2 feb 2016 faculty day minutes

SANGGUNIANSECRETARIAT

Room200MVPStudentLeadershipCenterAteneodeManilaUniversity,LoyolaHeights

[email protected] FACULTY DAY 2 Date: February 2, 2016

Venue: Leong Hall Auditorium Time: 9:00 AM 3:30 PM

AGENDA (underlined = to be continued, italics = postponed/deferred):

1) Part I: Core Curriculum Review Process c/o Dr. Josefina D. Hofilea 2) Part II: The Proposed Revisions to the Core Curriculum c/o Dr. Josefina D. Hofilea 3) Response: Summary of Concerns Raised c/o John Paul C. Vergara 4) Ignatian Pedagogy c/o Fr. Bienvenido F. Nebres, S.J. 5) Core Curriculum as Formation c/o Dr. Maria Luz C. Vilches 6) The Role of Interdisciplinarity in Jesuit Education c/o Fr. Jose Ramon T. Villarin

MINUTES

1) Part I: Core Curriculum Review Process c/o Dr. Josefina D. Hofilea a. The presentation is made on behalf of the curriculum committee whose task has been to

undertake the review of our core curriculum, taking into consideration development within the Ateneo and outside, and to propose immediate revisions upon such developments, while staying true to our identity as a Filipino, Catholic and Jesuit university.

b. Looking Back: Where We Started i. As early as 2012, several LS departments have been collaborating with their

counterparts in the Ateneo high school in developing the senior high school curriculum.

1. At the same time, the 4 schools began piloting for the courses for the CHED GE curriculum.

2. Departments and programs have begun to imagine the changes that would have to be made to our current core given the changes in both basic education and the CHED GE curriculum.

ii. Dr. Vergara began the interdepartmental conversations as a way of providing programs with time and space to explore the development of interdisciplinary courses in preparation for the interdisciplinary programs that are part of the CHED GE.

1. The interdepartmental conversations focused on getting immediate feedback for specific proposals.

iii. Presentations were made through the school forum or the faculty day. iv. During Summer of Fun, the proposal was to reduce 101 units of core to 85 units.

1. We looked at all the feedback and considered the key issues in the core curriculum review.

a. Among them, who are the students coming to us? Particularly with the new senior high school curriculum.

b. What is it that we want to achieve? What are our outcomes? c. We looked at the core as expressing the identity of the Ateneo,

therefore we wanted to explicitate the framework of the core. d. We felt that we needed to look at comments regarding the reduction of

units in the core. e. We discussed interdisciplinarity and the review of the current core

courses. f. There was a request for more consultations and more feedback.

c. Looking Back: Consultations i. Consultations included community consultations with various sectors of the Ateneo

community, FGD with employers, an online survey for alumni, and the interdisciplinary conversations.

1. Community consultations



[email protected]

a. There were 82 faculty who participated, 14 administrators, 11 professionals. Included were 58 students. The students feedback on the core was rather uneven because many of them were still on the process of undergoing the core. (e.g. The freshmen could not really give us feedback beyond what theyve taken during freshman year.) It was also difficult to make conclusions from the 15 parents.

i. What does liberal arts education mean to you? 1. All sectors mentioned that the curriculum should be

balanced, and that it should prepare students for citizenship and teaching cultural sensitivity.

ii. What skills should the curriculum address? 1. All sectors mentioned developing persons for others,

and ability to think critically. iii. How should internationalization reflect in the core

curriculum? 1. There is a need for an operational definition, need to

benchmark, and the importance of local rootedness. iv. What should be the balance between core and majors?

1. There is a need for integration, the need to improve teaching methodology, the role of faculty as formator, aligning curriculum to needs of different schools, strengthening outer core and co-curricular programs.

