Established in the fall of 2022, The Center for Ignatian Pedagogy (CIP) at Saint Ignatius High School is a professional learning and action research center that seeks to:
-
commingle the movements of the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm with research from mind, brain, and education science in order to further prioritize student engagement and well-being with a specific focus on adolescent boys;
-
serve as the hub for the school’s professional learning programming and primary mechanism for advancing Ignatian pedagogy in the school and across the Jesuit Schools Network;
-
operate as an institutional action research center for Catholic, Jesuit education;
-
foster a commitment to lifelong learning for students and faculty through its devotion to action research and advancing best practices in teaching and learning.
Through the Center for Ignatian Pedagogy, a major initiative of Vision '30, Saint Ignatius High School is fortifying its identity as a school of excellence. By harnessing the transformative potential of both the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm and emerging research from the science of teaching and learning, the Center empowers educators to meet the growing demands and needs of today’s students. Most significantly, as a mission-driven, entrepreneurial hub for Catholic, Jesuit education, the Center for Ignatian Pedagogy further demonstrates Saint Ignatius High School’s renewed commitment to educational excellence for all of its students.
What is Ignatian Pedagogy?
Based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm prioritizes “personal and cooperative study, discovery, creativity, and reflection to promote lifelong learning and action in s
ervice to others” (Korth n.d.).
Consisting of five movements—Context, Experience, Reflection, Action, and Evaluation—the Ignatian approach to teaching and learning is distinct from the way that many students are still educated today because it forces students to sit longer with problems, to think creatively, collaboratively, and analytically about the ways in which what they are doing in class translates to toiling with issues facing our world today. Ignatius students aren’t just learning facts, figures, and formulas in preparation for a test. They are acquiring knowledge so that they might more clearly discern and answer the question posed by Fr. Robert Welsh, S.J. “What does God want from me?”
Dr. Terra Caputo, Director
Dr. Terra Caputo received her Ph.D. from the University of Miami, where she held fellowships in the department of Composition and Rhetoric as well as the College of Arts and Sciences. As the Director of Writing at Allegheny College, she mentored student research assistants and facilitated professional learning programming for faculty while directing the college’s 4-year writing program and writing center. At Saint Ignatius, Dr. Caputo has served as the Professional Development Committee Chair, English Department Chair, and Peer Tutoring Program founder and moderator. At the network level, Dr. Caputo serves on the Ignatian Inquiry Advisory Board for the Jesuit Schools Network and teaches as an adjunct faculty member in the Seminars in Ignatian Leadership Program. She has also served on the Global Task Force for Contemporary Jesuit Education for the Society of Jesus and currently serves on the Academic Planning Committee of the Board of Regents at Saint Ignatius. She also holds a M.S. in educational leadership from Creighton University and a certificate in Catholic School Leadership. She has received the Demmler Award for Teaching Innovation from Allegheny College, the Lavelle Award for Excellence in Teaching from Saint Ignatius, and the Outstanding Graduate Student Award from Creighton University.