Test question encourages students to apply Biblical perspective

09/02/08 13:29 Filed in: Testimonial | Assessment
Kim 90X90
To cultivate reflection and increase the likelihood that her students will connect course content and a Biblical perspective, Kim Esssenburg (English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan) puts the following question on each of her unit tests: “What is something significant you learned this unit that you did not have an opportunity to demonstrate on this test?”

On Feb. 7, Kim’s 10th graders a test over a 3-week unit on the development of western thought in the 20th Century, during which they discussed:
  • Tolstoy’s Christian worldview in “How Much Land Does a Man Need?”
  • Kafka’s nihilistic worldview in “The Bucket Rider.”
  • Camus’s existentialistic worldview in “The Myth of Sisyphus” (essay) “The Guest.”
Here are sample student responses to Kim’s test question:
  • …serving others wholeheartedly really pleases God….
  • I learned especially in “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” that we should be happy with what we already have. I got to easily relate to the character; if I go shopping and see “buy one get one free,” I quickly go and see what they have, though I don’t even need it.
  • Nihilism = no meaning in life….Christianity = life has a great meaning through God.
  • Learned how to do basic Biblical perspective: principle -> support -> application.
  • I learned that there are many people in the world…that are extremely isolated and feel forgotten. I want to be able to talk to those people and tell them that in fact they are not isolated and that God is with them….