Auditory Vocabulary Assessment of Religious Vocabulary
No matter what subject or level of theology course you are teaching, it’s wise to continue to teach students new vocabulary terms and assess their comprehension of these terms. You can do this in several ways, including having the students study and memorize the correct spelling and definitions of terms, and then repeat them back to you o a written text. You might also make a vocabulary assessment as part of regular opening or closing period of a class session. Here is one idea for assessment to use without having to have the students write responses. First, prepare a list of ten vocabulary terms and definitions and give them to the students. Or assign, particular terms and definitions from the glossary of their textbook. For example: Annulment— An official church declaration that what appeared to be a Christian marriage never existed in the first place. Beatific Vision—Seeing God “face-to-face” in heaven, the source of our eternal happiness; final union with the Triune God for all eternity. Catechesis—Process of systematic education in the faith for young people and adults with the view of making them disciples of Jesus Christ. Concupiscence—An inclination to commit sin that can be found in human desires and appetites as a result of original sin. Dogma—A central truth of revelation that Catholics are obliged to believe. Encyclical—A letter on some important topic written by the pope and sent to the whole Church or to the whole world. An encyclical contains the ordinary teaching of the Magisterium. Magisterium—The official teaching authority of the Church. The Lord bestowed the right and power to teach in his name on Peter and the apostles and their successors, that is, the bishops and the pope as their leader. Sanctifying grace—The grace, or gift of God’s friendship, that heals our fallen human nature and gives us a share in the divine life of the Blessed Trinity. A habitual, supernatural gift, it makes us perfect, holy, and Christ-like (CCC, 1999). Subsidiarity—A principle of Catholic social justice that holds that a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving it of its functions. For the sake of the common good, higher order societies should support and help lower order societies as needed. Transubstantiation—The term used to describe that at the consecration of the bread and wine at Mass their entire substance is turned into the entire substance of the Body and Blood of Christ, even though the appearances of bread and wine remain. Next, come up with two lists of sentences — one with correct usage of vocabulary words and one with incorrect usage. Write both lists and keep them with you. Read each sentence aloud, pausing between each one so that students can identify the vocabulary word and determine if the word is used correctly or not. If you have digital options for students to respond “correct” or “incorrect” you will be able to gain an accurate understanding of the class’s comprehension of the terms. If not, simply use hand signals to respond correct (e.g., thumbs up) or incorrect (e.g., thumbs down).
