Transcript OBU Template

Week 6: Religious artefacts and the
construction of religious meaning
Prayer
 Do you pray?
 What do people do when they pray?
 Why do you think people pray?
 Is it important to pray?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlLaUCAQlQQ
Activity 1
 Examine the display. Spend some time looking at each
object, so that you could describe what you have seen to
somebody later in the day.
 Each object is used in worship or prayer by either
Buddhists or Muslims.
 For each item, try to imagine what its purpose might be.
Is it a symbol? Does it have a practical use? What does it
tell you about how believers worship or pray?
Swap over
 Now you are going to take it in turns to describe what you
saw to another group.
 Try to describe the objects you saw and explain what you
think they were, but also explain what you thought they
showed you about how Muslims or Buddhists worship or
pray.
 Listen carefully. Try to note down any important
differences or similarities you think there are between
Buddhists and Muslims.
 What questions would you like to ask a Muslim or a
Buddhist about anything you have seen?
Grimmitt’s Social Constructivist Model
 Preparatory Pedagogical Constructivism
Enquiry into and reflection on students’ own experience to prepare them linguistically
and conceptually for an encounter with the item of religious content. The teacher
contributes to the pupils’ enquiries and reflections through questions and interventions
which may include practical, group focused activities.
 Direct pedagogical Constructivism
Pupils are confronted with the item of religious content directly, but without explanation
and instruction, so that it becomes the stimulus for them to begin to construct their
own meaning and understanding of it through observation, formulating hypotheses,
and drawing on their own experience. (Possible teacher interventions, i.e.
questioning)
Grimmitt’s Social Constructivist Model
 Supplementary Pedagogical Constructivism
Pupils provided with initial or supplementary information about the item of religious
content which enables their constructions to become more complex and embrace
alternative perspectives. They do not abandon their interpretations in the face of
some ‘objective’ knowledge which the teacher provides but continue to engage in an
interpretive process in which new knowledge is considered critically and may or may
not be accommodated within their own understanding.
Religious content always in a dynamic relationship with pupils’ critical and reflective
thought.
Any communication of information on the part of the teacher is always related to the
constructions that pupils are using, applying and articulating.
Always move from egocentric interpretations of experience through alternative
contextualised interpretations to evaluative judgements
Exploring Prayer
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/buddhist-prayerand-meditation/2872.html
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lL_95YN-VU
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/muslimprayer/5965.html
 What are the critical differences between the two
displays?
Preparing to visit a place of worship
 On your own, write down three questions which you would
like to ask the Imam or the Order Member to help you
understand how Buddhist and Muslim prayer and worship
are similar or different.
 Read each of your questions to the rest of your group and
explain why you think they are important.
 As a group, choose the three most important questions.
Reporting on our visit
 In a group of three, you will be making a documentary
about prayer.
 In your documentary, the Buddhist and the Muslim will
explain to the interviewer how they pray and why they
think it is important. They can question each other about
the different things that they do.
 Your interviewer must then offer his or her own opinion on
what he or she has learned and whether it is important to
pray.