through reflection , prayer , and other disciplines ; 4 ) seek new experiences that both support and challenge our worldview ; and 5 ) cultivate a healthy and balanced lifestyle . When we as teachers focus on these action steps , we will develop our worldview . But that ’ s only part of helping our students develop theirs .
CREATING BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW IMMERSIVE CLASSROOMS
In his book On Christian Teaching , Dr . David Smith suggests a new metaphor for the Christian school classroom : the pedagogium . 1 A pedagogium is the name for the place in the Middle Ages where students would live with a master teacher in an immersive learning environment . I ’ m not suggesting that your students rent rooms from you in your home . But , I am suggesting that you consider your classroom to be a place where you get to live and learn with your students — an environment that is saturated with the good and glorious rule of God , where He shapes our thoughts , desires , and actions .
Several years ago , I conducted research with an amazing group of Christian young adults to develop a model for how a biblical worldview develops in individuals . I found that young adults who have a strong biblical worldview were very aware of their worldview , were committed to processing their life experiences through the lens of Scripture , and were very intentional about developing a biblical worldview . Working backward from these characteristics , we can structure our classrooms for optimal worldview development .
Creating a biblical worldview pedagogium requires several teaching commitments , all of which are aligned with how a worldview develops . First , we must offer practical guidance in helping our students to desire the Kingdom of God . We can do this through the habits we cultivate in our students by introducing our students to godly role models and careful interactions with individuals and ideas that are not aligned with a biblical worldview . Second , we must provide many opportunities to practice reflective disciplines that enable students to process their experiences . Unfortunately , presenting content comes easy for us as teachers , and so we often don ’ t think about helping our students process what they learn and experience .
Next , since living out a biblical worldview is a hands-on endeavor , we should always seek to use engaging learning experiences . Research consistently suggests that when kids are maximally engaged , learning is maximized , whether it is simple activities like “ pair and share ” or major servicelearning projects . Finally , we need to consistently give our students experiences with the truth claims of a biblical worldview along with plenty of encouragement and opportunity to apply a biblical worldview to the challenges that a fallen world presents to us .
MAKING IT REAL
To help students apply a biblical worldview to real-life stations , I like to ask them four questions . Adapted from John Stonestreet and Warren Cole Smith , these questions help students see their worldview as something that motivates godly action . 2 The first question is : What is good that I can cultivate ? Even though we exist in a fallen world , there ’ s still plenty of good that can be improved . Good families can get better , athletes can become more skilled , and relationships can always be enriched . When a person sees what is positive and builds on that , he or she is living out a biblical worldview by cultivating goodness .
The second question is : What is missing that I can create ? As God ’ s image-bearers , we create things . Whether it ’ s creating music , an essay , or a student senate activity , we ’ re finding areas where something is missing and bringing goodness to those areas .
The third applied worldview question is : What is broken that I can cure ? We don ’ t have to look very far to find things that are broken , and an individual with a biblical worldview will help bring wholeness to such situations .
The final question is : What is evil that I can curb ? God uses His people to slow the spread of evil by standing up for truth , defending the oppressed , and confronting wrongdoing . Consistently asking these questions helps keep a biblical worldview alive and connected to real life .
Christian schools make some great promises to families . If we intend to deliver on those promises , we need to give careful attention to our own biblical worldview development and to shaping classroom environments that give students experience in living , breathing , and having their being immersed in a biblical worldview . ■
Read more about integrating biblical worldview in Beyond Biblical Integration : Immersing You and Your Students in a Biblical Worldview .
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Roger C . S . Erdvig is the author of Beyond Biblical Integration : Immersing You and Your Students in a Biblical Worldview and co-author of Bring it to Life : Christian Education and the Transformative Power of Service-Learning . He leads a PreK-12 Christian school in Delaware and teaches qualitative research methods to doctoral students . Roger is married to Lori , who is a third-grade teacher , and they have five children and two grandchildren .
ENDNOTES 1 . David Smith , On Christian Teaching : Practicing Faith in the Classroom ( Michigan : W . B . Eerdmans , 2018 ). 2 . John Stonestreet and Warren Smith , Restoring All Things : God ’ s Audacious Plan to Change the World through Everyday People ( Michigan : Baker Books , 2015 ).
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