On the top of the final draft of the human dignity/Night paper that 10th graders handed in today, I asked them to reflect on 1 thing they had learned in writing the paper. (See below for the paper prompt.) It was fun to read the reflections. Here are some of the things they said they learned:

1. I learned that doing devotions can help form my Biblical perspective in both my life and in essays.
2. Writing this essay really got me thinking. It scares me that so many people passively disregard human dignity. What's scarier is that I'm one of them.
3. I was able to acknowledge and see clearly how we so often do put others down to try to feel better about ourselves, but how that actually has the opposite effect. I re-learned once again that in God alone can we truly know (not only feel) that we are valuable.
4. A Christian perspective helps any essay bring its points to a satisfying conclusion.
5. I have known the words "human dignity” for really long but never knew what it truly meant till I had to write this essay.
6. I learned that we don't have to kill millions of people to disregard human dignity. It happens every day when we gossip or bully. 

Paper prompt (750-1000 words): Part of what’s wrong with the world is the tendency to disregard the human dignity of others. Analyze this tendency, using examples from literature, history, current events, and your own experience, and articulate a Christian response. Be sure to address the relevance of the Biblical concepts of the image of God and the second greatest commandment. Quote Night and the Bible at least three times each.

Kim Essenburg, English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan

At Christian Academy in Japan, Bible 9 students applied creation-fall-redemption-restoration to a variety of topics, including words and beauty. To think through how to do this, some students found it helpful to reflect on key questions.

Want your students to apply a Biblical perspective to what they study? If so, ask good questions on assessments. For example, ask “Why is it important to study ___?”

An 8th grade social studies teacher put this question on a geography quiz. Here’s a student response to “Why is it important to study geography?”

 Geography helps us to learn more about where we live, where people around us live, and opens our eyes to where God has placed us. I believe it is very important to study geography especially since we are in a culturally diverse school. Learning geography helps us to build bridges with those around us. It opens ways and opportunities to understand where those around us have come from. It also shows us there is a bigger world out there, not just our own that revolves around school. Studying geography helps us see God's power and helps us through our lives.

Kim Essenburg, English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan, reflects on student learning results:

I'm just reading 10th grade answers to the last question on the short story test: “What is something significant you learned this unit that you did not have an opportunity yet to demonstrate on this test?” If you're short on time, at least read the first quote. 

(The big question for the unit was “How does fiction tell truth?” We explored it by reading Tolstoy’s “How Much Land Does a Man Need?”, Kafka’s “The Bucket Rider,” Camus’s “The Guest,” and Mori Ogai’s “Under Reconstruction.”)

Some student answers had to do with worldviews:
“I learned that it is important to understand others before trying to be understood. In a Christian community, we assume that everyone holds a Christian worldview, and we discuss topics according to that standard. Yet the world is full of nonChristians too. We study non-Christian worldviews so that we may understand people who do not believe in Christianity and may talk effectively to them. We can only give the right defense and impact others if we know what they are thinking.”

“I never knew the Bible actually said enjoy the present moment. That makes me happy that God created things for us to enjoy (without putting them before him). I hadn’t realized that till now. I look forward to better enjoying the moments that God gives me, but making sure I don’t turn it into an idol that I put before God.”

“Through this unit, I learned that all authors, despite their worldviews, show a part of truth (the Fall). Thus, even in a Christian school, it’s good to read stories written by other authors. It puts us into their shoes and can show how bleak the world may seem to them.”

“Through existentialism, I realized I was a bit like that and sometimes wondered about afterlife and life’s meaning. After reading stories like this, I figured out that we need to seek meaning through God and act to what we think is right.”

Kim Essenburg, English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan, reflects on student learning results:
 
Here are sample student answers to the final question on my English 10 test on Night, a Holocaust memoir by Elie Wiesel: What else did you learn this unit that you did not have a chance to show on the test?

• “Night changed my view of the sufferings of others and made me realize my sinful nature.” 
• “I am blessed. I cannot repeat that enough even to realize it myself. Reading Night shocked me, and it made me realize God’s presence in my life. Now that I am more exposed to this realization, I feel like I want to do more for God and His people.”
• “God does try to help the suffering people by sending his people to help. He uses His people….That means that God could choose me or anybody to help the suffering. All we have to do is be ready to help.”

