Research
36
RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS INTERVIEWED
17+
HOURS OF RECORDINGS ANALYZED
83
INNOVATIVE EDUCATORS IDENTIFIED
That changed in 2015. The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations challenged us to share what we were learning with colleagues in other seminaries and training institutions—and to learn about their vision for the future.
The result was an exploratory qualitative study in which we interviewed 36 leaders representing 14 different organizations. It’s obviously a subjective matter. The interviewees’ disciplines often seemed to shape their answers, as did their level and type of involvement with faith communities outside their ministry training institution. That’s why we interviewed so many respected leaders: to try to build some kind of consensus.
Then in June of 2016, we brought together study participants to get some feedback on our conclusions about these new learning objectives for effective ministry in our networked society. With our guest facilitator from the Wabash Center for Teaching & Learning in Theology and Religion, we reviewed our findings and refined the conceptual definitions of the literacies. Further analysis, conversation, and wordsmithing have led us to include seven literacies in this Toolkit.
SCOPE OF RESEARCH
In addition to identifying seven digital literacies for ministry, our research yielded a conceptual way to understand the interrelated yet distinct domains of practice that are part of this broader conversation. Currently, we are conducting further research to validate the operational definitions of these digital literacies for ministry and how they are connected to effective ministerial leadership.
PRESENTATIONS & POSTERS
Artifacts from presentations and posters that our team has presented at various academic and practitioner conferences.Read More
PUBLICATIONS
Bibliography of the publications that our team has produced related to this work, and when possible, links to or pdfs of those publications.Read More
PODCASTS & VIDEOS
These media resources document aspects of this research and its impact on theological educators.Read More
Contribute to the Research
You are invited to participate in our ongoing research on the Digital Literacies for Ministry by participating in a survey. This survey research will help us learn about faith leaders’ attitudes about and experiences with the digital literacies for ministry we identified through an earlier study. If you would like to participate in this survey, or if you are unsure if you would like to participate but would like to learn more, please visit the link below.