ASSIGNMENT 11

REPLIES INSTRUCTIONS: Begin your replies with, "(Name), I read your thread and it caused me to think about…," or a similar statement. Do not simply reply that you like and agree with the thread. THE TWO replies must be engaging and responsive. 250 WORDS EACH

REPLY 1: AM

As I read through John 4, I thought about the fact that Jesus spoke to needs that the Samaritan woman was not aware of. In verses 13-14, Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks from the water that I give him will never be thirsty again. But the water that I give him will become in him a spring of water [satisfying his thirst for God] welling up [continually flowing, bubbling within him] to eternal life (Amplified Holy Bible).” The woman then asks for the water that He described not understanding that He was speaking to her spiritual need for salvation. Jesus then spoke to her personal life and connected with her on her need for repentance.

In this passage, Jesus related a physical need to a spiritual need. Jesus primary concern and His primary purpose on the Earth was to save people from their sinful nature and point them to salvation. There are many examples throughout the gospel where Jesus was clearly focused on the spiritual needs of an individual and yet they were initially oblivious to what He was saying. The Samaritan woman, Nicodemus, the Pharisees, and the Apostles were, at times, confused by the things He was saying, not realizing He was using analogy and material truths to relate to them the more important spiritual truths.

In chapter eight of Disrupting Class, Christensen et al. (2011) describe how understanding of a concept is built. The inductive process requires one to move from observation to categorization to causation. The deductive process requires an individual to move form causation to categorization to observation (p.193). Deductive reasoning is an easier process because one can rule out anomalies in categorization much more easily than through inductive reasoning. In a sense, it is the same as when Jesus began with a material reality and connected it to a universal truth.

As a teacher, one of the biggest frustrations that I experience is disengagement or apathy on the part of students. It is disheartening to prepare a lesson and it fall flat as students do not engage or do not see the significance of the content. When I am able to connect a lesson to an issue that is important to students they are more likely to make a connection. I believe people have a sincere desire to understand truth, but our lives and our culture are clouded by lies and distortions of the truth. I think people are not interested in a particular issue until they understand how it relates to them personally. When Jesus taught, He connected with them on relevant issues and then used that connection to point them to deeper truths.

Christensen, C., Horn, M., & Johnson, C. (2011). Disrupting class (p. 193). New York: McGraw-Hill.

REPLY 2: KH

Thankfully God did not overlook the Samaritan woman and brought all his focus to engage with her. By him taking the time to acknowledge her she became motivated and engaged about him being the Christ. That encouraged her to go and tell other people about him so they could see for themselves. Scripture says, “So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said the people, Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did, Can this be the Christ” (John 4:28-29, English Standard Version). Although she went there to get water her attention quickly changed to focus on Jesus.

God, in a way, symbolizes what a 21st century teachers should be willing to do in school. He observes a student (Samaritan woman) not attending to when (looking for water) and quickly engages with her to bring her focus around to what is important (he has what she needs). Many students in the 21st classroom believe that a note they are writing to a classmate is important or a text message they are sending to a classmate while the teacher is teaching is more important than what the teacher is teaching. Just as Christ could supply something important the Samaritan woman needed that was important so do teachers, education. Teachers need to let students know that they care about them and are aware that they are in their classroom. Jesus was not suppose to have any dealings with this woman, but He let her know she was important. The fact that she was noticed motivated her to continue/establish a relationship with Jesus.

It is extremely important schools employ skilled educators that utilize judgement to understand and connect to students (Christensen et al., 2011). Essentially connecting/relating to students and a necessary means teachers can display engagement. If students cannot relate to 21st century teachers, then they may lack motivation or engagement. That is not to say that a teacher needs to use the latest slang or dress like their students but showing that they are concern or interested in getting to know them is essential. Teachers cannot be prophetic like Christ was with the Samaritan woman, but letting students know that they were students once and had challenges in school could offer a way for students to relate to them. This week’s presentation talked about creating transformation in school. One particular benefit the presentation eluded to was motivating/engaging the 21st century digital natives. This is another perfect way to relate to these students, via technology. Digital natives are skilled technology users and if teachers show them that they know something about technology, they might be more likely to engage in classroom and homework activities. An expansive body of literature on teacher and student motivation and the connections between motivation and engagement provides a lens through which to examine how teacher engagement supports student motivation, engagement, and outcomes when implementing new technologies (Schechter et al., 2017).

References

Christensen, C.M., Horn, M.B., & Johnson, C.W. (2011). Disrupting class: How disruptive innovation will change the way the world learns(2nd ed.). New York City, NY: McGraw Hill.

Schechter, R.L., Kazakoff, E.R., Bundschuh, K., Prescott, J., & Macaruso, P. (2017). Exploring the impact of engaged teachers on implementation fidelity and reading skill gains in a blended learning reading program. Reading Psychology. 38(6), 553-579. [Electronic Version]. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.