BBI-TAITE Units

NOTE: This unit is only available as part of the Undergraduate Certificate in Theology offered to students from Sydney Catholic Schools.

Curriculum Objectives

This course unit introduces students into the nature and tasks of theology and to theological methodology. It provides a foundation for all future theology course units.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit of study, students will be able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of the nature and purpose of theology
• identify and explain the doctrinal presuppositions that are the foundation for theology
• analyse the writing of several theological thinkers and key theological texts, ancient and modern
• make use of an appropriate methodology for particular theological tasks
• apply the skills of theological reflection to life in the community of faith

Curriculum Objectives

This unit provides opportunities for students to develop a foundational knowledge and understanding of canon law. The fundamental principles of canon law, as well as its application, are studied in various Catholic Church organisations and contexts. Students have the opportunity to consider the particular context in which they work, or have a particular interest, while analysing their understanding of Church governance in a canonical framework.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit, students will be able to:

• demonstrate specialised knowledge of canonical terminology and the ability to apply this knowledge in the context of Church organisations
• demonstrate specialised knowledge and understanding of the history, nature and sources of the Code of Canon Law (Latin or Eastern), and its relationship with theology and the mission of the Church, as well as the capacity to analyse, consolidate, and synthesise such knowledge, and
• undertake a detailed analysis and application of those General Norms relevant to the students’ work or interest, demonstrating specialised knowledge in so doing, as well as the capacities for problem solving and application of knowledge in a professional or ministry context.

Assumed Knowledge 

Not applicable

Study hours    

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of

• At least one hour per week for online lectures
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Rev Fr Matthew Muller

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Curriculum Objectives

This graduate course unit provides students with demonstrated initiative and creativity an opportunity to focus at an advanced level in a particular area of Leadership, under the tutelage and guidance of a specialist in the field. The unit is designed to refine the skills of independent study by allowing the student to define their own study, and to set their own goals by means of an extended guided reading program.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit, students will be able to:

• develop a focused topic for independent scholarly investigation
• conduct independent research, under supervision, in terms of locating, utilizing and referencing a wide range of appropriate primary and secondary sources
• analyse and evaluate with critical empathy a range of disparate scholarly positions
• defend an independent perspective on the topic of the investigation, and
• produce a cogent set of researched findings in an extended piece of academic writing.

Assumed Knowledge 

For Governance and Canon Law students: P8160 & P8169, and for Leadership students: P8155, M8161 & P9264

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of

• At least 10 hour per week of directed study, including reading, research, consultation with tutor and writing up of assessment tasks.

Coordinator and Supervisor

Dr Ken Avenell and Rev Fr Matthew Muller

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Curriculum Objectives

This unit provides opportunities for students to develop knowledge and understanding of religious education in both its conceptual and practical aspects. Theoretical insights from research in general education contexts will be explored for their relevance to prominent theories of religious education. The importance of historical, philosophical and theological insights to current religious education practices will be examined for their significance to particular settings and the practical context(s) of the students in question. The unit will ultimately challenge students to relate their knowledge of religious education to a specific setting in which religious education is practised.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit, students will be able to:

• demonstrate knowledge of the conjunction of religious education theory and educational research and theory in general
• understand prominent religious education theory in formal religious and public education contexts, and
• demonstrate knowledge of current models of religious education to be found in religious and public education settings.

Assumed Knowledge 

Not applicable

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Assoc Prof Kath Engebretson

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Curriculum Objectives

This unit introduces the discipline of religious education in Catholic schools in Australia, in its history and current practice. Attention is paid to the current context of religious and cultural pluralism, and the challenges that this presents in religious education contexts. The unit provides overviews and practical approaches to key topics in religious education.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this course unit, students should be able to:

• utilise a general understanding of religious education as a diverse field in developing their own personal philosophy of religious education
• demonstrate an advanced understanding of, and capacity to critically evaluate, some of the major debates that characterise religious education as a field, and some of the most prominent scholars associated with various schools of thought, and
• identify practical issues and problems associated with the current context of religious education, including in the areas of religious and cultural pluralism, and synthesise their skills and knowledge in religious education.

Assumed Knowledge 

Not applicable

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Associate Professor Kath Engebretson

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Curriculum Objectives

This advanced graduate course unit provides an opportunity for students to integrate what they have previously learned in the major area of study, in other course units that formed part of the degree, and in their life experiences beyond the formal course of study. Its integrative nature incorporates reflection (on what they have learned), introspection (on where their understanding is currently) and projection (where the study may lead). It enables students to demonstrate a broad mastery of learning across the curriculum, to consider its application in future life situations, and to plan further learning experiences designed to complement and extend their current levels of understanding. It normally introduces little new content, although it may introduce new methodologies and techniques.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit of study, students will be able to:

• identify and analyse the core disciplinary assumptions and principles of the range of units in their course Major
• assess the degree of alignment of these assumptions and principles with those of course units beyond their course Major
• formulate a statement of wholistic integration of their core learning across the curriculum
• establish a personal plan for the integration of their studies beyond the period of study, and
• design an approach for leading a specific group of people into the implementation of the major learnings from their studies.

