Listen to Allyson Jule's
interview on Roundhouse Radio about the importance of language and gender in the classroom.
Allyson Jule, a professor in Trinity Western University’s School of Education, has been named one of Canada’s top 10 professors.
Jule has been awarded a prestigious 3M Teaching Fellowship for excellence in teaching and leadership, marking the first time a TWU professor has won the honour.
“For me, it’s a statement about the School of Education, its faculty, staff and students, and the kind of atmosphere of excellence we create together,” says Jule, who is currently on sabbatical as a visiting research fellow at the University of Oxford. She received the good news from a TWU colleague via text.
“I can think of no one more deserving,” said Eve Stringham, the vice-provost of research and graduate studies at TWU. “Dr. Jule embodies everything we desire to see in a faculty member at TWU, including innovative teaching and exemplary scholarship. As a teacher, Dr. Jule's dedication to her students is second to none. She is a credit to the School of Education, the Gender Studies Institute and the university at large.”
Study trips to Cameroon
Jule was recognized for bringing education students on study trips to Cameroon, where they work in remote village schools alongside local teachers who work without any electricity or running water, and rely solely on chalk and painted-on chalkboards.
The experience has proven fruitful for both the Cameroonian teachers, who value the relationships they build with TWU students, and the students, who learn firsthand what it means to teach without any resources. They also learn about alternative teaching and learning methods, including the choral-like responses common in many African classrooms.
“African teachers show us to teach in this context,” said Jule.
Creating the only gender studies course of its kind in Canada
Jule has also been recognized for her contribution to gender studies. She is the co-director of TWU’s Gender Studies Institute, founded in 2008. In 2011, she introduced a gender studies minor, and in 2012, an innovative course on gender in education—the only undergraduate course of its kind in the country. Several professors from other institutions have asked Jule about the course design.
“I feel really lucky to be able to teach this course at TWU,” said Jule. “Gender is such an important social variable in the educational experience. We can’t ignore it. It’s powerful.”
For Jule, feminism in particular is a vital topic for Christian students to consider. “The history of feminism is deeply embedded in Christian thought,” she said. The first feminists were Christians who argued for inclusion on the basis of Scripture.”
Earlier this year, Jule was named President-Elect for the Women’s and Gender Studies et Recherches Feministes (WGSRF). She will serve in that capacity for a year before taking on the role of president for a two-year term.
The fellowships are awarded annually by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and 3M Canada. Two other B.C. professors made the list this year. Read more in Maclean’s Magazine and the STLHE’s website.