He might have been sitting in a packed lecture hall, but Classics and Archaeology student Wesley Prankard\u2019s first-year class with Instructor Anton Jansen transported him to the world of Ancient Greece.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an experience Prankard, now in his third year, will never forget.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last few minutes of any lecture students start shuffling around getting ready to pack up, but not a single person made a sound as Anton Jansen told stories of early Greek society. When class was over, nobody stirred \u2014 we just wanted to hear more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A visit to the Classics and Archaeology undergraduate lounge around lunchtime on any given day will corroborate Prankard\u2019s story.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing taught by Anton Jansen is like emerging from Plato\u2019s cave and seeing the sun for the first time,\u201d said Walker Green, a fourth-year Classics and Archaeology student.<\/p>\n
According to Jansen, it all comes down to good storytelling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got information that I think is really interesting, it\u2019s cool to me, and I can turn it into a narrative and share it with others. When students see that you are interested in something, they will catch on and want to know more too,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As an undergraduate student at the University of Alberta, Jansen originally started down a pre-med path but quickly realized his heart belonged to humanities after studying classics, setting him on a very different trajectory.<\/p>\n
Early in Jansen\u2019s teaching career, he was inspired by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who is famous for presenting history through telling stories.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though Herodotus never let the facts get in the way of a good story, he also had some really good ideas. He was writing to an audience in a new way that assumed readers were not familiar with concepts, but he wanted to bring people in and help them understand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Currently in his 31st year teaching at Brock \u2014 just over half of the University\u2019s history \u2014 Jansen has run the gamut of teaching topics including Greek history, Roman history, introduction to Greek society, Greek myths, classical arts and literature, and Latin and Greek languages.<\/p>\n
Jansen\u2019s teaching philosophy draws inspiration from how the Greeks and Romans, especially philosophers, gathered to break bread, bond and engage in philosophical conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cStorytelling gets us to place where we are all together. We can say things we think, share ideas and get honest opinions. This sense of peace \u2014 ease \u2014 the ability to talk and learn in a comfortable environment is where the magic of learning really happens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This past December, Jansen made history at Brock\u2019s Centre for Pedagogical Innovation\u2019s (CPI) Tribute to Teaching awards<\/a> receiving the Clarke Thomson Award for Excellence in Sessional Teaching and the Don Ursino Award for Excellence in Teaching large classes in the same year.<\/p>\n Giulia Forsythe, Director, Teaching and Learning (CPI), said a double win was unprecedented in the 15 years the awards have been presented, sharing that adjudication committees were moved by Jansen\u2019s numerous letters of support from former students, teaching assistants and colleagues.<\/p>\n \u201cAnton was described as a \u2018storyteller on a mission\u2019 who centres joy in all his teaching. His incredible breadth of teaching experience spans classes of all sizes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n