PRE-WRITING SCAFFOLD 1
Score 147/150
Pre-Writing Scaffold Assignment
Student’s Name
School of Education, Liberty University
October 10 ,2025
PRE-WRITING SCAFFOLD 2
St. Augustine
Annotated Journal Articles on St. Augustine
Gülhan, F. (2025). Meta Synthesis of Professional Development Research for In Service Science ‐ ‐
Teachers. European Journal of Education, 60(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.70047 This
paper examines professional learning communities in the teaching of STEAM and how
they involve teachers in order to foster cooperation, reflection, and ongoing professional
development. Gulhan concludes that teacher learning will be optimized if learned in an
ideal community where feedback is provided and where mentoring is emphasized. The
idea was developed throughout to continue to place emphasis on handson interactions.
While the article focuses on teacher professional development, it is in line with
Augustine's belief that learning is a social process best enjoyed in the presence of
positive people. According to Augustine, wisdom was not gained independently but
through discussion, advice, and exchange among peers (Smith,2020). The research
confirms that professional learning communities can also adopt this model, fostering the
intellectual and moral development of teachers. The research also indicates the need for
reflective practice that will further uphold Augustine's thesis that reflection and
reflection on divine truth cultivates wisdom and virtue. The article references challenges
in implementing collaborative professional habits into practice but affirms that learning
together develops competence and character. For contemporary Christian teachers, this
practice offers an achievable way of implementing Augustine's principles into practice in
their teaching, demonstrating that learning and teaching are not merely intellectual
processes, but relational and ethical processes mediated by God's wisdom (2020).
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Kivuva, F. N., Maina, E., & Gitonga, R. (2021). Multi-agent adaptive e-learning system based on
learning styles. Open Journal for Information Technology, 4(1), 1–12.
https://doi.org/10.32591/coas.ojit.0401.01001
The article explains how adaptive e-learning systems can respond to a learner's learning
style in attempting to show engagement and learning accomplishments. The authors
perceive that personalization of content and learning processes to the learner's learning
style makes learning easy and provides extra motivation for learning. Though the study
is usable technologically, it supports Augustine's pedagogical theory as a foundation for
emphasizing differentiated teaching depending on the capacity of the learner to fit
divine truth. God is the ultimate teacher in Augustine's opinion, and human teachers are
meant to teach learners in ways that take into consideration both their intellectual
capacity and spiritual development (Smith, 2020). The article demonstrates that
tailoring the learning experience reflects Augustine's idea of education as not merely
knowledge transfer but attaining wisdom and forming character. This article represents
the practice of learning and direction on guidance for each person, since Augustine
would probably view learning as a process of ethics and spirituality. As an answer to this
objection, the article does not discuss how this individualization from technology can be
combined with ethical or spiritual formation, which is the natural part of Augustine's
approach. Instead, it provides us with a pragmatic approach for teachers today who
would like to respect diversity in learning but keep the goal of education in harmony
with wisdom and virtue.
Prahasan, M. (2024). Comprehending the metaphysical framework in St. Augustine’s moral
philosophy: An analytical inquiry. South Asian Journal of Social Sciences and
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Humanities, 5(3), 221–239. https://doi.org/10.48165/sajssh.2024.5312
The metaphysical foundations of Augustine's ethics and their implications for education
are the subject matter of this article. Prahasan quotes that Augustine is certain human
reason alone can never be adequate in understanding higher truths and that divine
illumination is required to obtain real knowledge. Education will therefore have to
involve the intellect and moral character of the learner. Augustine envisioned learning as
the training of the mind to know and react to God's truth (Smith,2020). The article also
depicts how Christian pedagogy during the Middle Ages was guided by the ideas of
Augustine, particularly in the syncretism between moral education and scholasticism.
