Moral and Faith Development

MA-EdL

Course Quote:

“As we work for God in this fallen world, what are we trusting in? To trust in particular methods is to
copy the world and to remove ourselves from the tremendous promise that we have something different—
the power of the Holy Spirit rather than the power of human technique” (Schaeffer, 1974, p. 69).

Course Question:

What role might we play in the moral and faith development of students?

Course Information:

Dates: June 26–July 7, 2023

Time: M-F 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Location: Evangelical Theological College

Course Description:

This course provides an in-depth survey of major theories related to the moral and faith development in
the context of education. It explores current research on the effect of the various environments on moral
and faith development and places special emphasis on the critical examination of these theories in light of
the Christian narrative and the implications for the practice of educational leadership.

Professor Information:

Professor: Theodore (Ted) F. Cockle, Ph.D.

School: Baylor University, Waco, TX (USA)
Email: [email protected]

About Your Professor:

Dr. Ted is a scholar-practitioner who is pursuing more theologically animated forms of leadership and
education. His research interests include educational philosophy, theological anthropology, and moral and
faith development. Dr. Ted is currently studying faith and character development as a Postdoctoral
Research Associate and as a Resident Scholar at Baylor’s Center for School Leadership. This Fall (2023)
he will begin a new role as the Director of Leadership Studies at Baylor University.

Dr. Ted is a co-author of Christ-Enlivened Student Affairs (ACU Press, 2020) and Christian Higher
Education: An Empirical Guide (ACU Press, Forthcoming) and the editor of Ideas, an online publication
of the Association of Christians in Student Development (ACSD).

When he is not teaching or writing, Dr. Ted and his wife, Kate, enjoy spending time outside and reading
to their four boys.

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Required Texts:

This course has no required texts (other than the Bible), but several required readings. All readings are
available in PDF format online at the following location:
https://baylor.box.com/s/07ov3mkt71qlxa6ykowssl3u68ufih0u

Please bring a Bible to class every day.

Questions, Learning, & How to Get There

Big Question Learning Objectives Learning Outcomes

• Students will be able to define

character education
What is Character • An introduction to the
Education and Why Does it current conversation • Students will be able to justify why
Matter? character education is important for
the church, society, and individuals.

• Students will be able to identify

How has education moral • Tracing the historical historic roots of moral and faith
and faith development progression of moral scholarship
historically? and faith development
scholarship • Students will be able to thoughtfully
evaluate moral and faith scholarship

• Students will be able to critically

• Exploring recent
engage and apply theory to current
developments in moral
How does and how should practice
and faith development
education approach moral scholarship
and faith development • Students will be equipped to
today? integrate moral and faith
• Application of theory to
development into their own school
practice
contexts

• Students will be able to situate

theories and practices within the
What are the unique • An introduction to
Christian story
affordances of the Christian distinctly Christian ways
narrative for moral and of thinking about moral
• Students will be able to think and
faith development? and faith development
act “Christianly” regarding moral
and faith development in education

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Philosophy of Education:
“…no teaching, no information becomes knowledge to any of us until the individual mind has acted upon
it, translated it, transformed, absorbed it; to reappear, like our bodily food, in forms of vitality. Therefore,
teaching, talk, and tale, however lucid or fascinating, affect nothing until self-activity be set up; that is,
self-education is the only possible education; the rest is mere veneer laid on the surface of a child’s
nature.”
–Charlotte Mason

Learning happens when the dignity of all is affirmed and when a community is formed around the
genuine pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty (knowledge). Learning happens when these conditions are
met because we, as God’s creatures, were made to take joy in reflecting God’s nature and in sharing what
we have learned about God’s creation with others. When we create such a learning community, we will
accurately reflect the reality that the knowledge we pursue is not ours to hoard, but another of God’s good
gifts to steward.

A theologian named Paul J. Griffiths (2009) gives language to describe these two ways of pursuing
knowledge—curiosity and studiousness. Curiosity is a pursuit of knowledge for one’s own consumption
and use. Studiousness, on the other hand, is a pursuit of knowledge as a gift to steward. Studiousness
seeks knowledge for two purposes: for the sake of enjoying a good gift and to share that gift with others.

