Education

Daily thanksgiving for the Montessori classroom teacher. Spring 2009, Using the Spiritual Exercises as a basis for self reflection and self awareness.

Julie Kugler Ackley, M.Ed.
Mentor: Doug Olberding, Ed.D.

Introduction

The mission of Xavier University is applicable to each and every Xavier student, no matter in what program that student is enrolled. The University's mission reflects its Jesuit educational traditions and Ignatian pedagogy. It calls all of us to recall that Xavier University is a "community of inquiry grounded in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition dedicated to engaging and forming students intellectually, morally and spiritually, with rigor and compassion, towards lives of solidarity, service and success" (retrieved from jesuitresource.org)

When I reflect upon this statement, I realize the connection that this has to the philosophical foundations of Maria Montessori and how students in Xavier's Montessori teacher education are enriched by this connection.

Over a century ago, Dr. Maria Montessori began her unique and transformational method of education in the poorest areas of Rome. Trained a medical doctor, she brought the eyes and soul of a scientist to her work and combined this with a strong Catholic faith.

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The Teaching Vocation and the Jesuit Mission: Student Perception

Sally M. Barnhart, M.Ed.
Mentor: Barbara Harland, RN, MSN, Med (Nursing)

As a Clinical Faculty member my job assignment includes classroom instruction, field placement , and supervising responsibility for Xavier students in Early and Middle Childhood Education from their first field experience (EDFD 100), through their methods classes (Math, Science, Language Arts and Social Studies) and their 15 week intern assignment for student teaching during their senior year. Additionally, I currently serve as the Co-President of the Ohio Field Directors, which represents all Public and Private Universities in Ohio. I am a participating member of the National Field Directors' Forum for the American Association of Teacher Educators. I am an active member of the 2008-2009 Ohio Department of Education Pre-Service Connections Committee convened by ODE which is providing research and data for the classroom of the 21st Century and the stakeholders.

Ignatian Mentoring Research Project: Hypothesis included the belief that a high percentage of the Xavier Freshmen, as Majors in Early and Middle Childhood Education, do not identify or connect their chosen teaching vocation with the Jesuit Mission.

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Where is God in All of This
A Personal Reflection on Cura Personalis and Calling
through Xavier's Mission Academy

Leslie Ann Prosak-Beres, Ph. D.
Mission Academy Participant

"The Jesuit ideal of giving serious attention to the profound questions about the meaning of life encourages an openness of mind and heart, and seeks to establish campus communities which support the intellectual growth of all of its members while providing them with opportunities for spiritual growth and development and a lifelong commitment to social growth."

A Call to Excellence
When the opportunity arose for a formalized Mission Academy specifically for veteran faculty in the Academy, it provided me with a distinct purpose of renewal to discuss our mission, our Jesuit tenets and beliefs, and, our focus on serving our academic community on campus and beyond. It was this gathering of pilgrims who shared, discussed, and debated our existence as Jesuits over an academic year that supported my search for human excellence. It was the call to critical thinking and disciplined studies, a call to develop the whole person, head and heart, intellect and feelings. 

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 Preparing School Principals through Ignatian Pedagogy

Principalship-EDAD 548

Brett A. Burton, Ed.D.

Mentor: Eileen Steinle Alexander (Health Services Administration)

Background

Before coming to Xavier in 2019, I worked in public education for twenty-five years. I spent most of my time in public education as a school administrator serving as an assistant principal (high and middle schools), athletic director, and principal (elementary and middle school). The Ignatian Mentoring Program (IMP) and the support of my passionate and wonderful mentor, Eileen Steinle Alexander, provided me with an invaluable framework to integrate Ignatian Pedagogy into EDAD 548-The Principalship. School leaders are paramount to the academic and social-emotional success of all children. Also, school leaders attempt to collaborate, communicate, and serve four different educational stakeholder groups, which is a challenging endeavor that necessitates the need to reflect and discern consistently (Hallinger & Leithwood, 1996).

From my participation in the IMP, I realized that our Ignatian Values provided a natural and seamless framework that will benefit all future school leaders to meet the unique challenges of serving four different stakeholder groups. More importantly, our Ignatian Values will provide Educational Administration Graduate Students the foundation to recognize God's presence in school principals' daily work.

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Student Teaching Seminar: Current Issues in Early Childhood Education (EDEC 451)

Student Teaching Seminar: Cohort (EDEC 456)

Debora L. Couch-Kuchey, Ph.D.
Mentor: Ginger McKenzie, Ph.D. (Education)

As a graduate of Xavier University, it has become apparent to me that Xavier offered more than just a college degree. In my undergraduate studies, having no experience in other universities, I was not yet aware of exactly what else I received from my undergraduate education. It was not until I received my master's degree from a state university and my doctorate from yet another state university, that I realized Xavier had given me much more than the credentials necessary to receive and maintain my teaching license. Xavier had taught me the mission of Jesuit theologians, the mission of service, the mission of compassion for others and instilled in me the value of a life of service and the value of being a lifelong learner. Nineteen years later, when I returned to Xavier University as an assistant professor, I wanted to assure that I more fully understood the wholeness of a Xavier University Education to assure that I incorporate the necessary components into my courses that bring to life Xavier's Mission of Service. "Xavier's mission is to serve society by forming students intellectually, morally, and spiritually, with rigor and compassion, towards lives of solidarity, service and success," (Graham, Michael J., [2004-2006]) Xavier University Catalog). Hence, my pursuit began with my involvement in Xavier University's Ignatian Mentoring Program.  

