Sentipensante pedagogy promoted by Laura Rendon

March 2, 2009

Sentipensante pedagogy promoted by Laura Rendon

This book by Laura Rendon challenges university professors to teach more holistically.

A new book by Laura Rendón questions conventional approaches to university teaching and challenges professors to teach more holistically. Rendón suggests that faculty accept responsibility for helping students develop not only intellectually -- but socially, emotionally, and spiritually as well.

"Sentipensante (Sensing/thinking) Pedagogy: Educating for Wholeness, Social Jusice, and Liberation" outlines an approach to teaching that links students' lives with their intellectual pursuits. Rendón asserts that her broader approach helps students think more deeply about their scholarship, raises the bars students set for their own achievement, and helps them become more effective change agents.

A story about Rendón and her thoughts on the book ran in the Feb. 23 issue of Hispanic Outloook in Higher Education magazine (link is no longer available).  A book review ran in the Feb. issue of The National Teaching and Learning Forum.

Source: Hispanic Outlook

"Student success should be conceptualized in a more holistic fashion with an emphasis not only on intellectual, but also on social, emotional, and spirtual development," said Laura Rendón, professor and chair of educational leadership and policy studies.

Rendón, who is nationally recognized for research on first-generation college students and Latino college students, challenges conventional university teaching in her latest book. "Sentipensante (Sensing/thinking) Pedagogy: educating for Wholeness, Social Jusice, and Liberation" suggests that intellectual growth should be nurtured hand-in-hand with social, emotional, and spiritual development.