Kim Essenburg, English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan, reflects her assessment results:
 
What assessment did you give your students?
Kim: I gave them an essay (750-1000 words) on “Who are you spiritually, temperamentally, and culturally, and why is this a significant question to consider?”
 
What were your assessment results?
Kim: My students did a good job of responding to the prompt. I was encouraged by their essays. They wrote things like:

"Jesus, my model, influences which cultural values I adopt."
 
“I thank God for His allowing me to live overseas; I see it as a blessing. I think it was His plan all along to reduce the shyness in me by thrusting me out into the unknown so many times.”
 
"As a human, I am a reflection of God and therefore have value (Gen. 1.27, Matt. 10.31). As a Christian, I am a child of God (Eph. 5.1). These truths are liberating because they mean that I do not need to focus on obtaining value and love—I already have them. Instead, I can work on making others feel valued and loved (I Cor. 10.24)."
 
"I have a bad habit of comparing myself with others and feeling insecure, but now I realize that God gives each person a precious gift. Knowing this, I began to gain confidence in what I like and am good at doing, such as music and making people feel welcomed."
 
"Being a student at Christian Academy in Japan has transformed me spiritually. Although my family is not Christian, being in a Christian environment has led me to become a Christian....”

Kim Essenburg (English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan) reflects on her assessment results from her introductory unit test:

I just finished marking my introductory unit tests. I’m pleased with the results. Students understood the unit’s central idea—that as God’s image bearers, human beings are creative, communicative truth-seekers.
 
I included a 25-point essay question about the central idea on the 100-point unit test: Discuss the Cultural Mandate and its significance to this unit. Since it was the first test of the year and since I wanted to test their understanding of the central point (and not their writing and thinking skills), I decided to break the essay into 4 short-answer questions:

1. What is the Cultural Mandate? (2 points)
2. How is it rooted in who humans are as being made in the image of God? (4 points)
3. How is it connected to literature as part of creation? (4 points)
4. Give 3 examples of authors we read carrying out the Cultural Mandate (15 points).

Here’s a sample student response to “Discuss the Cultural Mandate and its significance to this unit (25 points)”:
 
(1) What is the Cultural Mandate? (2 points)
The Cultural Mandate says, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it.” We are to develop the social world (schools, governments, families, law, etc.) and use what we can from God’s creation to create culture and civilization.
 
(2) How is it rooted in who humans are as being made in the image of God? (4 points)
Like God, we are creative beings—because we are in His image. Therefore, it is in our nature to desire to create things using our imaginations—and thus develop the various cultures in the world
 
(3) How is it connected to literature as part of creation? (4 points)
God gave us the gift of language and the ability to read and write. So when authors write, they are doing what God intended—using language to spread their thoughts and ideas throughout the world.
 
(4) Give 3 examples of authors we read carrying out the Cultural Mandate (15 points).
Confucius’ ideas became a very big part of Chinese culture and have shaped it for 2,000 years. His teachings guide people in how they should live. Confucius used the ability of speaking and sharing his knowledge to influence mass numbers of people.
 
Allende said she wrote so people would love each other more. This shows her desire to improve the relationships between mankind. Through writing about experiences people may have in common, she hopes to bring people together.
 
Marquez was called the master of magical realism because he was the first author to use it a lot. In this way, he used his ability to imagine and create something which added to the world’s literature and language.

Nidhi, a high school student at Christian Academy in Japan, goes to Bible 9 and receives a handout for an assignment:

1. Prompt: Trace one part of God’s creation (music, animals, our intellect, families, etc.) through its creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.
2. Due: Your project must be finished by Tuesday, April 21, at the beginning of class. What “finished” and “turned in” look like will depend on what you do.
3. Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to help you understand the ideas of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration, and to help you start to see how these ideas apply to everything in school and life.
4. Options: This is intentionally very open-ended. You can make a poster, write a paper, write a song, write a poem, do a dance, write a speech, make a PowerPoint, etc. We encourage you to talk to us about what you want to do. We will evaluate each person’s work on its own merit.
5. Helpful Questions: These questions can help guide your thinking about the part of God’s creation you have chosen. 

