Module TMMC1137: Introduction to Spirituality and Discipleship

Department: Theology, Ministry and Mission

TMMC1137: Introduction to Spirituality and Discipleship

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• L4-20 Spirituality and Discipleship L4-20 Growing Together in Christ: Worship and Spirituality

Aims

• To enable students to explore and experience selected approaches to the Christian life of discipleship and prayer.
• To enable students to use this knowledge and understanding to reflect upon their personal life of prayer through self-awareness, practical activities and disciplines.
• To encourage students to become attentive listeners of the world, of others, of oneself and of God.

Content

• Survey of practices of private and corporate prayer in relation to their historical, ecclesial and contemporary contexts.
• Selected scriptural and doctrinal sources for Christian prayer and spirituality.
• Practical work in the development of self-understanding and spiritual discernment and practice, through, for example, the formation or development of a ‘rule of life’, the keeping of a prayer diary, and the writing of a reflection on these areas.

Learning Outcomes

• Discuss knowledgeably specific examples of approaches to prayer within Christian spirituality, and the questions to which they give rise.
• Explore and evaluate how personal and corporate practices of spirituality contribute to the growth of the human person in Christ.

• Reflect theologically on personal spiritual development and practice of prayer as a way of participating in the body of Christ and the mission of God, with reference to at least one approach to prayer encountered in the module.

• Identify, gather and evaluate source materials for a specific purpose.
• Evaluate the appropriateness of different approaches, communicating their findings sensitively and respectfully, showing self-awareness about their own beliefs, commitments and prejudices.
• Carry out a guided task that involves: independent inquiry; management of time and resources; using IT; meeting deadlines; evaluating the task and learning from it.
• Recognise key issues in their own personal and professional development.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Teaching methods to be specified by each TEI, selecting from the following:
• Lectures provide content, a conceptual framework and a survey of approaches within a subject area that enable students to locate their learning in a wider context, to make connections with other disciplines, and to evaluate and apply their learning to different contexts.
• Seminars offer students an opportunity to present, evaluate and apply their knowledge to specific contexts, and to engage with teaching staff and peers in debate and reflection.
• Guided reading in conjunction with lectures encourages independent learning and underpins the knowledge and understanding gained in lectures and seminars.
• Small group learning creates an environment where students learn to articulate their knowledge and understanding effectively and in a way that is relevant to the group and its context.
• Tutorials enhance learning by offering feedback and encouraging students to reflect on their own response to the knowledge and skills they have acquired.
• Supervision / spiritual direction offers students guidance and feedback on their learning and experience.
• Placements and/or work-based learning ensures that students make habitual connections between knowledge, understanding, skills, professional practice and the reality of a specific context, under the supervision of an experienced practitioner.
• Visits enable students to encounter the subject matter in a way that provokes formational as well as cognitive learning that demands critical reflection on the subject area and its implications.
• Programmed online learning materials guide students through knowledge content, its wider framework and different approaches to its application.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Students will show evidence of having completed at least one of the following activities during the module: • keeping a spiritual journal • writing a rule of life • reflecting upon their spiritual development.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University