Conference Tracks

Conference tracks help you plan your experience by interest, although you can attend any session in any track. We strive to offer a balanced program touching important topics in higher education. Look for sessions covering:

PLANNING

Topical Area 1: Preparing Your Course

These sessions promote innovations and strategies that can be applied across a broad range of disciplines and contexts. Sessions in this track refer to many aspects of course preparation, such as:

  • Learner-centered course design
  • Backward design
  • Active learning
  • Gamification
  • Designing courses for critical thinking, reflection, collaboration, and motivation
  • Writing goals, objectives, learning outcomes, and their assessments
  • Using artificial intelligence (AI) as a course preparation tool

Topical Area 2: Technology Tools for Teaching

Sessions in this track focus on the effective use of teaching and communication technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Sessions may include:

  • the pedagogical research that supports the tool
  • the pros and cons of the tool
  • an introduction to using the tool
  • an example of the tool used in class or for professional or personal development

Topical Area 3: The Online Classroom

These sessions are about the unique challenges and opportunities of teaching in an online or hybrid classroom. Sessions in this track cover topics such as:

  • Maximizing your learning management system (LMS) features and settings
  • Course structure, file naming, organization
  • Creating and uploading resources including video, graphics, and documents
  • Working with an Instructional Designer or similar support staff
  • Humanizing/personalizing your course
  • Flipped classroom tips and ideas
  • Online course design best practices
  • Online teaching best practices

TEACHING

Topical Area 4: Student Engagement

These sessions address one or all of the dimensions of student engagement: behavioral, emotional, or cognitive, including:

  • Instructional strategies promoting engagement
  • Practices supporting engaging classroom climate
  • Promoting broadly engaged participation and discussion
  • Classroom-based engagement activities

Topical Area 5: Assessing Learning

These sessions focus on assignments, assessments, and grading practices, and/or strategies measuring students’ accomplishment of course objectives and learning outcomes, such as:

  • Tests and assignments
  • Grading Systems and Criteria
  • Self and Peer Assessment
  • Rubrics
  • Feedback
  • Using AI in assignments, assessments, feedback, and grading

Topical Area 6: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

This track focuses on practices and strategies supporting minority and/or marginalized students. Sessions include:

  • Inclusive curricula
  • Inclusive learning climates
  • Inclusive instructional practice
  • Universal Design for Learning

INSTRUCTIONAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Topical Area 7: Outside the Classroom

Sessions in this track focus on the many responsibilities that come with teaching beyond the classroom. Topics include:

  • Faculty advising and mentoring
  • Advising and mentoring students
  • Student wellbeing and support
  • Grant writing and fundraising
  • Professional ethics
  • Academic Integrity
  • Research and Scholarship
  • Faculty Collaboration and Collegiality

Topical Area 8: For New Faculty

For faculty with fewer than three years of experience in the college classroom, this track will focus on what you need to know to launch a successful academic career, including:

  • Classroom management
  • Building effective mentoring relationships
  • Balancing teaching, citizenship, research, and scholarship
  • Self-care and work-life balance

Topical Area 9: For Mid-Career Faculty

For faculty with more than 10 years of experience, this track explores topics such as:

  • Revitalizing your course or teaching
  • Research productivity
  • Preparing for leadership and administration
  • Professional networking and collaboration
  • Maintaining work-life balance and renewal