What You Should Know About The Conference
2010 Conference Themes/Strands:
- Increasing our understanding of student learning in the disciplines we teach.
- Engaging students as research partners in our quest to enhance teaching and learning.
- Exploring alternatives, big ideas and challenging issues (ABC).
Keynote Events: Addressing the theme of student learning in the disciplines we teach will be:
Tony Ciccone, Senior Scholar and Past Director of the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) Program at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. He is also Professor of French and Director of the Center for Instructional and Professional Development at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Addressing the theme of engaging students as research partners, will be:
Carmen Werder, co-editor of Engaging Student Voices in the Study of Teaching and Learning (Stylus, 2010). She is also Director of the Teaching and Learning Academy and Director of Writing Instruction Support at Western Washington University. Participating in a Panel Presentation with Carmen, will be five undergraduate students who are currently engaged in SoTL studies with their professors.
Strands for Proposal Submission: You may submit one or more proposals, but, for each submission, please choose from the following strands:
STRAND I: SoTL Studies Focused on the Disciplines
We invite you to submit proposals for sessions that will increase our understanding of student learning in the various disciplines we teach. While some SoTL studies focus on approaches that cut across the disciplines, in this strand, our emphasis is on examining classroom methods that increase and enhance student learning of a particular discipline. We are interested in receiving proposals from those who have been actively engaged in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in their disciplines and want to share the process and results of that research. Presenters are encouraged to share the specifics of their experiences with designing and implementing research on their practice, including studies of new pedagogical and technological approaches, and their new understandings of student learning. These specifics might include descriptions of explicit changes in course design, instructional practice, design and research methods employed to examine the impact of the changes as well as an analysis of the results and their impact on future classroom practices. Two special and related areas of interest are the theory of "threshold concepts" in different disciplines and the practical strategies related to helping students grasp them.
STRAND II: Engaging the Voices of Students in SoTL Studies
In this strand, we are inviting proposals that either: (1) involve students as research partners in our quest to enhance teaching and learning or (2) seek to capture the perspective of students on the impact that SoTL studies have on their learning.All too often, as we design SoTL studies to improve learning, we fail to include the learner in the process. A recent book, Engaging Student Voices in the Study of Teaching and Learning (Stylus, 2010) co-edited by Carmen Werder and Megan M. Otis addresses this omission and provides multiple reasons and methods for putting a new emphasis on student voices in SoTL. Carmen and a panel of 5 undergraduates who have been engaged in SoTL work will be keynote presenters on Saturday morning of the conference, and we are looking for additional examples of SoTL projects that have included students in the design, implementation, and analysis stages.
Further, we are interested in proposals that focus on methods for assessing students' views of how SoTL projects affected their learning. In many of the evaluations of SoTL work, the primary data sources are faculty surveys and interviews.If we are ever to understand fully the way SoTL projects can lead to increased student learning, we need to find ways to tap into the students' thinking about the SoTL projects in their classrooms and programs.
STRAND III: Alternatives, Big Ideas, and Challenging Issues (ABC)
Although the conference themes and keynote presenters will focus on Discipline-based SoTL and Engaging Student Voices in SoTL Studies, submissions need not be limited to these topics. Therefore, in this ABC strand, we are inviting SoTL proposals that are Alternatives to the themes (e.g. interdisciplinary research as opposed to discipline-based studies) as well as proposals that explore Big ideas and Challenging issues that significantly affect our capacity for integrating the scholarship of teaching and learning into campus culture.These might include ideas and issues in the following areas: leadership and organizational change for growing and sustaining SoTL work throughout the campus; new methods for assessing the impact of SoTL work on faculty development and student performance; the role of SoTL in Tenure and Promotion; the balance between discipline-based SoTL and interdisciplinary SoTL; the balance between programmatic and classroom studies; and a critique of SoTL as a legitimate form of scholarship.
Formats for Proposal Submission: You may submit one or more proposals, but, for each submission, please choose from one of the following formats:
POSTER SESSION: Presenters will have an opportunity to share either their completed work, work in progress, or work in very preliminary stages. Participants will discuss your research findings or offer feedback on your projects. Presenters should plan a brief presentation to describe the issues or findings on the poster but also be prepared to engage interactively with their audience in this one-hour session.
RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS: 30- or 60-minute sessions. (These are devoted to SoTl Studies) Presenters can chose either a 60 minute or 30 minute time slot to describe and analyze completed or in-process research projects.Those choosing a one-hour time allotment will present for a maximum of 40 minutes and then devote a minimum of 20 minutes to discussion of the research with the audience; those choosing a 30 minute time allotment will present for a maximum of 20 minutes and then devote a minimum of 10 minutes for discussion. (Conference organizers will match complementary 30 minute presentations into one-hour time slots.) Audience questions will come first, but presenters should also come prepared with provocative questions to pose to the audience.
SEMINARS: One-hour sessions. (These interactive sessions are devoted to exploration of Alternatives, Big Ideas and Challenging Issues that affect SoTL): Presenters will explore with the audience factors such as institutional leadership and support, organizational structure, assessment, and connections to promotion and tenure that can significantly affect the integration of SoTL into campus culture. The expectation is that the presenters of these sessions have experience with the topic and are knowledgeable about the relevant literature in the field. Presenters will have a maximum of 30 minutes to lay out their ideas and issues and will then discuss them with the audience for a minimum of 30 minutes.
PANEL PRESENTATIONS: One-hour sessions. Two or three individuals with different perspectives on a single topic will present their views on a panel that has been carefully planned to highlight both comparisons and contrasts. The presenters will have a total of no more than 30 minutes to convey their viewpoints and the audience will then be invited to join the discussion for a minimum of 30 minutes. We encourage submitters to create a panel with colleagues within or outside of their institutions, with one member serving as a facilitator of the session.
Criteria for Acceptance of Proposals: As you prepare your proposals, we urge you to think about and address these questions as they apply to your submission(s):
Conference Fit:
- How is your proposal appropriate for the overall conference focus and the particular strand and format you have selected?
Purpose and Rationale:
- What important questions or issues does your proposal raise for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and/ or your discipline?
- Do you demonstrate an understanding of existing literature in the field?
Theory/Methods:
- What theories/ methods are you using, and are they appropriate for your question/issue?
- Are your methods of data collection varied enough to represent multiple perspectives?
Analysis and Findings:
- Will your analysis be completed prior to the conference presentation and will you be prepared to speak to your findings?
- If your analysis will not be completed prior to the conference presentation, will you have done sufficient analysis to identify significant issues to be examined, themes/patterns, or conclusions?
- If the answer is yes, what type of findings will you share?
- If your analysis is complete, what themes/patterns, or conclusions does your research reveal?
- If your analysis is complete, do you have sufficient data/evidence to support the themes/patterns you identify or the conclusions you reach?
- How does or will your work contribute to the understanding of or practice in your discipline or SoTL studies?
Audience Participation:
- What is your plan for actively engaging the audience throughout your session?
Information/Requirements for Submission:
Presenters must submit both a proposal and an abstract. (Not a completed paper.)
Length of Proposal: Up to 1,000 words, excluding references.
Length of Abstract: Up to 100 words (for inclusion in conference program)
We will notify by e-mail the primary presenter as to the acceptance or rejection of the proposal and the format assigned to the proposal. We will make every effort to assign your proposal to your designated format and time preference; however, it may be necessary to assign a different format or time allotment. All presenters (including co-presenters) whose proposals are accepted are expected to participate in the entire conference and should be available to present at any session time during the conference.
If contact information changes for the primary presenter or any other members of the presentation group, please notify us as soon as possible.
Important Dates:
- APRIL 1 Online registration opens
- MAY 15 Deadline for submission of proposals
- JUNE 15 Notification of acceptance or rejection
- JULY 15 Presenters of accepted proposals must indicate their intent to attend with registration
- AUGUST 30 Deadline for early registration
PLEASE submit your proposal on the form provided by May 15 at the following site: http://blogs.maryville.edu/sotl
Conference Fees and Registration:
Registration (by August 30): $300.00
Late Registration: $350.00
Discounts for Groups of 4 or more: $225 per person (must register as a group)
Student Rate (undergraduate/graduate): $80.00
Registration Fee includes:
- Friday Night Reception and Dinner
- Breakfast, Lunch and closing reception Saturday
- All conference materials
- Snacks throughout the conference
Preconference Workshop Fee and Registration:
Preconference workshop, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1 (lunch included).
Registration (By August 30): $30.00
If you have any questions, please contact Tammy Gocial, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at sotlconference2010@maryville.edu