2. Interdepartmental conversations a. With Philosophy, Theology, OSCI, OCM

i. One point of concern was the unit reduction and what unit reduction meant.

b. With SOSS and OSCI i. Much of the discussion had to do with interdisciplinarity and

how it could still ensure depth. c. With English, Filipino, FA, IS, and SA

i. The discussion had to do with place of literature in the core. d. With SOSE (Natural Science and Mathematics)

i. Much was said about what was perceived to be the low regard for Math and Science in the proposal.

d. Survey Results/Data Gathered i. We divided the data into two main groups: data on undergraduate students while

theyre here and as they graduate, and data from our alumni. 1. Undergraduate Students

a. Who they are i. Most grew up in Metro Manila, but 30% of SOSE grew up in

the province. ii. An overwhelming majority are from private, exclusive,

catholic high schools. iii. Majority identify themselves as Roman Catholic. iv. Most classify themselves as either upper middle and middle

class. b. What they families are like

i. 44% of students have Ateneo families, but fewer SOM and SOSE students have Ateneo parents.

ii. 5% of students have at least one parent who is deceased. iii. 18% of our students have parents who do not live together.



[email protected]

iv. 69% of students live at home with their families, but the percentage is slightly lower for SOSE students.

v. Students report high levels of parental academic expectations. (Mean rating: 3.91/5)

c. How they view their spiritual life i. Majority say they have a close relationship with God. Majority

say their spiritual life improved a little while in Ateneo. ii. Family remains to be the dominant spiritual influence in their

lives. d. What does this mean for us?

i. We have a fairly homogeneous student population, but we note that the student profile of SOSE students is slightly different.

ii. We should ask ourselves as teachers, what does this mean for us, particularly for core curriculum teachers who handle SOSE students? How does this affect how we teach them?

e. What stresses them out i. Two highest have to do with academics and difficulty of

school work, and academic performance. Third is thoughts of the future.

ii. Romantic relationships is rather low. f. Why they (voluntarily) leave Ateneo

i. Highest reason was they chose another school and second highest was financial, because of tuition.

ii. More than half said they were going to UP, and in some cases they identified the course they were going to take in UP. What we identified was that many of the courses they chose were not available here.

iii. Their reason for withdrawing was to transfer to another school, and a sizeable number said they were accepted in schools abroad.

1. Our competition is not just local. g. What they say about their Ateneo education

i. The OAA has a survey for freshman scholars: apart from your scholarship grant, what made you choose Ateneo?

1. Two highest reasons were holistic education, and academic excellence.

2. For SOH, it was inconclusive because of the small numbers.

2. The ACES is a survey done in order to gather feedback and provide a relevant career development program.

a. Qualitative section (Graduates of 2015 answered) i. What competencies do you think were honed most? Critical

thinking. Least? Technical skills. ii. What did they appreciate most about program, faculty, and

support services? 1. Whats highest consistently was approachable,

supportive, helpful faculty and/or staff. 2. In general, students love our department secretaries.

iii. What did you like least about program, faculty, and support services?



[email protected]

1. We couldnt use because either they didnt answer or put none.

iv. Comments or suggestions? 1. With all these no answers, maybe its the manner by

which the survey was conducted. a. It was conducted during the end of graduation

rehearsal. How much time do they have to answer?

b. Are they in the proper disposition to answer? Because for many of them, they just want to graduate.

3. Survey based on the FGD conducted with employers a. Most of the employer participants were HR personnel, who were deeply

involved in recruitment, so many of their comments focused on fresh graduates rather those in top level positions.

i. Our graduates need to improve on emotional maturity, humility, sense of purpose, working with others, risk aversion.

ii. They need to develop better work ethic, emotional maturity, etc.

iii. Some recurring things include aversion to menial tasks, lack of connection to the real world, need for better work ethic, overthinking things (matagal magdiscern).

iv. Comments made by alumni: 1. Develop a sense of humility and openness to hard

work especially if it requires stepping out of the comforts of an office. (BS MGT 1988)

4. Alumi survey conducted online a. We conducted the survey covering batches 1980-2010 because we felt

that graduates of that year (1980) will by this time be in senior positions in their careers, and thought of stopping at 2010 because we want a good 5 years of our graduates being out.

i. Comments made by alumni: 1. The Ateneo education ephasizes so much on serving

others and this is what sets us apart from others. (BS BIO 1997)

