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TMMC1137: Introduction to Spirituality and Discipleship

Please ensure you check the module availability box for each module outline, as not all modules will run in each academic year. Each module description relates to the year indicated in the module availability box, and this may change from year to year, due to, for example: changing staff expertise, disciplinary developments, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback. Current modules are subject to change in light of the ongoing disruption caused by Covid-19.

Type Tied
Level 1
Credits 10
Availability Available in 2023/24
Module Cap None.
Location Durham
Department Theology, Ministry and Mission

Prerequisites

  • None

Corequisites

  • None

Excluded Combinations 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

Subject-specific Knowledge:

  • Discuss knowledgeably examples of spiritual practices, personal and corporate, in the Christian tradition and the questions to which they give rise.

Subject-specific Skills:

  • 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.

Key Skills:

  • 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

ActivityNumberFrequencyDurationTotalMonitored
Lectures81.5 hours12 
Practical80.25 hours2 
Personal study86 
Total100 

Summative Assessment

Component: Reflective JournalComponent Weighting: 40%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Liturgy 1,000 words100 
Component: Written AssignmentComponent Weighting: 60%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Theological and contextual reflection1,500 words100 

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.

More information

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