More than 1,000 expected to attend conference on teaching excellence, scholarship of teaching and learning
Virginia Tech’s fifth annual Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy will feature practice, research, and poster sessions focusing on higher education teaching excellence and the scholarship of teaching and learning.
The conference will be held Feb. 6-8 at the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center. More than 1,000 participants are expected to attend, representing 189 institutions in 28 countries and 30 states as well as the District of Columbia.
“The conference is an opportunity for faculty, students, and administrators from across the world to learn and share best pedagogical practices and research to promote innovative and engaging classrooms,” said Peter Doolittle, executive director of the Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research and chair of the conference committee. “Each year, the conference has grown, pitting Virginia Tech as a leader in exemplary higher education teaching.”
More than 100 research and practice sessions in the areas of collaborative group work, international education, professional development, learning strategies and design, online and distance education, general education, assessment and evaluation, diversity and inclusion pedagogy, STEM education, motivation, and instructional technologies will be held at the three-day conference.
The event begins Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 8:30 a.m. with an opening keynote address from Helen Chen, director of e-Portfolio Initiatives and researcher in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. She will discuss “Electronic Portfolios and Student Success: A Framework for Effective Implementation.”
The conference wraps up on Friday, Feb. 8, at 12:30 p.m. with a closing keynote address from Loreto Prieto, professor in the Department of Psychology and director of the U.S. Latino/a Studies Program at Iowa State University. He will examine “Culturally Competent Teaching and the 'Browning' of the Academy: Working with Latino/a Students.”
A full schedule of events and session topics can be found on the conference website.
Virginia Tech’s Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research hosts the conference, with support from the Office of the Vice President for Undergraduate Education. In addition, many Virginia Tech colleges, departments, and offices, as well as several corporations, provide additional sponsorship. Because of these generous sponsorships, the conference has no registration fee. Registration is still required.
