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Care and curiosity are deeply applied in Dr. Gill\u2019s teaching and\nlearning practice, where the mantra of \u201cmore loving-kindness\u201d is demonstrated\nin action \u201cI see the beauty in each person;\neach person is needed in the circle. Their gifts are needed, their voice is\nneeded, everybody is intelligent and creative, I tell my students I am not\nthere to judge them in relation to their intellectual capability, I am there to\nsupport them in their learning journey, dreams and aspirations\u201d. This encouragement of individuality and free\nexpression is not only vocalized but supported in practice through course\nassignments and detailed and dialogic assessment. In addition to there being no exams in his courses, students are free to shape the\nassignments in a way that relates to their personal, creative, academic and\nprofessional interests as long as they meet the learning outcomes \u201cI always\nfeel awe-inspired watching people learn and grow, everybody unfolds in their\nown way. I know I have learning outcomes that I have to reach, and these\nare achieved in profound and integrative ways when we gather as a community to\nconnect and have rich dialogue. Incorporating creativity, community, and\nworld-oriented forms of epistemological engagement and development allows for\ntransformative learning to take place.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students are also free to re-submit their\nassignments throughout the course as many times as they like, further\nencouraging growth in the student\u2019s progression of learning \u201cIf someone is\nwilling to re-do every assignment, why should they not get the best possible\ngrade?\u201d This flexibility allows his students to choose their path, have some\nagency over the resources they use, and can accommodate different types of\nlearners. \u201cThe strong interdisciplinarity and interculturality of my curriculum\nis another way of engaging diverse learners. It is vital that the curriculum is\nnon-Eurocentric and provides multifaceted worldviews, that learners can\nmeaningfully understand knowledges as a non-imperial ecosystem, and actively\napply their learning to diverse aspects of their study, lives and society.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IDEA\nprogram draws learners from a variety of contexts, and Dr. Gill values the\nindividuality of all of his students \u201cI welcome very different points of view. Each semester I\nhave students with strongly divergent worldviews, international students,\ndomestic students, and students from business to sociology; their voice\nmatters. Community building in the classroom enriches the\ndepth of learning that is possible and supports this to extend beyond the\nclassroom. Overall, students build their capabilities to engage with\nchallenging academic materials and enter into difficult conversations regarding\nsocial and global issues more openly, honestly and constructively.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Gill values\nthe individual voices of his students and encourages intellectual risk-taking\nright from the first class \u201cI conduct the class as a community supporting students to\ncontribute to co-creating a learning environment where self- expression,\nwitnessing, sharing and deep respect are cultivated beginning with the very\nfirst class. I work to balance trust and risk, and how this is facilitated\ndepends on each group. In the very first class, they meet every single person\nand ask a question, and I model my own vulnerability in sharing. And of course,\nI never coerce anyone to share what they don\u2019t wish to share. I tell them they\nare the gatekeepers of their own stories, there are many ways to share, you can\nshare very intricately about your life, or you can also be very philosophical;\nyou find your own way to voice it.\u201d\nAnd voicing their stories and views creatively and multilingually is encouraged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These diverse\nvoices often create community quickly in Dr. Gill\u2019s classes, where all levels\nof participation are encouraged \u201cThere is no wrong way to creatively participate.\nMost first classes we dance, it is an icebreaker like nothing else! The reason I do dancing on the\nfirst day is that we are all worried about judgement, that we are not perfect.\nLife is about living and learning; it\u2019s a process. I put on Happy<\/em> by\nPharrell, and they have to work together to choreograph a dance, and they get\ninto it; they meet each other, and it shows we are all human beings, we all\nwant belonging and connection, and we all fear social exclusion and social\njudgement. I tell them we talk about human rights, but what is human dignity?\nThat we need to make space for all of who we are,\u201d I remind him of the class in\nthe woods I encountered, and his eyes light up as he excitedly cries, \u201cYES!\nThey were having a blast!\u201d And, he adds,\n\u201clearners\nare so responsive to being in a space that embraces\nhumanity and connection, and examines the interconnectedness of self,\nknowledge, life and society. Being in nature can also more easefully facilitate\nthis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Gill also ensures there is ample space\noutside of the classes for voices to be heard by holding office hours regularly\n\u201cI have extra office hours\u201d he laughs, \u201cSometimes, I have three times the\namount of required office hours as part of supporting people.