MIN 340 - Disability Smart [NEW VERSION]
主题目录
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Disability Smart (3 credits)
Instructor: Victoria White
We lovingly remember Barb Newman, the professor of the original version of this course who has gone to be with the Lord.
注册我 Introduction:
The Body of Christ needs people. That includes people with Down syndrome, autism, ADHD, learning differences, dementia, medical challenges, and other differences of ability. This course provides the framework and practical tools to shape a congregation where people of all abilities fully participate and belong.
Course Overview:
Disability Smart refers to ministering wisely and well with people who have disabilities. Although the course is titled "Disability Smart," to keep it short, the subtitle better expresses the purpose of this class: Creating Congregations of Belonging for People of All Abilities. God endows people with differences of ability. As the Body of Christ, each local church should be a place of belonging where differences of ability are present, welcomed, known, supported.
As church leaders oversee worship, education, fellowship, and service opportunities for people in their congregations, it’s important to recognize that the congregation consists of people with varying abilities. Children’s programs may include a child with Down syndrome or autism spectrum disorder. Adult programs may include individuals who are struggling readers or a person diagnosed with dementia. When we worship as a community, there will be people gathered who represent a wide variety of abilities and disabilities. This course will equip you to make your congregation a community where each one can participate and belong. Pastors, worship leaders, children and youth leaders, and others involved in leading church programs will benefit from this course. Chaplains and others who minister outside of the walls of a church will also benefit from this course, learning from research, best practices, strategies, and tools that equip anyone to minister well with people who have disabilities.
Course Outcomes:
1. Learn from research and experts on
a. Attitudes about disability and how those attitudes can change.
b. A framework for all-ability ministry.
c. Resources and strategies effective in ministry settings.
d. How to worship with people with various disabilities, address challenging behaviors, and engage with understandings of disability within cultural contexts.
2. Explore a Scriptural understanding of God's design for individuals and communities.
3. Learn and apply principles of Universal Design in ministry contexts, including ways to introduce people to Jesus who take in information differently than you do.
4. Learn how to plan for individuals’ and families’ needs.
5. Discover some areas of difference, such as those caused by autism spectrum disorder, dementia, and medical conditions, and how to support them.
6. Learn how to embrace the God-given gifts of each person God has arranged as part of your community and strategies that allow individuals to use their gifts.
7. Recognize that learning and spiritual growth can happen differently for different individuals, but each one is designed to fill an important part of the Kingdom.
8. Be confident that the setting where you minister can provide places of belonging for people of all abilities.
Assignments:
Your Cumulative Project for the course will be an ongoing assignment. Not all weeks contain an assignment, but for those that do, you should complete the assignment during the week it is paired with a video topic. You will not submit any of the project until the end of the course. Therefore, keep all of your responses in one place, which you add to as you complete each assignment. When you get to the end of the course, submit all of the assignments. If you respond by writing, keep all of your writing in one document, using your name and “Disability Smart” as the title for the document. (For example, “Victoria White Disability Smart” would be the title of my document). If you respond by recording yourself on video, keep each video file in a folder, and either share the link to that folder (such as a Google folder), or upload each of the videos to the course page as your final project. If you prefer creating a slideshow, indicate the assignment numbers for your work as you create the slides, and submit the entire slideshow at the end of the course. Document, PDF, videos, or slideshows are all options for submitting your one project.
View all online lectures and read all the articles on each topic. CLI computer tracks whether you do this. After viewing all lectures for the unit, take the quiz based on the lectures. At the end of the course, submit the project assignment which you have worked on throughout the course, to be graded by the instructor.
Reading:
- Excerpts from Accessible Gospel, Inclusive Gospel (full book available for purchase online)
- Excerpts from Worship As One: Varied Abilities in the Body of Christ (full book available for purchase online)
- There is No Asterisk (Full Book, as found as a free online PDF at wheaton.edu/wheaton-center-for-faith-and-disability/disability-foundations/stages-of-attitudes/)
Grading Scale
A 93-100% A- 90-92% B+ 87-89% B 83-86% B- 80-82% C+ 77-79% C 73-76% C- 70-72% D+ 67-69% D 63-66% D- 60-62% F 0-59%
Your average for the course must be at least 60%. Otherwise, you will fail the class and will receive no credit.
Deadline: You have 180 days to finish the course. Complete all assignments before the final deadline, or you will be automatically unenrolled, and all coursework will be removed. You will have to start over and take the class again to receive credit.
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Read this article written by Dr. Maria Cornou, and the excerpt from Religion, Disability, and Sustainable Development in Africa, a book of emerging studies in African countries. (You can read the entire chapter, and the rest of the book, online using this link).
Reading Assignment 7: Worship for All Abilities Across Cultures
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Reflections by Dr. Thomas B. Hoeksema and Dr. John D. Witvliet
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NOTE: There is no written assignment for this week. Your work on a cumulative writing document for the duration of the course will resume in week 10.
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NOTE: There is no response assignment for this week. Your work on a cumulative response project for the duration of the course will resume in week 10.
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Read these two short pieces from With Ministries (Adapting to the Needs of Your Group)
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You have been responding by creating portions of your cumulative project throughout the course. Submit the entire cumulative project now to be graded for credit.
Your Cumulative Project for the course is an ongoing assignment. Not all weeks contain an assignment, but for those that do, you should have completed the assignment during the week it was paired with a video topic. Now that you are coming to the end of the course, submit all of the assignments. If you responded by writing, submit a single document using your name and “Disability Smart” as the title for the document. (For example, “Victoria White Disability Smart” would be the title of my document). If you respond by recording yourself on video, either share the link to the folder you are storing them in (such as a Google folder), or upload each of the videos to the course page as your final project. If you created a slideshow, submit it in its entirety as either a slideshow file or a PDF.
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As you complete this tuition-free course, let's pray for and thank the Vision Partners! Their sacrificial giving supports these tuition-free courses so that those will little or no extra resources can access high-quality ministry training.
Unit 12: Be the Body