“CCASL really captures the essence of what a Jesuit education is all about. Looking at Ignatian Pedagogy, it is really, really tightly linked to what CCASL is promoting… experience, reflection, action.”
Service learning has been an integral part of Education faculty member Dr. John Traynor’s work over the past 11 years at Gonzaga. Having prior experience in service learning and in partnering with CCASL’s founder, Sima Thorpe, he was quick to get involved with CCASL and immediately added a service learning component to his courses. Since then, John has supported CCASL through his role with the Service Learning Advisory Board, collaboration with the mentoring programs, integration of service learning in his courses, and work on various projects.
John’s dedication comes from his personal commitment to service, as well as his knowledge of the transformative role that experiential learning can have on students. Reflecting about a prior student, John explained that the student came to Gonzaga “destined” to be a kindergarten teacher. “She knew she was going to be a Kindergarten teacher until she got placed in a Kindergarten class in a 101 course here. It horrified her, and she realized she was not cut out to teach that level. She fell in love at her next placement which was in upper elementary.” Opportunities like those offered at CCASL allow for students to find their niche and gain valuable field experience. “As teacher educators, allowing our students to have an experience working with children or youth in the age group that they’re interested in is a great way to ‘try on’ teaching.”
Referencing the importance of Education students gaining experience with youth, John adds “learning to become a teacher requires that you engage in the work of teaching, and the best way to do that is out in the community working with real kids, real time, real needs. It’s a way to develop your own understanding of “What is the work of teaching?” and also to develop your own skills in working with children and youth.”
For John, it’s about more than giving students experience. It’s also about living out Gonzaga’s mission to develop students committed to service for the common good. He explains “[CCASL] causes us to look outward as a learning lab but also as a mission-driven call to serve others. That’s what CCASL does- they live and breathe doing real work with real people. That’s the best kind of learning experience for our students, but also as a mission-driven call to working with people and supporting people.”
“CCASL really captures the essence of what a Jesuit education is all about. Looking at Ignatian Pedagogy, it is really, really tightly linked to what CCASL is promoting… experience, reflection, action. Pedagogically, that’s a very Jesuit approach to learning and CCASL is squarely in the middle of it.”