Griffiths’s terms provide language for what I hope to see in our classroom. The best learning values the
knowledge itself rather than seeing knowledge as an instrument for individual advancement. Let us seek
to cultivate studiousness together through a generative, relational approach to teaching and learning. In
this approach, rather than merely reviewing the assigned readings, we will engage in organic dialogue
about the big ideas which motivated the readings—most of them related to deepest realities of human
existence. Accordingly, we will aspire to do the following:

• We will affirm the dignity of those with whom we engage, even when we disagree
• We will have both conviction and humility
• We will admit what we don’t know and ask questions in pursuit of truth
• We will bear with one another as we review material for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th time (or more!)

Finally, pursuing this class with studiousness can help make this class something personally valuable.
When our appetite for knowledge is framed in this way and we engage in “self-education,” we can see our
time together as an opportunity to take part in the larger image bearing project of the “creation and
redemption of learners and learning” (Ream and Glanzer, 2013, p. 53). The truths we explore will not
only be information to understand and apply to the students we serve, but wisdom that can transforms us
as well. This, indeed, is my prayer for this class, that our faith and character would be formed even as we
study the means by which to form others.

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Evaluation Scale:

A (93-100) = 4.0 grade points per semester hour

A- (90-92) = 3.7 grade points per semester hour
B+ (87-89) = 3.3 grade points per semester hour
B (83-86) = 3.0 grade points per semester hour
B- (80-82) = 2.7 grade points per semester hour
C+ (77-79) = 2.3 grade points per semester hour
C (73-76) = 2.0 grade points per semester hour
C- (70-72) = 1.7 grade points per semester hour
D+ (67-69) = 1.3 grade points per semester hour
D (63-66) = 1.0 grade points per semester hour
D- (60-62) = 0.7 grade points per semester hour
F (<60) = 0.0 grade points per semester hour

Course Assignments:

• Moral Autobiography (15%)

o Assignment
§ Before one can begin to form the character of others, it is important to reflect on
one’s own experiences. To aid your reflection, you will write brief responses to each
of the questions on the “moral autobiography” document at the end of this syllabus.
Your responses for each question should be about 4-8 sentences long.
§ Once you have answered all the questions, take some time to reflect on your
responses and then add a concluding paragraph that shares 2-3 insights this
assignment revealed to you about your moral background. (e.g. what were the main
sources of moral growth? What assumptions guide your moral decision-making?
Were there any particular relationships, practices, or mentors that were helpful to
you? Were there any experiences or habits you found to be unhelpful for your moral
growth?)
§ This paper is due the Friday before the first day of class. Please submit your
papers via email to [email protected] with the following subject line: Moral
Autobiography Assignment

• Attendance and Engagement (15%)

o Attendance: Class is where the magic happens. If you miss class, you will not only miss out
on the generative learning moment for yourself, but you will hinder the learning of others by
failing to contribute your insights for them to consider. Accordingly, attendance will be taken
every day and will influence my evaluation of your participation and engagement.

o Class Engagement/Discussion: This is your overall engagement in class, expressed through

your questions and comments during class discussions. For some, this will mean speaking
less than what is natural and instead helping to draw out others. For others, this will mean
speaking more than what is natural. In other words, do not dominate the conversation or try to
impress anyone, and do not use “I’m a quiet person” as an excuse for not contributing. Asking
questions to the class that lead to reflective dialogue is one of the best ways of engaging.

