Research on Teaching & Learning Conference

In the keynote panel, we will hear from 7 of McMaster’s celebrated educators from across our departments and faculties who are putting their mark on McMaster’s teaching and learning legacy through collaborating and experimenting with innovative teaching practices. The panelists will share some of their own experiences in conducting multi and/or inter-disciplinary work and discuss some of the current trends that exist within their own faculties and beyond. The panel will allow us an opportunity to explore what some of the potential benefits and challenges are when conducting multi and/or interdisciplinary work, and reflect on how we can foster opportunities to engage in multi and/or inter-disciplinary work in higher education.

	Susan Denburg Panel Moderator Susan Denburg is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences and Executive Vice-Dean and Associate Vice-President Academic in the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS). She is strongly committed to initiatives that enhance innovative interdisciplinary health-related research and education and was instrumental in launching several cross-Faculty interdisciplinary graduate programs. She is also committed to professional development and the cultivation of leadership through mentoring and formal programming. She was instrumental in launching the Faculty’s Indigenous Health Initiative and has supported the advancement of professionalism, diversity and inclusivity through faculty development and adherence to formal University polices.
	Mary Chaktsiris is a Wilson Fellow, Assistant Professor with the L.R. Wilson Institute for Canadian History. She also maintains an active research portfolio in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning exploring the impacts of Team-Based and student-centered learning in undergraduate teaching within the humanities. Mary leads a SSHRC-funded research project about First World War veterans, and a PALAT grant through the MacPherson Institute to implement Team-Based Learning in humanities classrooms. Recipient of a teaching award from Queen’s University in 2014, she was recently nominated for an MSU teaching award in 2018. She has published in the fields of History and Teaching & Learning, and is completing a book manuscript under contract with UBC Press.
	Jonathan Sherbino, is the Assistant Dean, Health Professions Education Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University. He is a professor of medicine, McMaster University. Jonathan is the past chair of the Specialty Committee for Emergency Medicine, Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada. Jonathan is a Clinician Educator, co-editing the CanMEDS 2015 Framework and co-hosting the KeyLIME (Key Literature in Medical Education) podcast. He has published more than 135 papers and 5 books. Jonathan is an award-winning teacher, including the national 2018 Canadian Emergency Medicine teacher of the year. His research focuses on competency-based medical education.
	Frances Tuer is an Assistant Professor in the Human Resource and Management area of the DeGroote School of Business. She holds at PhD in Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management from McMaster University and an MBA from Western University.  Frances has taught undergraduate courses and MBA courses for almost twenty years in Canada and the USA.  She is known for her enthusiasm, willingness to try new pedagogies and teaching technologies, and her concern for balancing academic rigour with student wellness. Her teaching research has included studies of Flipgrid technology, motivating students to attend post-exam reviews, and social media at university.
	Ayesha Khan is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Science with a cross-appointment in the School of Interdisciplinary Science (SIS) and the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour. She holds the position of Associate Director (Curriculum and Pedagogy) at SIS. As part of a multi-institutional Canadian initiative, she is designing research questions around student mental health with publications in The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and the Canadian Journal of Higher Education. Her passion for teaching is driven by the inquisitive students she meets on a regular basis.
	Colin McDonald is an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering, the Director of Engineering 1 and the Associate Director of the Integrated Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences (iBiomed) Program.  He has taught at all undergraduate levels and has consistently been rated exceptionally by both his students and his peers.  He was pivotal to the design and implementation of McMaster’s iBiomed Program, and also co-developed the first-year integrated project course (IBEHS 1P10).  Currently, he is leading the transformation of the Faculty of Engineering’s first-year curriculum as it transitions to a more integrated, project-based experience. In 2019, he was the recipient of the Faculty of Engineering Teaching Excellence Award. His current research interests are pedagogical, with a focus on interdisciplinary education, project-based and experiential learning, and the development of tools to enhance better integrate technical skills development in the context of engineering design courses.
	Beth Marquis is an Assistant Professor in the Arts & Science Program and the School of the Arts at McMaster University and former Associate Director (Research) at McMaster’s Paul R. MacPherson Institute for Leadership, Innovation, and Excellence in Teaching. Beth’s SoTL research focuses primarily on the intersections between teaching and learning and questions of equity and justice, and on film and media texts as public pedagogy. She’s also committed to supporting and researching student-staff partnerships in postsecondary education, and co-developed McMaster’s Student Scholars Program (SPP)—an initiative that supports more than 200 students, faculty, and staff at McMaster to work in partnership on teaching and learning projects annually.

The Paul R. MacPherson Institute for Leadership, Innovation & Excellence in Teaching is excited to announce the annual Research on Teaching and Learning Conference, which will be held at McMaster University (Hamilton, ON) on December 5th & 6th, 2019. The 2019 conference theme focuses on Research on Teaching and Learning Within and Across the Disciplines. Disciplinary connection is a defining feature of research on teaching and learning, both in terms of sites of study and methodological approaches (McKinney, 2013) that acknowledge multi- and inter-disciplinary work. This conference provides an opportunity for a ‘deep dive’ into current issues and trends within different disciplinary contexts whilst simultaneously providing spaces to discuss points of convergence and connection across disciplinary boundaries and contexts.

The conference will provide an opportunity for attendees to share and celebrate the change and engagement that can occur in teaching and learning when we participate in SoTL and educational research.

We invite abstracts that explore research on teaching and learning in one or more of the following sub-themes:

• Experiential Learning
• Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
• Students as Partners
• Educational Leadership
• Technology-Enhanced Education
• Mental Health & Well being

Proposals should consider how these issues are interpreted, understood, enacted, and investigated within and across disciplinary contexts?

The program for the conference will consist of short paper/research presentations, workshops, panel discussions, poster presentations and keynote presentations and, new this year, SoTL sandbox sessions where participants can discuss and develop new research ideas.

Proposals can take the form of the following types of participation:

• Workshops (1 hour):
  Workshops should be hands on, participatory sessions that will allow participants to learn about some aspect of teaching and learning research by doing.
• Short Papers (20 + 5 min questions):
  Short papers provide an opportunity to communicate research results (or related material) in a more condensed fashion. While these sessions may be akin to traditional conference papers, presenters are encouraged to include interactive components wherever possible.
• Poster Presentations:
  Posters allow participants to present research ideas and/or findings in an informal context that facilitates one-to-one discussion and exchange with other conference attendees.
• Panel Discussions:
  These sessions should bring together the perspectives of two to four presenters into a cohesive conversation surrounding innovative ideas, current topics, and issues regarding research on teaching and learning.
•  SoTL Sandbox (**new for 2019**) (2.5 hour round table discussions):
  Presentations that share early-stage research questions with the objective of establishing connections and receiving feedback from like-minded researchers.

Individuals are free to submit more than one proposal, but should be first author on only one paper presentation. Work in progress is welcomed.