KENT INITIAL MINISTERIAL EDUCATION 4-7
HANDBOOK 2013/2014
MA in Ordained Ministry
(Level 7)
Table of Contents
1 / OVERVIEW OF PROGRAMME / 31.1 / Why Study the Programme? / 3
1.2 / Aims of the Programme / 3
1.3 / Programme Learning Outcomes / 4
1.4 / Higher Education Levels / 4
1.5 / What will you Study? / 5
1.6 / How will you be taught? / 5
1.7 / How will you be assessed? / 6
1.8 / Where will you be taught? / 6
2 / PROGRAMME DATES / 7
2.1 / Dates for the year 2013/2014 / 7
2.2 / Absence / 7
3 / METHODS OF LEARNING ON KIME / 8
3.1 / Building on past experience / 8
3.2 / Model for learning / 8
3.3 / Assessment Strategy / 8
3.4 / Thinking Behind Assessments / 10
3.5 / Submitting written work / 11
3.6 / Extensions / 11
3.7 / Assessment and Moderation / 11
4 / STUDENT SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE / 12
5 / RESOURCES / 13
5.1 / Libraries / 13
5.2 / Journals / 13
5.3 / Computing / 16
6 / GUIDELINES FOR BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCING / 17
7 / WORK BASED LEARNING/DISTANCE LEARNING
PLACEMENT ARRANGEMENTS / 19
8 / COURSE OUTLINES: MODULE DESCRIPTIONS / 20
9 / ASSESSMENT GRIDS / 56
10 / APPENDICES
1 / Entry Requirements / 62
2 / Training Incumbents / 64
3 / Programme Management / 66
4 / Claiming Expenses / 67
5 / Assignment Cover Sheet / 68
6 / Assignment Marking Sheet / 69
7 / Directory of names and addresses / 70
1. OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAMME
1.1 Why study the programme?
This programme aims to continue the training of clergy in the Church of England, during the first four years of their post-ordination ministry.
The joint venture between the Dioceses of Rochester and Canterbury, for the last decade, has proved to be the field leader in this respect, combining ministerial formation with a University-validated programme which has the added benefit of a more advanced degree or diploma. This has been validated through Canterbury Christ Church University.
The rationale for the programme’s existence, however, is not primarily to provide an academic qualification. Rather, it is seen as a way to develop and monitor growth in ministry engagement during the first years following ordination, using academic assessments as one of the measurement guides. Observable vocational development leads on to the earning of the qualification.
1.2 What are the aims of the programme?
The aim of the programme is to support your development during the early stages following your ordination, and to prepare you for a responsibility position or for ministry as self-supporting clergy in the Church of England.
The main aims underlying the programme are:
1. Enable the formation of clergy who may be expected to exercise leadership and oversight,[1] with understanding of, and vision for, ministry and mission that are critically informed, grounded in their denominational context and capable of giving guidance and inspiration to local Christian communities;
2. Enable clergy to continue to develop their critical, evaluative skills in theological learning for the practice of ministry with oversight within the life of the Church, so that growth in such learning transforms practice and practice constantly stimulates learning;
3. Enable the development of clergy as reflective practitioners in relation to core areas of ministerial activity and develop strategies for sustaining and supporting spiritual growth and personal development within lifelong vocations to ordained ministry;
4. Integrate a variety of contexts for learning, with a particular emphasis on placement/workplace based learning appropriate for students moving into new public ministerial roles within the Church;
5. Foster a learning community in which students from a wide variety of previous backgrounds and current ministerial contexts take responsibility for shaping their own educational journeys while learning from and with each other.
