Virtual Ignatian Inquiry Sessions
The JSN is eager to encourage a spirit of inquiry across the many layers of our work in Jesuit education. With our Virtual Ignatian Inquiry Sessions we seek to promote content-based resources for the schools and tell the stories of our schools and the educators in them.
Recent Sessions
Reimagining the Role of a Teacher with Adaptability and Purpose: Reflections from a Faculty Member Energized by AI
Tuesday, November 21 from 3 to 4 p.m. ET
Speaker: Spencer Wagner
The future is changing in front of us. Where will our classrooms be in one year? The evolution of Artificial Intelligence has the potential to transform education, influencing the role of educators in ways big and small. Our charge as educators is to accompany students in their learning journey. How do we best do this in a constantly changing landscape? This session will explore the efforts of Spencer Wagner, Mathematics & Computer Science Teacher, at Regis Jesuit High School (Aurora, CO), who has worked extensively on adapting to AI in his role as a teacher and in working with his students as well as faculty colleagues. This session will be of interest to all educators who are called on to support the mission of our schools.
About the Speaker
Spencer Wagner embarked on his educational journey as a high school field hockey coach nearly 25 years ago. A graduate of the University of Denver, he holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics, a minor in Computer Science, and a Master’s Degree in Education. For the last 15 years, he has been an integral part of Regis Jesuit High School, instructing in mathematics and computer science, while also coaching field hockey. Recently he authored “The Rise of the Teacher Coach: Adapting AI to the Classroom,” a visionary work on the evolution of secondary education. Building on this, he has spearheaded school-wide efforts to adapt to rapidly changing technologies and collaborated with administrators to refine educational strategies, all in hopes of better preparing our teachers to accompany students on their lifeline learning journeys.
Sent to Collaborate in the Reconciliation of All Things in Christ: Reconciling with Jesuit Slaveholding in the United States
Monday, October 23 from 3 to 4 p.m. ET
Speaker: Fr. Timothy Kesicki, SJ
In 2016 the New York Times published the story of the living Descendants of Jesuit slaveholding, since then Descendants and Jesuits have been working to reconcile from this sinful past. The Session will highlight a Descendant vision for restorative justice and what Jesuit educators can gain from this vision.
About the Speaker
Fr. Timothy Kesicki, SJ is the past president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. He works with the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Trust & Foundation. He served as provincial of the Chicago and Detroit provinces from 2008 – 2014 and was president of Saint Ignatius High School from 2000 – 2008. He entered the Detroit province in 1984 after receiving his BA at John Carroll University. He received his MA in Philosophy from Loyola Chicago and M.Div from the Jesuit School of Theology, Santa Clara. He did graduate work in educational administration at Teachers College, New York and studied at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies, Xavier University, New Orleans. He has ministered with Jesuit Refugee Service in Adjumani, Uganda and in secondary schools in Detroit and Cleveland. Father Kesicki currently serves on the boards of Loyola University Chicago, Red Cloud Indian School, and the WK Kellogg Foundation’s Solidarity Council on Racial Equity.