Advance HE’s Teaching and Learning Conference 2021 will continue to position the spotlight firmly on teaching in a global context. With particular reference to this year, the conference will explore where we go from here in terms of teaching and learning in HE, and how will we deliver the curricula of the future.
Teaching in higher education has never been under such scrutiny as during 2020 and this continues into the new academic year. Ongoing debates around teaching excellence, fees, value, the student experience, inclusion, equality impact and more have been further scrutinised and added to by the global pandemic.
Date: 6-8 July 2021
Venue: Virtual
Who: All higher education professionals
Some of the consequences have been:
- A rapid move to fully virtual teaching in March 2020, meaning as a result everyone having a view on the ‘new’ student experience
- the value now for students compared to the ‘traditional’ HE model
- the impact on physical elements of courses such as field work or laboratory sessions
- the rapid change in assessment methods and engagement strategies
- how the curriculum supports equality, inclusion and diversity in a virtual world.
So what is the future for HE curricula? Has the urgency for digital learning caused a seismic shift in HE delivery that will change the future of the sector? Have inequalities in higher education been narrowed or have new ones emerged? Do we have a workforce with the skills required to deliver this new model of HE? Do the curricula we have deliver the skills and knowledge graduates need for the post-pandemic world? And where do we go from here as we move through the 2020-21 academic year and into 2021-22 and beyond?
The focus on enhancing all aspects of teaching and learning remains a critical issue for those seeking to provide an outstanding student experience at all levels of taught provision. Curricula are at the heart of excellent teaching and all aspects of this have changed as never before during 2020.
Join the conversation at #TLConf21
‘Let’s face it - there have not been many upsides to the pandemic. But the resilience and innovation that you have shown has not only been impressive, but has also led to changes in the delivery and accessibility of higher education forever.’
Michelle Donelan MP, Minister of State for Universities, 10 September 2020
Call for papers
The call for papers for Teaching and Learning Conference 2021: Teaching in the Spotlight: What is the Future for HE Curricula? is now open until 22 January 2021.
Conference aims
The Teaching and Learning Conference 2021: Teaching in the Spotlight: What is the Future for HE Curricula? will aim to:
- Create space for delegates to engage in creative thinking around teaching and learning towards continuous curriculum enhancement and innovation
- Increase knowledge and confidence of delegates to continue to develop and improve their teaching practice and have a positive impact on the success of their students
- Engage with leaders and influencers from across the HE sector who share the passion for teaching and learning for student success in HE
- Examine how curriculum design can positively advance inclusion and equality.
Conference themes
The overarching theme for the conference will be Teaching in the Spotlight: What is the Future for the HE Curricula? and it will address the following thematic areas:
The future for HE curricula
Are current curricula still fit for purpose? What evaluation and impact work has been undertaken since the switch to digital T&L? How has this evolved into the blended, flexed, hybrid model of T&L? What have we learnt and how do we need to react to ensure curricula remain relevant and impactful?
The future for embedding race equality in curricula
How are you making your teaching/curriculum anti-racist? How are you embedding learning in your discipline that helps students interrogate biases and privilege? How are you centring diverse voices/experiences in your curriculum?
The future for supporting retention strategies through curricula
How do we aid student transition and retention in a digital age? How are you identifying new issues in transition with distanced students? How have retention practices had to change?
The future for student engagement in curricula
How are you ensuring students are still critical partners in teaching and learning? How do you engage with students on T&L work outside of Student Union reps and formal committees? How are students engaged in co-design and co-delivery in an era of digital, distanced and blended approaches?
The future practitioner
Are you a flexible practitioner? How are you helping students navigate engagement across different platforms? How are you ensuring inclusivity and equality in digital, distanced, blended and flexed approaches? How are we shaping the HE workforce of the future?
The future for inclusive assessment and feedback approaches
What are the implications for the future of assessment and feedback of hybrid or digital teaching?
The future for enterprise and employability in the curricula
In a pandemic era and beyond, enhancing enterprise and employability within curriculum development is essential to enabling student success. How are you addressing this on your modules, programmes, across schools and faculties?
Call for papers
The call for papers for Teaching and Learning Conference 2021: Teaching in the Spotlight: What is the Future for HE Curricula? is now open until 22 January 2021.
Proposals are sought against any of the seven thematic areas above, across all disciplines. They can be discipline focused, interdisciplinary or multi-disciplinary in nature.
Proposals are welcomed from individuals or teams from across a single institution, or involving multiple institutions, employers and other partners, and especially from individuals of underrepresented groups. Proposals are also welcomed from students, student unions or other student bodies. Creative collaborations between academic teams and professional service teams. The conference aims to showcase a wide and diverse range of work, activities and creative practice. Individuals may submit against more than one session type, but should select the most relevant thematic area.
Submissions can be for any of the following session formats:
- Live interactive breakout session (60 minutes)
- On-demand oral presentation (20 minutes)
- Live workshop session (60 minutes)
- Virtual poster presentation
- Pre-recorded Ignite session, plus live Q&A (5 minutes)
- Live/pre-recorded Soapbox session (5 minutes)
Guide to submissions
Download Resource
Call for proposals and guide to submissions
Download
Event sponsors
EvaSys has been a market-leading supplier of survey and exam solutions for over 20 years, with 1000+ customers worldwide, two-thirds of whom are education institutions, and 60+ Universities within the UK and Ireland.
EvaSys delivers: high survey response rates; extensive academic and student engagement; evaluation consistency; instant reporting to inform decisions; and powerful, flexible reporting for all stakeholders.
EvaExam assessments provide: secure, online, proctored exams; summative assessments and formative tests; immediate reporting with question analysis and mark distribution; reductions in marking time from days to hours; and accelerated results for students.
The UK office offers dedicated account, implementation, training and customer support to clients across the UK and Ireland, supported by development, technical and training teams in Germany.
Teaching and Learning Conference 2020 highlights
To view the highlights of last year's Teaching and Learning Conference, please visit our web page here.