What's the Problem? Spiritual Formation in Distance and Online Theological Education

Hockridge, Diane

doi:10.1177/002196571105400104

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…After reiterating the common concerns about formation through online education, Hockridge delineates two main areas of pedagogical reflection raised by the increase of online education: the need to understand the learning environment and the need to understand the students and their contexts (Hockridge, 2011: 30). The design of the learning environment is an important part of the “hidden curriculum” in distance education.…”

Section: Strands In the Literature On Spiritual Formation In Online T...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Re-engaging Spiritual Formation in Online Theological Education

Knijff¹

2021

Transformation: An International Journal of Holistic Mission St

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In the recent literature on formation in online theological education, a number of thematic strands can be delineated: the apologetic, didactic, pedagogical, empirical, and geographical strands. However, apart from the early apologetic stage of the discussion theological reflection plays a minor role in the literature. In this article, I argue that theology plays a limited and superficial role in contemporary writings about formation in online theological education. Yet, spiritual formation in online theological education needs theological grounding. Given the accelerated shift to forms of online education across the world, such theological grounding is an urgent task. In this renewed theological engagement, three areas especially call for sustained attention: (1) the multi-faceted nature of spiritual formation; (2) the question of agency in spiritual formation and the consequences for the theological curriculum; and (3) engagement with theological traditions that offer ample material to guide our contemporary thinking about spiritual formation.

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Section: Strands In the Literature On Spiritual Formation In Online T...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Re-engaging Spiritual Formation in Online Theological Education

Knijff¹

2021

Transformation: An International Journal of Holistic Mission St

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“…Theological education in the United States has traditionally emphasized the face‐to‐face interactions of the residential model for education. Online theological education has the potential to be formative if “formation occurs primarily in the learner's own life context and that the primary potential for formational theological education experience at a distance lies in students' local communities” (Hockridge, 2011, p. 32). In other words, online education can help students root in their own communities, instead of in the ideal vision of residential theological education (Naidoo, 2012).…”

Section: Formation and Spacementioning

confidence: 99%

Formation in the postmodern seminary

Abraham

2020

Teaching Theology & Religion

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This essay grew out of the several meetings and discussions of a group of "new Deans" convened by the Wabash Center for Teaching Religion and Theology. Most of us had been Deans for a year or two. The opportunity to think like a Dean led me to reflect on the ways that late-stage capitalist individualism forms and shapes our academic work even as the emphasis in the academy is on the deconstruction of economic, cultural and political systems. In particular, academic leadership in the seminary led me and continues to lead me to think of theological education more expansively than seminary curricula alone. Theological education is about the cultivation of an expansive and capacious imagination, a formation that is both critical and constructive of how Self and Other operate in contemporary social systems. Formation thus emphasizes both personal development and also the development and transformation of a world in need of it. As an international student and scholar, it was always evident to me that the academy was a microcosm of the U.S. cultural and political context. I had dived deep into some of these concerns: Gustavo Gutierrez' liberation theology, Charles Taylor's notions of Self and Authenticity, and Denis Turner's political mysticism and its relevance for the global Catholic church. These scholars had formed my thinking about theological education and the continuing potential of their reflections have deepened in and through my experiences as a Dean. Formation, as Gutierrez, Taylor and Turner may argue, is to unearth and acknowledge the many ways in which our cultural, political, economic and psychological identities intertwine with Western modernity, shaping us and our desire. Further, the critiques of Western modernity and the persistent clarion calls for reforming culture, politics, economics and self-identity also form us. In seminary contexts, these twin competing and contradictory forces also form and shape, creating particular energies that a Dean must navigate. In what follows below, I track these overarching movements to paint a larger picture than the demand for a "manual" on how-to-do theological education today in view of a capacious and expansive theological imagination. Formation, as I shall show, is largely unthought in this larger scale. It happens unconsciously, against the backdrop of cultural, economic and political intersecting contexts articulating particular features of Western modernity and postmodernity. As new Deans, we experienced being thrown into a roil of competing cultures that often stretched our energies to execute the more mundane programmatic issues facing us. Part of the intellectual leadership that was we realized that we needed to engage in is an age-old principle of the Christian tradition: ecclesia semper reformanda est. The church and the academy must constantly reform and reconstruct, building even as we tear down the edifices of prejudice and exclusion. The postmodern seminary engages in intellectual and spiritual practices that integrate both

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The Formation of Online Wisdom Communities amongst Ministerial Students

Porterfield

Isaac-Savage

2013

Journal of Adult Theological Education

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Online and hybrid programs are becoming more commonplace in graduate theological education, yet few studies have examined the formation wisdom communities within a mixed internet-based and face-to-face learning environment. In North America, the 'suitability of distance learning has raged long and loud' (Hockridge, 2011, 4). Hence in this article we seek to explore the formation of online wisdom communities within a hybrid theological program for doctoral students studying preaching. Using Rovai's (2002) classroom community scale, we measured participants' sense of community in the preaching program. As the findings indicate, the participants did experience community and felt a sense of cohesion, trust, and interdependence as well as deriving educational benefits from their interactions with others. We therefore confirm the validity of such a program and call for further research to be carried out in this field. keywords adult learners, community, communities of practice, elearning, online wisdom community, theological education IntroductionLearning and learning communities have caught the attention of education researchers over many years. Various learning theories (with foundations in constructivist, social, behavioural, etc. approaches) help us to understand how adults learn (Merriam, Cafferella, and Baumgartner, 2007). Within the past two decades, adults have begun taking more online and hybrid courses. During this same time period, research into online learning communities has proliferated. Use

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What's the Problem? Spiritual Formation in Distance and Online Theological Education

Cited by 4 publications

References 26 publications

Re-engaging Spiritual Formation in Online Theological Education

Re-engaging Spiritual Formation in Online Theological Education

Formation in the postmodern seminary

The Formation of Online Wisdom Communities amongst Ministerial Students

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