Moments of Intersectionality: Moving Invitational Theory into Practice Through a Constructivist Approach

The study explored in this paper describes a course that was purposefully designed using a constructivist approach to teaching and learning. The intent was to stimulate learning within a traditional classroom environment with the specific aim to promote the retention of theory in such a manner that student’s would apply it into his/her own professional practice. Eighteen graduate students participated in a teaching, learning, and development course in a university in Southern Ontario, Canada, and learned both invitational and holistic approaches to education. Using constructivist strategies such as self-selection of journal articles and developing a personal synthesis project to name but two, students were encouraged to deeply reflect on their current professional practice in light of both invitational and/or holistic theories of education. This teaching approach encouraged both the retention of knowledge and more importantly the subsequent application of invitational theory into both their personal and professional lives.