Collaborating for Learning Conference
University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta
May 15 and 16, 2013
Call for Proposals
The University of Calgary invites you to present at its “Collaborating for Learning Conference”, May 15 and 16, 2013. Proposals are welcomed until March 1, 2013.
In learning and in life, collaboration is often central to achieving the results we seek. When we reflect on our most satisfying and successful learning experiences, they frequently involve collaborations among and between students, professors, or people who support our learning or who have provided us with opportunities to learn by working on projects with them.
Collaboration can take many forms. Plank (2011) speaks of how team teaching can create a learning environment where it is safe for students to confront intimidating subjects or challenging topics. She sees it as a way to move “beyond the familiar and predictable and create an environment of uncertainty, dialogue and discovery. And that is what learning is all about.” More broadly, Handelsman and colleagues (2007) observe that “biological educators … place high value on the collaborative nature of active learning strategies because they believe it plays a significant role in fostering the “spirit of science” among the students.” Perhaps at the heart of understanding why collaboration can have such a strong impact on learning across disciplines lies in a fundamental shift in helping students develop not only as critical consumers of knowledge, but in becoming producers of knowledge though authentic inquiry and problem solving (Healy & Jenkins, 2009). In this more complex learning task, diverse forms of collaboration enrich the deep learning experiences that prepare students to participate fully in work and in life.
Collaborating for Learning will focus on the many ways faculty, students and disciplines collaborate to produce the meaningful learning we strive to foster in our students. The conference will live up to its name, and provide opportunity for learning together in ways that allow us to enhance our practice, grow our research on how students learn, and build our community. It is a collaborative event where faculty, graduate students, post doctoral students, librarians, student services professionals and students are invited to discuss their insights, experiences and related research. Some of the themes for consideration include collaboration inside the classroom, outside the classroom, collaboration among the disciplines and collaboration in inquiry.
Keynote Speaker: We are fortunate to have Dr. Gary Poole, the Associate Director of the School of Population and Public Health in the Faculty of Medicine and Senior Scholar in the Centre for Health Education Scholarship at the University of British Columbia, as our guest speaker.
Submitting a Proposal: Proposals are welcomed until March 1, 2013. Further information, a detailed list of theme-related questions, and the proposal submission form can be found at http://tlc.ucalgary.ca/cflearn/
Questions? Feel free to contact us through the conference website at http://tlc.ucalgary.ca/cflearn/ or email [email protected].
We look forward to receiving your proposal and welcoming you to the University of Calgary and our city.
You might also want to book a few extra days while you are here and explore the city or take a trip to beautiful Rockies.
Best regards,
Rosalie Pedersen, Interim Director,
Teaching and Learning Centre
University of Calgary
[email protected]