1. WELCOME! Gathering Activity: Gift Boxes Each of us brings gifts to share with the group. Decorate one of the “gift boxes” Write on it one gift you bring to the group. Keep the box with you. renaissance program

2. Welcome to the Teacher Development Renaissance Module Session One: Teaching and Learning – What Shapes Us? renaissance program

3. Please share * Name * Congregation or setting * Role or position in congregation * Number of years in Unitarian Universalism * Number of years in the field of religious education/ministry * Number of Renaissance Modules taken * RE Credentialing status (level completed or in progress) renaissance program

4. Orientation to Teacher Development Renaissance Module Online Evaluation http://www.uua.org/careers/re/renaissance/277437.shtml renaissance program

5. Renaissance Program Administration Adult Faith Development Curriculum Planning Ministry with Youth Multicultural Religious Education Philosophy of Religious Education Teacher Development UU Identity UU History (online) Worship UU Theology (online - in development) renaissance program

6. Think of a teacher who made a difference in your life. What was it about you that allowed that to happen? renaissance program

7. Thomas Groome Shared Praxis

8. What? So what? Now what? renaissance program

9. What? 1.Focusing activity; naming our own knowing 2.Critical Reflection renaissance program

10. So what? 3.Make available the vision/story of the faith community 4. Dialectic -- reflecting on our new information renaissance program

11. Now what? 5.Decision/response (invitation to action) renaissance program

12. 1. Focusing Activity – the hook: What do YOU know about this? not, what have you been told to think about it? renaissance program

13. 2. Critical reflection: An activity to help evaluate or learn more about what we already know renaissance program

14. 3. The story/vision of the faith community: An image that helps make meaning of life; disclosure, not closure. renaissance program

15. 4. Dialectic: Make this your own! What do you affirm, question, add? (the safety valve that keeps us from controlling) renaissance program

16. 5. Invitation to response, action, decision: To return to ones own lived experience again. renaissance program

17. The Courage to Teach On your card……a moment of joy you have had in teaching and on the other side of the card, a moment of despair. renaissance program

18. Session 1 Reflection Questions How have my ideas about the gifts I bring to teaching changed, if at all? How can I enhance the concept of covenanting for my teachers? How has my understanding of Shared Praxis been enlarged or clarified? What questions has this first session raised that I would like to have addressed before the end of this module? (Add them to the parking lot!)

19. SLT #118 This Little Light of Mine This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine (3x) Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Ev’ry where I go, I’m gonna let it shine (3x) Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Building up a world, I’m gonna let it shine (3x) Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. renaissance program

20. Session 2: Teachers as Learners and Seekers Please share an “aha moment” – something that occurred to you during the first session or since that was a new learning, changed your point of view about something, raised a new question, etc. renaissance program

21. SLT #389 Gathered Here Gathered here in the mystery of the hour Gathered here in one strong body Gathered here in the struggle and the power Spirit, draw near. renaissance program

22. “Reduce teaching to the intellect, and it becomes a cold abstraction; reduce it to emotions and it becomes narcissistic; reduce it to the spiritual, and it loses its anchor in the world. Intellect, emotion, and spirit…are interwoven in the human self and education at its best.” -Parker Palmer, The Courage to Teach renaissance program

23. Safe Congregation Practices Specific aspects of safe congregations that affect volunteer teachers are: Providing personal information requested when recruited Abiding by the two-adults-in-the-classroom policies (For the protection of the teacher as well as the students) Reporting any incidents that arouse concerns about safe congregation practices renaissance program

24. Session 2 Reflection Questions What is my role as teacher of the volunteers in the program for which I am responsible? How can I reinforce the mutuality of my relationship with these volunteers? Who is a person I would like to recruit or retain as a teacher, and given what I have considered about teacher recruitment today, how would I approach that person? How can I encourage teachers to celebrate the gifts they bring to religious education?

25. Session 3: Supporting Learners and Seekers SLT #123 Spirit of Life -words by Carolyn McDade Spirit of Life, come unto me. Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion. Blow in the wind, rise in the sea; Move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice. Roots hold me close; wings set me free; Spirit of Life, come to me, Come to me. renaissance program

26. Reflect about the role of space in teaching and learning in faith….. What’s important in an environment beyond safety? What makes a teaching and learning environment in a faith development setting welcoming? renaissance program

27. The Paradoxes of Space Parker Palmer renaissance program Space should be bounded and open Space should be hospitable and “charged” Space should invite the voice of the individual and the voice of the group Space should honor the “little” stories of the students and the “big” stories of the disciplines and traditions Space should support solitude and surround it with the resources of the community Space should welcome both silence and speech

28. Session 3 Reflection Questions What have I discovered or affirmed about a specific aspect of child or youth development that I want to share with one or more of my teachers? How can teachers’ behaviors feed into the classroom management mix—for better or worse? Are there ways in which my learnings about child and youth development translate for my work with adults? How can I use Palmer’s thoughts about space to create learning and teaching environments?

29. Session 4: Toolkits for Teachers – Empowerment for Learning and Seeking Meditation on Breathing Singing the Journey #1009 When I breathe in, I'll breathe in peace. When I breathe out, I'll breathe out love. Breathe in, breathe out. renaissance program

30. Planning a Teacher Development Event Include: Mission and goals for the workshop or event Number of teachers to be involved Format and length Scheduling (with leadership) Content (including activities) Tools that teachers need for ongoing support and daily use (continued ) renaissance program

31. Presentation should include: An overview of the teacher development workshop/event With statement of the mission and goals of the workshop A list of the tools that teachers need for ongoing support and for daily use as they facilitate in lifespan faith development classrooms A demonstration of at least one activity you would do with your teachers renaissance program

32. Session 4 Reflection Questions What support am I ready to give teachers so they can help the children they teach deal with big life issues, such as bullying, divorce, death? How does attention to “nuts and bolts” details of the program enhance faith development? What “aha” moment have I had as I worked on the group project?

33. Meditation on Breathing Singing the Journey #1009 When I breathe in, I'll breathe in peace. When I breathe out, I'll breathe out love. Breathe in, breathe out. renaissance program

34. Session 5: Group Presentations and Closing Worship Morning Has Come #1000 music and words by Jason Shelton 1. Morning has come, arise and greet the day! Dance with joy and sing a song of gladness! The light of hope here shines upon each face. May it bring faith to guide our journey home. cont’d renaissance program

35. 2. A new day dawns, once more the gift is giv’n Wonder fills this moment shared together. The light of peace here shines upon each face. May it bring faith to guide our journey home. 3. Open our eyes to see that life abounds; Open hearts to welcome it among us. The light of love here shines upon each face. May it bring faith to guide our journey home. renaissance program

36. Collective Reflection on Projects What are the tools teachers need? How can we frame teaching as spiritual development? What were some of the best elements across presentations? renaissance program

37. Session 5 Reflection Questions How can I communicate to teachers or potential teachers that teaching in religious education can be a spiritual practice that will enrich their lives? What will I do to ensure that my own work with teachers and parents will be a spiritual practice?

38. Closing Blessing Ritual (Name), may your teaching project the condition of your soul onto your students and bring a blessing to your ways of being together on your spiritual and religious life journey. renaissance program