Symposium 2017: Improving the learning experience

The next Symposium for Scholarly Teaching and Learning is just around the corner, and we’re expecting another fantastic turnout at this popular annual event. We have a celebrated keynote speaker, brilliant presentations from educators and researchers from across the province, and a full day of learning and leading. Join us on November 6^th for a true learning experience.

Post by BCcampus’ editorial team

Symposium 2017

Working in partnership, BCcampus and the British Columbia Teaching and Learning Council (BCTLC) are proud to present this year’s Symposium on November 6, 2017, at Simon Fraser University – Harbour Centre in Vancouver. This one-day event brings together individuals in B.C. involved in teaching, learning, and research so they can share ideas and implementations, successes and challenges.

Depending on how you count them, the upcoming Symposium 2017: Scholarly Teaching and Learning in Post-Secondary Education will be the third or fourth iteration of this annual event. The first was held in 2014, and has been repeated annually, except in 2016, when it was rolled into the Festival of Learning to bring additional value to that four-day event.

Maureen Wideman, Director of Teaching and Learning at the University of the Fraser Valley and BCTLC co-chair shared, “This has been a highly successful event every year – we generally have more than 200 people, comprised of faculty members doing great work in their teaching practice and researchers making great strides in teaching and learning centres in B.C. Everyone is focused on the scholarship of teaching and learning as well as scholarly practice – documenting effective processes and sharing with local educators.”

The symposium is not discipline-specific; it’s about approaches and methodologies to find better ways to support student learning. It’s a fantastic opportunity to share work being done in post-secondary institutions across the province, and -interact with colleagues who have uncovered a solution to a challenge you are struggling with. “Often as educators,” shared Dr. Wideman, “we don’t tend to cross-pollinate our ideas, but this symposium is a resourceful way to discover ideas that work in one realm and are applicable in others.”

Keynote: Dr. Nancy Chick

We are excited to welcome Dr. Nancy Chick as our keynote presenter, and we’re looking forward to hearing her perspective on scholarly teaching and learning. Dr. Chick’s CV is impressive – she’s the co-editor on a pair of books focused on signature pedagogies, and she is the University Chair in Teaching and Learning; the Academic Director of the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning; and a Teaching Professor of English at the University of Calgary.

Research bites

Returning this year is the popular Research Bites segment: 3-minute, 3-slide presentations that share real-world examples of scholarly inquiry research in a ‘slam’ format, providing a fast-moving taste of the impressive work being done by educators across B.C., from neuroscience to art history, and everything in between.

“We’re very proud of the wide variety of scholarship, the connections, and participation in previous conferences,” shared Dr. Wideman, “and can’t get over how successful it has been. It’s a great day that pays dividends for educators and students throughout the province year-round.”

A history of success

Tracy Kelly, Senior Manager, BCcampus Learning and Teaching, provided her insight as to why the event has been so successful, “We’ve had a winning formula from the beginning: excellent keynote speakers followed by sessions that invite presenters to share their scholarly teaching and research work – completed or in progress – with real-world examples from practitioners trying new approaches and methodologies. We’ve worked hard to make it accessible for everyone, and are looking forward to new ideas being generated this November.”

Iterative improvements: Access, sustainability & prizes!

We’ve implemented a few changes to support access to this event. This year is the first time we offered deep-discount early-bird rates, as well as an ongoing student rate. We will also be live-streaming and recording of the keynote speaker in order to include those who cannot attend in person.

Another change this year reflects our ongoing green efforts: there will not be any print schedules on hand for this event. Instead, we encourage participants to make use of mobile/digital options to navigate the day, and for those who prefer a hard copy, we recommend printing in advance and bringing one for your personal use.

And finally, this year there will be door prizes! All attendees will be invited to enter the draw at the registration desk, and winners will be chosen after Research Bites, during the closing remarks. You need to be there to win! Good Luck!

All indications show that this year’s Symposium will sell out again, which means there will be 200+ faculty members from across B.C., including professors, teachers, researchers, and instructors, as well as sessional and full-time educators, teaching assistants, and grad students. Hope to see you there!

Join us for Symposium 2017: Scholarly teaching and learning in post-secondary education

Notable Quotes

“It’s not about workshopping pedagogical processes – it’s about engaging others in good teaching practices and learning what they’ve done, so we can all benefit from the results they’ve achieved.” ~Maureen Wideman, Director of Teaching and Learning, University of the Fraser Valley

“It’s amazing to see the connections made at this type of event – local educators and researchers coming together to strengthen our network and collaborating on projects and presentations that resonate with the BCcampus mission and mandate.” ~ Tracy Kelly, Senior Manager, Learning and Teaching, BCcampus