Interdisciplinary Expressive Arts (IDEA)
Kwantlen's Interdisciplinary Expressive Arts (IDEA) courses focus on creativity, experiential learning, purposeful play, self-awareness, and innovation. In these courses, students 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.
In IDEA courses, students examine the many dimensions of interdisciplinary inquiry. The courses are, for the most part, led by the initiatives and interests of students working individually and in groups. Course content evolves as the courses develop, but typically includes a diverse number of current interdisciplinary approaches, such as creative writing, music, movement, fine arts, theatre, expressive arts therapies, storytelling, mythopoetics, photography, film making, and so on.
An IDEA student in the trees during an IDEA field trip.
Authentic interdisciplinarity emphasizes the linkages between disciplines by focusing on contrasting and complementary aspects of diverse educational domains. Interdisciplinary studies encourage students to develop broader intellectual skills, greater facility for critical thinking, and greater awareness of the social relevance of their education. Interdisciplinary students have the opportunity to develop exemplary skills in problem solving, insight, team-building, lateral thinking, and multi-modal learning styles. Interdisciplinary strategies involve approaching an issue or problem from various perspectives. This typically entails intellectual inquiries that range beyond the borders of any single discipline or domain. While still respecting the function of the boundaries between domains, interdisciplinary approaches recognize that those boundaries are essentially arbitrary and do not always serve the goals of learning. (Global warming and the AIDS pandemic are two examples of contemporary issues that require interdisciplinary approaches.)
IDEA students exploring the physics of balloons.
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 "clumsy karate" at Kwantlen's Surrey campus.
IDEA courses are taught by Ross Laird.
For a complete listing of IDEA courses, please visit the IDEA calendar page.
Testimonials
"Every week when I came to class I felt very encouraged and inspired by all of the different creative ideas... I am walking away from this semester after putting in a great effort, with new skills and experiences that I will be able to reflect on forever."
"I have never taken a course like this before. I think there should be more courses that follow this criteria. You allowed me to take my creativity to a whole new level. I think that creativity should be a bigger part of education because it is so crucial to every individual. Creativity shapes people as individuals and gives them personality. It also allows them to experience things they never have experienced before."
"This course forced me to let go of the constraints I place on myself for constant organization and planning, for which I am grateful. I have been able to explore my creative side in a way I had always wanted to but never thought I had time for. I have found time for the kinds of things I enjoy and feel I have accomplished some real personal growth."
"My progress within the semester in this class was been great for me not only academically but personally. I have gained so much. A simple little project turned into something wonderful. I built new relationships that I didn't know existed."
"I realized that this class is very different from other classes that I have taken previously. Therefore, I was going to drop this class because I was afraid to be in this unfamiliar learning environment, especially with my poor English skill. Furthermore, I am an introvert person who feels stressful every time need to present our own thoughts in front of the class. However, class activities create a positive atmosphere which allows me to learn how to express my individuality in a group setting. After a period of time, the supporting and encouraging atmosphere have totally changed my mind, and I gradually enjoy to be in this class... I like this class because I get to know and understand people, and it helps me to develop a better interpersonal skills... All in all, I do learn tremendous knowledge and have fun while participating in this class."
"The thing that this class brought to my life was permission to create and be creative. Though my reasoning was often related to a final grade - I think that creating is something that needs to be a bigger part of my life - even when grades aren't a part of it. I thought differently about various things throughout the semester and the 3 hours in IDEA were often the time of the week where I actually reflected about myself, and my family and the path that we're on. I listened in IDEA."
"I loved participating in the class. The atmosphere was very welcoming to speak out. All the students were very nice to each other and supportive. I think generally a student wanting to participate is much better than a teacher picking on or forcing a student to participate. You have created a classroom setting where I felt the need to participate because of the thought provoking topics and discussions."
An IDEA group collage, after a class exercise on Zen Buddhism and brush painting.
"Our IDEA class demonstrates the benefits of a non-traditional classroom format. Everyone has to pay attention in circle; there is no hiding. Everyone is an equal, including the teacher."
"This IDEA class has opened my eyes to a new kind of learning. I can confidently say that I have never enjoyed a university course as much as this one. That being said I must explain how I view things. I think it's very unfortunate that to succeed in life I'm having to go to university and take courses that I don't even enjoy in order to get a piece of paper after four or five years that says I have taken blank number of courses and have passed with adequate grades. That piece of paper is then somehow supposed to give me an advantage in obtaining a good-paying job so that I can then buy a bunch of stuff that I may or may not need. It makes me very depressed to think that I have spent so much of my time being miserable, just so that I can work for the rest of life. This is why I liked IDEA class so much."
"The weekly sessions of IDEA 3100 was probably the only academic session during this semester which kept me thinking after the class and even for while after that! The course moved me to my core. I was made to go deep into analysis and simply think about my life in general, and get away from the simple small things. This does not happen a lot, especially in an academic context, and I appreciate the structure and the content of this course."
"IDEA 3100 influenced me in a productive way. I was constantly reflecting on the ideas thrown in the class (by the instructor and the other students). The instructor was truly motivating, and mind-opening for me. Overall, I was continuously engaged with the message of the course through self-reflection, tasks done as a result of a generated motivation, developing a creative approach to a desired healthy lifestyle as a projects, and finally doing a project and learning from it."
"Thank you for a wonderful semester. I have fundamentally renewed how I operate. I've sought to add and welcome creativity to my life... The culmination of applying these tools and projects is that I am happier and more efficient, and have maintained my motivation to keep moving through it all. Also, being in the circle re-conceptualized my ideas of instruction and the classroom. I plan on becoming a teacher, and reflecting on this semester, my consciousness is now awakened to the way that traditional education and its content is formatted, constrained and determined through the physical arrangement of a classroom. Further, my eyes are now incredibly open to how children interact with their traumas. I will carry these lessons forward."
An IDEA student with a fear of heights, on the zipline, facing and surmounting her fears..
