OCAD U Teaching Expo 2026: Call for Proposals

The Centre for Learning & Teaching is excited to invite submissions to OCAD U’s seventh annual Teaching Expo, which will take place on Tuesday, May 26, 2026 at OCAD University. Returning for the first time since 2020, OCAD U's Teaching Expo celebrates teaching and learning across the university, providing an opportunity for the community to gather and showcase innovation and research in art and design pedagogy. Through workshops, presentations, facilitated discussions and demonstrations of class activities, this one-day conference brings together faculty, academic support staff and teaching assistants to exchange practices, advance pedagogical scholarship, build relationships and collaborate with peers as we reflect on key questions facing art and design education. 

Over the past year, we have experienced escalating humanitarian and climate crises, shifting political and social landscapes, and the increasing presence of artificial intelligence in our classrooms and studios. Amid these pressures, our community has persisted in nurturing spaces of care, creativity and student-centred learning. The Expo is an opportunity to come together, share and reflect on these practices of persistence and resilience as we continue to guide and support students in navigating uncertain futures.

The 2026 theme for the Expo, Seeding Learning in Times of Change, invites educators, practitioners and scholars to consider the ways in which we collectively foster emerging approaches and innovations in our pedagogical practices and learning spaces. How can we sustain the joys of teaching, learning and supporting students amid shifting and uncertain conditions, while remaining grounded in our educational values? How are we finding agency to cultivate the future of art and design education at OCAD U, rooted in the environmental, political, social and technological transformations shaping our educational environments? How do we enable students to grow and develop professional and creative practices that prepare them for the rapidly evolving futures and changes to their disciplines, communities and industries?

We invite faculty, academic support staff and teaching assistants to explore the conference theme, Seeding Learning in Times of Change, through one or more of the following key questions:

• What emerging and innovative pedagogical approaches or experimentation have you explored that enrich the learning and teaching experience?
• Where have you found moments of joy or hopefulness in your work as educators?
• How are you redesigning assessment, critique, feedback or grading to support student growth, creativity and engagement?
• How are you reimagining disciplinary knowledges to equip students with the mindsets, skills and practices needed for professional life and adaptability in a changing world post-graduation?
• How can longstanding work in decolonizing, anti-racist, disability studies and other critical approaches to education guide us as we continue to evolve our disciplines in response to current and emerging shifts within art and design education and creative industries?
• How are you adapting approaches in your teaching and creative practice to be equitable, inclusive and responsive to the diverse languages, embodied experiences and knowledge systems of students and colleagues?
• What approaches do you use to develop critical AI literacy as educators? What approaches do you use to engage students in critical and reflective skills development as they navigate the ongoing effects of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) on their learning and creative practices?
• What practices help sustain care and critical inquiry in classrooms and studios, and support your own wellbeing as an educator in times of change?
   

Session Formats

• Presentation (30 or 60 minutes)
  Workshop: Lead an interactive session that invites deeper exploration of a teaching and learning model or area of practice. Workshops will incorporate participatory activities and provide opportunities for participants to consider
  how they might adapt or apply the ideas within their own contexts.
  
  Research-Based Presentation: Share an in-progress or completed evidence-based research project focused on teaching and learning. Research-based presentations will outline the research questions and goals,
  methodological approach and design, and preliminary or final findings.
  
  Practice-Based Demonstration: Share a teaching strategy, method or innovation you have developed and implemented or are currently exploring in your teaching. Practice-based demonstrations will guide participants through the goals, design and application of the practice, and provide opportunities for reflection on the learning experience.
   
• Visual Showcase
  Poster/Visual Display: Showcase research findings and innovative teaching and learning approaches or projects through a poster or visual display integrating images and text (approximately 2ft x 3ft). Posters will be displayed
  in a dedicated gathering space that will be open throughout the day.

Proposal Components, Deadline & Submission 

To submit your proposal, complete this online submission form by Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 11:59pm: Teaching Expo 2026 - Proposal Submission Form

When submitting your proposal, include the following information:

• Presenter Information (names, roles, academic/organizational units and email addresses for all presenters)
• Session Title
• Session Abstract (approximately 150 words; brief description of your session topic, approach and connection to the conference theme)
• Learning Outcomes (one or two outcomes or key learnings)
• Session Format (first and second choices)
• Duration (30 or 60 minutes)
• If applicable, a list of strategies you will use to actively and meaningfully engage participants during the session.
   

Review Process and Criteria

Proposals will be peer-reviewed by a Selection Committee composed of faculty and academic staff from the Centre for Learning & Teaching (CLT) and the broader university community. Applicants will be notified of the results by May 1, 2026. 

The proposal should thoughtfully engage the theme by exploring how learning is cultivated, sustained and reimagined amid times of change. The Selection Committee is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive program that reflects a broad range of perspectives, roles and disciplines across the OCAD U community.

Proposals will be reviewed based on the following criteria:
• Relevance to the conference theme, Seeding Learning in Times of Change
• Responsiveness to one or more key questions outlined above
• Contribution to discourse and practice in teaching and learning at OCAD U
• Grounding in evidence-based and reflective practice
• Alignment between the proposed session format and its stated goals
• Active and meaningful engagement of conference participants, as appropriate
• Demonstrated commitment to equitable, inclusive and accessible teaching and learning

To support proposal development, the CLT is offering two optional drop-in sessions.
These sessions are intended to provide informal, supportive spaces for prospective presenters to brainstorm ideas, clarify their focus and receive guidance on aligning proposals with the Expo theme and formats.

• Thursday, April 9, 2:00-3:00pm (online via Microsoft Teams)
• Wednesday, April 15, 1:00-2:00pm (in person in MCC 512 at 113 McCaul St., Level 5)

If you have any questions or would like to book an appointment for support with your proposal, please email Adrienne Reynolds at areynolds@ocadu.ca and Ravinder Brar at ravinderbrar@ocadu.ca with subject line: Teaching Expo Proposal 2026.