Nidhi decides to apply creation-fall-redemption-restoration to nature. During the next 4 weeks, she studies, develops her material into a presentation, and turns in her presentation on April 21.

Her high school principal asks her to give her presentation at the May 19 PTA meeting. Nidhi gives her presentation, using the following visual aids:

Question: Is it OK to teach to an assessment?
 
Answer: Yes. In fact, teaching to an assessment is an effective practice. When I teach, I look at what students are supposed to learn, develop an assessment, and teach to it.
 
Question: So, should I teach to all my assessments?
 
Answer: That depends. Are your assessments worthy of being taught to? If so, teach to them. If not, change your assessments so they are worthy of being taught to, and then teach to them.
 
Question: What does a worthy assessment look like?
 
Answer: Here is a sample essay prompt from English 10: Using the poetry analysis skills we practiced, critique the lyrics of a favorite song (what the lyrics say, how they say it, and what God might think of what they say).
 
Bottom line: Make sure your assessments are worthy of being taught to—then teach to them.

Question: What inspires students learning?
 
Answer: Rigor. Students may not want to admit it, but they enjoy rigorous education. So, make your Biblical perspective assessment rigorous, not easy.
 
Question: What do easy and rigorous assessment prompts look like?
 
Answer: Check out these examples:
 
Presentation

• Easy: Share something you found interesting (2-3 minutes).
• Rigorous: Connect to something you studied this semester in English 10, develop that connection as your project, connect a Biblical principle to the topic, and connect the Biblical principle to your life in a way you can implement and report on. This may be done as an individual (5-8 min. presentation) or in a group (8-10 min. presentation).

Essay

• Easy: For one of the short stories you read, describe the theme (paragraph).
• Rigorous: For one of the short stories you read, identify a theme, analyze how the author uses literary conventions to communicate it, and evaluate it from a Biblical perspective (500 words).

Bottom line: Inspire learning. Inspire students to connect what they study and what the Bible teaches. Give rigorous assessments.

Dan Beerens, vice president of learning services at Christian Schools International, focuses on Christian education in his blog Nurturing Faith. In this blog entry, he makes a case for quality faith integrated assessments.

If one of the most important things in a Christian school is to nurture faith through the ability of a student to apply a Christian perspective (or worldview) to contemporary life, then we should make sure that our assessments are top notch and will drive our instruction. Additionally we need to make sure that the assessments involve the higher level thinking skills of application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

What follows is an excellent example of this type of faith integrated assessment question for 8th grade science (thanks to Kristyn Kamps and Lloyd Dozeman from Holland Christian):

Letter to the Editor: God included fire as part of His creation; its effects can be not only good but necessary. However, wildfires can also create wide scale destruction and death as did the fires of 1910. On January 4, 2002, CNN ran the following story: “Wildfires which were started by multiple lightning strikes early last month continue to burn out of control. They continue to wreak havoc across Australia’s most populated state and are expected to rage into next week. The largest fire has burned about 160,000 acres of bone-dry forest, killed animals, and created millions of dollars in property damage. Nothing good can come of this tragedy…”

Using what you have learned about forest fires, write a reaction to the CNN story using the following format.

• Heading: Your reaction should be addressed to the editor of the article; begin your letter “Dear Editor.” (1 point)
• Paragraph 1: Your first paragraph should explain who you are and why you are writing. (2 points)
• Paragraph 2: Describe conditions that cause wildfires to spread. (3 points)
• Paragraph 3: From what you’ve learned about what God created fire to be (good) and the issues people face when dealing with wildfires (bad), give detailed examples of how wildfires can be BOTH good and bad. (6 points)
• Paragraph 4: Choose a position: either AGREE with the statements from the CNN article or DISAGREE and give 2 reasons for your position. (4 points)
• Closing: Be sure to sign your letter with a closing (”Sincerely,”) and your name. (1 point)

I really like this assessment because it asks the student to apply a perspective to a real life scenario. Since it is a letter to the editor, it is also ready to be shared with others who may have agreed without thinking too deeply that “nothing good can come out of this tragedy…” - this statement reflects the nihilistic view that often pops up in media and needs to be countered by Christians who believe that we have a redeeming God who can bring good out of evil. This assessment asks students to use higher-level skills and apply a faith perspective to the situation.

