Welcome to the AJCU Ignatian Pedagogy Certificate Program!

Welcome to AJCU’s Ignatian Pedagogy Certificate Program. We are glad that you are interested in deepening your understanding of Jesuit practices alongside your colleagues. We hope this will provide an opportunity to help build a community of people on campus who are knowledgeable about the values inherent at a Jesuit institution.

A brief history of the certificate program: In 2022, Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., former President of AJCU, created a commission composed of educators from Jesuit institutions to breathe renewed life into our long-standing mission and its pedagogical implications. This program is the result of the multi-year collaboration of representatives from across our network of Jesuit colleges and universities.

This certificate program provides an opportunity to learn more about rich and effective learning in dialogue with the Ignatian tradition, contemporary challenges, and pedagogies. We hope that sharing these experiences with colleagues across our campus will help establish a local cohort of Ignatian pedagogy practitioners, active in all aspects of campus life. We think of this program as alive and adaptable: educational practice is only effective insofar as the practitioners are willing to learn and grow alongside it.

The six modules in the certificate program are as follows:

The six modules in the current certificate program are as follows:

Module 1: Introduction to the IP Certificate Program: Provides a brief overview of the principles that are inherent in Jesuit education and an introduction to the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm: the foundational overlay that is at the heart of the Ignatian instructional approach.

Module 2: Foundations of Jesuit Education: Explores the relationship between Ignatian pedagogy and the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola and provides an overview of some of the concepts foundational to understanding Jesuit education.

Module 3: The Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm (IPP): Readings examine the five domains of the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm and how the IPP impacts educational practice at Jesuit institutions.

Module 4: A Faith That Does Justice, Part I: Provides an historical overview of the Jesuit commitment to justice, including various ways in which student learning can sustain the Jesuit educational commitment to solidarity in contemporary society.

Module 5: A Faith That Does Justice, Part II: Explores the dynamics of Ignatian pedagogy in conversation with contemporary movements in critical, inclusive pedagogy and other pedagogical practices.

Module 6: Cura Personalis and Accompanying Students Toward a Hope-Filled Future: Readings and reflections that help participants identify contemporary challenges confronting students and considerations for how we can respond to them.

Module 7: (Optional) Create our own module that reflects an issue relevant to our campus, student body, or community.

For questions about the IPP program, please contact:

• David Herr, SJ: herrd1@xavier.edu
• Victoria Vogelgesang, CTE Administrative Director: vogelgesangv@xavier.edu