2. I like most that we were forced to think. I am only appreciating it now years after I graduate. (BS AMF 2010)

3. The Ateneo did not teach me how to earn a living, it taught me how to live. (AB LIT 1985)

4. My teachers in Ateneo fought for me. (BFA CW 2006)

5. Please lessen the core subjects [] Put more emphasis on developing technical skills. (AB PSY 2001)

6. Courses are just not technical enough to be considered skills after graduating. You know a lot of stuff, but not stuff employers want. Employers want skill, not holistic training. They just want workers to work, being a person comes after. Maybe Ateneo



[email protected]

should just add a year to all courses to focus on technical subjects. (BS MGT 2001)

7. Nothing in particular stands out except for some subjects that gave the impression that they were made to be too difficult for difficultys sake. (AB DS 2003)

8. The lack of major subjects put me to a disadvantage compared to students of other universities who had a more specific skill set. (AB PSY 2001)

ii. Many of the comments contradict each other, and could be due to the fact that assessment was based on the few graduates that theyve handled (employers), and that theres a rather uneven delivery of learning among our students.

iii. Many of the competencies that need to be improved can be addressed by delivery and assessment of the course and will require a more engaged approach from the faculty.

1. Activities can be better designed to connect them to the real world.

2. Proposal to have an outer-core leadership course. 3. Proposal to more closely link with INAF. 4. While some courses do not seem immediately useful to

our young professionals, some of the courses are meant to be part of the strategy of jesuit education.

2) The Proposed Revisions to the Core Curriculum c/o Dr. Josefina D. Hofilea

a. Context of the Current Curriculum i. We noted how globalization has benefitted us through scientific and technological

innovation, economic growth, knowledge diffusion, and competitive integration, but we also noted serious concerns about the degradation of the environment, financial crises, persistence of poverty, economic and political inequities, deepening social exclusion and marginalization.

1. We need to build competitive capacities and institute practices, structures, and models of sustainability, democratization dialogue, and inclusiveness.

2. The easy access to opinion and data can lead to a globalization superficiality in thought, vision, dreams, relationships, convictions.

3. The central challenge is to promote creative new ways the depth of thought and imagination that are distinguishing marks of Ignatian tradition.

a. The crucial response is an education, which teaches critical thinking and encourages development of mature moral values.

b. The mission of forming leaders who are globally attune and responsive, but also deeply rooted in local tradition is a particular challenge in Philippine society.

4. There is a need for leadership formation grounded in the history and culture of the nation and local communities.

a. When marked by distortions and contradictions, they also carry the potential for self-transcendence, missionary commitment, socio-politcal involvement, and empowered citizenship.

ii. As we prepare our students to meet these challenges, we must remember that we are doing this in the context of Jesuit education.

1. It is important to remember the core curriculum carries the mission of any Jesuit school.



[email protected]

a. The ultimate goal of a Jesuit education is to inspire knowledge and love for our Redeemer and Maker, contributing to the full growth of the person which leads to action as a person for others.

2. Core vs GE a. Core carries the connotation of being more directly related to

institutional mission and heritage, and is a smaller, more integrated set of courses.

b. GE tends to be associated with acquisition of basic or foundational skills and less connected to values and identity.

3. We define ourselves as being a Filipino, Catholic and Jesuit university. a. Even among Catholic schools there will be distinctions, and what the

Ateneo distinct is our being Jesuit. b. How do the characteristics of Jesuit education translate to the liberal

arts tradition that we are known for? i. We seek to equip our students with the tools to know

themselves, to know others, to know the world. c. Our responsibility as faculty is delivery of the core.

i. In revising the core curriculum, the focus cannot be on the number of units and how evenly distributed they are among the four schools, rather we were looking at the overall configuration that we felt would be able to achieve the desired competencies of an ideal Ateneo graduate, the delivery of the individual courses, the relationship to non-academic formation.

d. Our own core curriculum shares many common features with our American counterparts.

i. We want to emphasize how important it is to understand context.

1. What remains at the core? 2. What are the organizing principles? 3. What purposes do they serve in the mission of the

university? iii. The curriculum committee proposes the creation of the office/coordinator for the core

curriculum. b. Proposed Revisions to the Core Curriculum

i. Specifics will be presented in the disciplinal clusters for ease of comparison between the current and the proposed.

