First Online Journal for Christians in Higher Education Launched
A committed group of faculty has taken the cause of Christian higher education to a new level. Oral Roberts University recently launched an online journal to document the successful teaching and learning methods specifically for Christian educators.
A committed group of faculty has taken the cause of Christian higher education to a new level. Oral Roberts University recently launched an online journal to document the successful teaching and learning methods specifically for Christian educators.
Entitled The Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for Christians in Higher Education (SoTL-CHEd), the unprecedented Christian publication was conceived through the efforts of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and professionals from member campuses.
Paul and Raye Lakey of Abilene Christian University (ACU) and Kina Mallard of Gordon College helped start what no one else had in the field of Christian higher education. They held workshops in the past few years that sparked the interests of the ORU faculty which then created a task force dedicated to sharing successful learning with other educators.
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A year and a half later, through the grant of CCCU's campus-based faculty development program, the Journal was published to serve "professionals in higher education bound by an interest to improve student learning while remaining true to the tenets of the Christian faith," according to a statement on the Journal website.
"The launch of this journal is the result of the collective efforts of CCCU member institutions and illustrates what can be done when we work together toward a common goal," said Debbie Sowell, ORU dean of instruction and professor of mathematics, in a released statement by CCCU. "Scholarship of teaching and learning presentations by Paul and Raye Lakey of Abilene Christian University and Kina Mallard of Gordon College inspired the faculty initiative that led to the journal’s development. ... We hope that it will serve not only the members of the CCCU, but the larger Academy as well.
"This new online journal will bring Christian education to the table in a new way, one that will honor our commitments to our profession, our colleagues, and most importantly Jesus Christ."
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has already praised the new resource for Christian professionals. Founded in 1905, the Carnegie Foundation is an independent policy and research center whose charge is "to do and perform all things necessary to encourage, uphold, and dignify the profession of the teacher and the cause of higher education."
"We hope to draw the scholarship of Christian educators into academic discourse and to the forefront of academia," said Ardith Baker, editor of the Journal, according to CCCU. "It is our desire to showcase Christian educators, Christian scholarship in the classroom and Christian philosophy. By using an online journal as the venue, we intend to bring well-documented, successful pedagogical practice - which can be examined, discussed and ultimately adopted – to interested scholars and educators worldwide."
The The Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for Christians in Higher Education is available at sotl_ched.oru.edu .
