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The call for proposals is now closed.

 

The 26th annual Dalhousie Conference on University Teaching and Learning (DCUTL) promotes the importance of university teaching and learning among faculty, staff, and graduate students. It is both a showcase for current research and practices and provides opportunities to foster new ideas and projects.

The 2024 conference will take place May 1 and 2 and the theme is: 

Transforming the Curriculum to (Re)Imagine the Future

Educating students in ways that will empower them to change our world for the better has long been an ideal of higher education. In the face of recent global catastrophes, events, and changes how can educators ensure that the next generation of students believe in their individual and collective ability to bring about positive change?  Students’ learning experiences in postsecondary courses and programs can make a difference.  As educators we may need to think critically and creatively to ensure that our students can do the same. What makes a curriculum ‘relevant’ to students today as well as for their future?

Our curriculum is foundational to students’ learning experiences.  We can design and implement curricula with certain goals in mind, but students might experience these differently than we intended. Most of our curricula informs assessment choices that reveal what students gained through their learning experience.  Other aspects of our curriculum might be hidden and need to be made explicit to students, while other facets might be systemically excluded altogether (Dyjur & Skene (eds) 2022, p.11-12).* What dominant theories, perspectives, and voices are incorporated into our curriculum and who decides what those will be? How do we move beyond our ‘traditional’ disciplinary curricula to explore other perspectives, knowledge, and ways of knowing?

How do we (re)imagine curricula to inspire, engage, motivate, prepare, and empower students?  This year’s conference theme prompts us to consider the micro, meso, macro and mega levels of curriculum** – our courses, our programs and departments, and our institutions – to create transformative pathways to students’ exploration of new ideas and the creations of new worlds.

*DiPietro, C., Dyjur, P., Fitzpatrick, K., Grant, K., Hoessler, C., Kalu, F., Richards, J., Skene, A., & Wolf, P. (2022) Educational Development Guide Series: No. 4. A Comprehensive Guide to Working with Higher Education Curriculum Development, Review & Renewal Projects (P. Dyjur & A. Skene, Eds). Educational Developers Caucus. https://prism.ucalgary.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/4a60c3e9-139b-496d-b791-a5f43e49335f/content

**Eaton, Sarah. (August 27, 2020) “Understanding Academic Integrity from a Teaching and Learning Perspective: Engaging with the 4M Framework”, Learning and Teaching Leadership – A Blog for Educators, Teachers and Other Thinkers by Sarah Eaton, Phd. https://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/tag/4m-framework/

We invite proposals on topics that might include but are not limited to the following areas of interest:

Redesigning curriculum

  • Incorporating global perspectives - creating inter-cultural learning and internationalization through curriculum (re)design
  • (re)designing curricula implementing Universal Design for Learning and/or Culturally Responsive Pedagogies in mind
  • (Re)designing your course to improve student outcomes
  • (Re)designing courses or assessment considering the evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI)
  • (Re)designing assessments to transform the curricula
  • Decolonizing the curricula or Indigenizing the curricula
  • Re-designing in-person courses for effective and accessible online/blended/hyflex modalities
  • Incorporating game-based design into our courses/programs

Processes of curriculum work

  • Integrating student voices into curriculum (re)design
  • Fostering collaborative curricula designs and embracing its full potential
  • Mapping the curricula
  • Transforming curricula by making connections across the disciplines
  • Exploring the relationship between accrediting bodies’ mandates and program (re)design

Designing curriculum via components/themes

  • Designing new programs to meet students’ future career goals and/or employment skills gaps
  • Enriching curricula through experiential learning including field-work, research opportunities, entrepreneurship, work-terms, community-based learning, community partnerships, etc.
  • How the use/choice/design of learning spaces can transform the curriculum  
  • How new disciplinary knowledge, previously dismissed knowledge, and research can transform the curricula
  • Building curricula for social justice
  • Incorporating creative processes, critical thinking or problem-solving in curricula
  • Incorporating diverse concepts of leadership into the curricula throughout students learning
  • Exploring the relationship between institutional policies and disciplinary programs

Bigger ideas in curriculum design

  • Transforming the curriculum for equity, diversity and inclusion – learning from, through and with difference
  • Considering curricula from the perspective of student and faculty belonging, health and well-being perspectives
  • Applying sustainability for global change
  • Uncovering the hidden curriculum and its potential role in transforming learning

 

Session Types

This year, we will be hosting a hybrid conference where there will be opportunities for both in-person and online sessions. On the proposal submission form, you will have an opportunity to indicate whether you are willing to present in-person only, online only, or are open to either.

Session types include

Interactive workshop (in-person) 50 minutes

The workshop format is designed to provide a forum for collaborative development and discussion of creative approaches to teaching and learning. Workshop proposals should clearly indicate how participants will actively contribute to the session. 

Interactive workshop (in-person) 1 hour and 20 minutes

The workshop format is designed to provide a forum for collaborative development and discussion of creative approaches to teaching and learning. Workshop proposals should clearly indicate how participants will actively contribute to the session. 

Interactive workshop (online – breakout groups not available) 50 minutes

The workshop format is designed to provide a forum for collaborative development and discussion of creative approaches to teaching and learning. Workshop proposals should clearly indicate how participants will actively contribute to the session. 

Shared practices session (in-person or online) 25 minutes

This format provides the opportunity for presenters to involve their peers in an engaging paper related to new or ongoing research. Presentation should include opportunities for questions and discussion, within the 25-minute time-frame.  

Research presentation session (in-person or online) 25 minutes

This format provides the opportunity for presenters to involve their peers in an engaging paper related to new or ongoing research. Sessions should include opportunities for questions and discussion, within the 25-minute timeframe.

Place-based/land-based (in-person) 50 minutes

This session format provides an opportunity for presenters to share land and community-based pedagogies such as outdoor pedagogies, inclusionary (Indigenous, ecological) teaching practices, educational partnerships with Indigenous communities, or experiential land-based activities. Session proposals should include if the presenters require an outdoor space for facilitation or any additional supports.

Place-based/land-based (in-person) 1 hour and 20 minutes

This session format provides an opportunity for presenters to share land and community-based pedagogies such as outdoor pedagogies, inclusionary (Indigenous, ecological) teaching practices, educational partnerships with Indigenous communities, or experiential land-based activities. Session proposals should include if the presenters require an outdoor space for facilitation or any additional supports.

Quick shares – 10 minutes (online) 4 sessions per 50 minutes

Short presentations explaining how an activity, assessment, idea, or innovation transformed or could possibly transform students’ ability to think, create, or reflect in their disciplinary context.

 

How to Submit a Proposal

You must submit your proposal using the DCUTL 2024 proposal submission form. There is a limit of two sessions per presenter.

Please note that formatting (e.g., italics, bold, etc.) is not available when submitting a proposal. Those who have their submission(s) accepted will be given the opportunity to provide a formatted session abstract for the program later. Reviewers will be notified of this issue.

You will receive a confirmation within 4 business days. If you do not receive a confirmation, please contact clt@dal.ca.