For Augustine, education is not so much about imparting information but cultivating
wisdom in accordance with God's eternal laws. The article connects such ideas with
problems in modern education, such as how morality and spirituality can be
incorporated into today's curriculum design. This article presents Augustine's argument
that Godly advice is the foundation for true learning. A close reading determines that
the article does a good job of establishing Augustine's philosophy regarding moral
instruction, but it might even better be applied to issues in secular settings where God's
authority is not a community foundation. The article, nonetheless, indicates that, as per
the doctrine of Augustine, instructors need to strive for all-around development,
combining knowledge, character, and spiritual perception in a manner that facilitates it
for the learners to live wisely and faithfully.
Synthesis of Articles on St. Augustine
All three articles mentioned above focus on Augustine in various ways. For example, the
presentation of Augustine's pedagogy theory that exists today in modern settings was an
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important aspect of the articles. Kivuva et al. (2021) refer to highly individualized teaching as an
allusion to Augustine's logic that God individualizes truth for each learner. Prahasan (2024)
contrasts that with Augustine's metaphysical theory of divine illumination, always remembering
that by virtue of the grace of God, education itself can achieve ultimate victory. Gülhan (2025)
deals with mutual development using professional learning communities, an imitation of
Augustine's mind that knowledge is shared and discursive. As a result, these minds unite to
imply an understanding of Augustine's philosophy through the synthesis of one's mind, ethics,
and social dimensions of learning. Learning is not considered the acquisition of skills but a
comprehensive process that brings wisdom and virtue coupled with divinity and humanity
relations. Therefore, the legacy of Augustine provides the formula in which to blend
personalization, spirituality, and partnership in education.
Preliminary Thesis Statement: St. Augustine
St. Augustine's philosophical framework for education is complex in many ways in its
insistence that genuine education unites faith, reason, and the formation of virtue, that is, that
students are educated not only intellectually but also morally and spiritually by others. In
tailoring instruction to the capability of the student, in developing reflection and memory, and
in being relational and communal in pursuit of knowledge, Augustine's framework has a richer,
more profound holism that remains possible for Christian education today.
Curriculum and Instruction
Annotated Journal Articles on Curriculum and Instruction
Plummer, K. J., Griffiths, C. P., Ventura, B., Sorensen, S., & Ames, C. (2025). Enhancing doctrinal
discernment: Exploring the use of decision models in faith education. Religious
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Education, 120(3), 259–276. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2025.2463263 This
essay describes the way decision models are applied in religious studies to aid students
in doctrinal discrimination and ethical decision-making. Memorization of religious facts
through rote memorization alone cannot be sufficient to acquire true knowledge and
ethical growth, as prescribed by Plummer et al. (2025), but structured decision-making
activities help students to try theological concepts in detail and use them in real-world
situations. This follows the framework of Augustine's philosophy of education, where
there is a need for the coming together of reason and religion and for the development
of moral wisdom. Knowledge in the eyes of Augustine is not complete without good
practice and compliance with the truth of God. The writers also demonstrate ways in
which decision-making models promote critical thinking through the assignment of
students to real situations with the requisite balancing of doctrine and scriptural
principles. Close reading demonstrates that while the article provides guidance on how
decision models can be used, it will be more useful by outlining how the practice can be
adjusted to accommodate various stages of development in students. But the article
reminds us that moral thinking must be brought to teaching and to the curriculum,
because for Augustine learning was the formation of character and of mind so that the
students might live wisely and faithfully according to God's truth.
Smith, D. I., Green, B., Kurkechian, M., Cheng, A., & Smith, D. I. (2021). Assessing Christian
learning: Towards a practices-based approach to faith, vocation, and assessment.
International Journal of Christianity & Education, 25(2), 151–168.
https://doi.org/10.1177/2056997121997156
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Smith and others construct a practice approach model of evaluation for Christian
education, emphasizing the need to evaluate students in relation to rich, true
experience and not the common test method. The article emphasizes that evaluation
must evaluate not only knowledge acquisition but also vocational maturation, virtue
acquisition, and spiritual maturity. Such perception is in alignment with Augustine's
strong perspective that education is never finished until it cultivates the mind and virtue.
