Education
Department Mission Statement
Educating
the Whole Person:
Mind, Heart, and Spirit
Mind, Heart, and Spirit
We believe educators are drawn to the classroom for reasons of the heart and mind –
ideals and virtues which they espouse by their actions;
We believe educators seek to connect with children and adolescents to carry forth their
passions for each subject taught and for each student;
We believe educators seek to inspire a love for learning and goodness in their students;
We believe educators must teach with both the Mind and Heart where intellect and
emotion converge in the Spirit of each person.
Goals:
To be intelligent leaders, passionate humans, and caring teachers both in the classroom
and in everyday life;
To ennoble each student’s God-given gifts;
To work diligently to promote personal and cultural understanding that reflects the value
and dignity of human life;
We are educators immersed in what we teach, dedicated to the importance of how we
teach, and, above all, passionate about whom we teach.
Education Department
Mission Elaboration
Educating the Whole Person: Mind, Heart, and Spirit
“…what we have loved, others will love, and we will teach them how…”
William WordsworthMission Elaboration
Educating the Whole Person: Mind, Heart, and Spirit
“…what we have loved, others will love, and we will teach them how…”
Educating the whole person reflects a synthesis of mind, heart, and spirit. This
synthesis is an integral part of the art and science of teaching. The more one teaches, the
more clearly the awareness of mystery and fascination to educate (educare – to lead out)
the whole person becomes apparent. Teaching is a celebration of the wonders that touch
the minds, hearts, and spirits both of teachers and students.
The routine rhythm of teaching, (embracing joy, disappointment, surprise,
sadness, delight, determination, courage, and flexibility) must have a commitment, a
vision of hope that one has something to contribute, that one can make a difference and
that one can shape the world and not just be shaped by it. The power of this commitment
is the power of possibility where the whole teacher is engaged in mind, heart, and spirit.
By engaging the development of the mind, heart, and spirit “… we create that precious
space where we can discover the voice telling us about our inner necessity – that is our
vocation.” Henri Nouwen
Also within the conceptual framework of mind, heart, and spirit, we can ask
ourselves: “How specifically am I being called to give myself to God in partnership?”;
“Given my unique personality, background, and talents, what is my particular way of serving?”
Abraham Maslow discovered that in his study of self-actualizing people,
exemplary humans often felt a sense of vocation. Their lives of excellence were inspired
by a passion to contribute to the world in a manner that they felt uniquely qualified and
called to do (Au, By Way of the Heart, 58).
The Saint Joseph's College Education Department, as a faculty of vision and
mission, embrace the mind, heart, and spirit of teaching as worthy of wholehearted
personal and persevering commitment. The Saint Joseph's College Education
Department’s vision and mission engages the passion for limitless possibilities, the call to
accept the challenge truly to care, the strength to ignite both the outer person and inner
self, and the spirit to serve by sharing with one another, the students, and colleagues the
mystery and fascination of teaching, a journey of wholeness.
There is in all visible things an invisible fecundity, a dimmed light, a meek namelessness,
a hidden wholeness. This mysterious Unity and Integrity is Wisdom, the Mother of all,
Natura naturans.
Thomas Merton
Saint Joseph's College
Education Department
Conceptual Framework
Education Department
Conceptual Framework
| Mind: Research Base Assessment Best Practices in Pedagogy and Technology |
Heart: Professional Commitment Professional Dispositions Engagement Ongoing Development “Cor ad cor loquitor” |
 Spirit: Valuing Human Dignity (Diversity) Personal Dispositions Commitment and Service to Christian Humanism |
Synthesis: Instructional Methods Practicum Connections Curriculum Design and Articulation Reflection State and National Standards |
Education Department Conceptual Framework
Overview
Shared Vision
The Education Unit is deeply committed to the Saint Joseph's College mission of forming graduates who are competent professionals, capable of assuming leadership roles in the world, who will embody Gospel values in their personal lives and professional careers. Additionally, the College Mission Statement emphasis on the education of the whole student-intellectually, physically, socially, and spiritually; and stewardship of truth, in loving justice, and with concern for the needs of the individual have been critical in the Unit’s consolidation and representation of its own conceptual framework.
The crystallization of our practice is found in our research base and daily practice. The Unit presents its mission as Education of the Whole Person: Mind, Heart, and Spirit. We believe educators are drawn to the classroom for reasons of the heart and mind – ideals and virtues that they espouse by their actions. We believe educators seek to connect with children and adolescents to carry forth their passions for each subject taught and for each student. We believe educators inspire a love for learning and goodness in their students. We believe educators must teach with both the Heart and Mind where intellect and emotion converge in the Spirit of each person. To this, the goals for the Unit, the faculty, the candidates, and the school partners are as follows: to be intelligent leaders, passionate humans, and caring teachers both in the classroom and in every day life; to ennoble each student’s God-given gifts; to work diligently to promote personal and cultural understanding that reflects the values and dignity of human life; and to foster the love of learning by contributing one’s talents both in the classroom and in the larger learning community. We, as educators, are immersed in what we teach, dedicated to the importance of how we teach, and, above all, passionate about whom we teach.
