Dr. Roger Pilon

Please note: at this time I am not currently accepting new graduate students for supervision

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

My teaching is informed by multiple learning theories such as behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism and connectivism, an eclectic approach that helps me reach diverse learners in nursing and Nurse Practitioner programs. I am particularly influenced by constructivism and Piaget’s ideas about meaning-making: knowledge is often subjective, complex and context-bound, and no one person holds all the answers. I value interdisciplinary learning where students learn with, from, and about each other. I teach students how to maintain focus, how to care, and how to ask the right questions so they develop critical thinking and sound clinical judgment.

CHARACTERISTICS I VALUE

• Respect, integrity, honesty, openness
• Flexibility, fairness, consistency
• Availability and caring

TEACHING STRATEGIES

• Promote critical thinking, problem solving, and self-directed learning
• Encourage scholarship and research
• Foster cultural safety and competence
• Create a safe, participative and welcoming learning environment

RESEARCH

My research program has focused on Indigenous health, specifically the decolonization of Type 2 diabetes care. Over 30 years I have built trusting relationships with several First Nation communities along the North Shore of Lake Huron, grounding research in long-term partnership and community priorities. More recently I have joined an Indigenous led and community based 6-year Tri Council funded pan Canadian multi site project. This initiative will be focusing on culturally safe approaches for dementia prevention and diagnosis, through a new transformative project on decolonizing wholistic brain health assessment.  I use qualitative approaches well suited to this work, including ethnography, grounded theory and community-based participatory research.

FUTURE GOALS

• Continue developing and promoting a decolonized, culturally safe models of care   in collaboration with Indigenous communities through ongoing consultation and community-led strategies.
• Mentor future Indigenous and non-Indigenous health professionals and supervise graduate research in Indigenous health.
• Explore opportunities to decolonize and Indigenize nursing curricula and promote the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples across curricula.
• Disseminate and promote culturally safe research methodologies and primary care practices.

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Roger-Pilon