2 November 2009 / Introductions and Orientation / Koinonia

Introduction

Our primary task this week will be to orient ourselves to each other, and the work of the class. You can find a very brief introduction to this website here:

We begin with koinonia, or what Maria Harris calls the curriculum of community. Each week we'll take up a different element of curriculum, in her framework. But don't worry about that now! You'll be reading her book soon enough. For now, just be aware that this week we're mostly focusing on building community amongst ourselves, and orienting to the work of the class.

Individual work

Read Parker Palmer's To Know As We Are Known, and take the book quiz on that book. Note: you can find some images Parker Palmer uses to visualize his epistemological argument in a pdf document here.

Read this course website, paying particular attention to the requirements page, the more general information about portfolios, and the class blog (which is where we'll post group summaries every week). There are a few "treasures" hidden in the site, and if you're one of the first two people to come upon one and click through to me, I'll send you a free copy of Joyce Mercer's book Welcoming Children.

By Friday, read the class blog and participate in the discussion by commenting on some part of the blog (click on the comment link following a post).

On Friday, fill out a CIQ for the past week

Group work

From Monday until Wednesday, work on introducing yourselves to each other in your small group by sharing your history in religious education: how did you learn about your faith? how did you learn about other religions? have you ever taught someone else about faith? Answer at least those questions, but please feel free to continue the conversation beyond that.

By Wednesday, your group should post a summary to the class blog that lists any similar trends in your history, and that highlights interesting differences.