[PDADC-L] Call for Proposals, 6th Annual U of T Teaching & Learning Symposium

TO: PDAD&C

FROM: Carol Rolheiser,
Director, Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation

RE: Call for Proposals - Cultivating Teaching, Cultivating Learning
6th Annual University of Toronto Teaching & Learning Symposium, 28 November 2011

This year's Teaching & Learning Symposium will focus on strategies and initiatives that aim to cultivate effective teaching and learning across the University of Toronto's divisions and campuses. Through concurrent sessions, posters and roundtable discussions the day will focus on the following four sub-themes:

1. Student acquisition of knowledge, skills and values
o What knowledge, skills and values do today's students most need?
o Are there particular skills, knowledge and values that we especially want UofT students to acquire?
o How can we support the development and acquisition of this knowledge and these skills and values?
2. Enhancing relationships and fostering partnerships
o What opportunities currently enable student-faculty interaction and collaborative partnerships amongst members of our community?
o What other opportunities should we cultivate?
3. Planning, instruction and assessment
o How are our changing teaching contexts altering the way we plan, teach and assess?
o How is current research influencing the way we teach and what we know about student learning?
4. Leadership to support teaching and learning
o How can academic leadership cultivate effective teaching and learning?
o How can we foster shared leadership to enhance teaching and learning?

This tri-campus event is intended to stimulate discussion and the sharing of practical, successful experiences around teaching and learning, aiming to enhance communications and build internal networks. It is a cross-divisional forum which allows faculty and staff to explore and share new instructional methods, to celebrate our commitment to teaching and learning, and to hear from this year's recipients of the President's Teaching Award. The symposium will include a featured speaker, a panel discussion featuring the President and the 2011 President's Teaching Award recipients, interactive concurrent sessions, roundtable discussions, and poster and resource sharing sessions.
SESSION PROPOSAL FORMATS:
We invite session proposals, in one of the following formats, from UofT faculty and staff that address the themes outlined above:

1. Interactive Concurrent Sessions (50 minutes): Presentation of creative teaching approaches or strategies that have evidence of effectiveness as demonstrated through assessment, research or successful practice.
2. Poster Sessions: These sessions are designed to provide presenters and participants with a means of sharing information regarding learning and teaching, including research findings and innovative practices.
3. Roundtable Discussions (50 minutes): These sessions engage a small group in facilitated conversation. Facilitators suggest a theme, a problem, or a solution related to the symposium focus. Rather than give a presentation, the facilitator may offer a brief summary of the discussion topic and participants exchange ideas around the table.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS Session proposals should be a maximum of 150 words and should clearly indicate: format, presentation title, names of presenters, and provide a brief description of the session (which will be used to produce the program guide). Proposals should be submitted online no later than 30 September 2011 to:
http://www.teaching.utoronto.ca/about_ctsi/symposium/submission.htm

QUESTIONS FOR THE PRESIDENT'S TEACHING AWARD WINNERS & THE PRESIDENT This year we also welcome submissions from the broader university community for questions that may be posed during the Panel Discussion with the 2011 President's Teaching Award Winners. These questions may be directed at the award winners or the President and should relate to the theme of the Symposium. They can be sent directly to CTSI at ctsi.teaching@utoronto.ca or included in your proposal submission.
Questions about the Symposium or regarding proposal submissions can be directed to: Thuy Huynh, Programs Coordinator, Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation at thuy.huynh@utoronto.ca or 416-946-3325.