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Integrated Learning Weeks 

Trinity has introduced an exciting new concept in learning in the past couple of years which has been warmly welcomed by students. Called Integrated Learning Weeks (ILWs), their aim is to focus on an issue of contemporary significance for both the church and the world.

During an intensive week that involves teaching by different faculty, presentations from outside speakers and group work on case studies, students are encouraged to consider the issue inductively: they explore it from biblical, pastoral, ethical, doctrinal, missional and historical perspectives while also being challenged to integrate their understanding with the gritty reality of case studies. In doing this, students learn to integrate different theological disciplines and so to formulate a holistic Christian response to the issue concerned.

So, for example, we have a week entitled Sexual Revolution: the aim is not to try and say everything that could be said about sex in one week, but to help students to develop a Christian view of sexuality by reflecting critically on issues of sexuality from different angles and from the different experiences and convictions which people bring. So, again in relation to sexuality, we invite speakers who bring a range of personal experiences to share their stories and explain how their theology, their reading of the Bible, and their pastoral practice is integrated with their experience. (See diagram below.)

This is often challenging, because while we may not agree with the choices they have made or their lifestyle, we learn to consider the issues at a deeper level through honest and unbrokered face to face encounters and discussions. This is a significant part of the learning process. Indeed we have been immensely grateful to those who have been willing to come and share their stories with us, often in a vulnerable and open way.

Listening to others with very different approaches from our own does not mean we endorse their way of thinking, but it does challenge us to think how we justify our own position as we do the task of integration. So, to take an example from another week in which we focus on the Christian response to other faiths, we welcome Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist perspectives and seek to draw on all the resources of our theology to formulate our responses.

Our ILWs currently comprise:

Spirit in Context
The Sustainable World
Leadership

All students have to do at least one ILW in each year of their studies. Our hope is that these ILWs make an important contribution to future church leaders who can think integrally with whatever issue they face.