Course Description: Teaching and learning methods that enhance engagement in, and ownership of, the learning process are as important for older adults as they are for all ages. Applying to our own contexts the principles for older adult ministry and research on ways older adults engage with the world and form faith can shape ministry for these times. Exploring a variety of ways to teach and learn and examining their application to, and needed adaptations for, older adults can increase the effectiveness of the older adult ministries in which we engage.
At the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Describe, and engage older adults (60 +) in, a variety of ways to encounter and explore topics, ideas and learning contexts
- Identify and apply to teaching practice differences between “mature (mid-50 – mid-70)” and “older (mid-70 +) adults”
- Discuss and apply to older adult ministry principles of faith formation for older adults
- Prepare and lead a lesson plan for teaching older adults, and reflect on their own teaching practice
- Find biblical texts on aging and explore them for wisdom for forming faith
Location: Online
With: Joyce MacKichan Walker served Nassau Presbyterian Church as Director of Christian Education and then, following ordination to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament, as Minister of Education and Mission until her retirement in July 2018. A graduate of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and the Presbyterian School of Christian Education (now Union Presbyterian Seminary) in Richmond, VA, Joyce is a Certified Christian Educator who has served the larger church as a keynote speaker and workshop leader. She is co-author of Teaching Children Worship in the Sanctuary and BeTween: Exploring Faith and Christian Life with Older Elementary Children, and author of many Bible and book study session plans for adults. Her most recent projects were writing the Suggestions for Leaders for the 2019-2020 Presbyterian Women/Horizons Bible study, Love Carved in Stone: A Fresh Look at the Ten Commandments, and the Horizons magazine contemporary reflections on the lessons in the 2020-2021 study, Into the Light: Finding Hope Through Prayers of Lament.
Schedule: Much of the learning activities take place on your own, reading and responding to prompts posted on the course site. All reading materials or videos will be available on the site.
Weekly live sessions via Zoom are scheduled as follows: Mondays, January 23, 30, February 6 and 13 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM ET. The February 13 session may be amended as an optional session prior to the micro-teaching sessions.
Weekly topics include:
Week of January 23: Faith Formation and Older Adults
Week of January 30: The Art of Asking Good Questions
Week of February 6: Teaching Principles, Processes and Adaptations for Older Adults
Week of February 13: Micro-teaching Session Final Preparation
Week of February 20: Micro-teaching sessions
Participants will be divided into groups and lead a micro-teaching session during the final week of the course. These sessions are planned for Wednesday, February 22 (11:30 AM – 1:00 PM and 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM) and Thursday, February 23 (2:30 PM – 4:00 PM) and, if needed, a final micro-teaching session will take place Friday morning February 24, 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM. All times are ET. The number of micro-teaching groups (3 to a group) will depend on course enrollment.
Program Fee: Early registration before December 10, 2022, $215. Program fee of $250 after that date. Discounts are available for CTS staff, students, faculty and 2022 graduates.
