ANGLICAN IDENTITY
Religious Studies
NEW RESOURCES LAUNCHED “Religious Studies forms people to explore the questions of life that lead to human flourishing.” The curriculum uses a spiral curriculum embedded with seven strands. The strands include the Bible and Christian Belief, Story of the Church, Philosophy of Religion, Christian Ethics and Ethical Theory, World Religions, Meditation, Prayer and Worship, and Faith in Action and Actions Leading to Faith. The units comprise of a program, student resources and videos. The student resources have been developed with the help of a graphic designer and include illustrations from Yarra Valley Grammar Chaplain and illustrator, The Reverend Paul Joy. Peter Carnley Anglican Community School Director of Early Learning, Donna Farmer, said the Religious Studies resources provided direction, clarification and ideas on what to teach across the year levels. “With these resources, any teacher can confidently teach Religious Studies. They have both the lessons and resources provided and know that they are addressing the Religious Studies Curriculum strands for Anglican schools,” Mrs Farmer said. Director of Teaching and Learning, Penelope Russell, whose role includes building and developing religious studies in schools.
She said the positive reaction extended to the students as well.
Anglican schools now have access to a suite of customised classroom resources for Religious Studies. The resources were developed by the Anglican Schools Commission under the direction of Director of Teaching and Learning, Penelope Russell, whose role includes building and developing religious studies in schools.
Mrs Russell said additional training and support was available for Religious Studies teaching staff in WA through the WA Anglican Schools Association (WAASA).
Mrs Russell said the curriculum would enable teachers to better assist students to explore questions of purpose and meaning. “Christian philosopher, James K.A. Smith said, education is not primarily about the giving of information but about the formation of people,” Mrs Russell said. “And surely some of the most valuable questions a young person can consider in this formation process are questions of meaning, purpose, truth, God and faith.
“We have explored together topics such as Faith & Science, How to answer Big Questions, Biblical Literacy, Assessment & Reporting and will soon explore Aboriginal Spirituality,” she said. “The professional learning opportunities allows teachers the chance to network, share ideas, support each other and develop their own skills.” The Religious Studies curriculum can be accessed by ASC and ASA member schools and is even available for Episcopal schools in the USA. The curriculum and resources can be accessed via the ASC website. The resources are password protected. Teachers can request access to the resources here: www.ascschools.edu.au/religious-studies ASC News 23