The Unit receives faculty development funds to review the conceptual framework and receive formal responses from both school partners and Arts and Sciences content faculty. All stakeholder groups – content faculty, school partners, and teacher candidates provided feedback on the Mind, Heart, and Spirit model.
Course Examples
Coherence
The conceptual framework Mind, Heart, and Spirit works as the guiding structure in all the department’s endeavors. It is explicitly evident in each of the key courses. The Unit has identified the critical state and national standards, the major assessments, dispositions, and desired outcomes for a Saint Joseph's College teacher candidate at each point of the developmental sequence. Additionally, the mind, heart, spirit framework identifies the department’s connection with the goals of the Core curriculum.
Mind
Commitment To Technology
In accordance with Saint Joseph's College mission to prepare competent, skilled professionals, the Unit has articulated the teacher education curriculum to reflect national and state standards; has developed a thorough assessment system for content and pedagogical knowledge; and expects best practices from both candidates and faculty.
Our candidates are prepared by their liberal arts background, content area knowledge, and pedagogical skills. We believe this provides the necessary knowledge base for our candidates to ensure their P-12 students will meet and exceed the Indiana Academic Standards.
All teacher candidates fully participate in Saint Joseph's College’s award-winning Core education program. . In the academic year 2005-06, we began our thirty-sixth year of what continues to be recognized as an innovative approach to general education. The Core Curriculum is structured around the over-arching theme of "Christian Humanism." As a College the pursuit of Truth is our focus. This pursuit of Truth encompasses truths about our world, people and God. There are three guiding values: 1) The world is God's creation; 2) Respect for human dignity; 3)Religion - God's revelation is diverse and draws all people to Himself .
All disciplines are examined throughout the students' four years. Students begin their study with the "Contemporary Situation" and are challenged to expand their horizons throughout the fours years of Core. Students are challenged to find relationships among the various disciplines, and to examine their own values and beliefs in relation to the Christian Tradition. Throughout all four years, students work to develop verbal and written communication skills, learn to share ideas with classmates in discussion, and are exposed to different values and cultures.
For faculty, it is a continual learning experience, as they challenge students and themselves to see from a wider perspective, the connections between various disciplines. Even among the faculty, conversations about Core have engendered a collegiality unlike other institutions. Faculty of various disciplines meet to plan the Core curriculum each semester. Additionally, there have been numerous development opportunities for faculty to discuss curricular concerns and to assist in the development of teaching pedagogies. Since its inception in 1969, the structure of the Core Curriculum has remained basically the same. However, the content of each segment of Core has changed and developed to keep pace with current scholarship in these areas.
Teacher candidates experience an equally rich content area preparation. Those candidates preparing for licensure in Secondary Education complete the full academic major in their content area. Along with Core and Education courses, they are fully prepared to meet their students’ needs. Elementary Educations majors take additional courses in math, science, art, music, technology, and community health to enrich their general education preparation. Majors in the Unit also select a college minor outside of the department to further develop an in-depth specialty to bring to their classrooms. Popular choices for minors include Spanish, Social Work, Art and Physical Education.
The courses within the Unit provide critical pedagogical knowledge to our candidates. The focus is on positive P-12 outcomes and the candidates experience and implement the following concepts on their path to becoming fully licensed teachers: developmentally appropriate practices; accommodations for exceptional needs; instructional strategies; short and long-term planning; motivation and management tools; assessment selection and interpretation; curriculum theory and implementation; and professional development. Embedded in these concepts are the skills that teachers need to effectively and appropriately help all students learn. This knowledge base includes the ability to select and use the best available technology and the ability to communicate cross-culturally.
The Unit faculty model best practices in the Education courses; practices that are supported by research presented in the classes and practices that are expected during Candidate practica. These practices include the following: use of multiple assessments, portfolios, modifying lessons for students with exceptional needs, using technology in the classroom ; and using performance results to modify lessons.
Heart
Professional Commitments and Dispositions
John Henry, Cardinal Newman, chose the words “cor ad cor loquitor” as his cardinalitial motto. This motto, heart speaks to heart, truly captures the essence of what happens as our candidates learn and apply the ethic of caring to their professional lives.
