World Religion - Hinduism

Learning & Assessment Skills It is very important for high school juniors and seniors -- including students from a diversity of ethnic and cultural backgrounds -- to be immersed in exercises and scholarly challenges that help them gain mastery on the English Language. Whether they seek careers as surgeons or professional truck drivers, they should leave high school with language skills -- including pronunciation, comprehension, and the ability to apply the language -- that will be the foundation of their competencies when it comes to communication.

What they learn and how they are able to apply their knowledge will be assessed in this lesson. Assessment and Lesson Plan -- AP World Hinduism This class focuses on Advanced Placement World Religion, but in its revised format it will incorporate learning assessment features that are part of the class work and course expectations.

Students and instructors can gain from assessments; students gain because they need to believe they are accomplishing something of value, and instructors gain due to the feedback and other results that show up when proper assessment strategies are embraced. Day 1 through Day 10: Review of Hinduism -- Beliefs and Rituals Learning Outcomes Students are expected to understand the beliefs and the terms that are used in Hinduism and the salient behaviors practiced by those in the Hindu faith.

They will study the history of Hinduism -- including their suppression under British colonialism (Chatterjee, 1992), the spiritual leaders, and how families observe important rituals. They will be assessed as to their grasp of the materials on a daily basis. Objectives Students will be asked to write creative essays -- using fictional characters but factual materials based on their understanding of Hinduism -- as part of the assessment that the instructor must assign. In the Framework for 21st Century Revision (262) creativity is emphasized along with critical thinking skills.

These essays will help students elaborate, refine, and analyze their ideas -- in creative ways -- of what the Hindu religion represents as a world faith. In Chapter 3 (Assessment in the 21st Century) of the text, there is a focus on Goal-Referenced feedback, which students and the instructor will discuss vis-a-vis what each student has as a goal in this essay.

This writing task tests the way in which students think resourcefully as they draw upon their own intellectual powers to create characters and settings that show their mastery of the lesson. The instructor will make an assessment of the quality of the instruction based on these essays; students will exchange essays (anonymously) and assess each other, giving a letter grade and making comments on the essays.

Procedure or Method of Instruction A local person who practices Hinduism will be invited into the classroom to talk about his or her life, faith, and about reincarnation. The guest will answer questions after explaining the teachings that are the foundations of his faith, found in the books called Vedas. Students will take notes and write a brief report on the activity, which will be part of the assessment of their progress.

Following the guest appearance, students will be required to research one Veda and put the precepts and rituals from the Veda into contemporary context. Day 11 through 20 -- Juxtaposing Hindu Practices with Mental Health or Environment Learning Outcomes In this section students will be asked to research Hindu attitudes about health, mental health in particular, and Hindu attitudes towards the environment. Hindu leaders teach that every living thing is made up of a gross body, a subtle body (the mind / intelligence), and the soul (Kang, 2010).

How does that contrast with what Protestants or Jews practice? Students will be assessed on their research of this topic and on the subject.