1. Language and Literature Cluster

a. Seeks to sharpen basic language skills both in English and Filipino, to deepen knowledge on various types of literature shaped by different cultural contexts, students are trained to think critically and to communicate effectively.

Units Purposive Communication English 3 Purposive Communication Filipino 3

Literature English 3 Literature Filipino

(Fil 14 - Survey of Philippine Literature) 3 Art Appreciation 3

Foreign Language and Culture 3 18



[email protected]

b. Under the foreign language cluster, students are able to initiate and engage in everyday conversation employing the foreign language of their choice, demonstrate basic knowledge of vocabulary and proper grammar.

c. Through the art appreciation course, students can appreciate various forms of art both in aesthetics and context through the lens of the Filipino, recognize the importance of art in our culture, tradition and history, and articulate its impact in ones own life.

d. Students can practice a whole range of writing from the communication course. The literature courses can focus on the best works of literature from both the Philippines and around the world.

2. Natural Sciences and Mathematics Cluster

a. In the natural sciences course, our students should be able to apply the scientific method to approaching and solving a problem, and articulate the role of science in everyday life, as well as national development

i. Sci10 will be revised. b. Through the mathematics course, students should be able to argue

about the nature of mathematics, use different types of reasoning to justify statements about mathematics and mathematical concepts, discuss language and symbols, and apply these.

i. Ma12 will be revised. 3. Social Sciences and History Cluster

a. The social sciences contribute to a multidimensional understanding of the contemporary world. Provide theoretically informed and empirically based understanding of human society.

b. The history courses focus on understanding contemporary society against the background of the past especially as this past is recorded in the form of narratives.

i. We recognize the need for our Philippine history courses to be reviewed and redesigned particularly in line with the absence of a high school level Philippine history course in the reconfigured K-12 basic education system.

ii. What we assume as general historical knowledge may thus no longer hold.

Units Natural Science, Lecture & Lab 4

Science, Technology, and Society (revised Sci 10) 3

Applied Math 1: Math in the Modern World (revised Ma 12) 3

10

Units Understanding the Self (Psy + SA) 3

The Contemporary World (SA + History) 3 The Economy, Society & Development

(Econ + SA) 3 Politics, Governance & Citizenship (POS) 3

Rizal (History) 3 Readings in Philippine History 3

18



[email protected]

4. Philosophy and Theology Cluster

a. This cluster remains the center piece of the core curriculum. It is continually challenged to be at the forefront of dialogue and growth in the university.

b. Philosophy not only trains students in the systematic means of reason in facing foundation issues, but also introduces them to the tradition of wisdom.

c. Theology deepens the faith of students by giving them an integrated understanding of its beliefs and a solid foundation in Scripture and church teaching.

5. Interdisciplinary Electives (along the lines specified in CHED-CMO 2013) a. One should be a course on leadership and sustainability, customized

according to major and school. b. The courses will be classified and offered by the department/school. c. The courses will use catalog numbers such as: IE-English, IE-History,

IE-Chemistry. i. A student may not take an interdisciplinary course offered by

his/her own department except for the leadership course. ii. Interdisciplinary electives 1 and 2 must also be taken from

different schools. iii. The proposed office for the core curriculum will determine

which courses will qualify as an interdisciplinary elective. ii. The proposed core curriculum totals to 76 units.

* Based on a Math load of 6 units; for some majors, the Math load is 9 or 15 units. c. Next Steps

i. Presentation to the School Council 1. After it is approved, we have to do a review of all our curricula.

