One Semester in One Week

Yeah, you read that correctly---one semester in one week. The first week of January I, along with a host of others, took the introductory teaching class for Ph.D. credit: Theories of Teaching and Learning. The course met from 8am to 5pm each day with a 45min--1 ½ hour break for lunch and research. The purpose of the course was to prepare students that plan to teach Christian Education classes in the future, or better equip those that currently teach, by over viewing many of the foundational aspects of Christian Education. During the course we talked about various definitions, practices, and themes within the Christian Education field. It was a long day and often a bit irritating as I listened to things I had already heard at least twice from previous undergraduate and master’s courses; however, I enjoyed the discussions and hearing the diverse voices that filled the classroom. One thing that is unique to the one-week courses is the mixture of residential students and current faculty track (CFT) students that come in from all over the world to take the course. Let me briefly introduce you to my classmates:

The CFT Students:


Mark--a young man who teaches in Uganda for a CCCU exchange program.

Malachy--a middle-aged woman that teaches at New York Theological Seminary (which I was excited when she introduced herself because NYTS is VERY liberal---too bad she isn’t).

Nancy--an elderly Chinese woman that teaches and helps her husband run a Chinese Theological Seminary in Australia

My Residential Friends:

Jennifer from SoCal (a former missionary in India).

Beatrice--who is originally from Korea, then lived in Brazil, and now lives in SoCal working as a professor and Christian counselor.

Mariette who is originally from Iran and a pastors wife.

Laura from SoCal who works at Biola in the registrars office (bless her heart).

Joseph a pastor and teacher from Korea.

And of course the professor--Dr. Kim who is Korean-American. He grew up in Chicago and has a wealth of interesting stories to tell.

As you can see, my class was filled with diverse voices! I loved it! The best part of the week was the last day. After a week full of lectures, group discussions, researching for a literature review proposal (which I am currently working on to turn in before the end of January), reading, studying, and preparing for a final oral “test” we all went out to lunch as a class. Jennifer offered to take us to her favorite local Indian restaurant. It was so fun to chat and experience a culture that belonged to none of us (except maybe Jennifer since she was a missionary in India for three years). And, we convinced Dr. Kim to do lunch will all his inter-term classes (present and future) the last day!

Now that the whirlwind week is over I am finishing up research and reading on Youth Group Graduate and Young Adult Retention in the Church and writing up a literature review based on my findings (I know sounds thrilling huh?). I should have it done by the middle of next week. It’s been interesting to do some extensive research and add to my knowledge of the youth and young adult ministry fields! I hope what I find will be of use someday and help with my upcoming dissertation!

The course aside I have also been working on P90X with Chris, enjoying the unseasonably (so they say) warm weather, and preparing for the coming semester. I have been asked to join the PhD Task Force (a group that plans special events and helps better the program) and I am in the process of finding an internship. Hopefully, I’ll be teaching in an undergraduate class this Spring or Fall and interacting with some students! I’ll keep you posted on what lies ahead!

--Megan