Elon to host international teaching & learning conference

Hundreds of professors representing several countries will gather in Raleigh, N.C., from Oct. 2-5, 2013, to share the results of their research into best practices for teaching college students in subjects that range from writing to foreign language to the biomedical sciences.

Hosted at the Raleigh Convention Center by Elon University’s Center for Engaged Learning, ISSOTL 2013, an annual conference of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning, will feature some of the biggest names in teaching research, including:

Lee S. Shulman, president emeritus of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, who will address how studies of teaching and learning will soon emerge as the “gold standard” for educational scholarship as opposed to traditional research that attempts to generalize knowledge.

anthony lising antonio, associate director of the Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research at Stanford University, will discuss how higher education should be centrally concerned with students’ pursuit of knowledge pertaining to the question Tolstoy called, “the only question important for us: What shall we do and how shall we live?”

Randy Bass, executive director of the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship at Georgetown University, will moderate a discussion on “productive disruptions” in the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Visit the conference website for additional program details and to register.

In higher education around the world, inquiry into student learning is moving from isolated practice to systematic research, from the margins of disciplines and campuses toward a central position in the academy. The conference will focus on these and other transitions in scholarly teaching and the scholarship of teaching and learning. Participants will have the opportunity to explore both individual inquiry projects and also broader questions about the scholarship and practice of teaching and learning in higher education.

In addition to plenary speakers, dozens of presentations will take place during a series of concurrent sessions throughout the conference. Early-bird registration discounts end after Sept. 16 but regular registration continues through the conference. A one-day registration rate is available for educators who can’t attend the entire conference.

The International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning was founded in 2004 to:

• Recognize and encourage scholarly work on teaching and learning in each discipline, within other scholarly societies, and across educational levels;
• Promote cross-disciplinary conversation to create synergy and prompt new lines of inquiry;
• Facilitate the collaboration of scholars in different countries and the flow of new findings and applications across national boundaries;
• Encourage the integration of discovery, learning and public engagement; and,
• Advocate for support, review, recognition, and appropriate uses of the scholarship of teaching and learning.

The society’s first conference was held in October of that year at Indiana University Bloomington. It has since taken place in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Elon University’s Center for Engaged Learning brings together international leaders in higher education to develop and to synthesize rigorous research on central questions about student learning. It fosters investigations of research questions related to learning; hosts multi-institutional research and practice-based initiatives, conferences, and seminars; and shares related resources for faculty and faculty developers on high-impact practices for engaged learning.

For more information on the conference, contact Elon University Associate Professor Jessie Moore, interim associate director of the Center for Engaged Learning, at jmoore28@elon.edu.