Units Philo of the Human Person and Human

Society (Ph 1) 3 Philo of Religion (Ph 2) 3

Ethics (Ph 3) 3 Faith, Spirituality & the Church (Th 1) 3

Marriage and Vocation (Th 2) 3 Catholic Social Vision (Th 3) 3 Discerning Life Questions

(Integrative Theology-Philosophy course) 3

21

Disciplinal Clusters Current

Core (Units)

Proposed Core

(Units)

Languages and Literature (including Art Appreciation) 24 18 -6

Natural Sciences and Mathematics 17* 10 -7

Social Sciences and History 21 18 -3 Philosophy and Theology 24 18 -6

Discerning Life Questions 0 3 +3 Interdisciplinary Electives (free) 6 9 +3

Total 92 76 -16



[email protected]

ii. Final Questions 1. Where will the freed units go?

a. The committee is certain that there will be many degree programs that in the efforts to comply with CHED requirements, will propose additional major courses as the units for the core curriculum are reduced.

b. We hope that the answer will be made by the departments collaborating with one another and in the process reformulating what we mean by a service department.

i. Any department can be a service department. c. Re-definition of service department what do your majors need

outside the very strict margins of your discipline? How can other disciplines enrich your own?

d. The revisions to the core will truly necessitate a careful and deliberate view of the majors.

2. Why is there less literature on the core? a. There is also the potential of literature courses offered as

interdisciplinary electives. 3. Why is there so little science and math?

a. Depending on the students major and the thrust of your department, yes, some students need more science, but the science will be more of a specialized kind. Not the basic science expected in the core.

4. What about competitiveness/CHED Compliance? a. We believe the core and major are not in opposition to each other. The

core enriches the major, not diminishes it. i. The strength is not solely on the quality of our major subjects

nor in the competence of our faculty; the strength is also in the depth and reflection of thinking, the formation of the mind and the heart that results from the integration of the major curriculum and the core curriculum.

b. We should be thinking beyond the graduates first job. Yes, they need practical and technical skills, but we are not only preparing our students for their first jobs, we are preparing them for their last.

5. What assurance can you give that the core curriculum being proposed will produce the ideal Ateneo graduate?

a. Honestly, I dont think we can give that assurance now. This is just a piece of paper to work, we have to bring this curriculum to life. Through effective teaching and assessment instruments, through the commitment on our part as faculties, through the openness of our students.

b. We can hopefully take comfort in what our former students say. i. Ateneo should keep the basic foundation of subjects, but

present them to a new generation in a more interesting, meaningful and relevant way without compromising its Jesuit and Roman Catholic values to a politically correct secular thinking.

ii. I know todays world requires a different set of skills. I hope, though, the liberal arts foundation that Ateneo is known for, isnt thrown out the window.

iii. The core subjects are exactly what make an Ateneo education different form other universities, and what sets its graduates



[email protected]

apart. It is the discipline that I learned from these different courses that enabled me to excel in whatever assignment was given to me despite lack of knowledge and training.

3) Response: Summary of Concerns Raised c/o John Paul C. Vergara

a. Weve had the interdepartmental conversations for 2-3 years and for the last few sessions, the context was the core curriculum.

b. I could group the concerns in the following categories: i. Compliance vs choice

1. At the end of the day, this also describes the different tensions. 2. I remember the very first question: Do we have to follow this CMO? Do we

have to comply with that? But I notice its not only that, the departments are already poised to revise their curricula.

3. Theres compliance within. Whenever we propose to the curriculum committee, we make sure theres the right sequencing of courses.

4. But at the end of the day, whats most important is what we think as Ateneo is the right core and majors curriculum.

5. I tried to look at it from the context of our current curriculum (i.e. in Computer Science). Its not easy, but there are ways to deal with it. I would also argue for more space for innovation and formation when we talk about revisions in IT degrees.

a. There is some cross between core and major happening already, and thats something that can help us with the reduction of units.

b. Its a bit tight. Theres little freedom. I would argue with them that 90 [units] is not the minimum, that they should give more space for higher institutions to be more innovative.

c. If there was no CHED, what would we do? At the end of the day, we have to confront it, but we can ask the question: what is a blank degree if you ask the department?

6. When we talk about compliance, lets also talk about choice. Lets talk about mission as well as what the department thinks their curriculum is all about.

a. We are also part of CHED. ii. Positions on pedagogy

1. Tradition of rigor in the liberal arts a. Whenever theres a little reduction, our alumni will feel bad. b. Look at whether it continues to serve its purpose and how we can do

better. 2. Balance between core and major curriculum

a. Lets not just talk about heres how the core looks like. Lets also talk about heres how the core is in relation to majors.

