Share This:
Add to Your Calendar:
Teaching and Student Wellbeing Amid Pervasive Change
- Tue, Oct 06鈥揥ed, Oct 07, 2026
In addition to rapidly changing technological tools, teachers and students continue to experience the social and psychological effects of the pandemic, the pressures of global environmental problems, political change and uncertainty, and more. We invite papers and panels addressing some aspect of Christian teaching and learning with a focus on student flourishing.
The conversation will continue as an Education track within the Wisdom in the Age of AI conference, taking place immediately after this event, from October 8鈥10.
Register below. Registration closes September 18. After this date, you can pay the walk-up rate of $345 on October 6 at check-in.
Plenary Speakers
Dr. David I. Smith
Teaching Living Images: A Conversation with Comenius about AI and Student Flourishing
Dr. David I. Smith is the Director of the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning, Coordinator of the de Vries Institute for Global Faculty Development, and Professor of Education at 51爆料. He is Editor of the International Journal of Christianity and Education, and is regularly involved nationally and internationally in professional development for schools, colleges, and universities, especially focusing on the connection between faith and teaching. His most recent book is Everyday Christian Teaching: A Guide to Practicing Faith in the Classroom (Eerdmans, 2025).
Dr. Lynn Swaner
Educating for Flourishing in an Age of Acceleration and Fragmentation
Dr. Lynn Swaner is the President, US at Cardus, a non-partisan think tank dedicated to clarifying and strengthening, through research and dialogue, the ways in which society鈥檚 institutions can work together for the common good. Dr. Swaner is the editor or lead author of numerous books, including Flourishing Faith: Spiritual Formation in Christian Schools (Eerdmans, forthcoming 2026), Future Ready: Innovative Missions and Models in Christian Education (Cardus & ACSI, 2022) and Flourishing Together: A Christian Vision for Students, Educators, and Schools (Eerdmans, 2021). She holds a doctorate in organizational leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University and a diploma in strategy and innovation from University of Oxford鈥檚 Sa茂d Business School. She previously served as a professor of education and a school leader in New York.
Schedule
This is a draft schedule intended for planning purposes. Some changes may still be made.
3:00 鈥 5:45 PM | Registration (Fireside Room)
5:45 鈥 6:45 PM | Dinner (Great Hall East)
6:45 鈥 8:15 PM | Plenary: Dr. David I. Smith, Teaching Living Images: A Conversation with Comenius about AI and Student Flourishing (Great Hall East)
8:15 鈥 9:15 PM | Dessert Social (Fireside Room)
8:00-8:15 AM | Devotions (Great Hall East)
8:15 AM-9:30 AM | Breakout session 1
| Session theme | Presenter 1 | Presenter 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Approaches to Student well-being | Restoration as Telos: Reframing Well-Being in Christian Schools Kraushar, Kevin | Faculty as Anchoring Presence Mwaura, Gillian |
| Curriculum Development 1 | Double session panel: Certificate in Reflective and Faithful Teaching (CRAFT) at Duke Divinity School DeGaynor, Elizabeth; Pittman, Amanda; Garde, Allison | |
| AI and Flourishing | Human-Centered, AI-Enhanced Education for Holistic Student Flourishing Anandha Selvam | Case studies and thought experiments to cultivate wisdom for a weird world Nate Otey |
9:30 AM-9:50 AM | Break
9:50 AM-11:05 AM | Breakout session 2
| Session theme | Presenter 1 | Presenter 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Community and Belonging | Initiation and embedding: in search of the beneficial effect of community life in education de Muynck, Bram | Belonging and Becoming: Transitions into and within Higher Education Mark, Olwyn and McDade, Barbara |
| AI and Well-being | Student shalom amid the chaos posed by Artificial Intelligence Alexandar, Aby; Justin, Mercia; Vallado, Maybel Fernandez | Holistic Intelligence Education: A Framework for Whole-Person Learning in the AI Era Bae, Ji Yeon and Cho, Junmo |
| Theology and Philosophy | Christian Higher Education in a Hyper-Nervous Society: a philosophical inquiry to the temporal dynamics of flourishing in school van Putten, Robert | On Imitating Mary: Maria Skobtsova's Theology as a Foundation for Christian Pedagogy Garde, Allison |
11:15 AM-12:45 PM | Plenary: Dr. Lynn Swaner, Educating for Flourishing in an Age of Acceleration and Fragmentation (Great Hall East)
12:45-1:45 PM | Lunch (Great Hall East)
2:00-3:55 PM | Breakout session 3
| Session theme | Presenter 1 | Presenter 2 | Presenter 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curriculum Development 2 | Awakening to God鈥檚 Story: Teacher and Student Formation through the Awakening Arc in the High School ELA Classroom Tawzer, Alexa; Carlson, T, 鈥渃o-authors鈥 mentioned鈥攚ho are they? | Holistic ESL Pedagogy for Student Flourishing: A Faith-Integrated Framework from The American College, Madurai Jayakar, J. Paul | Teaching Science and Religion in an Interreligious and Globalised World: A Contextual Approach for England van Rijn, Naomi |
| Reading | Seeing Before Teaching: Worldview and Reading Pedagogy in Christian Teacher Education Smith, Carmin | How Reading Can Heal: Medieval Reading Practices within Medieval Formation Carlson, Traver | 鈥楶lanted by streams of water鈥: The Bible as a source of flourishing in the classroom: students鈥 perspectives de With, Fianne |
3:55-4:15 | Break
4:15-6:10 PM | Breakout session 4
| Session theme | Presenter 1 | Presenter 2 | Presenter 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approaches to Student Well-being | Sacred Pauses: Wellbeing, Formation, and Faithful Disconnection in an Age of Constant Change Beech, Beth | Wise Teaching as a Foundation for Student Flourishing in times of Pervasive Change Golombek, Marianne | Purificatus Non Consumptus: Redefining Resilience and Student Wellbeing Amidst Pervasive Change Kamalam, M. Beaula Ruby |
| Teacher Education | Citizenship education in Christian schools in diverse contexts: Teacher professionalization through playful learning Kunz, Bram; Veerman, Gert-Jan | Exploring forgiveness as a means for improving mathematics teaching Kevin Voogt | Supporting initial Christian teacher formation and growth through strategic mentoring within a Teaching School Hub Model Westraad, Sue and Pendlebury, Cass |
| Teacher Well-being | Educators鈥 mental wellness and self-efficacy: A Theological perspective and response Murimi, Susan and Ruth Omungo | Strengthening Students鈥 and Early-Career Teachers鈥 Personhood Formation to Support Their Well-Being Reijnoudt-Klein, Willemieke | Teacher wellbeing as a prerequisite for student flourishing in Christian higher education in Africa: a case of Kenya Nduto, Steven |
6:10-6:30 PM | Break
6:30-7:45 PM | Dinner (Great Hall East)
7:45-8:45 PM | Dessert Social (Fireside Room)
Register
Registration closes September 18. After this date, you can pay the walk-up rate of $345 on October 6 at check-in.
Please register for one participant at a time.
If you need a single invoice for multiple participants from an institution, please contact Heather at office@inche.one.
If you are planning on attending both the Kuyers/INCHE/de Vries conference AND the following 鈥Wisdom in the Age of AI Conference,鈥 we ask that you register for this conference first. With your registration acknowledgement, we will send you a link to a registration portal that will give you $75 off the AI Conference registration cost.