Using Trentham’s principle of inverse consistency to vet models of human development for use in Christian educator preparation programs

Abstract

This article aims to utilize Trentham’s Inverse Consistency Protocol (ICP) to appraise human development models for use within Christian educator preparation programs. The authors propose that the ICP can be applied to any secular paradigms to discern potential areas of inconsistency with an institution’s faith tradition. To illustrate application of the ICP in this way, Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) model was provided as an example of one model of human development that is widely taught in educator preparation programs. The ZPD model was submitted through the four-step inverse consistency protocol. Findings suggest that ICP is a reflective tool for engaging with the social sciences with integrity after protocol results indicated that ZPD is an appropriate model for use by Christian educators when used responsibly. Implications for extended use of ICP are discussed.

Keywords

Christian schooling human development hermeneutics Zone of Proximal Development inverse consistency protocol teacher preparation program

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bachman

(2015) Lutheran theology and philosophy: Faith and reason. In: Ashmon

(ed) The Idea and Practice of a Christian University: A Lutheran Approach. Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 165–183.

Bainton

(2010) Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

Benson

(2018) God’s curriculum: Reimagining education as a journey towards shalom. In: Luetz

Dowden

Norworthy

(eds) Reimagining Christian Education: Cultivating Transformative Approaches. Singapore: Springer, 17–38.

Brueggemann

(2015) The Creative Word: Canon as a Model for Biblical Education. 2nd edition. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press.

Bruner

(1984) Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development: The hidden agenda. New Directions for Child Development 23: 93–97. DOI: 10.1002/cd.23219842309.

Bunge

(2006) The child, religion, and the academy: Developing robust theological and religious understandings of children and childhood. The Journal of Religion 86(4): 549–579. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/505894.

California Department of Education (2022) Ethnic studies model curriculum. California: California State Board of Education https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/documents/ethnicstudiescurriculum.pdf.

Clarà

(2017) How instruction influences conceptual development: Vygotsky's theory revisited. Educational Psychologist 52(1): 50–62. DOI: 10.1080/00461520.2016.1221765.

Commission on Teacher Credentialing (2016) Standards of program quality and effectiveness for elementary subject matter programs. Sacramento: Commission on Teacher Credentialing. https://www.ctc.ca.gov/docs/default-source/educator-prep/standards/esm-standards.pdf?sfvrsn=7799a81f_6.

10.

Commission on Teacher Credentialing (2020) Pupil personnel services: School counseling preconditions, program standards, and performance expectations. Sacramento: Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Available at: https://www.ctc.ca.gov/docs/default-source/educator-prep/standards/pps-school-counseling-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=28e552b1_12.

11.

Commission on Teacher Credentialing (2022) Preconditions and standards. Sacramento: Commission on Teacher Credentialing. https://www.ctc.ca.gov/educator-prep/program-standards.

12.

Cooling

Green

(2015) Competing imaginations for teaching and learning: The findings of research into a Christian approach to teaching and learning called what if Learning. International Journal of Christianity & Education 19(2): 96–107. DOI: 10.1177/2056997115583432.

13.

Diaconescu

Stecy

Kasper

, et al. (2020) Neural arbitration between social and individual learning systems. Elife 9: e54051. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.54051.

14.

Erbil

(2020) A review of flipped classroom and cooperative learning methods within the context of Vygotsky theory. Frontiers in Psychology 11: 1157. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01157.

15.

Estep

Kim

(eds) (2010) Christian Formation: Integrating Theology and Human Development. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic.

16.

Eun

(2019) The zone of proximal development as an overarching concept: A framework for synthesizing Vygotsky’s theories. Educational Philosophy and Theory 51(1): 18–30. DOI: 10.1080/00131857.2017.1421941.

17.

Fani

Ghaemi

(2011) Implications of Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (ZPD) in teacher education: ZPTD and self-scaffolding. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences 29: 1549–1554. DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.11.396.

18.

Ginty

(2022) Organizational original design: Parental responsibility for Christian education and faith development in the home. Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership 8(1): 1–14. https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/joel/vol8/iss1/2.

19.

Glanzer

Alleman

(2019) The Outrageous Idea of Christian Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

20.

Hedegaard

(2005) The zone of proximal development as basis for instruction. In: Daniels

(ed) 2nd edition. An Introduction to Vygotsky. London: Routledge.

21.

Horner

(2017) Rejecting dialogue for perspective: Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development and John Calvin’s divine pedagogy. Religious Education 112(2): 96–109. DOI: 10.1080/00344087.2016.1223492.

22.