1.3 What are the Programme Learning Outcomes?
By the end of the programme this is what you should be able to do:
1. Build on earlier studies in ecclesiology and missiology to evaluate the integrity of models of church, mission and ministry in contemporary contexts
2. Critique understandings of the history, theology and practices of their own denomination, with particular reference to the expectations of ordained ministers
3. Select and make use of primary texts from the theological disciplines for resourcing practical theological reflection and the practices of contemporary ministry, including biblical studies, doctrine, missiology, practical theology, liturgy and interfaith dialogue
4. Engage with disciplines outside traditional theology, such as sociology, psychology, management studies and group dynamics as resources for theological reflection and ministerial practice
5. Demonstrate critical awareness of the principles of contemporary hermeneutics in the interpretation of Christian Scripture and other relevant historical and theological texts
6. Show critical understanding of churches as communities where differences of theology and practice can be resources for learning and growth
7. Demonstrate ability to develop theologically and practically well-grounded models for the evaluation of key ministerial skills such areas as leading worship, preaching, pastoral care, supervision, team work, and engaging with other agencies, churches and faiths
8. Engage with issues in the public domain such as those related to social justice, race, gender and sexuality, and world faiths using the characteristic sources and themes of Christian faith, and articulate ways in which religious belief shapes human behaviour
9. (For those students progressing to the MA Dissertation) Use appropriate research methods and the skills of advanced engagement in practical theology disciplines to explore the relation between a particular example of human context and Christian ministry by means of a supervised dissertation. (See Appendix)
1.4 Higher Education Levels : commonly describes 5 levels of study
Level 4 describes the first year of a first degree course undergraduate Certificate
Level 5 describes the second year of a first degree course undergraduate Diploma
Level 6 describes the third year of a first degree course Degree
Level 7 describes a taught or researched second degree Master’s
Level 8 describes study for a higher research degree Higher Degrees
The normal entry requirement for this programme at level 7 is successful completion of theological studies to level 6. On this programme you will be doing work at level 7.
1.5 What will you study?
Programme Structure
There are 6 modules, each of which last a semester. All are compulsory, and all carry 20 credits at HE Level 7 :
Module 1 – Year 1 – Term 1: Theological Reflection
leads on to
Module 2 – Year 1 – Term 2: Christian Tradition and Practice
leads on to
Module 3 – Year 2 – Term 1: Vocation in Ministry in South East England (with placement component)
leads on to
Module 4 – Year 2 – Term 2: The Law and the Church of England Priest
leads on to
Module 5 – Year 3 – Term 1: Hermeneutics in Contemporary Ministry and Culture
leads on to
Module 6 – Year 3 – Term 2: Leadership in Christian Ministry
On completion of the required assignments at Level 7 students may progress to the MA Dissertation. The Dissertation module is comprised of 2 parts and these details can be found in this handbook from page 46 onwards.
This is a part-time programme and students will finish the PGDip in 3-5 years. For this award, each student takes six modules at 20 credits each. There will be some flexibility in timescale for completion but it is envisaged that the normal pattern will be two 20 credit modules per year for the first three years. The fact that this represents a slightly slower rate of progress than is usual in part-time studies reflects the way that the programme is carefully designed for people who are entering new public ministerial roles and will need to give much time and energy to engaging with the demands associated with this, whilst also benefiting from a clear structure for their continuing learning in the context of immersion in practice.
1.6 How will you be taught?
Although the programme is delivered through taught sessions, the learning is primarily student-centred. The individual modules use the experiences of the course members as the focus for learning. You will propose your topics for individual study in response to programme guidelines, relating your research and learning to your own contexts for ministry. As fully engaged ministers you will be self-directed learners, working independently, with tutorial support, to your own study plans.
Learning and teaching strategies include the use of learning groups of different sizes (pairs, learning sets and larger plenary groups). Learning sessions include role-play, case studies, lectures, seminars (including student-led seminars), videos, guided study and tutorials. Differentiation of level is managed primarily through tutorials. The module leaders recognise that theological learning is ‘faith seeking understanding’. For this reason learning sessions will sometimes include prayer and worship, usually led by course members.