Assumed Knowledge 

D8120, D8121, D9121, D9231 & D9233

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

TBA

Teaching methods

Online lectures; one-to-one supervision.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Curriculum Objectives

This unit focuses on issues of theological concern for religious educators. It enables students to critically analyse theological conceptions of Religious Education; develop skills for articulating the relationship between Theology and Religious Education; and explore issues of practice which arise out of their study in this area.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit of study, students will be able to:

• demonstrate advanced understanding of the relationship between theology, theological reflection, and religious education
• critically analyse theologies of religious education
• critically evaluate key pedagogical categories to religious education in particular school settings, and
• apply implications of their findings for praxis in religious education.

Assumed Knowledge 

D8120, D8121 & T8106

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Mr Mark Craig

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Curriculum Objectives

This unit provides students with critical insights into early childhood theory and practice and how that relates to and informs effective early years religious education. Students have the opportunity to explore and understand the notion of childhood, the image of the child in contemporary times, and how these assist early years religious educators to respond to students in the religion classroom. Students will also investigate young children’s spiritual promotion, religiosity, and religious education. Finally, specific teaching and learning practices that enable access to key early years religious education topics, such as children’s literature and biblical storytelling, will be evaluated.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit of study, students will be able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of the notion of childhood, and how that contributes to effective early years religious education
• analyse critically the spiritual aspects of young children’s lives and learning, and what opportunities exist for religious education
• demonstrate specialised knowledge and critical understanding of contemporary early childhood education theory and practice, and how that can inform and shape early years religious education
• evaluate critically the effectiveness of specific teaching and learning practices in the early years religion classroom, including children’s literature and biblical storytelling

Assumed Knowledge 

D8120 & D8121

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Dr Beth Nolan

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Curriculum Objectives

Travelling Inwards, Travelling Outwards is intended to help nurture the interior lives of teachers and thus assist them in meeting the complex challenges of their profession. The unit explores contemporary discourse on topics such as vulnerability and wholeheartedness and considers ways in which this discourse connects with and is extended by the Christian mystical tradition. Contemporary perspectives on the process of interior flourishing are discussed alongside the wisdom for flourishing contained within classical images such as the dark night and the interior castle. Moreover, practices for cultivating interior growth are presented and explored, and the consequences of developing one’s inner life for areas such as leadership and social consciousness and action are considered. Throughout the unit, daily life in the classroom and beyond is regarded as not peripheral to, but rather at the very heart of, interior growth.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit of study, students will be able to:

• Articulate a sound understanding of key anthropological and theological insights from the Christian mystical tradition and their relevance to educators.
• Reflect upon and critically analyse fundamental anthropological concepts from contemporary discourse on the interior life and their relevance to educators.
• Contemplatively and critically examine the process of interior growth as presented by both contemporary discourse on the interior life and traditional mystical sources, with particular reference to how this growth can unfold within the lives of educators today
• Describe and evaluate practices for cultivating interior growth presented by both contemporary sources and the Christian mystical tradition, with particular reference to how these practices can be enacted within the lives of educators today.
• Demonstrate a creative and critical understanding of the implications of interior growth for leadership and for social consciousness and action.

Assumed Knowledge 

D8120 & D8121

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Dr Michelle Jones

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Curriculum Objectives

This graduate course unit provides students with demonstrated initiative and creativity an opportunity to focus at an advanced level in a particular area of Religious Education, under the tutelage and guidance of a specialist in the field. The unit is designed to refine the skills of independent study by allowing the student to define their own study, and to set their own goals by means of an extended guided reading program.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit students will be able to:

• develop a focused topic for independent scholarly investigation
• conduct independent research, under supervision, in terms of locating, utilising and referencing a wide range of appropriate primary and secondary sources
• analyse and evaluate with critical empathy a range of disparate scholarly positions
• defend an independent perspective on the topic of the investigation, and
• produce a cogent set of researched findings in an extended piece of academic writing.

Assumed Knowledge 

D8120, D8121 & D9291

Lecturer

Associate Professor Kath Engebretson

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least 10 hour per week of directed study, including reading, research, consultation with tutor and writing up of assessment tasks.

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.