SPIRITUALITY IN THE CLASSROOM: TWO INTEGRATION EXCERCISES FOR MANAGEMENT (AND OTHER) CLASSES by

Is a student’s spiritual life divorced from the classroom? Most CBFA members would say that it is not – that God does, and should, inform everything a student does, including his or her academic work. However in practice, even at Christian universities, students often find their spiritual life primarily addressed in activities outside the classroom: chapel, accountability groups, and the like. Even if this is not so, many students find it difficult to see the direct connections between their spiritual lives and what they are learning in the classroom. Several years ago, I was challenged to search for systematic ways to create spiritual-academic connections in the classroom. In this interactive pedagogical session I will demonstrate, with the help of the audience, two exercises that were created to enhance students ’ awareness of the spiritual dimensions in the management subject material. After the demonstration, we will discuss student reactions to these assignments and personal observations. I use these spiritual-academic integration exercises in management classes but the exercises can be adapted for other disciplines as well