Ikawati

(2020) Scaffolding in teaching writing. Education Journal 30(1): 48–58. https://www.syekhnurjati.ac.id/jurnal/index.php/tarbiyah/article/view/6487.

23.

Lawrence

Valsiner

(2003) Making personal sense: An account of basic internalization and externalization processes. Theory & Psychology 13(6): 723–752. DOI: 10.1177/0959354303136001.

24.

Lewis

(2001) Mere Christianity. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

25.

Miri

Alibakhshi

Kushki

, et al. (2017) Going beyond one-to-one mediation in zone of proximal development (ZPD): Concurrent and cumulative group dynamic assessment. Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics 3(1): 1–24. DOI: 10.32601/ejal.461025.

26.

Miyamoto

(2008) The origins of the standards movement in the United States: Adoption of the written test and its influence on class work. Educational Studies in Japan 3: 27–40. Available at: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ842865.pdf/.

27.

Mulholland

(1993) Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation. Lisle, IL: InterVarsity Press.

28.

Nel

(2021) Comparison between the respective views of John Calvin and classical Pentecostals on the role of the Holy Spirit in reading the Bible. HTS Theological Studies 77(4): 1–9. DOI: 10.4102/hts.v77i4.6327.

29.

Niebuhr

(1951) Christ and Culture. New York, NY: Harper & Brothers.

30.

Nyikos

Hashimoto

(1997) Constructivist theory applied to collaborative learning in teacher education: In search of ZPD. The Modern Language Journal 81(4): 506–517. DOI: 10.2307/328893.

31.

Reinhardt

(2022) The danger of power and men in contemporary society: An evangelical analysis of sexual exploitation in Genesis to safeguard Christian educational ministry. Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 19(2): 266–281. DOI: 10.1177/07398913221120436.

32.

Robb

(2022) Dallas Willard, philosopher of ministry, teacher of Christlikeness. Theology Today 79(2): 239–252. DOI: 10.1177/00405736221091910.

33.

Seita

Chan

Rao

, et al. (2019) ZPD Teaching Strategies for Deep Reinforcement Learning from Demonstrations. Ithaca: arXiv preprint. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1910.12154.pdf.

34.

Shabani

Khatib

Ebadi

(2010) Vygotsky's zone of proximal development: Instructional implications and teachers’ professional development. English Language Teaching 3(4): 237–248. https://www.ccsenet.org/elt.

35.

Shaw

(2019) Evaluating knowing and reasoning in college for use in Christian higher education. Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 16(2): 344–358.

36.

Silalahi

(2019) Understanding Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development for learning. Polyglotte: Jurnal Ilmiah 15(2): 169–186. DOI: 10.19166/pji.v15i2.1544.

37.

Smith

(2021) “Grace floats in the air.” Faith, formation, and pedagogical design. In: de Muynck

Kuiper

(eds) Faithful Efforts: Education, Formation and the Church. Kampen: Summum Academic Publications.

38.

Smith

(2011) Teaching and Christian Practices: Reshaping Faith and Learning. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

39.

Stanford University (2000) History of standards-based reform. Stanford: Stanford University. https://web.stanford.edu/∼hakuta/www/archives/syllabi/CalTex_SBR/historysbr.html.

40.

Taylor

(2017) Indoctrination and social context: A system-based approach to identifying the threat of indoctrination and the responsibilities of educators. Journal of Philosophy of Education 51(1): 38–58. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9752.12180.

41.

Teach California (2022) Commission on teacher credentialing. San Francisco: Teach California. https://www.teachcalifornia.org/partners/Detail/248.

42.

Trentham

(2019a) Reading the social sciences theologically (part 1): Approaching and qualifying models of human development. Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 16(3): 458–475. DOI: 10.1177/0739891319885463.

43.

Trentham

(2019b) Reading the social sciences theologically (part 2): Engaging and appropriating models of human development. Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 16(3): 476–494. DOI: 10.1177/0739891319882699.

44.

Veith

(2009) Train up a child. Ligonier Ministries. Available at: https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/train-child.

45.

Vinovskis

(2009) From A Nation at Risk to No Child Left Behind: National Education Goals and the Creation of Federal Education Policy. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

46.

Vygotsky

(1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

47.

Washburn

(2019) Conservative Religious Groups Targeting California’s Sex Education Guidance. Oakland: EdSource. https://edsource.org/2019/conservative-religious-groups-targeting-californias-sex-education-guidance/611932.

48.

Wilhelm

Firmin

(2008) Character education: Christian education perspectives. Journal of Research on Christian Education 17(2): 182–198. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ929790.

49.

Wilhoit

(2008) Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing.

50.

Willard

(1991) The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.