Events: 2021-2022

January 2022 | February 2022 | March 2022 | April 2022 | May 2022

Summer 2021

Writing Residency

June 1st-June 4th

Since 2006, this annual four-day writing retreat has catalyzed faculty writing about the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). Participants meet for four consecutive days at the start of the summer to write and to exchange feedback on drafts. Balancing dedicated time for faculty writing with small group feedback on drafts, these intensive summer retreats help faculty make the crucial, and often difficult, step of going public with their SoTL research. Learn more about the Faculty Writing Residency here.

Teaching and Learning Conference

June 10th: 9am-4:30pm

17th Annual Teaching & Learning Conference at Elon University
Elon University welcomes university and college educators to the 17th Annual Teaching & Learning Conference on Thursday, June 10, 2021 (please note the new early summer date to allow for conference ideas to percolate all summer long). This free, fully-virtual conference is sponsored jointly by Elon’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL) and Teaching and Learning Technologies (TLT). Registration is now closed (was available until June 7, 2021 at 11:59pm EST).

Conference Theme: Teaching & Learning Beyond the Pandemic
As we look beyond the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our institutions and classrooms, we envision a world that has both changed in radical ways and also still retains many longstanding challenges. Our collective and personal experiences during this past year and a half, as educators and human beings, may leave us better positioned to reimagine that future world together. In what ways might we and our students cultivate meaning, purpose, and connection that reignite our passion for teaching and learning after the widespread burnout of COVID? How can we leverage the momentum of 2020 toward racial equity to continue to iterate toward more welcoming and just courses in which historically underrepresented or otherwise disadvantaged students can truly excel? And, as climate-related disruptions become increasingly frequent, how can we leverage our recent experience to create more resilient and more sustainable courses and institutions?

September 2021

Book Discussion: What Inclusive Instructors Do (by Addy, Dube, Mitchell, and SoRelle)

Wednesday, September 1st: 12:30PM-1:45PM

What Inclusive Instructors Do (2021) draws upon the results of a nationwide survey of hundreds of college faculty, the collective wisdom of four authors representing a range of social identity characteristics, and the scholarly literature on evidence-based teaching and learning to offer “Principles and Practices for Excellence [and equity] in College Teaching.”

Please join us to discuss the book’s recommendations, from course design and day-to-day classroom practice to “developing and sustaining a culture of inclusive teaching,” and how we might leverage those recommendations to advance the culture of inclusive excellence here at Elon. Lunch will be provided for those who pre-register. If you read the book and want to talk about it, but can’t make the discussion, please let us know on the registration form and we’ll follow up.

If you missed the summer sign up to get a copy of the book, but are still interested in reading it, the Library has e-book copies available to download. Click here to access the book’s download.

Book Discussion: Teaching about Race and Racism in the College Classroom: Notes from a White Professor (by Cyndi Kernahan)

Tuesday, September 7th: 12:30PM-1:45PM

Kernahan’s book describes many of the challenges faced by faculty who teach about race and racism, including a gap between how scholars and novices understand racism, occasional student resistance, and the emotional toll such teaching can take, all with an awareness of how the racial identities of instructors and students affect their different experiences. Despite these challenges, Kernahan (a psychologist) offers instructors evidence-based suggestions for how to create a classroom environment where students are open to learning unflinching truths about racism and explore its implications.

Please join us for this book’s discussion – lunch will be provided for those who pre-register. If you’ve read the book and want to talk about it but can’t make the discussion, please let us know on the registration form and we can arrange an individual time to meet with you.

If you missed the summer sign up to get a copy of the book, but are still interested in reading it, the Library has e-book copies available to download. Click here to access the book’s download.

Workshop: Pedagogical Silver Linings – The Best Things We Learned from the Worst Year of Teaching (a speed teaching session)

Thursday, September 23rd: 12:30PM-1:45PM (held virtually on Zoom)

In this “speed teaching” session held virtually, participants will hear from a number of Elon faculty about pedagogical practices they adopted during the virtual and hi-flex pandemic semesters that had a positive and lasting impact on some aspect of their course.

Participants will leave with concrete ideas for implementing small changes that can make a big difference.

Please join us for this virtual workshop. Lunch will be available for pick up at the Belk Pavilion, packaged as a grab-and-go option, for those who pre-registered by September 20th.

