'Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they shall not turn from it.'
The Canterbury Religious Studies Network is a group of teachers who come together to share and discuss our teaching of Religious Studies. We currently have four faith schools involved and we are looking for more members/ schools to join us!
This is open to Primary and Secondary teachers/ schools who are interested in asking questions, seeking advice and sharing resources. Coming together as a Network allows us to form connections with others who are working on similar projects or those who are able to develop our thinking.
We have just launched our website which will provide you with details around our vision and areas of development. Click here to view our website!
To sign up and join our Network please fill in the Form below:
A key feature of our Network is the focus on 'Collective Genius'. Each individual has particular skills and knowledge. When individuals are connected on a platform (such as this Network) the possibilities for innovation are huge!
'For complex change you need many people working insightfully on the solution and committing themselves to concentrated action together' - Michael Fullan.
I hope you have had a fantastic start to the year and know you will be well underway getting to know your classes and completing school events.
We were thrilled to work with two school cluster groups on RE 102 - Introduction to Spirituality and TH 101 - Introduction to Catholicism through our blended learning approach which covers 9 hours on line learning and 9 hours face to face time. This has been a significant shift in the delivery of Religious Education professional development and we are continuing to reflect on how we use the individual, group and on line spaces.
You can explore the Moodle site through this video here and if you would like to know more about Blended Learning approaches please comment on this post.
We are looking forward to travelling around the Diocese and celebrating Catholic Schools Day Mass with you. This is an important time where we are able to come together and celebrate our Catholic faith and Education system. Be sure to take plenty of photos and please send them in so we can place them up on this blog.
We are looking forward to working with you in 2017.
Father John O'Connor has created a daily online retreat for Lent that will provide excellent spiritual nourishment for all of us.
Consider Lent 2017 (Ash Wednesday 1st March - Easter Sunday 16th March) as a time of retreat in the midst of your daily routines and commitments with online
encouragement for prayer and growth in faith.
Every day of Lent foodforfaith.org.nz will offer resources including reflections, brief
videos clips and podcasts with links to other helpful resources for your prayer,
reflection and growth in faith.
These online resources have been linked to the CARITAS Units you will be using in your schools during Lent and also he will incorporate aspects of the Spiritual Renewal Programme that Father Rick is suggesting we implement.
Registering for this online retreat takes less than a minute and you will receive an email that is succinct, to the point,
prayerful and will be a great way to start your day.
You can connect with this programme and Father John via Twitter and Facebook.
We look forward to this wonderful opportunity and thank Father John for his efforts in making this available.
“I would like so much for all Christians to be able to comprehend ‘the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ’ through the diligent reading of the Word of God, for the sacred text is the nourishment of the soul and the pure and perennial source of the spiritual life of all of us.”
The Sacred Scriptures are fundamental to our Catholic faith and reading God’s word actively brings us toward a greater relationship with God. Presenting this to our students can at times be challenging and it is important that we have a sound understanding of Scripture.
In this post you will be presented with two methods of Scripture interpretation that you can use with your students as they grow and develop in their understanding of God's Word.
1. The KITE Method
The first method of interpretation we will explore is the KITE Method developed by Barbara Stead. Stead outlined five principles which are central to helping students develop a strong understanding of Scripture both in a 'knowledge and spiritual' capacity.
Please watch the following video which summarizes how to apply the KITE Method to Scripture.
There is also a resource you can use here which outlines the steps to take when applying the KITE Method to a piece of Scripture you are exploring with your class.
2. The Composite Method
The Composite Method was developed by Margaret Carswell and is underpinned by four theoretical conceptions. These conceptions are:
1. The Scripture text should be first experienced as story, enabling students to think and imagine what they hear.
2. Students should engage directly with the Scripture text. The teacher's role is therefore to deliberately arrange activities so that the Bible can be brought into direct contact with students.
3. The Scripture text should be actively taught rather than simply used with children. This involves the teacher engaging in some study of the text prior to teaching so that their teaching is based on a grounded understanding.
4. A thematic approach to scripture teaching is required in which the themes are drawn from the Bible itself. Teachers need to b discerning in their selection of texts to ensure those chosen provide a stepping stone in the development of your students understanding.
The Composite Method uses a three stage process:
Please watch the following video which summarizes how to apply the Composite Method to Scripture.
There is also a resource you can use herewhich outlines the steps to take when applying the Composite Method to a piece of Scripture you are exploring with your class.
Comment in the section below if you have any questions about applying these approaches to your classes.
References
Stead, B. (1994). A time of jubilee: Using Luke's gospel with children. Thornbury: Desbooks.
Bowie, R. (2016) Doing RE hermeneutically - learning to become interpreters of religion. RE today, 34 (1). Pp. 60- 62.
Carswell, M. (2001) Teaching Scripture: The Gospel of Mark: Sydney: Harper Collins Religious.
Elliot, P.l (Ed). To know, worship and love student text series. Books 1- 2. Melbourne: James Goold House Publications.
Engebretson, K., & Fleming, J. (2002). Thriving as an RE Teacher. Cengage Learning: Sydney.
Paul Ricoeur: Essays on language, action and interpretation, CUP 1981, Searching for Meaning, SPCK, 2008.
