Sitting in his Champlain College office, Dr. Gavin Fridell, an assistant professor in Trent University’s Politics Department, is humble and modest when asked to describe what makes him a good teacher.

“Trent is a great place to develop as a teacher,” Professor Fridell responds broadly. “The bar is set especially high here. People always remember that one great prof, but at Trent everyone is that cool professor you remember.”

According to his students, Prof. Fridell is no exception to this rule. And, in the short time since coming to Trent in 2006, he has proven to be a favourite among his students.

“Professor Fridell is a great teacher not only because he knows his stuff, but also because his style is extremely down to earth,” says fourth-year student Liam McGuire, who is currently taking his third class with Prof. Fridell. “From casual talk to the implications of banana and coffee production politics, every conversation is enriched with an energetic and educated approach. Professor Fridell is naturally a great teacher because of his great attitude and fluent educational background.”

Balancing Teaching with Research

For Prof. Fridell, good teaching is all about balance – balancing research with time spent in the classroom and balancing firmness with fun to ensure all students get the most out of their academic experience.

In the world of research, Prof. Fridell is known as an expert in global politics. His areas of interest include global political economy, international value chains, the politics of Latin America and the global South, development theory, and world history. He has conducted research on the politics and history of fair trade coffee and is currently working on a new project dealing with international commodity agreements in coffee and bananas.

“There is a strong social and ethical component to my research and the social justice component of my research is alive and well in all of my teaching,” Prof. Fridell says.

Prof. Fridell attributes the opportunity to merge his research interests with his teaching to being a professor at a university like Trent, which is committed to teaching excellence and innovation. Since arriving at Trent, he has been able to custom design a number of courses in the Politics Department around his own research interests and work. One such course is the fourth-year Democracy and Global Order course, which Prof. Fridell runs as a straight seminar and describes as being “littered with all of my favourite books”. This fall, he launched another new course, Local to Global: States and Civil Society in Comparative Perspective; it’s a second-year course that Prof. Fridell describes as an important “reintroduction of comparative politics” that takes the students “around the world in 180 days”.

“Having the opportunity and freedom to create your own course based around your own interests really allows your students to get to know you on a different level,” Prof. Fridell says. “Teaching and research don’t have to be separate entities.”

Facilitating Debate and Discussion

In his attempt to balance research and teaching, Prof. Fridell views student feedback and participation key to the success of any course – especially a course that has been designed around a professor’s own research interests. It is a balance that, according to his students, Prof. Fridell is well on his way to perfecting.

“Gavin plays the role of facilitator, encouraging students to present and defend their own positions while guiding discussion with thoughtful and probing questions,” says recent graduate and former Prof. Fridell student, Tim Howlett. “Gavin's class really lived up to all my expectations of a university seminar. It was engaging, lively, thought-provoking, and most importantly, we left the class still discussing and debating the ideas. In fact, I am still debating the ideas a year later!”

Engaging his students in the material and encouraging debate in the classroom are critical aspects of Prof. Fridell’s noteworthy approach to teaching. And throughout his time as a professor, Prof. Fridell has worked to develop these skills.

“Academia is not just about reading from textbooks but rather it’s about sitting in a classroom and debating ideas,” he explains. “Reading and debating was how I woke up to the fun of learning – it’s a more passionate approach to learning – and I want to pass that along to my students.”

Inviting Students into the Conversation

To encourage the development of critical thought and debate in his students, Prof. Fridell has developed a system for engaging his students in class material. Each class, students must bring in a quote from the assigned readings and come ready to discuss it. As Prof. Fridell explains, this system requires students to be prepared for each class because they might be called upon to talk. At the same time, it is not an intimidating process because students are not graded and they don’t have to deliver formal presentations.

“This is my way of teaching students to critically engage in the reading material,” Prof. Fridell explains. “It’s also a way to invite students into the conversation without too much pressure or expectation. My students have really responded well to this.”

Third-year student Eni Hanxhari finds Prof. Fridell’s approach to teaching both refreshing and stimulating. “I enjoy the most the fact that he includes his students in the lecture and allows for there to be a discussion between him and the whole class. Prof. Fridell is a really great professor and he is constantly pushing his students to their full potential, and on top of that he is really relaxed and creates a welcoming environment.”

Passionate Scholar; Committed Teacher

As a teacher, Prof. Fridell finds it important to make a connection with his students. He also believes it is equally important to challenge his students and have high, yet realistic, expectations for their work and progress. This is where the second piece of balancing comes into play – the art of balancing being fun and being firm.

“My teaching philosophy is a mixture of being casual and being firm. I’m always swinging back and forth between the two,” Prof. Fridell explains. “I think students need to be challenged to be interested and I want my course to go beyond just teaching the course info. At the end of the day, I hope my students would describe me as a pretty cool guy but also pretty demanding.”

As the great teacher he is, Prof. Fridell’s students view him in exactly that way. On an exchange to Trent from South Africa, Mayibuye Magwaza, remembers Prof. Fridell’s course on Latin American politics well. In fact, it was one of her favourite classes at Trent. Commenting on Prof. Fridell’s strengths as a teacher, she says, “One of Fridell's main strengths is his ability to clarify issues without losing depth. He can draw out the key elements in a debate on, say, free trade or one of Chavez's policies and present them clearly, but without dumbing down anything.”

For Tim Howlett, Prof. Fridell will always be one of his most influential teachers at Trent. “Gavin is both a passionate scholar and a committed teacher. He drives his students to actively engage with a text and really unpack its arguments. He never underestimates the ability of his students, but pushes them to meet high expectations,” he says. “Prof. Fridell is a tremendous asset to both teaching and research at Trent. He is energetic and passionate about academic study and shares this with his students. Future Trent students will be well served by a university that attracts and retains scholars such as Fridell.”

This story is featured in the November 2008 issue of Focus Trent. To read the complete issue, visit the publications website.