October 2021

Workshop: Engaging and Supporting Students Using Micro-Mentoring Practices

Monday, October 4th: 12:30PM-1:45PM (held virtually on Zoom)

“Mentoring” often connotes extended relationships between faculty and students, perhaps in the context of a scholarly project over multiple semesters. However, research on mentoring highlights impactful practices that can occur in brief one-on-one interactions or at scale, between an instructor and a whole class. These “micro-mentoring” practices can help foster students’ sense of belonging at Elon and in our disciplines, their engagement and learning in our courses, and their overall well-being. In this workshop, we will explore research-based micro-mentoring practices that can enhance our relationships with and impact on students at a daily scale.

Please join us for this virtual workshop. Lunch will be available for pick up at the Belk Pavilion, packaged as a grab-and-go option, for those who pre-registered by October 1st.

Book Discussion: Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead) (by Susan Blum)

Tuesday, October 12th: 12:30PM-1:45PM (held in-person) &

Wednesday, October 13th: 4:00PM-5:15PM (held virtual on Zoom)

What is the relationship between grading and learning? Do we “have to” grade? What does it mean to go “gradeless”? And, how will students respond if I do?

Colleagues who received the CATL summer read Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Their Learning and What to Do Instead (Blum, 2020) are invited to attend this discussion of the book, facilitated by Olivia Choplin.

Lunch will be provided for those who pre-register for the in-person session. If you read the book and want to talk about it, but can’t make either discussion, please let us know by email catl@elon.edu so we can follow up.

If you missed the summer sign up to get a copy of the book, but are still interested in reading it, the Library has e-book copies available to download. Click here to access the book’s download.

November 2021

Workshop: Teaching in Winter Term’s Unique Format

Thursday, November 18th: 12:30PM – 1:45PM (Belk Pavilion, room 208)

The format of Winter Term presents challenges and opportunities for both instructors and students.

Whether you’re teaching a short-term intensive course for the first time or are considering how to improve your course, jump-start your thinking by talking with colleagues about how they keep their students engaged, design a coherent term, find time to assess student work, and otherwise leverage the possibilities for meaningful learning.

Lunch will be provided for those who pre-register by Monday, November 15th, 2021.

January 2022

Workshop: Are we there yet? Processing the not-so-post-COVID fall semester

Friday, January 7th, 2022: 12:15PM – 1:15PM (held virtually on Zoom)

What variant are we on now? Wasn’t COVID supposed to be over last summer? How do we keep our students and ourselves engaged and moving forward despite lingering pandemic malaise and widespread compassion fatigue? How do we recharge when it feels like we’ve reached the end of our reserves?

Please join us for an opportunity to process the challenges and experiences of the fall semester in the company of colleagues.

While this event will be held virtually on Zoom, CATL will offer a complimentary meal at one of the Elon campus dining halls for anyone who pre-registers and elects for lunch by 5 pm on Wednesday, January 5th, 2022. A link for the event and details for accessing lunch will be provided via email after the registration deadline from catl@elon.edu.

Workshop: Articulating your teaching philosophy & values

Friday, January 14th, 2022: 12:15PM – 1:15PM, (held virtually on Zoom)

What values and beliefs about teaching and learning, equity and access, or disciplinary norms and practices combine to form our “teaching philosophy”? How do they inform the ways we set up our courses and classrooms? How do we explain these (often tacit) beliefs and values to others?

In this interactive session, we’ll use a structured interview process to surface and articulate the beliefs and values that inform our teaching choices, and we’ll discuss strategies for communicating those philosophies to various audiences, from students to colleagues to evaluators.

CATL will offer a complimentary meal at one of the Elon campus dining halls for anyone who pre-registers for this virtual session and selects for lunch by 5 pm on Wednesday, January 12th, 2022. A link for the event and details for accessing lunch will be provided via email after the registration deadline from catl@elon.edu.

February 2022

Workshop: Supporting Elon’s First-Generation Students in our Faculty & Staff Roles

Tuesday, February 8th, 2:30PM-4:00PM (held virtually on Zoom)

Who are Elon’s First-Generation students? How can we best act as advocates, allies, and mentors for them in our faculty and staff roles?

