Evaluation - Thesis V

Church History Make a survey of a para-church organisation’s work Make a study of a denomination’s distinctives. Practical Theology Keep a journal for a month of daily reflections. Compile a set of 12 prayers of various styles and themes Make an ethical study of an issue in the realm of moral theology, or environmental theology, or social theology. (Term paper) Compile a term’s Sunday School syllabus or an Adult Class outline. Pastoral Theology Describe the character, gifts, and role of a good padre. (Term paper) Agenda and minutes of a Librarians’ meeting. Present a hymn, with music, historical background, application and example of use in a service. (Tape, script and outline) Compile a case history of a person who has been counselled by you, or, compare three case histories of a similar nature from a book on counselling. (Term Paper).

A GRADUATING PORTFOLIO (Alternative to writing a Thesis) Background to the Problem of Assessment Because of the kind of educational background pertaining in Pakistan, most students experience great difficulty in writing an essay. Consequently in their final year in Seminary many find thesis preparation stressful and producing a thesis that is truly academic almost impossible. This is because they have had little or no training in developing a logical argument on any debatable issue or propounding a supported thesis about any issue they wish to present for discussion and consideration. At best their writing is simply descriptive of the writings of others, with little or no evaluation. Also, for the most part, they have had no training in theological reflection and in articulating creative thinking that may result from thinking deeply about a subject. Even marshalling other people’s ideas to find some consensus of the opinions of others can be daunting, quite apart from any critical evaluation of such views and any assessment of their significance for a particular issue under consideration. An Alternative Approach: Portfolios. The portfolio approach to student assessment, taken from the world of advertise-ment, has been used in the arts field for some time now. Where creative expression (being and doing/performance skills) is important, rather than academic knowledge and scholarly understanding, it makes good sense to judge a display of select work done over the period of study. This is presented to demonstrating the development of the student’s performance skills and his or her skills of self-expression. In the theological “school” (whether institution or training programme) what matters more should be the development of Christian character and the formation of biblical attitudes (being), followed by the acquisition of those performance skills involved in Practical Theology (doing) such as communication, counselling, the conduct of worship and management. The traditional fields of Bible Knowledge, of Christian Doctrine and Philosophy, and of Church History (in the educational domains of knowledge and

understanding) can then be seen as what they truly are: means to an end, rather than an end in themselves. It is easy to see why learning largely associated with the acquisition of knowledge and understanding lends itself to assessment by essay and thesis writing. It is not so easy to see how attitudes and performance skills can be assessed. Any evaluation requires the production of some objective material that can reasonably be judged to reveal the approach and ability of the presenter. Some Ideas for Portfolio Presentations • • • • •

Videos of various different communication exercises (e.g. a 5 minute children’s talk) Journal extract of a personal Retreat Outline of a service of worship for a particular occasion with the prayers said. Agenda for a church committee meeting plus minutes of the said meeting Theological reflection on a recent event / pressing issue

How can a portfolio approach replace the essay / thesis in the domains of knowledge and understanding? Here we are not simply looking for a proper understanding of studied material in itself, but for the application of such knowledge to today’s world. So a portfolio might include: • A point-by-point comparison of an historical event with a present situation • A book review of a book on a practical subject. • A selection of scripture passages to illustrate a contemporary problem or personal issue • A 10 minute recording of a presentation of an ethical argument in a debate on Christian behaviour in a particular situation Future Collaboration? No doubt these ideas have been thought about before by someone somewhere! It would save much time and effort to be able to share such thinking in future, possibly over the inter-net or via e-mails. I would be glad to hear from anyone so interested.

Suggested Assignments for

a Basic Theological Portfolio Using the following modes of presentations: Script – tape / video – approach outline – discussion questions – term paper – survey – journal – compilation – syllabus – agenda & minutes – art-work Biblical Studies OT Dramatize an episode either of OT history or in the life an Old Testament character and present a script. Make a tape of a musical version of a poetical section of the Old Testament outside the book of Psalms. Make a presentation of a prophecy using multi-media. (Outline the resulting presentation.) NT Prepare a dramatised Bible Study of an episode in the Gospels or Acts.(Present the script / outline) Outline discussion questions that are culturally related to today for a Study of a NT passage. Doctrine Expound three doctrines that are significant for three common daily Situations (Term paper) Apologetics Show the importance of a key apologetic issue for today. And outline possible solutions to the problems involved. Contemporary Studies Either survey the main cultural challenges to Christian faith today or prepare a study of one aspect of today’s culture. Make a comparative study of one area of Islam and Christianity. Communication Write an essay on communicating the Gospel today. Make a study of the problems of communication in the church and suggest practical solutions. (Survey) Outline a multi-media communication of a Gospel truth. Sermon. (Script as preached in field work)