1.7 How will you be assessed?
The programme’s overall assessment strategy employs three main means of assessment in order to provide course members with opportunities to demonstrate that they have acquired the programme’s stated learning outcomes. These means of assessment are designed to:
· enable you to express your understanding and competence in the subject;
· offer opportunity for you to develop new learning and emergent ideas;
· provide a consistent framework in which you can integrate your ongoing learning as the programme proceeds;
· develop your capacity for reflective practice in Christian ministry;
· offer opportunities for you to express your developing understanding of vocation for priestly ministry;
· allow the examiner to adequately assess your academic knowledge, vocational awareness, and development in personal and ministry formation.
The three categories are:
1. The presentation of an assignment project to peers in a local seminar group
2. Submission of a précis from a Learning Journal that has been written throughout the module
3. Written submission of an Assignment Project
1.8 Where will you be taught?
The pattern of the delivery of the programme requires a mix of venues. The residential weekends will meet in locations which provide the necessary residential and teaching facilities, such as Aylesford Priory. Day Schools will be held at the International Study Centre, Canterbury Cathedral and Aylesford Priory. Local seminar groups will meet in appropriate locations in the dioceses of Canterbury and Rochester which are geographically convenient to members of the groups.
2. PROGRAMME DATES
2.1 Dates for the year 2013/2014
Induction at CCCU Saturday, 7 September 2013 (Year 1)
Year 1, 2 & 3 Day School Saturday, 28 September 2013 - The International Study Centre, Canterbury Cathedral
Residential w/e – 11-13 October 2013 - Aylesford Priory
Local Seminar Groups – w/c 4 November 2013
w/c 2 December 2013
w/c 13 January 2014
Years 1, 2 & 3 Day School Saturday, 1 February 2014 - Aylesford Priory
Years 1 & 2 Residential w/e – 7-9 March 2014 - Aylesford
Year 3 Residential w/e – 21-23 March 2014 - Bruges
Local Seminar Groups – w/c 23 March 2014
w/c 12 May 2014
w/c 9 June 2014
2.2 Notifying the Programme Directors of absence
Exceptionally, important deanery or network events are arranged that clash with KIME. We will give consent to attend one such event during the first three years, so missing one KIME day. This could be to attend a deanery residential, or a conference which other clergy in your team are attending. Consent to attend such an event will be granted if the request is supported by your training incumbent or rural dean. KIME dates will need to be shared with other clergy so that clashes can be avoided.
There are other reasons that might cause a curate to miss or be late for KIME; for example sickness or family emergency. In these cases the curate should telephone one of the Programme Directors as soon as the situation arises.
A reminder
Full participation in iME 4-7 is mandatory for all curates. Incumbents and curates will need to ensure in their planning of parish events and schedules, and holiday dates, that the curate is available to attend all KIME sessions. Occasional offices, school assemblies, regular communion services, etc. should be the responsibility of other parish or deanery staff on KIME days.
3. METHODS OF LEARNING FOR KIME
3.1 Building on past experience
This programme recognises that newly ordained ministers will already have developed a number of key transferable skills prior to entry. These are consciously developed through the programme, so that all those on the programme have a critical understanding of the underlying values and ethics of academic study undertaken in the context of ordained ministry.
Although the programme is delivered through taught sessions, the learning is primarily student-centred. The individual modules use the experiences of the students as the focus for learning. Course members propose their topics for individual study in response to programme guidelines, relating their research and learning to their own contexts for ministry.
3.2 The model for learning
Within the teaching staff team there is a high level of academic understanding together with high levels of professional knowledge and expertise. The teaching methods draw strongly on the adult learning cycle (sometimes called the practical theology cycle). There is a commitment to best practice in adult education, and this is seen not just in the level of the educational material used, but also in the variety of teaching and learning strategies employed. These recognise that adults have different learning preferences.
3.3 Assessment Strategy
The programme employs three main means of assessment, in order to provide course members with opportunities to demonstrate that they have acquired the programme’s stated learning outcomes.
These means of assessment are designed to:
a) enable you to show a level of conceptual understanding that critically evaluates research, scholarship and methodologies and argues for alternative approaches;
b) offer opportunity for you to apply specialist knowledge and understanding to interpersonal dynamics, problem-solving and organisational systems;