2024 Concentrations

Select the concentration headings below to see descriptions. The concentration descriptions include prompts to help you generate ideas. Proposals are not restricted to the prompts. Collaborative sessions with admins, faculty and/or IDs mixed together are encouraged. Collaborations between institutions are also encouraged.

• Quality Assurance Implementation

  Quality assurance can help improve the quality of teaching and learning, enhance the relevance and impact of research, and foster innovation and collaboration. Proposal topic ideas for implementing quality assurance in education are: 

  Prompts for Administrators

  1. Tailoring Quality Assurance to Online Learning Needs: Adapting quality assurance processes to meet the unique demands of online education environments.
  2. Data-Driven Strategies for Enhancing Online Education: Utilizing quality assurance data to inform and improve decision-making.
  3. Aligning Online Learning Quality with Accreditation Standards: Ensuring that quality assurance efforts meet evolving accreditation requirements.

  Prompts for Faculty

  1. Empowering Faculty in Quality Assurance Processes: Highlighting the role of faculty in shaping and improving quality assurance.
  2. Leveraging Learner Feedback: Emphasizing the importance of learner feedback in refining online teaching and learning.
  3. Navigating Quality Assurance as a Community of Practice: Building a faculty community focused on shared learning and practices in quality assurance.

  Prompts for Instructional Designers

  1. Sharing Lessons From Quality Assurance Implementations: Reflecting on experiences and insights gained from implementing quality assurance.
  2. Collaborative Approaches to Online Course Development: Emphasizing teamwork in designing and developing quality courses and programs.
  3. Evaluating and Advancing Design Practices for Online Quality Assurance: Continuous improvement and professional growth in instructional design to meet quality assurance standards.

   

• Approaches to Equity

  Accessibility and equity impact opportunities and outcomes for diverse learners across different levels and contexts of education. Share how your ideas, initiatives and proactive approaches to addressing the critical issues of access and equity have helped ensure learner success. Proposal topic ideas for addressing accessibility and equity are:

  Prompts for Administrators

  1. Cultivating a Culture of Community and Equity: Fostering an inclusive and equitable educational environment that values diversity and promotes a sense of belonging and well-being for all.
  2. Self-Care Initiatives for learners and Faculty: The importance of self-care in promoting mental health and well-being among learners and faculty, contributing to a more supportive learning environment.
  3. Humanizing Learning in Diverse Educational Settings: Strategies to make learning more personable and empathetic, addressing the diverse needs and backgrounds of learners.

  Prompts for Faculty

  1. Expanding Access to Opportunities for All Learners: Providing a more inclusive range of opportunities to learners from various backgrounds.
  2. Developing Culturally Responsive Learning Environments: Creating learning experiences that respect and incorporate cultural backgrounds, identities, and experiences.
  3. Addressing Hidden Struggles of Learners: Understanding and addressing the less visible challenges that diverse learners face.

  Prompts for Instructional Designers

  1. Strategies for Enhancing Learning Accessibility: Practical tools and strategies to make learning more accessible and inclusive to diverse learner populations.
  2. Incorporating Accessibility From the Start in Learning Design: Embedding accessibility features early in the instructional design process.
  3. Benefits of Making Learning Accessible to All: The broad advantages of accessible learning environments for both learners and institutions.

   

• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

  SoTL can help improve teaching and learning processes, enhance learner engagement, and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in academic disciplines. Proposal topic ideas related to SoTL are:

  Prompts for Administrators

  1. Evaluating SoTL Research Quality and Impact: Assessing the quality and impact of SoTL research and scholarship in academia.
  2. SoTL's Role in Tenure and Academic Processes: How the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is integrated into various academic processes, including tenure evaluations.
  3. Providing Evidence of Quality in SoTL: The methods and standards for evidencing quality in SoTL research and its applications.

  Prompts for Faculty

  1. SoTL and Research Questions, Tools and Methods for Data Collection, and Applying Findings: Developing research questions in SoTL that are relevant, feasible and impactful. Selecting appropriate methodologies and tools for data collection and analysis in SoTL studies. Disseminating and using research findings to inform and improve educational practices.
  2. Pedagogical Innovation in Online Courses: Exploring and implementing effective pedagogical strategies in online learning environments.
  3. Teaching From a Learning Perspective: Examining teaching approaches through the lens of learner learning experiences and outcomes.

