Much of the motivation for Ignatian pedagogy seems quite relevant to today’s world.
We have all suffered from the trauma of the pandemic, a change of life patterns that persists. In the US we are collectively experiencing more signs of inter-group conflict among race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and other dimensions of identity. US politics foster hatred of the opponent, and heated exchanges on media is the norm. Ignatian pedagogy calls for an openness to differences unusual at this time.
Ignatian pedagogy is generally described by 5 features. The context of the learning defines features that can guide the instructor to tailor approaches to students in a specific environment. Paying attention closely to all features of the experience is key to learning. Reflection is the process by which diverse observations from the attention can be synthesized – the step from which meaning is derived. Choosing a course of action is based on the new synthesized knowledge that might build a more just and peaceful world. Evaluation is the step of assessing growth of spirit and knowledge of the learner.
Georgetown is a university. Its goals are the expansion of human knowledge, the formation of the next generation of leaders, and service to build a better world. The Ignatian model prompts closer ties between students and faculty in order to achieve the five features of the pedagogy.
The approach brings responsibilities to both instructors and students. Instructors must be attentive to individual differences among students, to invent approaches that help students through the various thresholds of understanding in ways that fit their backgrounds.
Students must be active and engaged. Prompting themselves to be curious, attention easily follows. The diverse intellectual perspectives that they see in the classroom must be viewed as valuable to their growth as a person. They should actively observe and wonder deeply about the new realities that they are learning. This engagement can produce greater sympathy for those different from themselves. Experiences in coursework can enliven this through exposures to very different ways of thinking. As a former Superior General of the Jesuits noted: “When the heart is touched by direct experience, the mind may be challenged to change.” Changing minds is the very definition of education.
Indeed, higher education has the explicit purpose of challenging prior beliefs and understanding. When classes succeed, they evoke new syntheses of facts. We want students to examine new facts, critique new evidence, ponder over relationships of new concepts, and weigh novel, more cohesive understandings.
The key features of Ignatian pedagogy thus requires a level of openness on the part of students. Reflection on the newly obtained information requires the acceptance that one’s prior understandings might not be correct. Indeed, being open to new ways of thinking about an issue risks a fundamental shift in one’s self-image. Students must be open to taking that risk.
Much about Ignatian pedagogy, one suspects, requires a mutual level of trust between instructor and student. To accept the guidance of the instructors, the student must believe that they have their welfare in mind. To accept the open discourse needed in grappling with new material, the instructors must believe that the students are willing to challenge their own prior beliefs.
Accomplishing this seems more difficult in the 21st century than the 15th century of Ignatius. Since the deficit of trust in our society is severe, students and faculty have to work more explicitly to create classrooms where mutual trust is fostered.
As I’m getting ready for my first day of Spring classes, I came across this blog, Building Trust in the Classroom. What a great way of summarizing what many of us educators, grapple with! It was a great reminder to me of why I chose this career after a long one in global health development – making sure students are active and engaged, prompting them to be curious, and especially “challenge prior beliefs and understandings”. Thank you for the blog! This one will surely be bookmarked.