The Unit faculty often refer to the profession of teaching as a “calling.” To that, we desire that our candidates be passionate about the profession and immersed fully in all possible opportunities to develop both their teaching skills and rapport with children and adolescents. The early and frequent field experience highlighted in our program allows us to begin the developmental sequence first semester freshmen year and equally allows the candidate to engage in the heart of the profession early in the formal education process.
The Unit has identified professional dispositions that are critical to the success of our program and reflect the conceptual framework. These dispositions are assessed and aggregated each semester of field experience. Additionally, each candidate is assigned a Unit faculty member as academic advisor. As advisors, the faculty have access to evaluations. This allows us to plan, place, and supervise field placements for the optimum professional growth of our candidates.
Our identified key dispositions
for each candidate are as follows:
Communicates effectively with all students
Respects all students
Actively supports all students’ achievement
Initiates interactions in the classroom
Asks relevant questions
Seeks to expand opportunities for involvement
Is a positive role model to students
Communicates effectively with all students
Respects all students
Actively supports all students’ achievement
Initiates interactions in the classroom
Asks relevant questions
Seeks to expand opportunities for involvement
Is a positive role model to students
Behaves professionally
These dispositions are categorized under Relationships, Initiative, and Professionalism. These qualities are indicative of a candidate who is fully engaged in the teaching and learning process. These dispositions and values encourage our candidates to become life-long learners, continually seeking ways to improve practice and encourage student learning.
Spirit
Commitment to Diversity
We expect our candidates to graduate fully committed, professionally and personally to Christian Humanism. As a unit, the most compelling Gospel value imbedded in this concept is that of valuing human dignity. We believe the value and respect for each human life is related directly to, and justifies our commitment to diversity. According to Dulles, candidates educated in the Christian Humanist tradition will make them “conscious of the gap between what is and what ought to be according to God’s design for the world, they will be motivated to bring ethical values and sense of service to their lives…” The dignity of the human person is central to the Catholic faith. We believe this tradition imbues in our candidates a belief in the potential of all students, and a guiding purpose to helping all learners achieve.
In Core 9, candidates explore the possibility of a Christian view of the human person by an examination of the general problems of humanism, religion, Christianty, and Catholicism. They will apply psychological, sociological, philosophical, and theological considerations to the material in previous Cores. In Core 10, candidates apply the ideas of Christian Humanism to personal and professional ethics.
This foundation allows the candidate to advocate for the ethics of care and social justice in the classroom and in society. Christian Humanism is committed to the human person in his or her personal and existential actuality. Christian Humanism is dynamic, affirming the transforming power of forgiveness and merciful love to allow persons to grow into full humanity. Christian Humanism recognizes the true identity of the person, whose selfhood is intrinsically bound with freely chosen relationships with others. It is the recognition and acceptance of the responsibility to take on the obligations of true freedom.
Synthesis
Candidate Proficiencies Aligned with State and National Standards
Mind, Heart, and Spirit come together in the implementation of our program as guided by the conceptual framework. The pieces work together coherently and seamlessly in our curriculum design and articulation. For our candidates, this is most evident in their classroom performance and reflective writing. Candidates are actively teaching and interacting with P-12 students from their first semester through student teaching. The Unit works closely with classroom teachers to monitor the effectiveness Reflective practioners continually evaluate their own performance to improve their practice. Candidates write regular reflective pieces on field experience in which they must identify standards, make text and theory connections, and reflect on their own effectiveness. These reflective journals, submitted via on-line, often become the bases for class discussions. Additionally, candidates in their final year reflect in their Philosophy of Education papers and on their Outcomes Project prepared for the Exit Interview. This engagement in praxis prepares our candidates to synthesize fully the many diverse elements that will shape their future roles as educators.
The conceptual framework for the Unit has been fully aligned with state and national standards. Unit faculty re-visit the framework in each full assessment cycle to evaluate effectiveness of standards integration and alignment with the college mission of interdisciplinary teaching and learning. The framework and knowledge base was developed to reflect interdisciplinary theory and practice, the nature of the institution’s Core Curriculum, and the role of professional education courses and the field experience in a liberal arts college. This is most evident in the actual delivery of courses under the framework. Each course is developed and taught as a collaborative effort across developmental levels and content areas. Candidates from all programs engage in a common experience, then participate in a corresponding developmental level discussion section and field experience to put theory into action. This mirrors the delivery of the Core program in design and reinforces the important foundation of interdisciplinary study and inquiry in our conceptual framework. The content of the courses also reflects the standards-based conceptual framework as the design is directly based on INTASC standards with the common themes of exceptionality, diversity, and technology recurring in each experience.
The standards are embedded in the program at all levels for all licensure areas. This is explicitly stated in the overall course syllabi and the syllabi for each discussion section. Specific forms of assessment have been delineated for each semester in every program. Additionally, field experience assessment tools are standards-based and are used consistently across all programs.