Teaching and the Web

From Mary Hinkle, Assoc. Professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary

In my online course on the Letters of Paul, students participate in online debates during the semester. Debate topics are resolutions like these:

"The Pauline letters support the full participation of women in the church."
"Love is the center of Pauline ethics."
"Paul is a good role model for leaders in mission."

The Process

This is a complicated, multi-step process. I use it only in the last third of the semester, after students are comfortable with the technology tools needed and with collaborating on coursework.

Students receive the topic on Wednesday. They are already working in small groups, in discussion areas that others in the class do not have access to. Their assignment between Wednesday and the next Monday is to prepare to argue for either the Pro or Con side of the debate. On the following Monday, they find out what side they will be arguing. Here's a sample schedule.

Day	Time	What's Due:
Wednesday	9:00 a.m.	Topic	Resolved Statement is posted by instructor. Groups begin work on possible Pro and Con arguments in private discussion area.
Monday	9:00 a.m.	Pairings	Opposing team pairs are named by instructor, so everyone knows which side they are to argue. (Multiple debates on the same topic are going on simultaneously; groups have four or five members each.)
Monday	midnight	Opening Statement	Each group posts 250-word opening statement in the common discussion area.
Tuesday	midnight	Response to Opening & Question	Each group posts: 250-word response to opponent's opening statement, and follow-up question to opponents.
Wednesday	midnight	Response to Question	Each group posts a 250-word reply to opponent's question.
Thursday	midnight	Closing Statement	Each group posts a 250-word closing statement.
Friday	midnight	Judgment & Self-Assessment	Every student sends the instructor: an annotated judgment for a debate they observed, but did not participate in. (Who won and why?) an assessment of his/her individual performance through the debate activity. an assessment of his/her group's performance through the debate activity.
Saturday	midnight	Debate Victors & Project Grades	Instructor posts: winners of the debates, as judged by classmates, and grades for group and individual participation in the project.

Understanding

Example of enduring understandings associated with these debates:

1. Either side of these questions can be responsibly argued.  That is, the "answer" to these questions is, in every case, "Yes and no."
2. Even so, some arguments are better (more convincing) than others.
3. "Somebody else's mail" continues to speak to contemporary Christians

Technology Used

Threaded Discussion

• Each group has a private discussion area accessible only to group members and the instructor.
• The class as a whole has a public discussion board where statements are posted for everyone to read.

E-mail

• Students may email each other as they plan and execute their debate strategy (including reminders to post if someone is AWOL).
• Students email instructor with assessment of their work and a debate judgment.