OCAD U Teaching Expo
- CALL FOR PROPOSALS -

CHALLENGING OUR ASSUMPTIONS:
TOWARDS MORE INCLUSIVE WAYS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

EXTENDED SUBMISSION DEADLINE: November 26, 2019
 

Organized annually by the Faculty & Curriculum Development Centre, the OCAD U Teaching Expo is an opportunity for all who teach or support learning in the OCAD U community to gather and share practices, ask questions, build relationships and collaborate with fellow educators. This peer-reviewed, full-day event is dedicated to reflecting upon our teaching and learning practices through workshops, presentations, facilitated discussions and demonstrations of class activities.

The Teaching Expo will be held on Friday, January 17, 2020 at OCAD University. This year, we are pleased to feature invited speaker Dr. Tanya Titchkosky, Professor in Social Justice Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto.

The theme of this year’s Teaching Expo invites you to consider how we, as educators, practitioners and scholars, need to challenge our assumptions—about our students, classrooms, disciplines, creative practices, institutional policies, and ourselves. Do we sometimes assume that all our colleagues share the same background knowledge, or all our students bring the same key skills or a shared understanding of classroom culture to their studies? How do we commit, as a university, to be “student-ready”? 

Reflecting on these assumptions and perspectives will deepen our understanding of the multi-faceted and diverse histories and backgrounds of our learners, colleagues and institutional policies and practices. Join colleagues from across the university in a critical dialogue that seeks to challenge our assumptions as educators and share new perspectives and strategies for inclusive teaching. We will also engage in discussion and activities grounded in the principles of Universal Design for Learning, an approach to teaching and learning that values reflection and embeds equity, diversity and accessibility into our practices. 

Proposal submissions are welcome from all faculty and staff who support teaching and learning at OCAD U. When preparing proposal submissions, we invite you to consider such questions as: 

• What assumptions underpin our work as educators in an art and design educational context? What is the impact of these assumptions? 
• What are some of the challenges we have in our classroom/studio/office around accessibility, equity and inclusion? 
• What are some of the unique strategies, approaches or theories that inform our inclusive teaching practices?
• How does our research and/or practice drive our perspectives on disability, oppression, social justice, Indigenous learning and decolonization in higher education? 
• How do we engage with students/colleagues? What strategies do we use to actively listen and collaborate with others? 
• What means/formats do we use to present new information? How do we plan for different learning preferences, languages, age, culture, abilities and experiences? How do we work across these differences to foster creativity and innovation? 
• How do we encourage our learners to show their knowledge in multiple ways?  

TYPES OF SESSIONS (30 or 60 minutes each):  

Mini-lesson: Facilitate a hands-on activity where participants will become your actual students and will share their reflections from that perspective. 

Teaching or educational research presentation: Present a successful project or assignment that you have developed for your students and initiate a reflective dialogue with your peers, or share with your peers a completed or in-progress educational research project.

Faculty/staff/student panel: Bring together a panel of faculty, staff and/or students to discuss any aspect of teaching and learning at OCAD U. If you are interested in this option but do not have a panel, please let us know.

Roundtable: Lead an informal discussion with colleagues about a specific issue concerning teaching and learning, share strategies, brainstorm ideas and collaborate with peers.

TO PROPOSE A SESSION FOR THE TEACHING EXPO:  

Submit a brief proposal by e-mail to fcdc@ocadu.ca (with subject line: Teaching Expo Proposal) by the extended deadline date: November 26, 2019. 

Please include the following information: 

• Presenter's name
• Title of session
• Type of session: (1) mini-lesson, (2) teaching or educational research presentation, (3) faculty/staff/student panel, (4) roundtable
• Duration of session (i.e. 30 or 60 minutes)
• Brief description (150 – 250 words)
• Learning outcomes (40-word limit)
• Strategy to actively engage participants during the session (i.e. group discussion, think-pair-share)
• Supplies you will use (i.e. AV, flip chart paper, sticky notes, markers, pens, etc.)

Session proposals will be reviewed by a Teaching Expo Program Committee, composed of faculty and academic staff, and responses will be sent to applicants by December 16^th, 2019. 

If you have any questions, please contact Mariela Giuliano, Education Developer, FCDC: mgiuliano@ocadu.ca