Teaching as a Christian Practice is an in–person workshop designed for Christian educators eager to strengthen and deepen their understanding of how Christian faith is truly able to affect everyday classroom practices and instruction. The workshop will draw on the expertise and experience of teachers and scholars and will include space for participants to share from their experience and to collaborate with other participants.

The workshop is led by David I. Smith, a highly regarded and in-demand worldwide conference speaker and workshop leader in Christian education. He is a professor of education at Calvin, and Director of the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning. Professor Smith began his career teaching French, German, and Russian in public secondary schools in the United Kingdom, where he became fascinated by the question of how our beliefs, values, and commitments can shape and guide our approaches to teaching and learning. After graduate work in philosophical theology, philosophy of education, and curriculum studies, he moved to Calvin. He serves as Editor of the International Journal of Christianity and Education and is regularly involved nationally and internationally in professional development for schools, colleges, and universities, especially focusing on the connection between faith and teaching. Find out more at:

Material for the workshop comes from David’s book of the same title, On Christian Teaching. Christian teachers have long been thinking about what content to teach, but little scholarship has been devoted to how faith forms the actual process of teaching. Is there a way to go beyond Christian perspectives on the subject matter and think about the teaching itself as Christian? In this book David I. Smith shows how faith can and should play a critical role in shaping pedagogy and the learning experience.