Proposal abstract :
The purpose of this project is to address the question of “Latin@ pedagogy.” Is there a distinctive set of pedagogies that can, in fact, be identified as Latin@? Are these pedagogical approaches influenced by religious culture; in other words, is there a distinctive Protestant/ evangélica pedagogy? If there is, can awareness and implementation of such pedagogies transcend the cultural/ ethnic/ racial background of theological educators; that is to say, can non-Latin@s learn such pedagogical practices such that they, along with their Latin@ colleagues, can create a learning environment that adequately responds to the needs of Latin@ students? It is the contention of this project that identifying such pedagogical approaches can begin to develop a curriculum that is culturally and religiously appropriate for Protestant Latin@s that will prepare them adequately for their work among Latin@ communities in the Unites States and abroad.

Learning Abstract :
This project was a two-fold event that sought to identify specific "Latina evangélica/o" pedagogical approaches. As a result of a morning roundtable conversation with core scholars and their subsequent afternoon gathering with grassroots evangélico/a (Protestant) leaders, preliminary findings were identified. For example, the group noted that: 1) Latina/o evangélicas bring to the classroom a multicontextual approach that seeks the intentional inclusion of nontraditional and marginalized voices. 2) They respect non-modern worldviews in an academic culture that privileges post-Enlightenment approaches to learning. 3) Latino/a evangélicas integrally link a spirituality that is part of the "everyday" (lo cotidiano) praxis with a profound sense of vocation (llamamiento). Spirituality and llamamiento, in turn, provide social capital and impact how evangélicas/os learn and teach. The group agreed that this project was only a preliminary step towards a larger conversation that needs to take place, which would entail historical and structural analyses of Latinas/os in the academy.

Proposal abstract :
Freire’s pedagogy has been used as a theoretical basis for education among minority communities. However, on the practical level a practical design of an institution has not been seen at an institution in the United States. Creating a course that seeks to exemplify a few aspects of a liberative pedagogy does not truly represent a liberative pedagogy because it demands an entire institutional design. This project seeks to explore and begin the implementation of a liberative institutional design. The student population at the school is over 90% Latin@ and 60% of the professors are Latin@. The staff is 80% Latin@. A liberative pedagogy in this setting will begin with a definition of a Latin@ pedagogy specific for this educational setting. This project will facilitate a way for faculty, students and staff to discuss the development of a libertive institutional design and to create a plan for implementation over the next 5 years. The information will then be discussed with the provost and with the collegium of deans with the purpose of stimulating a discussion that will inform the curriculum on the main campus.

Learning Abstract :
The project helped us to identify our educational philosophy and to determine the type of context that is necessary for establishing a Freirian teaching learning environment. We were also able to identify our Latinidad in the teaching learning process. Mostly, the project gave us an opportunity to begin to document and determine the reasons for our success with non-traditional, first generation to college minority students. This is important as we continue to evaluate it. One example of this is our graduation rate is 64% while the other major community colleges in the city have graduation rates that range from 6% to 23%. The project helped us begin to determine the reasons for the success and to discuss ways that we might improve this.

Proposal abstract :
The goals of this project are as follows: 1) A review of the literature produced by contemporary Latino/a biblical scholars to assess the commonalities and differences within them; 2) An analysis of the shared hermeneutic textures and points of differentiation among those scholars; 3) An ethnographic assessment of how these shared and opposing textures play out in the institutions in which we teach; 4) The project will also ask the question if Latino/a storytelling differs in the academy as pertains to tenure status; 5) The composition of a chapter for an edited book.

Learning Abstract :
"Making Menudo in a Stone Soup World: A Latino/a Reading of Christian Scripture" explored the history of biblical hermeneutics, progressive hermeneutical models, and histories of North American cultural experience. The project surfaced shared and non-shared perspectives about hermeneutics in biblical scholarship among Latino/a scholars. The project paid close attention to the role of Latino/a story telling in the classroom and examined how privilege works in the story telling process.

Proposal abstract :
What does it mean to teach biblical studies latinamente and what difference might it make in teaching undergraduate students who themselves represent a broad range of ethnic and religious diversity? This project will foreground four characteristics of latino/a pedagogies, namely: (1) explicit contextuality; (2) communal construction of knowledge (trabajo en conjunto); (3) inclusivity of other voices and perspectives; and (4) interdisciplinarity. Implemented in the undergraduate Introduction to the Bible course, this will provide a framework for introducing students to a field of study that has itself become increasingly complex, interdisciplinary, and intentionally contextual.

Proposal abstract :
One of the major problems with education today is the lack of connection between the subject matter and the student-learners. Because students come into the classroom with the perception that knowledge is something to be grasped and attained, they concentrate in acquiring information not in actually thinking critically about it or actually learning it. While there may be multiple group activities and other pedagogical strategies to address this issue, I argue that storytelling as an active participatory activity would get students involved within the process of learning. Through storytelling, students are able to put themselves inside of the action and not stay as passive “recipients.”