In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore key demographics and existing resources for this student population at Elon, learn from student testimonials about what enhances or undermines their experience, and brainstorm ways to better support them across all corners of the university. So, please join us for this workshop!

CATL will offer a complimentary meal at one of the Elon campus dining halls for anyone who pre-registers for this virtual session and selects for lunch by 5 pm on Friday, February 4th, 2022. A link for the event and details for accessing lunch will be provided via email after the registration deadline from catl@elon.edu.

This event is co-sponsored by the Center for Access and Success and the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL).

Workshop: Communicating Teaching Effectiveness

Wednesday, February 16th, 2022: 12:30PM – 1:45PM, (Belk Pavilion, Room 201)

Teaching is complex and multi-faceted: Much of the work of teaching and learning happens in specific contexts or is unseen to those outside a given course or classroom. How can you more fully represent your teaching beyond course numbers or student perceptions? What kinds of evidence – from which points of view – can you use to document, evaluate, and improve your teaching?

In this interactive session, we’ll explore and apply a framework to systematically gather, analyze, and use evidence to inform your teaching and to demonstrate your teaching effectiveness to others. Lunch will be provided for those who pre-register.

Workshop: Speed Teaching: “DIGging” Diversity and Inclusion

Friday, February 25th, 2022: 12:25PM – 1:40PM, (Belk Pavilion, room 208)

In this lunchtime session, you will get a short speedy overview from a number of Elon faculty teams who have been investigating and implementing strategies to infuse or deepen their department or program curriculum with more diverse content and/or develop inclusive pedagogies that foster success for students of all academic and social backgrounds. Each team was awarded a CATL “DIG” grant to help support their projects.

Come hear good ideas and practices you might adapt for your own department or course, make connections, ask questions, and get inspired to apply for your own Diversity and Inclusion Grant (applications for Stage One DIG grants due by 5 pm Friday, March 11, 2022). Lunch will be provided for those who pre-register.

March 2022

Workshop: Overcoming Overwhelm: Strategies for Organizing Time and Tasks According to Our Values

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022: 12:30PM – 2:00PM (Belk Pavilion, room 201)

Most of us have been in crisis response mode for (at least) the past two years. A sense of overwhelm, difficulty focusing on anything but immediate deadlines or needs, and trouble with long-term planning and strategy are just a few side effects of this experience.

This collaborative workshop co-sponsored by CATL and TLT will guide attendees through a reflection on the values that drive their personal and professional priorities and offer strategies and tech support for organizing their lives around those values in a time of overwhelm (and beyond). We will also address how to encourage students to adopt these thought processes and strategies to deal with their own cognitive and executive functioning challenges. We are offering lunch on us at one of the dining halls, available one day after the session for those that pre-register and attend.

April 2022

Workshop: Mindful Teaching: Managing Compassion Fatigue and its Impacts on our Practice

Friday, April 22nd, 2022: 3:00PM-4:15PM (Belk Pavilion, room 208)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty have been called on to offer compassion to our students to a greater degree than ever before: flexibility in deadlines and attendance policies, developing alternative ways for students to engage our content, checking in regularly on students’ general well-being, and following up with kindness and curiosity when students disappear, among many others. Like other caring professionals, teachers who operate in this way can themselves be subject to compassion fatigue, as the struggles and needs of our students over time diminishes our ability to offer compassion to others.

In this workshop, we’ll explore mindfulness practices, both in the classroom and beyond, to help prevent and mitigate compassion fatigue and its impacts on our practice.

May 2022

Teaching Reflection: Toasts and/or Tears

Monday, May 9th: 4:15PM-5:15PM (Belk Pavilion – patio and entryway)

At the end of a busy spring semester of teaching, it can be hard to find time to reflect and connect. You may be feeling relieved, pleased, weary, disappointed, confused, cranky, proud, inspired, contemplative, or all or none of the above.

Join CATL faculty for a low-stress opportunity to have informal conversation with other faculty who know you may feel a range of emotions about your recent experiences teaching. Drop by to share or listen to a colleague’s story, have a treat, laugh, cry, celebrate or ponder this semester, and bask in the supportive environs of CATL/Belk Pavilion. Please let us know if you intend to join us by registering below.

