Thompson-Okanagan Teaching and Learning Conference
Scholarship and Practice, May 9th-10th, 2024
UBC Okanagan, Kelowna, BC
UBC Okanagan in collaboration with Thompson Rivers University is hosting their inaugural Thompson-Okanagan Teaching and Learning Conference.
Registration
Registration is open to all. Cost regardless of position and institution is $25. Presenters are also required to register. This conference will be entirely in person. Registration is open until April 30th.
If you have already registered but not paid your registration fee yet, you can pay your registration fee here.
About the Conference
The conference theme of Scholarship and Practice invites all educators to share their stories. Presenters are encouraged to demonstrate or discuss all facets of their research and practice in a variety of different modes. This conference will be entirely in-person.
A keynote and a panel discussion will be livestreamed as part of UBC’s Celebrate Learning Week.
Individuals are given 5 minutes to present a topic regarding their research or practice. This would be an excellent venue to tell us about:
- A work in progress
- New teaching tools
- Course development
- Potential areas of collaboration
Lighting talks will be followed up with a 5-minute question period.
Individuals or groups are invited to disseminate a 15-minute presentation, followed by 5 minutes of questions. This venue is appropriate for larger demonstrations of scholarship and more lengthy stories of practice.
Workshops will be scheduled for 60 minutes and are expected to have interactive components. This is a great opportunity for educators to share hands-on experience with their scholarship or practice.
The poster session is the perfect opportunity to display and communicate your work to a broad audience. This session will run concurrently with an evening reception.
| Thompson-Okanagan Teaching and Learning Conference – Schedule Overview | |||
| Day 1 | 8:30 am | Registration | ADM Foyer |
| 9:00 am | Plenary: Jessica Riddell | ADM Sunroom | |
| 10:15 am | Break | EME Foyer | |
| 10:30 am | Concurrent Sessions 1 | EME 1151 | EME 1153 | |
| 12:10 pm | Lunch | ADM Sunroom | |
| 1:10 pm | Concurrent Sessions 2 | EME 1151 | EME 1153 | |
| 2:50 pm | Break | EME Foyer | |
| 3:05 pm | Concurrent Sessions 3 | EME 1151 | EME 1153 | |
| 4:45 pm | Poster Presentations & Reception | ADM Sunroom | |
| Day 2 | 9:00 am | Concurrent Sessions 4 | EME 1151 | EME 1153 |
| 10:00 am | Break | EME Foyer | |
| 10:15 am | Concurrent Sessions 5 | EME 1151 | EME 1153 | |
| 11:30 am | Panel Discussion | ADM Sunroom | |
| 12:30 pm | Closing | ADM Sunroom | |
You can access the full schedule with complete session information here.
You can read the presentation abstracts in the Conference Compendium.
Information for Presenters:
The schedule is tight with lots of turnover. To prepare, you can see what your room will look like. If your presentation requires, you can plug in via HDMI, or if have a backup on a USB, a laptop will be available.
Keynote Speaker: Jessica Riddell
Dr. Jessica Riddell is a Full Professor of Early Modern Literature in the English Department at Bishop’s University (Quebec, Canada). She holds the Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair of Undergraduate Teaching Excellence at Bishop’s University; in this capacity, she leads conversations about systems-change in higher education that shifts the focus from resilience to human flourishing. In her research, teaching, leadership, and administration, she participates in a wide range of interchanges at the national and international levels about how universities fulfil the social contract to a broader society.
Title: Hope Circuits: Re-membering and renewal for human flourishing
We now find ourselves at the precipice of a higher-education paradigm shift. After many years of incremental change and deferral, we need substantial change. What we do now will inform how we, as individuals, institutions, and society, experience revolutionary change. It is an extraordinary time that challenges us to go back to the fundamentals and ask:
What is higher education?
What is the social contract we have with a broader society?
And, how can we fulfill this mandate at the systems- and sector-wide levels?
What the new paradigm looks like is not yet clear. We are in the early stages of emergence that will only come into focus in retrospect. Nevertheless, when we have adequate tools, mindset, and purpose to design better systems we can carve out agency to determine what this new paradigm looks like. To do so, we must be willing to surface the rot, stay with the trouble, and build our capacities for daring imagination: this is what a commitment to systemic flourishing looks like.
We are overdue for a new model: what shape will it take?
Call for Proposals
The call for proposals is closed.
Accommodations:
Two hotels are conveniently located between the Kelowna airport and UBCO campus. The commute is a short drive, transit, or walk.
Best rates available by booking directly through the hotel websites. If you have a CAUBO membership, you may be eligible for additional rate discounts.
A variety of parking lots are available. Overnight parking is not permitted. The closest lot to the conference is Lot E. The conference will be taking place in the Admin and EME buildings.
About the Okanagan
The Okanagan is home to one of the world’s great wine regions. British Columbia’s world-renowned natural beauty provides stunning scenic vistas that wrap around the city of Kelowna and UBC’s beautiful campus on the land of the Syilx Okanagan Nation. Abundant recreational, cultural and dining experiences combined with majestic mountains, refreshing waters and lush orchards have made the Okanagan Valley one of Canada’s most beloved vacation destinations!
Contact
For more information contact UBC Okanagan’s Centre for Teaching and Learning (ctl.ubco@ubc.ca) or Thompson Rivers University’s Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (celt@tru.ca)