3. Discipline vs medium/tool a. What is that [course] useful for?

i. Theres this little tension. Are we teaching discipline or are we teaching as a tool for the major?

4. Importance of disciplinal grounding vis--vis interdisciplinarity/outer-core a. There should be some space for variation and movement within the

core. i. I dream of a core curriculum na may Philo of Science, History of

Computer Science. 5. Importance of flexibility in the core curriculum

a. Its a one size fits all kind of attitude.



[email protected]

iii. Questions on relevance 1. Are the core subjects useful?

a. This is in relation to subjects as tools for something. b. In theory you can answer why theyre useful, why theyre helpful for

your last job, but do the students get it? 2. Do they really matter to our students?

a. Sometimes you dont know yet. 3. How do we know? How could be know?

a. How do we measure? Could we find out? b. At the end, its always challenging, but maybe what matters there is that

were always open to trying out and revising it. iv. Interdisciplinarity

1. Interdisciplinarity crosses every question or item just enumerated. a. Its obviously there in terms of what matters to us as Ateneo.

2. Interdisciplinarity as a concept is contentious. a. There was an argument raised that weve had interdisciplinarity since

the 70s. i. I cant claim that were doing it well already. ii. Theres still a lot of work to be done. Lets dive in and try to

make it work. b. Its something you have to struggle with. Entering someone elses

discipline is something we have to do nowadays. i. Making the connections for the student is something we need

to learn from a pedagogical stand point, something we should look into.

3. Interdisciplinarity in the LS. a. Have we actually been engaging in it already?

i. If youre looking at from the standpoint of compliance, you can see it as creative counting.

ii. If youre looking at it from the standpoint of being completely, genuinely effective with what we deliver here, it might be a way through.

iii. Dont look at it from a standpoint of reduction of units. iv. If we find that a lot of it about is integration, then maybe it

can work. 1. There will be courses that will remain unique in their

disciplines, there will be courses that will need to cooperate, there will be more courses where the majors curricula will coordinate with disciplines outside their major.

c. Core curriculum and major curriculum i. They are necessarily intertwined.

1. The principles guiding the core is related to the students field of interest. a. Its not just technical stuff, its learning how to learn, its critical

thinking. 2. I know at the end of the day, it boils down to restrictions on units.

a. We should be more deliberate about it. b. As a department, Id like to challenge you how you can be part of it.

ii. Core curriculum statement 1. It leads to a statement (explicit or implicit) on our majors curricula.

a. The departments know their constraints, so to speak.



[email protected]

b. Im hoping for a more inclusive attitude making the departments responsible for the core as well.

2. Guided by shared institutional positions on mission, tradition, and pedagogy. d. Next steps

i. Feb - May 2016: Finalize core curriculum 1. Go through LS/ADMU approval process.

ii. Make official communication with CHED about out core 1. Statement about core curriculum 2. Statement on consequences on majors curricula 3. Statement for the CHED TPs/TCs (issue of over-prescription) 4. Autonomous status and academic freedom

a. Im hoping that could be our basis just in case theres tightness in the prescriptions of our respective technical panels.

b. We could use it as a basis for deviating a little bit. c. At the end of the day, we just have to confront it, and struggle with the

consequences. iii. SYs 2016-2018

1. Pilot new core courses a. We can do it already in the context of our current curricula. b. I hope we can use those two years to see how well we could do it.

i. In the next two years, because of the K-12 reform, theres a lot of college teachers who will not be loaded sufficiently, and CHED is responding by loading them for possible training.

1. I hope Ateneo will play a major role in helping out. 2. Revisions for majors curricula

a. Not all technical panels are equal. As they come, I know well be busy carrying out those revisions.

b. The center of attention should be the non-core offering departments in the next interdepartmental conversations.

i. Trying to figure out what it means for them in the context of the new core. We invite those delivering the core to help out in the revisions of the majors curricula.