Proposal abstract :
This proposed strategic intervention project seeks to develop pedagogical and curricular resources to attract a new generation of scholars into the field of Latina/o Religious History, and to lay the groundwork for growing a new cohort in the field among current undergraduates, including, especially, Latina/o-identified students. The creation and dissemination of learning and research modules for insertion into syllabi, courses and research programs across the humanistic and social scientific disciplines will expand the pedagogical repertoire of faculty at institutions across the country, and prime them to serve as collaborative recruiters and mentors of potential future historians and scholars of the U.S. Latina/o religious experience.

Learning Abstract :
The project developed pedagogical and curricular resources to attract a new generation of scholars into the field of Latina/o Religious History, and to lay the groundwork for growing a new cohort in the field among current undergraduates, including, especially, Latina/o identified students. The project surveyed the state of Latina/o religious experience in U.S. religious history courses and illustrated a general lack of materials and modules related to the topic. Given the lack of materials in higher education classrooms, the project also included the development of learning and research modules that could be inserted into existing syllabi, courses and research programs across the humanistic and social scientific disciplines in North America.

Proposal abstract :
This project seeks to provide a comparative analysis of how different faculty members in the Department of Theological Studies (DTS) at Saint Louis University (SLU) incorporate service-learning into their Theology courses. As a Latino faculty member, and participant in the 2008-2009 Colloquy on Teaching for Latino/a Faculty, I am particularly interested in exploring whether or not I can identify a distinctly latinamente approach to employing service-learning as a teaching strategy.

Proposal abstract :
This project will explore how New Testament scholars of Latin American descent in the United States teach New Testament Introduction or Survey classes. What kinds of resources do they use - a traditional introductory textbook or materials that explore more critical approaches to New Testament from diverse cultural, racial and ethnic perspectives? How do they teach New Testament Introduction in the classroom - do they explore traditional historical-critical questions about each New Testament book, or are there more political, historical, literary and ethnic issues that inform the critical analysis of these ancient documents such that one can see a discernible difference because this or that professor is Latino or Latina? Do they use resources from Hispanic/Latino/a realities in the United States, be they biblical, theological, cultural, or historical? At the end we hope to know something more about what it means to teach, not just New Testament Studies in general, but the core or foundational experience that students in colleges or seminaries encounter when they take an introductory course in New Testament with a Latino or Latina professor. What are the discernible aspects of teaching New Testament Introduction Latinamente?

Proposal abstract :
The identification of a spectrum of characteristics that can be categorized as distinctive to the doing of theology latinamente invites critical reflection with respect to pedagogy. The privileging of context, relationality, and the daily in a communal construction of knowledge is worth exploring in a teaching/learning media that require flexibility, creativity and interactivity. The content and methods of Latin@ theologies suggest pedagogical approaches that can also inform such areas as distance education, field education and professional ministerial development.

Learning Abstract :
Among the many insights of Latino/a scholars is the privileging of the daily/lo cotidiano as source and ground of our theologies. This embrace of context also implies an awareness of the fluidity of nuestra vida cotidiana and an openness to the complexities, ambiguities, particularities and surprises that accompany serious engagement with daily living. So imagine my surprise to discover that my ambitious pedagogical agenda as outlined in my fellowship application would become a victim of the particularity of my daily reality.

During the grant period a trip to Puerto Rico allowed for a block of time for research and reading to create an upper level graduate course on sources and methods in Latin@' theologies. The choice of Puerto Rico was intentional because San Juan marks the beginning of the Catholic Church in what becomes the USA and its constellations of states and territories. This primal See is often neglected in Catholic histories of the US church. The venue provided access to historic churches as well as visual evidence of the impacts of hybridity and colonization, two prevalent themes in Latin@' theologies. Furthermore, a Caribbean focus illustrated the rich diversity of Latin@' roots, peoples, and perspectives, a necessary consideration since too often Latin@' experiences are conflated into Mexican and Mexican American categories. This trip also presented an opportunity to catch up with some of the more recent scholarship by Latin@' theologians with an eye toward how these resources might fit into a syllabus exploring sources and methods. Because of the online aspect of the proposed course and the Latin@' characteristics imagined for it, some time was spent digitally photographing a variety of images.

There were several unexpected outcomes that included opportunities to speak at the biennial consultation of the Association of Theological Field Educators and at the Center for Ministry Development utilizing some of these images in a manner that drew specific appreciation for their pedagogical value from participants at both meetings. In addition to developing two new proposed courses for doctoral students, I was able to integrate scholarship from Latin@' contexts and underscore the value and contribution of this theologizing for the greater academic and ecclesial contexts.