• Reading Exams (20%)

o Assignment
§ There will be a closed book reading exams for every class, with few exceptions.
These will generally consist of fill-in-the-blank and short answer questions. To read
well, you are encouraged to have multiple encounters with the text and to create your

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 own notes/outlines of key concepts. Research demonstrates that testing students is
one of the best ways to help students learn. Be sure to read from Big (key points and
ideas) to Small (details, examples, elaboration). These reading exams will often
incorporate material from previous class sessions.
o Outcomes
§ Opportunity to communicate in writing what you are learning from the readings
§ Experience “thinking on your feet”—responding to questions that you were not
necessarily prepared for just by doing the reading itself
§ A deepened learning of the material through active recall

• Virtue Implementation Paper (20%)

o Assignment
§ Write a brief (800-1,500 words) paper that applies what we have discussed/learned
thus far in the course to your own personal educational setting (or imagined future
setting).
§ Use the following outline for your paper:
• Describe the current educational context of your school (or imagined school)
o What are the current moral assumptions?
o What are the current character strengths and weaknesses of students
and teachers?
o Identify a particular problem of practice you would like to improve
• Select a virtue or set of virtues which you’d like to cultivate (which addresses
your problem of practice)
o What is the virtue?
o Define the virtue.
o What is the biblical basis for cultivating this virtue?
• Describe what steps you could take to cultivate your chosen virtue in your
school community.
o Who needs to be involved?
o What specific content needs to be taught?
o Where in the curriculum does it fit?
o What program or practice can support this teaching?
• Conclude by describing your vision of what could be
o What impact would it have on your community if your school
community were to exhibit this virtue?
o What day to day behaviors would change?
o Evaluation
§ Papers will be evaluated for their connection to/application of course materials, level
of engagement with the current resources on the topic, thoughtfulness of applications,
engagement with faith, and clarity of writing.
o Outcomes
§ Experience engaging current research with an eye toward practical application and
sharing with fellow scholar-practitioners.

• Mid-Term Exam (10%)

o Assignment
§ A slightly longer reading exam reviewing all the material from the first week of class.
o Outcomes
§ A deepened learning of the material through active recall

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• Personal Philosophy of Moral and Faith Development (20%)
o Use the model we discussed in class to write a paper outlining your personal philosophy of
moral and faith development.

o This paper is due the last day of class (Friday July 7th). Be prepared to share about your
paper with your classmates in small groups the last day of class.

o Description
§ I want to give you an opportunity to reflect on all you have learned and how it will
inform your work moving forward. You are to write a 2-3 page summary of your
personal leadership philosophy. We will take time throughout the course to reflect on
these questions and work toward completing your final paper.

§ Please use the outline below and under each of these elements incorporate course
material, reflections from presentations, and personal experience to write a
description. Here is the outline you should use:
• Introduction
o A brief description of the narrative that grounds your philosophy.
o What is the overarching sense of purpose/calling that compels your
work, particularly your desire to form the faith and character of your
students?
• Who
o A description of who you are and what that means for how you
educate.
o This section could include reflections on educational experiences
that were particularly transformational for you.
• Why
o What is the ultimate goal you hope to accomplish through your
career in education? How does faith and character fit into that goal?
• What
o A description of what content you hope to convey to your students.
o Are there particular virtues or doctrinal truths that inform or guide
your work?
o What would a successful student look like?
• How
o How will you go about cultivating the faith and character of
students?
o What methods will you employ?

• Conclusion
o A brief description for how this philosophy of moral and faith
development will guide your future efforts in educational leadership.

o Evaluation:
§ Philosophy statements will be evaluated on the level of completeness, engagement
and application of major course concepts, engagement with faith, critical thinking
skills, and clear writing.

Course Policies:

1) Assignments – Assignments are to be turned in before the beginning of the class period on designated
due dates unless I indicate otherwise. Assignments can be emailed to Dr. Ted at

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[email protected]. All papers should use the following format guidelines
• Font: 12pt, Times New Roman (or similar)
• 1 in. margins
• Double spaced
• Any citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc…) may be used, but it must be consistently
applied.

2) Reading – Please read the assigned readings in advance of the class sessions for which they are listed.

3) Attendance – Attendance at all sessions is expected and absences will be reflected in your participation
grade. If you do need to miss class, please communicate with me in advance.

Written Work Expectations:

All written work must be presented in a professional style and follow basic principles of effective written
communication. All assignments must be in word processor form. At a minimum, all reports should be
neat, well organized, clearly written, and free from grammatical and/or typographical errors. Written
work must be presented in a style consistent with the expectations of academia. Remember: In all
leadership and professional endeavors, written work is a daily and critical component of effective
communication.