Are you using these kinds of assessments with your students? Are you willing to share them with others?

Kim Essenburg, English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan, reflects on students learning results:
 
Here are sample student answers to the final question on my English 10 short story test: What else did you learn this unit that you did not have a chance to show on the test? I think understand that everyone has a perspective and that it’s important to connect literature and the Bible.
 
All of the authors, it seems, either were born or ended up in situations where they didn’t really belong, or they were missing something, or something went wrong. It’s interesting to note the different responses each author had in their situation. Tolstoy had a primarily Christian perspective, Kafka was nihilist, and Camus was existentialist—each one giving their own reasons for why things were the way they were.
 
I learned from Leo Tolstoy’s “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” that if we are selfish and greedy, it might seem like you’re “living the life” at the moment, but in the end you’ll lose everything (the important things) you have.
 
Both Christianity and existentialism believe that people have the desire to find meaning. In Christianity, we find the true meaning in God and find joy, but in existentialism, people find their own meaning and find joy in that process. I thought it was sad that not all the people have hope and that not all people can feel true joy.
 
I learned a lot about decision-making and finding my place here. We all get left out and feel like an outsider, but I know that I still belong to God.
 
Every piece of literature has a worldview. It may be difficult to find, but if the author has any voice at all, you should be able to find it.
 
I learned that just like “The Guest” we all have to make decisions between two things. I learned that I have to pray to God before choosing the decision by myself because without God’s power, we are all weak and cannot make a decision we won’t regret.
 
From reading “The Bucket Rider” I learned how people who feel like they don’t belong anywhere are suffering because of emotional needs that may be as extreme as the Bucket Rider…. I want to be able to choose to act with empathy towards these people, unlike the coal dealer’s wife who ignored the Bucket Rider.

You want to help your students better connect what they study and what the Bible teaches. You know that assessment helps your students learn, so you want to give your students good assessments. Specifically, you want to give your students assessments that give them opportunities to make choices—because you know making choices helps your students get engaged.
 
Question: On an assessment, how can you give your students opportunities for choices?
 
Answer: By giving your students opportunities to choose, for example, the type of project, the topic of a presentation, the examples for an essay, and the color of paper for a poster.
 
Here are sample assessments that give students opportunities for choices:

• Science 2: Write a two-paragraph report about a dinosaur of your choice. Include where the dinosaur lived, when it lived, what it ate, what it looked like, its size, how it got its name, who found it, and any other interesting facts you found. Give three examples of how your dinosaur shows God’s creativity and power.
• Social Studies 6: Teach your classmates about the aspect of ancient Egyptian culture/history you researched. Show what the Bible teaches about it and how it connects to you.
• English 10: Compare/contrast how 2 characters from Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country illuminate the Biblical concept of shalom and apply that to a current event or personal situation.

Bottom line: Design good assessments. Give your students opportunities for choices. Today.

Kim Essenburg, English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan, responds:

I use assessments to see how well my students are connecting what they study and what the Bible teaches—and I use assessments to give my students practice making connections. I give a total of 9 Biblical perspective assessments. I assess content/Bible connections in 2 of 4 presentations, 2 of 9 unit tests, and 5 of 8 essays.
 
Here are the prompts for my 9 assessments:
 
Presentation prompt (used at the end of first and second semester): Connect to something you studied this semester in English 10, develop that connection as your project, connect a Biblical principle to the topic, and connect the Biblical principle to your life in a way you can implement and report on. This may be done as an individual (5-8 min. presentation) or in a group (8-10 min. presentation).
 
Unit test prompts:
(1) Short story unit (12/100 points): Describe Camus’s existentialism. Be sure to include:

• A definition of existentialism.
• The juxtaposition that makes humanity’s situation absurd.
• The 2 things the author says give meaning, illustrating them from the story.
• A response to “What of truth (from a Biblical perspective) has the author seen, and what has he missed?”

