Dr. Kevin Gannon is the keynote speaker at ConnectED 2024, a teaching and learning conference taking place Wednesday, May 8 on UFV’s Abbotsford campus. The annual gathering of UFV faculty is designed for building connections, engaging in teaching, and learning experiences, and creating opportunities for transforming education.

Learn more and register here.

Gannon’s book, Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto, is all about transformation.

Published in 2020, it recognizes the challenges of being a university instructor, suggesting it’s never been more difficult to teach in higher education. But Gannon, professor of history at Grand View University in Iowa, argues that problems present opportunities for critical engagement and change. He presents tangible strategies and practices with the goal of reclaiming teachers’ essential role in the discourse of higher education.

Check out preview videos at https://video.ufv.ca/category/ConnectED+2024/593222.

“Kevin’s not talking about being naively hopeful or simply positive,” says Awneet Sivia, Associate Vice President, Teaching and Learning. “He’s talking about cultivating hope by shifting the way we’ve been doing things for decades. It’s a fabulous, revolutionary book.”

Gannon will appear by video, leading off ConnectED 2024. Those attending at Evered Hall will have the chance to ask questions, and Sivia believes Gannon’s presentation will launch an energized and inspired group of faculty into an exciting day of sessions.

Sivia received an all-time high 36 proposals from faculty members wanting to present, and more than 60 people will be involved in those presentations.

There are four types of sessions, including a 15-minute microteach where faculty who’ve tried something new in their classroom, or have found an exciting new resource, will share their innovation. A 15-minute scholarship of teaching and learning session highlights research faculty have done that is specific to teaching.

“If you’re a chemistry professor, you’re obviously doing a lot of research in that field,” Sivia explains. “But you may also be interested in tools of teaching and assessing how they impact students’ understanding of chemistry concepts. Maybe you’re contributing to science education journals or contributing resources to the K-12 sector as a historian. This is an opportunity to share that scholarship.”

A 45-minute teaching and learning experience allows faculty to experience a sample lesson from another instructor’s classroom.

Communities of Practice is the fourth type of session and will be ongoing long after ConnectED 2024 is done.

“The idea of faculty development has typically been, ‘Come to the workshop. We’re going to give you the tools and away you go. And we may never see you again,’” Sivia says. “Some people get a lot out of that, but for the most part it doesn’t transform pedagogy. It’s a sit-and-get approach, and we’re moving toward a continuous learning journey.”

It starts with a workshop but will continue with follow up conversations.

“We’ll check in to see how it’s landing in your practice?” Sivia says. “How is it shifting the way you see your students, and the way you engage in your content area. What are the challenges you’re having?

““This is an approach that has taken root in quite a powerful way through Communities of Practice within our institution.”

ConnectED 2024 runs from 8:30 am to 3 pm, and at any given time Sivia says there will be five sessions. She believes people will be able to find something that meets their needs, and she hopes the day will set the tone for the next year.

“Here’s what we can do if we work together, if we really support each other,” she says. “ConnectED is a celebration of teaching, learning, and transforming, and it will highlight so much of the great work that’s happening here at the university.”

Register or get more info by visiting https://blogs.ufv.ca/tlc/2024/03/04/connected-teaching-and-learning-conference/.