Courses
I teach courses and workshops in creativity, counselling, integrative psychology, expressive arts therapies, and related themes. My courses are designed for learner engagement, purposeful play, and intentional self-development. My approach is experiential: I don't lecture much, I support learner initiative and experimentation, and I am particularly interested in ways of integrating personal and professional development. I support learner-designed projects, individualized curriculum, and supportive group experiences. I believe in the power of education as a transformative force.
The Interdisciplinary Expressive Arts courses that I teach at Kwantlen Polytechnic University are good examples of my approach. In these courses, learners focus on creativity, experiential learning, purposeful play, self-awareness, and innovation. We make a claim for the fundamental right of intentional creative action. We explore ancient and modern practices of creative endeavor, examine the hurdles of creativity, and pursue the great gifts we might receive from others of our creative kin (that is to say, the long tradition of writers, poets, sculptors, dancers, craftspeople of all stripes, musicians, myth-makers, and so on). IDEA courses utilize experiential and interdisciplinary methods and practices, which offer a single lens that moves across all domains of knowledge.
Interdisciplinary Expressive Arts courses stake out the territory of the creative, inspecting the geology of its forms and ideals, finding our own individual places to homestead. Creativity involves the search for truth, yet also an awareness that truth and fact are often provisional, and mythological; they are shapeshifters on the wide-open plain of creativity. IDEA courses explore what this means, and what to do about it.
An IDEA student in the trees during an IDEA field trip.
IDEA courses include a variety of learning experiences: group experiential exercises, individual reflective tasks, collaborative endeavors, practical assignments, special events, and so on. The IDEA environment is collaborative. We direct our efforts toward building upon the individual strengths of each participant, finding ways for each of us to be self-reflective about our creative work, discovering a means of protecting the quality and integrity of our creativity.
IDEA students exploring the physics of balloons.
IDEA students exploring "clumsy karate" at Kwantlen's Surrey campus.
Testomials from IDEA participants can be found on the testimonials page.
For a complete listing of current IDEA courses and for registration information, please visit the IDEA calendar page. Course outlines and detailed descriptions are shown below.