OCAD University Teaching Expo 2026
Conference
Faculty
Graduate Student
Staff
OCAD University Teaching Expo 2026
115 McCaul St.
Room 200: Keynote & Lounge
Conference Sessions:
Annex Building (MCC)
113 McCaul St. Level 5
Conference Sessions:
Annex Building (MCC)
113 McCaul St. Level 5
9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Centre for Learning & Teaching
115 McCaul St.
Room 200: Keynote & Lounge
Conference Sessions:
Annex Building (MCC)
113 McCaul St. Level 5
Conference Sessions:
Annex Building (MCC)
113 McCaul St. Level 5
9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Centre for Learning & Teaching
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Seeding Learning in Times of Change
Tuesday, May 26, 2026 | In-Person at OCAD University
This year’s theme, Seeding Learning in Times of Change, recognizes that amid escalating political, social and technological transformations, our community has persisted and found joy, agency and growth in nurturing spaces of care, creativity and student-centred learning. The theme invites faculty, academic support staff and teaching assistants to share and reflect on these practices of persistence and resilience and to consider the ways in which we collectively foster emerging pedagogical approaches and innovations as we guide and support students in navigating uncertain futures.
Register for the Teaching Expo. We invite all OCAD U faculty, academic staff and teaching assistants to register early. Participants are welcome to attend any number of sessions.
Download the full Teaching Expo Program (PDF) or view the schedule at a glance below.
Teaching Expo Schedule - Tuesday, May 26th
| Time /Room | Session |
|---|---|
9:00 - 9:30am MCD 200 | Arrival & Coffee |
9:30 - 10:00am MCD 200 | Welcome & Opening Remarks |
10:00 -11:30am MCD 200 | Keynote Presentation & Facilitated Discussion: What We Grow Together: Recentering Values in Teaching and Learning Moderated by Jay Irizawa, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Design and Graduate Program Director, Interdisciplinary Master's in Art, Media and Design |
11:30 - 11:45am MCD 200 | Break & Refreshments |
11:45am - 12:45pm MCC | Session 1: Concurrent Sessions |
12:45 - 1:45pm MCD 200 | Lunch |
1:45 - 2:45pm MCC | Session 2: Concurrent Sessions Featured Faculty Panel Discussion:
Moderated by Emilie Brancato, Manager, Curricular Innovation Initiatives, Centre for Learning & Teaching |
2:50 - 3:50pm MCC | Session 3: Concurrent Sessions |
4:00 - 5:00pm MCC | Session 4: Concurrent Sessions Featured Student Panel Discussion:
Moderated by Megan Gregorchuk, Writing Consultant, Centre for Learning & Teaching |
11:30am - 5:00pm MCD 200 | Visual showcase and social lounge space featuring poster presentations. |
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Featured Sessions
Keynote Presentation & Discussion
What We Grow Together: Recentering Values in Teaching and Learning
Dr. Erin Aspenlieder, Director of the Office of Teaching and Learning, University of Guelph
Moderated by Jay Irizawa, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Design and Graduate Program Director, Interdisciplinary Art, Media and Design
In this keynote talk, Dr. Erin Aspenlieder explores the conditions of post-secondary education through the lens of an ecosystem, one in which mounting pressures have compromised the conditions that make growth and learning genuinely possible. These strains have been accelerated and made hyper-visible by the rapid emergence of generative AI. Grounded in art and design education, where making is thinking and process is knowledge, the talk considers possibilities for the future of teaching and learning that draw on the relationships and strengths sustaining our community. What might we grow if we recentered our values around what we know about learning and what we love about teaching? What conditions do we need to tend? What do we need to let go, change, or add? And what might we grow together?
The keynote will be followed by a facilitated discussion and Q&A.
Featured Faculty Panel Discussion
Teaching in the Tension: Creative Practice and AI, Three Years On
Sara Diamond, Professor, Faculty of Arts & Science
Adam Tindale, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts & Science
Michelle Wyndham-West, Associate Dean, Faculty of Design
Moderated by Emilie Brancato, Manager, Curricular Innovation Initiatives, Centre for Learning & Teaching
Almost exactly three years ago in May 2023, OCAD University convened one of its first faculty roundtables on creative practice and AI. At the time, many in our community were just beginning to grapple with the implications of generative AI, alongside the ongoing paradigm shifts in studio education brought about by the pandemic. The conversation framed AI as something to “sit in tension” with, holding opportunity alongside real concerns about creative labour, bias, environmental impact, and disruption. This panel returns to that conversation. Three panelists reflect on what has changed over the past three years since the rapid emergence of generative AI, the questions and challenges that feel most pressing now, and the practices, innovations, and pedagogical shifts that can support students in developing resilient, future-oriented creative practices.
Featured Student Panel Discussion
Unmuting Student Stories: Perspectives on Engagement, Technology and Change
Anza Ashraf, Graphic Design
Christina Doroshyn, Cross-Disciplinary Art: Life Studies
Amia Khosla, Material Art & Design
Nabiia Mauncho, Integrated Media
Moderated by Megan Gregorchuk, Writing Consultant, Centre for Learning & Teaching
Our educational landscape is in transition. In this panel, OCAD U students will discuss how their engagement with learning has changed through evolving technology and digital spaces. They will also explore how our community can navigate the tensions and norms that these changes have created in our learning and teaching context.
More Info & Contact
Visit the Teaching Expo SharePoint site for more information.
We look forward to gathering as a community to celebrate and reflect on teaching and learning together at OCAD U.
Centre for Learning & Teaching (CLT)
Contact: clt@ocadu.ca
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Be mindful of those in our community who have scent sensitivities; please help OCAD U maintain a healthy, scent-free campus.