A resource created to support the Religious Education Curriculum from the Archdiocese of Brisbane
Some tips for teaching Scripture in Catholic schools
1. Teach students to be Scripture detectives.
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Many of our questions about Scripture will always be unknown. Sometimes new archaeological or scientific evidence is discovered that changes what we know about Scripture. Therefore, it is important to teach students to look for clues in the text and search for meaning in the text. Teach in terms of possibilities rather than certainties. "At this point in time most Scripture scholars think it is likely that...". Avoid teaching anything that students will need to unlearn later on. Instead, teach concepts that can be further developed as students grow older. In early years lay the foundational stones (teach the important concepts) that can be built upon in later years.
2. The aim is to enable students to discover personal meaning from the text.
To do this well we need to teach about the context of the text, explore the text itself (not the story that we've known for years but the story that is actually in a reliable translation of the text), and then search for possible meaning in the text. What do the stories of the birth of Jesus tell us? It makes no difference to our lives that there is not actually a donkey mentioned in these texts, but it does make a profound difference to our lives if we can discover the deeper meanings of the text. "The birth of Jesus brings us the good news that we are loved immensely and uniquely by God". (Pope Francis)
How fabulous would it be if all our students left Catholic schools knowing that! What's the point of students knowing amazing historical information about the time when the text was written if they cannot interpret the text beyond surface level and are therefore unable to obtain deeper meaning from the text to guide them through life?
3. Establish collegial support groups to have ongoing dialogue about texts that you need to teach.
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Teaching Scripture well depends upon the teacher doing the following;
1. Gaining a sound knowledge of the text.
2. Interpreting the text in theologically appropriate ways.
3. Applying the above knowledge and skills to teach the text in pedagogically appropriate ways.
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Research from people like Michael Fullan tells us that if we want to build professional capacity within a school then we need to work in collegial partnerships. This is great for Scripture, because it is so important to have a safe place to dialogue about the text. We can't be expected to automatically understand a text that is thousands of years old! Our authentic starting point is not, "What activities can I use to teach this text?" Our authentic starting point is, "What do I know about the text and how can I interpret it to gain meaning today?" Only then can we adequately engage in the next question, "How can I most effectively teach this text to my students?" Then we can engage in the process of pedagogy: establishing what we want students to learn about the text; creative and inspiring ways to teach the text; assessment and evaluation of our teaching. A "brilliant" video of a class dramatising a Scripture story needs to be evaluated through a theological lens - how accurate was the dramatisation to an approved text? Did the students move beyond retelling the story to gaining meaning from the story?
4. Monitor the use of resources carefully.
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There are some major elements to consider here.
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1. It is important to use an approved translation of the text, even in early years. Some translations are not as accurate as others. The Good News Bible is a translation of a translation - it is paraphrased and sometimes misses a critical word that can make all the difference to interpreting the text accurately or exploring the text at deeper levels. In previous decades we have thought a Good News Bible was preferable because the language can be slightly easier to understand. Now we know a student's ability to discern meaning from the text depends upon the teacher's ability to break open the text beyond surface level, and obviously this depends on using a highly accurate translation of the text and the teacher's capacity to understand and interpret the text appropriately.
2. Beware of Children's Bibles - they are abbreviated versions of the text and can be filled with both author and illustrator bias. What colour is Jesus' skin? Are characters like Zacchaeus depicted as being bad people (overweight and wearing fine clothes while all the other characters are skin and bone?) Children's Bibles can have their place, but only if students are taught to critique the text and illustrations, and the teacher uses an appropriate translation of the text to retell the stories accurately.
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3. Beware of online Scripture resources. The vast majority of what is freely available on the internet is one person's opinion, not backed by research or academic expertise and may not be in line with how the Catholic Church asks for biblical texts to be interpreted. Do not depend on information from an online site unless you are certain it meets the criteria for interpreting Scripture appropriately in Catholic schools. This is an area where it is advisable to build up a strong collection of hard copy resources in both the school library and classrooms. All classes need constant access to resources such as a Bible dictionary; Bible atlas; Bible timeline; as well as quality and accurate visual images to understand cultural, religious and geographic information about Jesus' country.
5. Provide many opportunities for students to apply diverse thinking skills to the text.
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Solo taxonomy or Bloom's taxonomy can be really helpful to apply and to evaluate the range of thinking skills provided. No matter how much a student writes to retell a Scripture story, it remains at the level of retelling (remembering) and does not show evidence of higher order thinking such as analysing a text or constructing meaning from the text. Therefore, constantly provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their thinking about the text, and look for multiple ways to record their thinking. For early years teachers, use digital tools such as vocaroo (found below in the digital tools button under 'audio tools') which enable students to record their voices with the click of a button.
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