Why Georgetown?
Welcome
Thank you for accepting our invitation to participate in this important symposium.
Georgetown is distinguished by a foundational interest in student life experiences as carried into the academic classroom environment. The Jesuit principle of cura personalis (caring for the whole person) is an integral component of Georgetown's undergraduate educational mission. To care for and educate the whole person means preparing students for lives of compassion for others and a sense of wholeness and health for themselves.
The Cognitive-Affective Link
The capacity to teach from the perspective of whole persons themselves facilitates the ability of teachers to connect with their students as whole persons, reaching the student on an emotional (affective) level as well as an intellectual (cognitive) one. A central theme of this symposium, hosted at Georgetown by the Center for New Designs in Learning & Scholarship (CNDLS) with support from the Philosophy Department, is how to actualize this principle in teaching practice, both at the secondary and college levels, and in ways that are appropriate to the public schools and to the academy. Symposium speakers will lead the conversation around the pedagogical significance of the cognitive-affective connection in learning and how to apply it in school and college classrooms.
Cognitive-affective educational approaches include a significant component of student reflection and mindfulness, and have been shown effective in improving the mental health and well-being of students of any age. The symposium conversation will initiate broader discussion and dissemination of research and practice in the cognitive-affective sphere, extending the impact of ongoing efforts in the public schools, at Georgetown, and at other institutions to actualize the idea of teaching to the whole person.
Engelhard Program
One such initiative is Georgetown's Engelhard (Bringing Theory to Practice) Program, which focuses on the integration of student wellness issues into the academic content of a wide spectrum of lower division courses. In addition, the symposium aims to develop an ongoing collaborative, cross-institutional research community that incorporates approaches and gathers data to advance the study of typically invisible or segregated issues of well-being under the umbrella of the cognitive-affective connection.
Related Websites
Georgetown University
Center for New Designs in Learning & Scholarship
Engelhard (Bringing Theory to Practice) Program
The Spirit of Georgetown