4) Ignatian Pedagogy c/o Fr. Bienvenido F. Nebres, S.J.

a. Context is the most complex. The way we respond will depend on how we experience context. i. There is a connection of compassion. ii. From compassion to action what shall we do about it?

1. Immerse. Simply be there and live just like the poor. a. Invite our students to look at the context, and begin a response by

getting to know and immersing yourself. 2. Cura Personalis.

a. God has a particular mission for all of us. Were not cookie cutters. b. Discern and define what is this call for us.

i. The call, as faculty, is to try as hard as we can to see each student (or even fellow faculty member) as a unique person.

b. What experiences can help our students learn the importance of competence and getting things done and done well?

c. What kind of experiences will lead to compassion/emotional connection? i. Just knowing a problem will not force them to solve the problem. We must be

disturbed by the problem because that will move us to solve it. Emotional connect is very important.



[email protected]

ii. Is there a way to experience INAF in such a way that the students will have a personal encounter within themselves?

1. Consider immersion experiences where they can experience poverty, but also encounter transformation.

iii. There is a need for a personal encounter that gets them out of themselves and connects them emotionally with the other (a real poor person).

1. A personal encounter that leads us and our students to ask of themselves, of Ateneo, of leaders in government and business.

a. What have we been doing to respond to Pope Francis call of going to the peripheries?

b. What more should we do to respond to his call? d. We want to connect immersion experiences to service learning. e. Our hope is that students will feel impelled to go beyond knowing to action action for the

welfare of society. f. Can we find away to do periodic evaluation of our students growth in attitude, priorities, and

actions consistent with becoming a persons-for-others? i. Evaluate their progress in character, competence, compassion, drive to action. ii. This can lead to a feedback cycle on our academic and non-academic programs.

5) Core Curriculum as Formation c/o Dr. Maria Luz C. Vilches

a. Creating an atmosphere where students are provided with incentives, challenges, inspirations to be better than who they already are that is what the core curriculum is supposed to do.

b. The core curriculum is not just a menu of courses, not just a way of making us think within our individual disciplines, not just a set of general education courses.

i. It is our interpretation of our brand of the liberal arts in Jesuit education through choice of course, choice of the specific content, sequencing of this courses, ways of proceeding in teaching-learning.

ii. Think formationally.

6) The Role of Interdisciplinarity in Jesuit Education c/o Fr. Jose Ramon T. Villarin a. Interdisciplinarity is not just multiple disciplines coming together. It is a mindset, an openness to

see the world from another perspective, to learn from each other. i. The consequence of interdisciplinarity is not shallowness. I dont think there is a

dumbing down, but a translation that happens an interlanguage endeavor to help each other see what you see.

ii. The potential to generate new knowledge and to integrate knowledge in action comes from insights and innovation to be found at the interfaces, boundaries, perimeters.

b. The mission of interdisciplinarity is to form leaders, and not just people who are good in their disciplines.

i. Leaders are not just discipline-based. c. Interdisciplinarity is not just depth in ones discipline, or the depth in ones capacity for

reflection. i. I hope we can see Philosophy and Theology in our core as integrating instruments.

1. We have to ask our Philosophers and Theologists here: to what extent have we interfaced with the natural sciences, neural sciences, social sciences, and the management sciences?

a. You cannot integrate in isolation. 2. Integral formation is all-person formation.

a. Mens Sana in Corpore Sano because we believe that a sound mind is as important as a sound body.



[email protected]

b. Cura is care for the entire person, not just the intellect or spirit or body or whatever compartments we have created in ourselves.

3. God sees the whole person, the desires of the whole person. a. A God who sees our sorrows, which are individually linked to our self-

conflicted alienation and fragmentation. b. A God who desires and resolves to heal the fragmentation and

disconnection. d. We do not just graduate interdisciplinary students or economists or physicists or expert

technicians or professionals; We graduate the entire person loved fully and loved enough to want to become a person, hopefully, for others.

PREPARED BY: Neicy Marie F. Pilarca 2 SOSE Executive Officer SOSE School Board Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral ng mga Paaralang Loyola ng Ateneo de Manila

2 feb 2016 faculty day minutes

Documents