Plagiarism: Each student is expected to present his or her own work. All papers, examinations, and other
assignments must be original, or explicit acknowledgement must be given for the use of another person’s
ideas or language. Examples of plagiarism as it might occur in papers, research projects, group projects,
or other written assignments are listed below.
*Failure to use quotation marks: All work that is quoted directly from a source should be enclosed in
quotation marks and followed by the proper reference notation.
*Failure to document ideas: When a student uses one or more ideas from and/or paraphrases a source,
he or she must appropriately reference such material. Failure to provide an exact reference is
plagiarism.
*False documentation: Falsifying or inventing sources or page references is plagiarism.

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Course Schedule:
Class Day Date Topic Academic Reading Assignment Due

Pre- NO CLASS // First Moral

Friday June 23 *read ahead
Course Paper Due Autobiography due

Schaeffer - “The Lords Work

in the Lord’s Way”
1 Monday June 26 INTRODUCTION
Ryan and Bohlin – Chapter 1:
“Character Education: What
is it and why is it important?”

Arthur, “Traditional
FOUNDATIONS OF
Approaches to Character
2 Tuesday June 27 CHARACTER
Education in Britain and
EDUCATION
America”

VIRTUE AND Ryan and Bohlin – Chapter 2:

3 Wednesday June 28
IDENTITY “Views, Values, or Virtues”

Ryan and Bohlin – Chapter 4:

VIRTUE IN THE
4 Thursday June 29 “Cultivating Virtue in the
CURRICULUM
Curriculum”

CREATING A Lickona – Chapter 11: “Make

5 Friday June 30 COMMUNITY OF Your School a School of Mid-Term
VIRTUE Character”

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 Fowler – Ch 1-2 (pp 3-14) Virtue
6 Monday July 3 DEFINING FAITH Implementation
Dykstra – “What is Faith?” Papers Due

FAITH
Maddix, Kim, and Estep –
7 Tuesday July 4 DEVELOPMENT
Chapters 1-3 (pp 3-46)
AND FORMATION

PATHWAYS TO
Wilhoit – Chapters 1-2 (pp 1-
8 Wednesday July 5 FAITH
61)
FORMATION

Schein – The Levels of

FAITH Culture
9 Thursday July 6 FORMATION IN
SCHOOLS Cockle and Thomas – Faith
Affections Survey

Philosophy of Moral
10 Friday July 7 CONCLUSION Schaeffer – “No Little People” and Faith
Development Due

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 Moral Autobiography Assignment

1. What do you think the purpose of education is?

2. Do you have a sense of purpose in your life, or is this something you are still trying to figure out?
a. If yes, what would you say it is?

3. What is the “good life” to you? How did you develop this idea of the good life?

4. What would living a “good life” or “flourishing” look like to you 10 years from now?

5. What makes you feel worthwhile and valuable?

6. Tell me briefly about a few experiences that have significantly changed or formed you.

7. Who have been some of your major mentors? How have they influenced your life?

8. Can you tell me about a time you volunteered for something? Why did you volunteer?

9. Tell me about a time when you were challenged to demonstrate patience. What thinking helped or
hurt your practice of patience?

10. Please tell me about a major moral challenge have you have faced
a. How did you address and resolve it?
b. What resources and/or relationships helped you address it and resolve it?
c. Why do you think these resources/relationships were these so helpful?

11. Tell me about a time you gave something up (an opportunity, your time, your personal interests,
etc…) to help someone else.

12. As humans, we have a variety of identities (e.g., student, child, friend, citizen, man/woman,
thinker/learner, friend, neighbor, political, racial/ethnic identity, religious identity etc.). If you were
to prioritize three top identities, what would they be? Why?
a. What do you do to be excellent in each of these three identities?

13. As you try to be excellent in these three identities, have you ever had conflicts between them? What
might be an example or examples? How did you resolve the conflict or conflicts?

14. What does it mean to live an integrated or coherent life? [self-defined]

15. Thinking back on your own education, for what are you most grateful?

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