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 Diversifying the Educator Workforce: Diversifying the Educator Workforce: An Ignatian Approach

Leigh Anne Prugh, M.Ed. 
Mentor: Renee Zucchero, PhD (Psychology)

Understanding the Why
In the fall semester, the School of Education began implementing the work involved with our
Diversifying the Educator Workforce (DEW) grant. The current racial makeup of Ohio's teachers
is 94.2% White and non-Hispanic (Weir, 2021). This statistic does not represent the racial diversity
of students who attend Ohio schools, and the state of Ohio is seeking to increase diversity in its
educator workforce. Research has shown that a diverse educator workforce increases the
achievement of all students and that racial representation matters in the classroom setting.

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An Ignatian Approach"

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Jesuit Education and Montessori Education: Common Threads

Rosemary Quanranta, PhD (Education)
Mentor: Renee Zucchero, PhD (Psychology)

Jesuit Vision

• Sees life and the whole universe as a gift calling forth wonder and gratefulness.
• Gives sample scope to imagination and emotion as well as intellect (education of the whole person).
• Sees to find the divine in all things, all people, all cultures.
• Seeks freedom and responsible actions.
• Empowers people to become leaders in service, "men and women (people) for/with others".

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'soul-Tending: Using Picture Books to Nurture Spirituality in Young Children

Lesley D. Roth, M. Ed.
Mentor: Trudelle Thomas, PhD (English)

Introduction
Dr. Montessori believed in a spiritual force that guides human development; referring to this force as--an individual spiritual embryo (Montessori, 1972, p. 109). In educating the young child, she urged teachers to respect this spiritual force and to follow the natural inclinations of the child-understanding that the direction of a child's life is contained within his own soul. Montessori writes, "Our care of the child should be governed, not by the desire 'to make him learn things', but by the endeavor always to keep burning within him that light which is called the intelligence" (Montessori, 1965, p. 240). Consistent with her observations of the young child, she believed that the first six years are exceptionally significant to the holistic and spiritual development of the child. Unfolding in the child are unique sensitivities or critical periods of learning in which, the young child literally incarnates the world around him. The things he sees are not just remembered; they form a part of his soul (Montessori, 1972. p. 63). It is in these privileged moments of teaching and these silent moments of personal reflection that the Ignatian principles resonate deeply for me----tending, mending, and nourishing my soul.

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Nurturing Ignatian Values Through Mindfulness and Contemplative Practices

Cathy Sacco, M.Ed

Mentor: Donna Hutchinson-Smyth

Balancing the speed of our culture

As an educator, an artist and a Xavier graduate, I am sensitive to how our fast-paced culture causes pressure and stress for both adults and particularly for young students. This sets up a climate that mainly honors production and multi-tasking at the expense of our own well-being and of those around us. Sadly, our children have little control over this aspect of their life, and must conform and measure to adult expectations which are not always developmentally appropriate for them.

By succumbing to the increasing speed of our times, we allow our human needs to go unnourished, stripping away our natural opportunities and capacities for reflection and connection, which can foster inner knowledge, awareness, and joy. This deficit of attention and reflection can put a halt to the potential for understanding ourselves and each other, and also to the unfolding nature of our gifts and potential.

I have always been interested in self-knowledge as an important pedagogy and way to live as a person, an educator, and as an artist. I believe that this part of myself was critical in my desire to bring more authentic presence into the classroom environment so that students felt seen and heard, and to create an environment that made space for mistakes and discovering, which demands time and reflection. I became interested in finding and helping to create a whole-person approach in education that integrated the cognitive (head), the experiential (hands), and the spirit (heart). Xavier's mission includes these things, as do several educational approaches such as Montessori and Waldorf curriculums.

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Teaching for Social Justice: A Course Syllabus

Delane Bender-Slack, Ed.D
Mentor: Ed Hahnenberg (Theology).

Social justice has an integral place in education. For example, there is a crisis rooted in injustice because privileged, mainstream people have access to good schools while poor, disadvantaged people do not (Gee, 1996). Moreover, disadvantage impacts students differently according to their class and race (Kozol, 1992) as well as gender (Sadker and Sadker, 1995). Educators who are interested in social justice teaching could help to resolve actual injustices while increasing student and teacher motivation through meaning-making.

The classroom is the most radical space of possibility in the academy because in it one can think, rethink, and create new visions (hooks 1994). Additionally, Jesuit pedagogy promotes service to others, challenging students while encouraging responsibility, asking questions, facilitating students' understanding in a personally relevant manner, and helping students see the world from multiple perspectives. The design of this social justice course rests on those beliefs.

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Early Childhood Special Education: Learning Theories

Kathleen G. Winterman, Ph.D.
Mentor: Ginger McKenzie, Ph.D. (Education)

Course Description (EDSP 391/591)

Students will investigate and observe learning theory models as a foundation for early childhood intervention-understand development of infants and young children along with the ability to identify specific disabilities and describe implications for development and learning; using instructional practices based on knowledge of the child, family, community, and the curriculum; and support and facilitate family and child interactions as primary the context for learning and development.

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Teaching Reflectively through Ignatian Pedagogy

Teresa Young, Ed.D.
Mentor: Thomas Kessinger, Ph.D. (Education)

The Voice of Jesuit Experience on the Significance of Disability

Victoria Zascavage, PhD
Mentor: Phil Glasgo, PhD (Finance)

The Problem

The purpose of this study was to present the voice of Jesuit theologians on the significance of disability within the historical context of Catholic doctrine. The study serves to expand perspective using historical exploration and reflection. The practical application of the study sought to broaden course component within the ethics and disability construct sections of Special Education.

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