Spark: 2016 Teaching Symposium - Call for Sumbissions

This notice is from the archives of The Notice Board. Information contained in this notice was accurate at the time of publication but may no longer be so.

 

The Teaching Centre will be hosting a Teaching Symposium on April 28th and April 29th of 2016. We are inviting all faculty members, graduate teaching assistants, sessional instructors and anyone involved with teaching in higher education on campus to submit a proposal for presentation to Spark: 2016 Teaching Symposium. This is the second annual Spark conference, and we are excited that we have decided on a theme for this years conference. We encourage you to think of this theme as you create your proposals. This year's theme is:

Teaching Practice/Teaching Research.

What is Spark?

Spark is a Teaching Symposium that evolved from the Teaching Centre's Teaching Day event. The goal of the event is to connect with all instructors from across multiple departments and faculties to highlight innovative teaching methods, celebrate teaching excellence, and to explore how we are moving forward as a liberal arts higher education institution. We will do this via lectures, panel discussions, poster presentations, round-table discussions and more. Last year we hosted just under 100 people over a day and half of events. We saw 16 different sessions from a variety of faculty, instructors and graduate students on campus.

Guidelines for Submission

The Teaching Centre and the Teaching Centre Advisory Council encourage anyone involved in teaching on campus to submit a proposal. We believe that every instructor on campus, from tenured faculty to graduate teaching assistants has something valuable to contribute to this symposium.

What ideas could be presented?

Maybe you have employed a new engagement strategy within your class that has increased discussion participation among your students. Maybe you have a new assessment strategy that involves reduced marking times and increased student comprehension. Or maybe you discovered a new classroom management strategy that is critical for your class to be productive during group work. Whatever the strategies, innovations, or changes you employ to help you become a better instructor, they are all valuable ideas that need to be shared and discussed with your peers.

Possible topics for proposals

• Making effective use of your learning environment
• Helping your students become life long learners
• Engaging students beyond the classroom
• Self evaluation and feedback.
• Storytelling in Higher Ed
• Service learning and volunteerism as learning tools
• Teaching and research integration
• Multidisciplinary teaching endeavours
 
It is not our intention that you have to adhere to these topics. They are simply here to provide you some ideas. If you have an idea that does not adhere to these topics we welcome the submission with your suggested topic.

What formats are available?

We encourage you to submit a proposal in the format that will work best for you.  Each presentation will adhere to a 45-minute time limit regardless of the format. Below is a list of possible formats.
 
• Individual Presentation
• Workshop (Interactive hands on sessions)
• Panel Discussion (2 or more people discussing a topic)
• Round-table Session (Facilitate a group discussion around a particular topic)
• Poster Presentation (Visual representation of a topic)

All proposals must be submitted to the Teaching Centre no later than 4PM on February 23rd, 2016. Submissions should be sent to the Teaching Centre via email teachingcentre@uleth.ca. Below are some requirements for your proposal.

Proposal Requirements

• Please keep your proposal to a maximum of 250 words.
• Please provide a brief and creative title for your presentation.
• All proposals must be sent in a Microsoft Word document format
• Provide essential details. (Name, Email, Phone, Faculty and Department)
• Choose a format type and clearly indicate which format type you wish to use.

Spark Guidlines and Proposal Requirements.docx

How do I know my proposal has been accepted?

 
Once we receive all proposals, a committee comprised of instructors from various faculties and departments, as well as members of the Teaching Centre Staff and Advisory Council will review your proposal. Upon completing the review process of all proposals (March 11) we will contact you via email and let you know if we have accepted your proposal.

 

 


Contact:

Teaching Centre | teachingcentre@uleth.ca | (403) 380-1856 | uleth.ca/teachingcentre/spark-teaching-symposium