EDCO 826 Growth & Development of the Pastoral Counselor

Drawing upon Master’s level study of the person in life and ministry, additional factors are explored to develop an Evangelical Christian growth and development strategy for the doctoral level pastoral counselor. Research and assessment provide the foundation for this course as participants develop an understanding of their primary and functional purpose in ministry’s highly relational network.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Ministry’s highly relational network presents a myriad of challenges for today’s people helpers, especially church counselors. Pertinent research suggests efficient and effective people-helping engagement requires informed self-awareness and research-based preventative-care strategies to be employed under the influence of a well-defined primary and functional relational purpose. This course provides students with pertinent material to develop a paradigm and process to flourish in the pursuit of growing in favor with God and others.

Textbook readings, self-administered assessments (2) and lecture presentations/notes

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussion: Self-Narrated Class Introduction

The student will build a clear, informative, and appealing video introduction in response to the following prompts:

• Where you live (state or country only)
• Family, hobbies/interests, and anything else you want to share about yourself
• Which specific degree you are pursuing
• Current job
• Your plan after this course (For example: How many courses to graduation? Do you plan
to begin a new job as a result of your degree? Do you plan to continue your education
towards a higher degree?)
• What you would like to learn from this course

Discussions (4)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Due to the nature of these connected, collaborative, cumulative research-based discussions, assignment expectations create a “paper-like feel” (i.e. more is expected than in typical discussion arenas). The student will write a research-based thread in response to each prompt. Except for the final Discussion: The Value of Rational Meaningful Detachments (see Final Discussion Rubric), each thread must be at least 600 words and noticeably/meaningfully incorporate specific and significant insights from the course’s scaffolded Learn items to date (see Course Schedule). In the same module, the student will write an evidence-based reply to 1 other fellow learner’s threads. The reply must noticeably/meaningfully incorporate at least 1 specific and significant insight from a Learn item and be at least 250 words.

Since these discussions inform the cumulative learning experience, thoughtful integration of insights must be noticeably supported from the required scaffolded Learn items to date, and when appropriate, the Bible. All posts must follow current APA Professional style guidelines. An annotated outline approach is required and must be written with clarity and conciseness, without spelling, grammar, and word choice errors, and must adhere to the Discussion Assignment Instructions and Rubrics. (CLOs: A, B, C, D, E. F )

Subject Matter Conversation Assignments (2)

Subject Matter Conversations (SMC) are intentionally designed to create meaningful learning experiences between the faculty member and students. Students are required to identify and carefully respond to one of the PowerPoint Presentation’s predetermined questions for these assignments. The assignments must be written with clarity and conciseness, without spelling, grammar errors, follow APA Professional style guidelines, and adhere to instructions and rubric expectations. Throughout the course, there will be two opportunities to connect via Microsoft Teams live/recorded sessions; however, the student has the choice to attend one of the SMCs or get the necessary information from the recorded sessions. Students are highly encouraged to attend the live SMCs. Links to these meetings will be sent at the start of the term. (CLOs: A, B, C, D, E)

Practical Book Review Assignments (2)

The student will follow current APA Professional style guidelines and write 2 book reviews to resource the cumulative learning process. The first Practical Book Review will solely address the Ortberg text and the second Practical Book Review – Issler text. The body of the paper must be at least 4 pages. The assignment must be written with clarity and conciseness, without spelling, grammar, word choice errors, and adhere to instructions and rubric expectations. (CLOs: A, D, E)

Stress Fracture Journal Assignments (3)

In service to the development of a preventative self-care strategy, the student will write a journal with a 3-part submission (i.e., 1 journal entry per submission, at least 4 designated citations, and at least 2 pages) from Stress Fracture: Your Ultimate Guide to Beating Burnout. The journal must be written with clarity and conciseness, without spelling and grammar errors, follow APA Professional style guidelines, and adhere to instructions and rubric expectations. (CLOs: A, D)

Self-Administered Assessment Assignment

Students will take the two online assessments: The Taking Flight DISC Profile and the Global Leadership Emotional Intelligence Test. These assessments provide language and skills to understand yourself and others. These are not infallible sources of information; instead, consider them to be sources of meaningful commentary for every relational context. Students will create a well-crafted, brief synopsis paper using the questions provided in the assignment instructions. The synopsis must be written with clarity and conciseness, without spelling and grammar errors, follow APA Professional style guidelines, and adhere to instructions and rubric expectations.

Growing in Favor with God & Another Final Project Assignment

The final project is a high-level academic experience as well as an evolving, experiential pursuit of growing in favor with God in a specific way (e.g., attentive, considerate, etc.) at a specific time (e.g., over the course of 60 days), in a specific relational context (e.g., husband, father, friend, etc). This learning activity requires you to noticeably and meaningfully incorporate specific and significant insights from each of the course’s required scaffolded Learn items to date (i.e., module items such as: read, watch, assessments, meaningful evidence-based collaboration), and pertinent content from the course’s Apply items for a “growing in favor with God and another” strategy. The final project must be written with clarity and conciseness, without spelling and grammar errors, follow APA Professional style guidelines, and adhere to instructions and rubric expectations. (CLOs: A, B, C, D, E. F )

Quizzes (2)

There are two self-report quizzes: 1) subscription to Question & Answer Center (QAC) and 2)  completion of Module 1 Readings. (CLO: A)