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Course Overview | Problem-Based Learning | PBL Bibliography

Course Title
General Honors 1030: Religion and the Professions (2 credit hours)

 

Jill Raitt

Instructor
Professor Jill Raitt

Schedule
September 6 to November 17, 2005
Tuesday/Thursday, 3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

Location
314 General Classroom Building

Purpose
This course provides an overview of duties and responsibilities of various professions. It also shows students how diverse cultural and religious beliefs and practices can affect relationships between professionals and the people they serve. The course introduces basic terms and concepts in the academic study of religion, helps students to get into the world of another culture, and explains the relation of religion to culture.

Requirements
The course requires the following:

• Attendance
• Independent research on PBL cases
• Oral reports on research
• Class participation
• Written work (weekly papers)
• Portfolio (containing all weekly papers, reading notes, and PBL research notes)

Readings

• Borgmann, Albert. Power Failure: Christianity in the Culture of Technology. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2003.
• Fadiman, Anne. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997.
• Zinbarg, Edward. Faith, Morals, and Money: What the World's Religions Tell Us About Ethics in the Marketplace. New York: Continuum, 2001.
• Custom Publishing packet of readings (from the MU Bookstore)

Visiting Lecturers
In addition to mini-lectures from Professor Raitt, one visiting lecturer will visit the class each week. Those lecturers are from diverse professions, including business, engineering, health professions, journalism, law, medicine, nursing, and social work. Most visiting lecturers have provided readings (articles or book chapters) which are included in the packet from MU Custom Publishing. Visiting lecturers also listen to reports from the PBL work groups.

Problem-Based Learning
This course utilizes a modified version of problem-based learning (PBL). Problem-based learning, often used in medical schools, involves the use of cases to stimulate learning through research, analysis, and discussion. PBL is a dynamic and exciting way to learn because it requires cooperation with other members of a PBL work group, time management, and independent initiative. Students become very engaged in the learning process and report that they retain more of the knowledge they gain.

Religion and the Professions 1: Course Overview 2: Problem-Based Learning 3: PBL Bibliography

For more information about the course, contact Professor Jill Raitt raittj@missouri.edu.

A blog about faith, values and spirituality in the media, from CORP faculty, staff and friends.

ReligiousLife@MU
A blog about religious life at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Curious about how religion affects your profession? Click on your discipline for some ideas.

Read the latest surveys and polls on religion, beliefs, trends and current events here.

See list of professional and faith organizations here.

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