  Prompts for Instructional Designers

  1. Navigating Challenges and Opportunities in SoTL: Exploring the unique challenges and opportunities for instructional designers in contributing to the field of SoTL.
  2. Informing Design Decisions with SoTL Insights: Using SoTL research to guide and improve instructional design decisions and processes.
  3. Evaluating Learning Design's Impact on Learner Outcomes: Assessing how instructional design influences learner outcomes and experiences.

• Advancing Learner Success

  Learner success requires a wide range of functions, such as scaffolding, feedback, counseling, and peer support. Support encompasses the various services and programs that institutions provide to assist learners in their academic, personal, and professional development. Proposal topic ideas for supporting learner success:

  Prompts for Administrators

  1. Evaluating the Impact of Learner Support Services: Assessing and enhancing the effectiveness of learner support services in improving learner learning, satisfaction, and well-being.
  2. Resource Management for Quality Learner Support Programs: The strategic allocation and management of resources to ensure the quality and effectiveness of learner support services.
  3. Advocating for Policies That Enhance Learner Support and Integrating It Across the Institution: Promoting policies and practices that align with institutional values and significantly contribute to learner success and retention. Collaborating to coordinate comprehensive learner support efforts institution-wide.

  Prompts for Faculty

  1. Collaborative Efforts in Integrating Learner Support: Working with other faculty, designers, and learner services to integrate learner support across the curriculum.
  2. Addressing Learner Challenges for Deeper Understanding and Providing Useful Feedback: Identifying and responding to learner difficulties and misconceptions to facilitate higher competency levels. Delivering effective and timely feedback to help learners improve their self-assessment and learning skills.
  3. Balancing Learner Support With Academic Integrity: Maintaining a balance between providing learner support and upholding the academic standards and integrity of courses or programs.

  Prompts for Instructional Designers

  1. Aligning Learner Support with Educational Objectives: Collaborating with faculty and support providers to ensure learner support is aligned with course objectives and outcomes.
  2. Learner-Centered Support Strategies Based on Needs Assessment: Employing learner analysis to develop support strategies that cater to the specific requirements of diverse learners.
  3. Best Practices in Designing Learner Support Materials: The development of effective learner support materials and resources based on established best practices.

• Learner Journeys

  The educational learner journey involves administrators, designers, and faculty working together to create effective and engaging learning experiences based on sound pedagogical principles and theories. Learners can use their voice to influence their academic, personal, and professional development. Proposal topic ideas for learner journeys are:

  Prompts for Administrators

  1. Evaluating Policy Impact on Learner-Centric Education: Examining how administrative policies influence the effectiveness of learner-centric approaches.
  2. Cultivating Collaborative Cultures for Learner-Driven Journeys: How administrators can foster a culture of collaboration among faculty, designers, and learners to enhance the educational journey.
  3. Strategic Use of Learner Insights for Educational Enhancement: How administrators can use learner feedback to guide strategic decisions in curriculum development and learning experience design.

  Prompts for Faculty

  1. Building Learner-Centric Academic Environments: Balancing academic standards and integrating learner perspectives in the educational process.
  2. Empowering Learners Through Responsive Teaching and Course Design: The role of faculty in adapting teaching and course design based on learner feedback and needs.
  3. Enhancing Learner Engagement and Leveraging Their Feedback for Continuous Improvement: Faculty strategies for engaging learners using innovative pedagogical approaches. How faculty can use learner feedback to refine their teaching methods and course content.

  Prompts for Instructional Designers

  1. Innovative Design Approaches for Enhanced Learner Engagement: The use of innovative design principles to create engaging and effective learning experiences.
  2. Designing Learner-Centric Experiences: How instructional designers can create courses that are responsive to learner feedback, enhancing the educational journey.
  3. Evaluating and Adapting Course Design Based on Learner Insights: Methods for instructional designers to assess and adapt courses using learner feedback.

Presentation Formats

Select the format name to see the definition.

Evaluation Criteria