Upcoming Events
Session proposal DEADLINE: Mason’s 2021 Innovations in Teaching & Learning (ITL) Conference
Feb 24, 2021, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
We are excited to announce that the request for speakers and session proposals for Mason's 13th annual Innovations in Teaching & Learning (ITL) conference is now posted! This event is an opportunity for the whole Mason community to come together to reflect on how teaching and learning is evolving at Mason, especially over this last year, and exchange tips, strategies, tools, and resources with colleagues.
Building on last year’s success, we plan to hold the conference online again (Sept. 20-24, 2021), with interactive workshops and panels/roundtables via Zoom throughout the week, accompanied by an On Demand collection of short video presentations, digital posters, and annotated teaching artifacts. We are currently seeking proposals that showcase specific teaching approaches, assignments, and tools that will help instructors in any discipline effectively support student success at Mason and beyond.
We know you are busy trying to survive another semester of remote work and the pandemic, so we’ve reimagined the submission process this year to make it easier for you to present and share your ideas with colleagues at the conference.
If you have 5 to 10 minutes to prepare a proposal...consider nominating yourself or a colleague to be a panelist speaker in one of the Stearns Center Showcase Sessions--new this year! These 90-minute sessions consist of a series of brief remarks or 5-minute lightning talks by 4 to 5 instructors, each sharing their teaching strategies or student learning activities, followed by a roundtable discussion or other activity. They are organized and facilitated by a faculty or staff member on the following topics:
- Strategies for Teaching with Writing Assignments
- Managing Group Work Activities and Collaborative Student Projects
- Embedding Experiential or Community-Engaged Learning Projects Into Your Courses
- Class Activities and Teaching Strategies to Engage Students in Online or Blended Courses
- Creating Community and a Sense of Belonging in Your Course
- Pandemic Pedagogy Showcase: Lessons Learned
- Incorporating Mindfulness and Well-Being Into Your Courses
- Teaching Sensitive Topics and Managing Politically Charged Class Conversations
- Teaching Transformation Talks: How Your Teaching Has Changed
- Strategies for Non-Exam Assessments, Grading and Giving Feedback
- Transparency in Your Course and Assignments: Making the “Hidden Curriculum” Visible
- Mason’s Active Learning Classrooms and Online Teaching Technologies
- Mason Instructor Resources Roadshow & Resource Fair
- Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Showcase
- Documenting and Sharing Your Teaching by Creating Open Educational Resources (OER)
If you have 30-40 minutes to prepare a proposal...consider sharing your insights at the conference via an item in the On Demand Collection--only an abstract is needed for the proposal; actual items in this category are not due until September:
- Teaching & Learning Artifact (assignment, syllabus, etc.) w/Reflection or Annotation
- 5- or 15-minute Video Presentation about a learning activity, your teaching strategies, curriculum (re)design process, or instructional support resources (Mason Offices)
- Digital Poster Presentation about a learning activity, your teaching strategies, curriculum (re)design process, or instructional support resources (Mason Offices)
If you have 40-90 minutes to prepare a proposal...consider sharing your insights at the conference by organizing and leading an interactive Zoom session during the conference week—we will be offering workshop/Zoom design sessions to support your planning:
- 40-90-Minute Panel and Roundtable Discussion via Zoom
- 40-90-Minute Workshop via Zoom
Have lots of ideas to share? You are welcome to submit multiple proposals or nominate yourself for more than one of the Stearns Center Showcase Sessions.
Want to talk to someone about your proposal ideas? If you wish to discuss your proposal content ideas before submitting a proposal, please contact the 2021 Conference Director, Dr. Laura Lukes (llukes@gmu.edu).
Want to help select the program?
We currently are seeking faculty, staff, or graduate students to review proposals and help select the best possible conference program. What does reviewing entail? Typically, we ask people to review 6-10 proposals, and it takes about 1-2 hours to complete. Proposals are ~1 page of information. You will have a scoring rubric to evaluate the proposals (for audience, topic, Mason-focus, and context/transferability) with room for comments/suggestions and assign an overall score. Proposal reviews will be due mid-March. Interested? Please complete our reviewer volunteer form. We will follow up with volunteers early March with their proposal assignments and more details. Please contact the Stearns Center Event Manager, Ashley Joiner (ajoiner2@gmu.edu) if you have any questions.
--The 2021 ITL Planning Team