The Wonders and Challenges of Bible Education

Overview

We will learn about the challenges facing the Bible teacher today, as well as different philosophical, developmental, social, and psychological approaches to addressing those challenges. We will also learn different approaches to examining Biblical stories, including: exegetical, hermeneutic, historical, literary, and gender theory. We will examine and analyze the pedagogic skills to implement these different approaches inside the classroom. We’ll also cover analysis of different Biblical characters and stories, and hear from some experts in the field of Bible studies and Bible education. 

Using this knowledge, you will gain skills to use inside the classroom, and be able to examine and analyze different educational programs that teach Bible in order to see which best suit your approach and educational setting. If you want to teach Bible, this course is a helpful guide and overview to different approaches and techniques for doing so.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this The Wonders and Challenges of Bible Education course offered by Coursera in partnership with Hebrew University of Jerusalem, students should be able to:

• Students will appreciate challenges in teaching classical Jewish texts to school students

• Students will acquire certain exegetical and literary skills to analyze selected Biblical passages.

• Students will be exposed to a range of different approaches to presenting Biblical characters.

• Students will examine a range of relevant developmental, social, and psychological theories that impact the teaching of the Bible.

• Students will examine a range of educational programs that teach the Bible and will acquire tools to critically analyze these programs.

• Students will produce a course project that will reflect their understanding of the various issues raised.