Brainstorming to find what is best for our students
Alhamdulillah after school meeting today, I am given two subjects to teach next semester.
1. Muslim Nations (Islamic History)
2. Fiqh 4 (Contemporary Fiqh)
Both are project base.
Topics on Muslim Nations: Semester 1, Year 2016
As for the Muslim Nations, I am trying to strategise how the content and learning can be developed and built actively by students. One of the way is to let the students enter the contents from any of the 6 channels I created: Either from the:
- people they knew from the history
- the events
- the products
- the nations
- the neighbours, or
- the legacies.
At the end of the course, I hope there will be no more students imagining Islamic States based on blind Islamism. I would want them to have the chance to create a nation to reflect Islam. I am using Teaching World History in the 21st Century: A Resource Book by Heidi Roupp for the learning strategy.
Teaching World History in the 21st Century: A Resource Book by Heidi Roupp
Fiqh 4 will give more weight to the contextual learning involving application of Islamic Fiqh in:
- medicine (organ transplant, porcine based medication, euthanasia, alternative medicines)
- internet and social media (ethics on internet usage, privacy, pornography, addiction)
- consumerism (consumer rights, ‘Islamic’ products, gharar in advertisements)
- creative arts and media (music, film, theatre, fashion industry)
- social attitude and ideology (LGBT, atheism, feminism)
There will be a lot of Socratic dialogues initiated for the classroom because students need to learn to ask and analyse critically on these matters. Many of them are sensitive issues and taboo to the society, but my aim from teaching this subject is to open a wider perspective on Islam and how the best students are needed in Islamic studies at tertiary education later on.
More workload but needed and exciting.
It might sounds heavy for students but Insha-Allah I try my best to make it fun, interactive and the most enjoyable learning experience for them. Both subjects are offered to Year 3 Foundation students.
Bismillah.