Deeper Discovery
Teaching and Learning for the Common Good
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Zehlia Babaci Wilhite, Matthew Motyka
In our paper we introduce the course "Professional Pathways through Ignatian Engagement" that we have recently created at our institution, the University of San Francisco. The course is designed to help students apply their theoretical and practical learning not only to their personal development, but also to foster an engaged and ethical civic attitude, practiced through the component of various professional internships. Students will learn to examine and develop course concepts towards professional praxis and finding solutions in a community setting. Our methodology is inspired by the pedagogical tradition of the Jesuit Order, of which our university is a notable offspring. The name "Ignatian" comes from the founder of this order, Ignatius of Loyola, whose "Spiritual Exercises" have had a worldwide influence on the development of student-centered pedagogies. Ignatian education, which could be captured in a practical paradigm known as the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm, seeks to create the conditions for the intellectual, spiritual, and emotional development of students regardless of their faith background. Students will acquire knowledge about the concept of humanization link to Paolo Freire's pedagogy to help them maintain or regain their humanity. Students will experience the real world, reflect on its workings, and then take action for the welfare of society. The course is designed for students in their final year of study in various majors to help them integrate skills and techniques in a reflective process that would contribute to the formation of well-rounded individuals with lifelong learning habits to positively influence their social environment.
The Experiences of Native American Students in Higher Education: A Narrative Inquiry View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Christina Alexander
This study examines the experiences and achievements of Native and Indigenous students in traditional institutions of higher education. While Native and Indigenous in traditional institutions of higher education continue to lag behind their non-native peers in graduation rates, the study explores their experiences, communicating in their own words in the community, with the purpose of identifying unique challenges and crafting solutions to improve outcomes. The research is based on a qualitative analysis of written interviews of 100 Native and Indigenous participants with tribal affiliations and over 18 years old who have attended and completed a course of study at a traditional institution of higher education. The narrative data were interpreted through qualitative analysis and thematic extraction. The findings suggest that both positive and negative experiences exist, and support systems can be used to bolster Native student achievement and success. Positive indicators include increased social support and a sense of belonging, while negative indicators include social disorientation, lack of access to resources, lack of adequate academic preparation, and lack of faculty and staff support. The study concludes that Native students in traditional institutions of higher education experience a disorienting dilemma. Increasing adequate academic preparation, access to resources and faculty/staff support systems improves performance as does creating a sense of belonging to the outside community.
Does She Know How to Cook?: Mathematical Insight into the Culinary Culture of the Assamese Society
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Parishmita Kakati
Cooking, a transformative process, holds profound cultural significance worldwide, with food serving as identity markers for each community. As a girl coming from rural Assam, India, I have observed how Assamese cuisine is predominantly upheld by the female members. Despite men generally handling cooking during festivities and ceremonies, daily culinary responsibilities involve active participation from women. Girls undergo comprehensive practical and mental training in culinary arts from a young age and are expected to acquire essential cooking skills before marriage. There is a saying that offering delightful meals is a powerful method to secure a husband's affection. Consequently, a girl's family often prioritizes her culinary skills. The inherited cooking process demands precision in serving delicious dishes, requiring cooks to perform intricate mental calculations throughout. This involves considerations like ingredient quantities for a specific number of people, choosing appropriate utensil sizes, estimating cooking times, and determining the sequence of ingredient additions. Viewing food items and the cooking process as culturally significant, interdisciplinary research explores their connection to mathematical concepts through ethnomathematics, shedding light on the intersection of culture and mathematics. Using Assamese cuisine as a case study, this research utilizes an autoethnographic method to delve into the mathematical underpinnings of the cooking process. It also explores how certain food items derive their names from geometric shapes that they resemble and investigates how girls in Assamese society acquire cooking skills and values, techniques, and knowledge from older female members, utilizing their culinary skills to carry on the semblance of culture and heritage.