(2) Night unit (6/60 points): What can a Christian say to someone whose painful experience causes him or her to question the existence of a good God? In your answer, be sure to list and briefly explain 3 of the points in the letter “What Can Speak to Our Wounds?”
 
Essay prompts:
(1) Cry, the Beloved Country unit (750-1000 words): Compare/contrast how 2 of the characters from Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country illuminate the Biblical concept of shalom. Next, apply insights gained from your comparison/contrast to a current event or personal situation.
 
(2) Night unit (750-1000 words): How significant a part of what’s wrong with the world is the tendency to disregard the human dignity of others, and how should a Christian respond? Illustrate your answer from literature, history, current events, and your own experience. Be sure to address the relevance of the Biblical concepts of the image of God and the second greatest commandment.
 
(3) Short story unit (500 words): For one of the short stories you read, identify a theme, analyze how the author uses literary conventions to communicate it, and evaluate it from a Biblical perspective.
 
(4) Poetry unit (500 words): Using the poetry analysis skills we practiced, critique the lyrics of a favorite song: what the lyrics say, how they say it, and what God might think of what they say.
 
(5) A Doll's House unit (750-1000 words): What kind of individual are you, why, what kind do you want to be, and what will help or hinder you in becoming that individual? In your answer, be sure to include responses to the following 3 questions:
(A) Who are you spiritually, personality-wise, and culturally? (See below.)

• Spiritually: How does God define you, to what extent do you agree (if not, what’s your alternate definition?), and what practical implications does that have? (Cite the Bible at least 3 times.)
• Personality-wise: How does the Meyers-Briggs assessment define you, to what extent do you agree (why/why not), and what practical implications does that have? (Cite personality information at least 2 times.)
• Culturally: Which of Kohls’ cultural values are strongest for you? Why? (Influence of home culture? Japanese culture? US culture? CAJ culture?) (Cite Kohls at least 2 times.)

(B) How do these aspects of you interact?
(C) How does understanding these things about yourself help you determine your mission in life and how to attain it?

At Christian schools, we want our students connecting:

1. Content/skills and life. We want students connecting ecology with how they dispose of trash.
2. Content/skills and Biblical principles. We want students connecting decisions made by government with Biblical principles regarding justice and peace.
3. Biblical principles and life. We want students connecting Biblical principles regarding wealth, love, and the sanctity of life with the movies they watch.

Question: How can you help your students make connections?
 
Answer: By giving assessments that require your students to connect content/skills and Biblical principles or content/skills, Biblical principles, and life.
 
In other words, don't give an assessment that leaves things disconnected. That’s like putting café latte ingredients (coffee, water, and milk) in separate containers—then eating the coffee, drinking the water, and then drinking the milk. Which would you rather have: a real café latte or the ingredients of a café latte?
 
Question: Got any sample assessments that require students make connections?
 
Answer: Check out the assessment prompts below.
 
Bottom line: Require your students to make connections. Today.

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Here are some sample assessments that require students to make connections:

English

1. How significant a part of what’s wrong with the world is the tendency to disregard the human dignity of others, and how should a Christian respond? Support your answer with (1) examples from literature, history/current events, and your own experience, and (2) the Biblical principles of respecting God’s image bearers and loving our neighbors.
2. Using a book that you’ve already read for independent reading this year, prepare a 2-to-3-minute presentation in which you give an exciting introduction to the plot, a brief explanation of the conflict and theme, a Biblical perspective of the conflict and theme (including how the book shows “taking a stand”), and a satisfying conclusion.
3. Using examples from various literature and from the Bible, explain the nature of evil, its relationship to suffering, and what you can do to respond Christianly to both.

