NEXT - New Explorations in Teaching Conference 2022

The past two years in education have challenged all of us. We’ve had to think quickly and become accustomed to constant change. After spending so much time trying to minimize the impact of a pandemic on our learners, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and burnt out. This year, the New Explorations in Teaching Conference is returning in-person with a focus on recharging and reconnecting.

This is an opportunity to reconnect with each other as we recharge as educators, recharge our students, recharge our curriculum, and recharge our commitment to inclusive pedagogy.

Join us on September 30th for a little R&R (recharge and reconnect) to learn, share, and celebrate the ideas and practices we’ve cultivated over the past two years.

The New York Times listed him as one of 10 professors in the nation whose courses “mess with old models” and added that “they give students an experience that might change how they think, what they care about or even how they live their lives.” His videos on teaching and culture have been viewed over 25 million times, translated in over 20 languages, and are frequently featured at international film festivals and major academic conferences worldwide. Wesch has won several major awards for his work, including the US Professor of the Year Award from the Carnegie Foundation, the Wired Magazine Rave Award, and he was named an Emerging Explorer by National Geographic. He is also co-creator of anth101.com and author of The Art of Being Human, a free and open textbook alternative for Introduction to Cultural Anthropology.

First and foremost, NEXT is designed to share ideas amongst the faculty who are in the classrooms, engaging our learners. This is an opportunity to learn about the strategies we use to promote active learning and overcome challenges that every educator encounters. This is a conference where we share both scholarship and practical applications of new technologies. 

What are some of the statewide initiatives that are now being discussed at individual institutions? Whether it is the cost of education and how it pertains to open educational resources, the implementation of competency-based education, or the need to promote Universal Design for Learners, being part of these conversations at NEXT will help inform the conversation on your campus.

What are the best ways to engage your faculty with professional development? What technologies do you recommend to faculty or promote for your learners? This conference will include numerous sessions that will provide resources for support staff to bring back to their institutions.

Leaders in organizations that collaborate with faculty and/or staff in higher education are invited to submit a proposal and attend the conference to provide practical experience from the fields. 

Each year, we create opportunities for graduate students to join the conversation by attending and presenting their research. The student voice is essential,  so we invite students to contribute their thoughts to these important topics.

• Inquiry-based learning
• Problem-based learning
• Learner equity
• Community-based learning
• Experiential learning
• Research-practice partnerships
• Small teaching practices
• Teaching in multiple modalities
• Evidence-based teaching strategies
• Collaborative learning
• Reflective practices
• Dynamic lecturing
• Motivating and engaging students
• Assessment strategies
• Storytelling
• Methods for increasing student retention
• Resilience in teaching and learning
• Making courses meaningful and accessible

We look forward to having you join us!

Host or Publisher The University of Akron