Hello Colleagues:

This is my prayer I posted in my class today:

Hello Students:

I pray for the Police Officers and their families in Dallas!

Prayer:

Oh Heavenly Father, I pray for Police Officers who give/gave their lives to protect people. Heavenly Father, I pray for them and ask that you will comfort them and their family members and stop the needless violence against those who protect us. I beseech thee Father, for people to understand that we need Police Officers. As people, we must be governed, to protect us against enemies that are both foreign & domestic, and I ask Father in Heaven, that we show our appreciation to those who protect and serve us. I ask you heavenly father to help us and comfort our nation during this time.

I pray this Father in Jesus name.

Amen!

Prof Kennedy