I was very pleased with the results of the Confirmation exam given last night! This was the best that my students have done in recent years. First, I had provided the young people with a study sheet 2 weeks ago, telling them precisely what would be included on the exam. I believe this made a big difference because some of them actually studied! One young man (who has a minor learning disability and has a […]
With the end of most religious education program years occurring, this is a good time for catechists to do a little bit of self assessment. Feel free to use the following by yourself, with a peer or group of peers, or with your DRE. 1 = poor/I disagree 2 = fair/I somewhat disagree 3 = good/I somewhat agree 4 = excellent/I agree I became more aware of my vocation as a catechist 1 2 3 4 […]
Authentic assessment is exactly what the name implies: it is genuine and real. Authentic assessment is performance-based: learners put into action what they’ve been learning. Beyond being able to speak or write about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, learners must have opportunities to live out the call to discipleship. Service Experiences—Provide suggestions for specific ways that your learners can put their faith into practice serving others, either individually or as a […]
Informal assessment asks the question: What can you do with what you know and how do you do it? Ongoing—Include opportunities to assess your participants’ grasp of concepts by observing their participation in discussions, group work, prayer/reflection, and service to others. Specific Tasks—Include specific opportunities to evaluate verbal (oral and written) and non-verbal (drawn, crafted, etc.) expressions and responses. These need not be quizzes or tests but may simply be activities that invite your participants […]
A formal assessment asks the question: What do you know or understand? This type of assessment, accomplished in either written or oral forms, models Jesus’ attempts to assess his disciples’ understanding of his teaching and actions. When using quizzes or tests, keep the following in mind: Make sure that the items included on your quizzes or tests are consistent with the learning outcomes for your lessons. Provide your learners with opportunities for self-assessment. In other […]
How do we measure effectiveness in catechesis? How do we know whether or not we have achieved our learning outcomes? We may feel as though we’ve had a very good session. One catechist I know judges success on whether or not the participants “had fun.” That’s not a very reliable method of assessing whether or not someone has been further equipped to live as a disciple of Jesus. In catechesis, we are constantly assessing whether […]
Recently, I had the privilege and pleasure of being invited into the home of a family to observe a mom working with her third-grade son on a Finding God faith formation lesson! I’m excited to share my observations of this wonderful experience. Mrs. K. is participating in the Finding God family catechesis program at St. Barnabas Parish. As regular readers know, I have been volunteering there this year to lead the monthly parent sessions. Mrs. […]
As long as I’ve been writing this blog, I have emphasized that catechist formation and catechist support in general is not just some act of kindness toward catechists. Rather, it is something the Church owes catechists! Imagine someone entering a religious community and being welcomed in and assigned a ministry without first going through a novitiate and formation process! The religious community that a person makes a commitment to owes it to its members to […]
Happy New Year, everyone! While I don’t make a big thing out of New Year’s resolutions, I think it is always good to set goals and to articulate them. As we begin 2024, I thought it would be fun for us to make and share some catechetical New Year’s resolutions! Mine is to cut down on the amount of talking I do during presentations so as to leave more time and space for discussion. What’s […]
Yesterday marked the first time that we gathered for family catechesis after the parents have had a month to do faith formation sessions at home with their children. It was also the day that we introduced the Finding God unit on Jesus. Here is a summary of the proceedings. Attendance was very good this month; we even picked up a few new families! After our opening prayer ritual (setting up the prayer center with sacred […]
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