Learning to Teach, Teaching to Learn

Reflections on Education as Transformation Through Dialogue

by David Rhoads

(Cascade, 2026)

A collection of essays reflecting on 32 years of teaching, with many chapters reflecting on the role of performance in classroom experiences and pedagogy. See, for example, this excerpt from chapter 10, "Performing Inside/Outside the Classroom":

I was quite pleased with my plan for the upcoming class. So, when I saw John Windh, the choir director and professor of music, I explained to him how I had been inspired by the choir and his leadership. And I told him about my idea for the January class and what I was planning for the students to do and how it would lead them to be motivated as the choir members had been. His immediate response was clear and direct: “It won’t work!” I was somewhat taken aback. “Why not?” I asked. “Because,” he said, “you need a performance.” Then he explained it to me, “It is primarily because the students know that they will be giving a performance before an audience that instills in them the desire to work hard and to perform well and to take such pride in their work." (p. 111)

The Revelation of St John

Performed by David Rhoads

SBL 1998

Special thanks to the Endowment for Biblical Research (EBR), Boston, for permission to present the recording here. This presentation was given as part of the "Frontiers in Biblical Research" lecture series sponsored by the EBR. For more information, see ebrboston.org.

New Testament as Oral Performance

Lecture and Performances by David Rhoads

Presented at Moravian Seminary in 2016

Before they were set down in writing, the gospels and epistles of the New Testament were transmitted orally to transform and empower early Christian communities. In many parts of the world, the Bible is still heard and spoken much more than it is read. As scholars are increasingly aware, the orality of biblical traditions deeply conditioned the ways in which they were originally composed, presented, and understood; and a full and accurate understanding of the Bible requires an awareness of its “performative” character. These lectures will highlight the oral dimension of the gospel message, illustrating it with performances of portions of Mark and of Paul’s letter to Philemon.

Lecture 1: The Gospels as Oral Performances In the predominantly oral cultures of antiquity, the Gospels were first experienced as storytelling events designing to transform and empower communities. The lecture will illustrate this with a performance of the first part of the Gospel of Mark.

Lecture 2: Letters as Oral Performances The original recipients of New Testament epistles experienced them as oral presentations. What difference does it make to experience a letter as a performance? The lecture will include a demonstration of Paul’s letter to Philemon.

Clck to watch the video:

The New Testament as Oral Performance from Moravian Seminary on Vimeo.

David Rhoads performs Galatians