Summer 2022

18th Annual Teaching and Learning Conference

Monday, June 6th: (held virtually – #elontlc22)

Elon University welcomes university and college educators to the 18th Annual Teaching & Learning Conference on Monday, June 6th, 2022. This free, fully-virtual conference is sponsored jointly by Elon’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL) and Teaching and Learning Technologies (TLT). Visit the full conference website here – registration is now closed.

Conference Theme: Educating Engaged Citizens for an Uncertain and Changing World
Colleges and universities have long played a critical role in preparing future citizens and engaged leaders. This role takes on increased salience in times of rapid societal change. In the coming decades, our current students will take on jobs that do not yet exist, tackle existential threats like climate change and biodiversity collapse, and strive to reshape our society to be more equitable and inclusive at every level. What would our teaching approaches, courses, curricula, and other structures look like if educating engaged citizens for an uncertain and changing world were at the forefront of our thinking?

CATL Writing Residency, 2022

Tuesday, June 7th- Friday, June 10th

This Writing Residency is intended to catalyze faculty writing about the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). We encourage proposals at any stage in the writing process, from embryonic to well underway. Applicants, however, must be available for all four days to focus on their writing and must be working on projects that they can further develop through the residency activities (dedicated time/space for writing and daily feedback from colleagues).

Residency participants meet daily in small groups, and as a whole group on the first and last day of the residency. This year’s residency will be located on campus in Belk Pavilion.

Learn more about the Faculty Writing Residency here, which includes sample publications that have come from writing residency work. Applications were due Friday, April 29th, 2022 by 5 pm.

Teaching Renewal Retreat

Thursday, June 9th, 2022: 9:00am-3:00pm (Belk Pavilion, room 208)

After the past few years, many of us could use a dedicated time and space to reconnect with what brought us to teaching in the first place, and what brings us back year after year.

During this retreat, participants will have the opportunity to engage in structured reflection and discussion, considering: What is your purpose, and how does it relate to what happens in the classroom? What are your goals for your courses now, given the ways that the world–and our students–have changed? And most importantly, how do you nurture your mind, body, and spirit in meaningful ways that allow you to thrive, both in and beyond the classroom?

Join us for a day of reflection, planning, and conversation to light the sparks of a teaching renewal. Lunch and a small stipend will be provided.

Book Discussion: The Burnout Cure: Learning to Love Teaching Again (by Chase Mielke)

Monday, July 11th, 10:30AM-11:30AM (virtual)

Grounded in research on social-emotional learning and positive psychology, The Burnout Cure: Learning to Love Teaching Again (ASCD, 2019) focuses on a variety of specific, immediate actions instructors can take to help us reignite our passion for teaching and practices we can adopt to help us thrive in and out of the classroom.

Join us this summer to discuss the book and how to apply it in our own courses.

Click here to access the electronic version of the book at Belk Library.

Book Discussion: Creating Wicked Students: Designing Courses for a Complex World (by Paul Hanstedt)

Wednesday, July 13th, 2022, 11:30AM-12:45PM (Part 1 – In Person)

Monday, August 1st, 2022, 3:00PM-4:15PM (Part 2 – In Person)

Focused on the practicalities of designing courses to address the kinds of complex, “wicked problems” our students and world are facing, Handstedt’s book, Creating Wicked Students: Designing Courses for a Complex World (Stylus Publishing, 2018), is “centered on the idea that the goal in the college classroom—in all classrooms, all the time—is to develop students who are not just loaded with content, but capable of using that content in thoughtful, deliberate ways to make the world a better place.”

Join us to discuss the book through two in-person book discussions held this summer in-person and learn how to apply lessons from the book in your own course(s). Food will be provide for those that register

Click here to access an electronic version of the book at Belk Library.

Course Reboot Institute

Tuesday, August 2, 2022, 9:00AM – 4:00PM

This August, we are planning a “reboot” of our semi-annual Course Reboot Institute — a lightly structured opportunity to focus on course planning before Planning Week arrives. The day will start with time to evaluate some of the new approaches you tried during pandemic teaching: What did you change? What do you want to keep/jettison? Why? What do students likely need now in order to learn the material in this course?

Most of the time will be dedicated to course planning in a quiet space, alongside sympathetic colleagues, with food and drinks provided, and CATL faculty nearby for brainstorming or consultation.