John Ballam
Intro
John has a M. Phil in Applied Ethics, a higher education diploma, a teaching degree, and is a qualified assessor and integral coach.
At present, John teaches BUSI 601. John’s teaching philosophy is eclectic and rooted in constructivist and experiential learning. He is a polymath who believes deep learning occurs as individuals become self-possessed and self-directed. Learning is intimately linked to our desire to develop a secure identity and purpose. Who am I? Who is asking that question? These types of questions, he knows, might keep us all awake on some nights. If they do, we might, he thinks, be en route to becoming self-reflective learners. He is convinced that our unconscious heuristics (e.g. cultural, cognitive and emotional biases) potentially shape or deform how we learn and thus determine the kind of person we ultimately become.
John hopes to creatively engage his students with the courses he teaches. Equally, he hopes to inspire his students to believe in themselves and thus fearlessly embrace complexity because “… we all live inside and outside of T/truth” (D. Caputo); the more consciously we do this, the better place we might make the world for ourselves and our children to inherit.
Expertise and Experience
John has been an ethics, philosophy, and business studies teacher, national academic developer, acting general manager (Varsity College – South Africa), senior educational advisor and director of private higher education in Canada (Greystone College). In addition to this, he has practiced as an organizational development consultant across a wide variety of organizations. He knows that ‘the real world’ exists both within and outside the classroom – the map and the territory hold equal significance. In addition, John has assisted many students with learning and cultural adjustment issues.
Publications and Scholarly Activity
John’s research interests revolve around the role of identity development and learning. The title of his MPhil research paper is “De/centring the self: The Construction of Adult Identity after Modernism.” He was invited to present his research 2008 at ‘Psychiatry and Freedom,’ the 11th International Conference for Philosophy and Mental Health (Dallas, 2008). John has spoken at several academic conferences, presenting papers on teaching, learning, and philosophy. He also published some of the findings of a decade-long project, where he played a central role in pathfinding academic development and support on seven college campuses in South Africa. The article is entitled “Driving Lessons – Supporting Academic Development in a Private Higher Education Space.”
John has run several public and in-house seminars for organizations dealing with interpersonal ethics and decision making. The Virgin Group contracted him to design and teach an “Advanced Business Ethics” course for African entrepreneurs establishing businesses in an environment rife with corruption. He also spoke at public workshops for senior South African business executives entitled “Power and Politics in the Workplace.”
Awards
John has served as a member of an academic senate, been a member of syllabus committees and won two awards for teaching excellence.
Volunteer Work and Personal Interests
John, a published poet, was president and is now VP of Deltones Toastmasters and a recognized mentor and community career coach. He is the coordinator of Ladner United Church Community Garden. He writes in his spare time, grows vegetables and herbs, reads Rumi, brews beer, traps crabs, fishes and tours on a 1988 Suzuki Cavalcade 1400 he restored. One of his favourite quotes is, “Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard Thurman
