We've often been asked what Integral Pedagogy is and to answer it we've come up with the following:
One Foot in the Gutter of the World and the other in the Library.
It has its origins in Ignatian Pedagogy which comes out of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises and in turn, the heart of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises is the appreciation of how much God loves us and therefore we cannot but feel compelled to love the world more deeply.
Addressed in the
first instance to teachers, Integral Pedagogy (or IP), is the way teachers accompany learners using an outward looking world view and a vision of the human person as dignified and loved by God.
Very briefly, IP is a
five stage process; the first is a pre-learning element which is the
Context. This takes into account things like the students’ environment, background, community and learning style so that the teacher becomes as familiar as possible with the students’ context and life experience.
The second is
Experience where the teacher creates conditions where students grasp new information in the light of previous experience. This also moves beyond rote learning to one of understanding, applying and being able to analyse knowledge.
The third is
Reflection – the key to IP. Here the thoughtful reconsideration of some subject matter, experience, idea or purpose is used in order to grasp its human significance and application to their own lives. In this stage values can be reflected on.
The fourth is
Action – this is where concepts are shared and group projects are initiated where the learners move beyond knowledge and “make it real”. The experience and reflection touches the heart and brings about a change of attitude.
The last is
Evaluation – Checking on how my attitude has been impacted and thinking about what went well, what needs to be changed and improving further from there.
We've been systematically promoting this pedagogy to Catholic Schools for the last three years via a series of workshops, talks and meetings with educators ranging from teachers and principals to personnel from the Ministry of Education.
Fr Norbert Menezes, the Jesuit educator whose forte is Integral Pedagogy and is the secretary for Jesuit education in South Asia has now visited Singapore for the third time and engaged local Principals and Teachers of all faiths, NIE students, the clergy and parents.
In the 30 minute video below, Fr Menezes introduces the
process to a group of teachers.