Math

1. Construct a model of the solar system that accurately represents planet size and planet distance from the sun. Next, write a paragraph in response to the following question: What does math have to do with God’s world? In your paragraph, make three connections between the Biblical truths we studied in class and the model you made. Include quotations from two Bible passages.
2. Mr. Hall wants to buy an Apple computer and doesn’t have enough money to pay up front. As Mr. Hall’s financial advisor, use a spreadsheet analysis to explain the credit-card payment plan, the Apple credit-account plan, and the Apple education lease plan. Next, advise Mr. Hall on which payment plan he should choose, basing your recommendation on a Biblical perspective of wealth and material goods that was studied in class.

Science

1. Write a two-paragraph report about a dinosaur of your choice. Include where the dinosaur lived, when it lived, what it ate, what it looked like, its size, how it got its name, who found it, and any other interesting facts you found. Give three examples of how your dinosaur shows God’s creativity and power.
2. Give a 5-minute presentation on a piece of electricity-related technology in which you present the electrical device, the science of how it works, and a response to the following questions: How has this device impacted society? What’s a Biblical perspective of that impact?
3. Use three carbon footprint calculators to estimate your family’s and your greenhouse gas emissions. Compare your results with national averages. In the context of using your learning to care for God’s creation, identify three ways to reduce your carbon footprint. Next, make a poster that shows what you learned, including your calculations, a graph of your personal footprint, a Biblical perspective of carbon footprints, and three steps you could take to reduce your carbon footprint.

Social Studies

1. Write a one-page essay about the following: Based on what the Bible teaches about war, would you have fought in the Revolutionary War on the side of the colonists? In your answer, explain what the Bible teaches (cite two Bible verses). Next, use what the Bible teaches to evaluate reasons colonists fought in the war. Conclude with what you would do and why.
2. Teach your classmates about the aspect of ancient Egyptian culture/history you researched. Show what the Bible teaches about it and how it connects to you.

Kim Essenburg serves with Christian Reformed World Missions by teaching English 10 at Christian Academy in Japan. Kim shares about a recent prompt and her student learning results.

The prompt? Compare/contrast how 2 characters from Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country illuminate the Biblical concept of shalom and apply that to a current event or personal situation.

The student learning results?

1. Forgiveness is ceasing to feel resentment against those who deserve it….
2. One speech, one sentence, one word, can change the world. It can either corrupt or rebuild.
3. Scripture refers to this peace in an analogy—“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat…for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord” (New Internatioal Version, Isa. 11.6, 9). Without complete shalom in the world presently, we as God’s creations are “subjected to frustration” and we “groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for…the redemption of our bodies” (Rom. 8.20, 23). In order for us to attain this ideal, we must “act justly,” “Love mercy,” and “walk humbly with [our] God” (Mic. 6.8). Shalom is peace in every aspect of creation, and it is the full restoration of God, so people have an obligation to join God to work towards this ultimate goal as God does so, too.
4. God has given everyone many different gifts and talents, and none of them is any more important than the others. As Paul says to the Romans, “we have different gifts, according to the grace given us…. If [one’s gift] is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously” (Romans 12.6-8). It is our duty as servants of God to work to build shalom into this world, to build unity and loving relationships through whatever gifts we have.
5. Once we comprehend what shalom is, we are all responsible for using our gifts to work toward it. This leaves two problems: first, that people may not know that the world is lacking shalom, and second, that they may not bother to make any difference. This is what is so necessary about stories like Cry, the Beloved Country: they help us understand shalom and show the results of either using your gift to help bring shalom to our world or just using it for yourself. How will you now live?
6. …although I did not generate gossip about this person myself, to my shame, I did not stand up against it. Regrettably, I even laughed along occasionally, graduating from tacit agreement to a deepening evil…. Whether this girl had heard the bad things said about her or not, churning rumors or gossip about anyone or secretly taking pleasure in someone else’s dismay, is against what God created us to do.
7. I have been challenged to think how I could bring shalom in my community. Contributing in bringing shalom is a very difficult thing to do, but I came up with a tiny action toward it. That is to help my mom wash dishes. Her fingers suffer from bone deformation. They can suddenly start hurting, and she often has a hard time washing dishes. By helping my mom, I would be able to bring shalom in my house because my mom will suffer less. In shalom, love sweeps away suffering and pain. I would be part of it if I could wash the dishes and make her suffer less.