\u201d He notes that\nthis semesters office hours are filling fast. He also empowers his students by\ndirecting them to KPU supports, like counselling, to ensure they feel supported\n\u201cPeople have very profound insights, and people take steps they have never\ntaken before in their lives [in class].\u201d Feeling supported, and free to express\nthemselves uniquely throughout the course is democratic, and that is what he\nvalues \u201cI get them to vote all the time, I ask\nthem how their energy level is, what they feel like doing, how much risk they\nare willing to take, I assess it as I go all the time. Interdisciplinary\nclass materials are also covered in a very participatory manner. I put the onus on students themselves to both\nsummarize and even more importantly critically and creatively enhance the\ninsights and implications of what they are learning and engaging with. For\ninstance, I divide a large reading course load among groups of students and\ninvolve them in ongoing, integrative pr\u00e9sentations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is no surprise that IDEA is in demand\nand has increased its offerings of sections. The student retention rate in IDEA\nis high, and advisors are noticing and recommending the program \u201cand not just\nfrom arts, business students \u2013 accounting students, we even have a budding\ngroup of science students joining us; each class is completely unique.\u201d Through\ndeliberate inclusion of all voices, Dr. Gill\u2019s democratic classroom community\nis spreading, and it is easy to understand why. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n The value of connecting with his students, and all human beings, is expressed many times throughout our conversation; nevertheless, Dr. Gill values connection with all life. Beyond the relationship we share with all human beings, he sees the web of kinship as much larger, much bigger than humankind. He shares this love for nature and life with his students and recognizes that many students may not have a conscious connection to nature when he takes them outdoors \u201cI use nature activities to provide opportunity for learners to engage and connect with the natural world. It is amazing to me that some people have never touched tree bark in their lives, and telling them, as far as I know, it is much cleaner than their iPhones. The earth is good for your health, lowers your cortisol, makes your cognition better, makes you feel good. The earth is alive<\/em>!\u201d Dr. Gill often hosts a variety of his classes in KPU\u2019s orchard area, and the green space beside campus. His nature class explores outdoor spaces even further \u201cwe go to a horse farm, the bird sanctuary, Burns Bog , for instance.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Surprisingly, Dr. Gill did not always have a conscious love for nature or creativity. He discovered the things he valued above all when he met his partner, whom he declares his inspiration \u201cwe regularly sing and dance together, write poetry, I find our explorations so profound. It is very powerful. The incredible love and creativity, and support I have from Fabiola, day and night; that is what has shaped me into the person I am. I have so much love in my life, and that is just one person; imagine if we could do that on a larger scale, if everyone had just one person that was as supportive and loving as Fabiola \u2013 I feel it visually sometimes, I imagine that my fingertips touch the edges of the cosmos because of that level of profound love\u201d He goes on to tell me that she inspires him to be a better human, and helps him to feel connected to the greater human family; he offers to express how he feels by reading a quote from Richard Wagamese\u2019s book Embers<\/em> which he shares with students in his leadership course \u201cI\u2019ve been considering the phrase \u2018all my relations\u2019 for some time now. It\u2019s hugely important. It\u2019s our saving grace in the end. It points to the truth that we are related, we are all connected, we all belong to each other<\/em>\u201d he pauses to clear his throat as he begins to tear up \u201cyou see, I get emotional\u201d he says, and then continues \u201cThe most important word is \u201call.\u201d Not just those who look like me, sing like me, dance like me, speak like me, pray like me, or behave like me. ALL my relations. That means every person, just as it means every rock, mineral, blade of grass, and creature. We live because everything else does. If we were to collectively choose to live that teaching, the energy of our change of consciousness would heal all of us \u2013 and heal the planet.<\/em>\u201d By the time he reaches the end of the passage, we are both in tears and end our time together with a warm embrace; he laughs softly \u201cThis is what it is like to be in my class.\u201d With that, I head back to the office, the long way, through the forest where I pause to breathe, and to contemplate, whether Dr. Gill\u2019s next class is still open for registration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wagamese,\nR. (2016). Embers: One Ojibway\u2019s meditations. Madeira Park, BC: Douglas &\nMcIntyre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/files\/2020\/02\/photo-2-1024x685.jpg\")
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