Augustine thought education would include wisdom and be under the influence of
divine truth instead of test-taking and memorization. The authors provide such
measures as reflective journaling, service-learning activities, and spiritual practices
embedded in learning as ways of providing valid measures. The article claims of
intentional and heartinvolvement, stating that learning is a service of ministry and
commitment to God. Additionally, it reveals that you should keep your heart at the
center of the work and not be distracted by daily trials. A critical critique suggests that
while practices are excellent at initiating integrated assessment, the educators may find
it challenging to standardize such methods for varying classrooms or to determine
outcomes in a like manner. However, the article shows how spiritual and practical
formation-centered curriculum and instruction reflect Augustine's vision of education as
a redemptive enterprise that yields graduates who not only understand knowledge but
also wisdom, discernment, and faith in everyday practice.
Wininger, S. R., Redifer, J. L., Norman, A. D., & Ryle, M. K. (2019). Prevalence of learning styles in
educational psychology and introduction to education textbooks: A content
analysis. Psychology Learning & Teaching, 18(3), 221–243.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1475725719830301
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This article focuses on the portrayal of learning styles in educational psychology and
introduction to education textbooks by trend and frequency content analysis. Wininger
et al. (2019) can identify that learning styles are portrayed as an effective teaching
method, free from the critique of empirical research. The article suggests that this
particular usage has the potential to mislead educators and complicate students' overall
development. Good teaching to Augustine is not faddism but the development of God's
wisdom. This reliance on untested learning style models has the danger of creating
fragmented and shallowness of instruction when Augustine created an integration of
mind, character, and moral judgment. The authors concur that instructors must think
cautiously about teaching theory and apply it appropriately, presumptively that each
person can interpret the scriptures according to their personal beliefs. This is in
accordance with the presumption that discrimination needs to be used so that
successful teaching may be imparted. Critiquing, even though the article is not so
interested in pedagogical practice but in textbooks, it puts an emphasis on teacher
instructional practices based on evidence that result in enhanced learning and further
implications for practice. In contrast to Augustine's philosophy, it is now evident that
teaching and curriculum should be dedicated to wisdom, moral questioning, and
spiritual development, and not pedagogical trends that are open-ended. This
conversation also reveals the fresh relevance of Augustine's work in shaping education
that is as soul-forming as it is intellectually invigorating.
Synthesis of Articles on Curriculum and Instruction
The three articles all raise concern about how to design pedagogical and curriculum
practices to enable not just cognitive development but also moral, spiritual, and practical
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development of the students. Plummer et al. (2025) note that religious education decision
models enable doctrinal discrimination and critical thinking that Augustine believed in since he
was certain that education should bring harmony between reason and moral development.
Smith et al. (2021) build on this concept by demonstrating that practice-based evaluation allows
character and vocational preparedness to be built up by being exposed to knowledge in a real
sense, with heart and head as the focus of learning. Wininger et al. (2019) lament the excess
focus on different models of learning style and suggest evidence-based instruction, something
supported by the biblical principle that wisdom is a divine gift and ought to inform education.
Together, these studies on research indicate that curriculum and teaching are ideal when they
promote holistic development, address ethical and spiritual concerns, and promote critical
examination of knowledge. Synthesis holds that learning is not so much a question of the
transmission of knowledge, but of the formation of learners who can think well, do well, and
judge well, intellectual strength and goodness according to God's expectation.
Preliminary Thesis Statement: Curriculum and Instruction
Rigorous curriculum and instructional approaches ensure not only the acquisition of
knowledge but also moral and spiritual growth among students. When individuals embrace
decision-making models, practice-based assessment, and evidence-based teaching, teachers
can advance development that is consistent with intellectual as well as ethical formation,
components that remain consistent with Augustine's education on divine wisdom.
Reference
Smith, S. (2020). Windows into the history and philosophy of education. Kendall Hunt
Publishing Company
