The theme of this year’s Symposium ‘A Decade of Imagining SoTL: Looking Back, Looking Ahead’. We hope to use this symposium to engage in meaningful conversations about what we’ve learned in the past decade, and how we can move forward as a SoTL community. With this in mind, we are offering four different formats for engaging in discussions: i) oral presentation, ii) poster presentation, iii) SoTL Quick Hits (formerly Cracker Barrel Sessions), iv) Deep Dive Discussions. In addition to the common formats of oral and poster presentations, we are offering two formats that encourage and support meaningful conversations. SoTL Quick Hits (formerly Cracker Barrel sessions) are great for folks who are, for example, beginning a project or in the middle of data analysis and want feedback from the SoTL community. Deep Dive Discussions are an opportunity to explore an important topic in SoTL through meaningful conversations with members of the SoTL community.
Proposals are encouraged from students, faculty, administrators, or community members committed to the systematic scholarly inquiry into aspects of teaching and learning in a higher education setting. We encourage proposals that demonstrate collaborations with students, with other instructors and among multiple disciplines and contexts.
When considering your proposal, please review the four session formats we offer and choose one of the conference tracks. See Submissions for details on what needs to be submitted for each format.
| Format | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
| Oral presentations | Oral research presentation | Disseminate original SoTL research |
| SoTL Quick Hits | Quick fire questions with quick participant answers | Get feedback on SoTL ideas, research, or anything else in multiple small groups |
| Deep Dive Discussions | Topic is set-up by facilitator(s) followed by interactive discussion | Facilitate deeper discussions on big conversations in SoTL |
| Posters and Pinot or Punch | Poster presentation | Disseminate original SoTL research and/or get feedback on new research |
Oral Presentation (25 mins): If you are ready to disseminate your research, or parts thereof, consider an oral presentation. Whether a single presenter or a research team, you will have access to a mid-sized room with seating for attendees, and a visual projection system. This session will be 25 mins in total (20 mins presentation + 5 mins for questions).
SoTL Quick Hits (3 x 18 min): This session is about juicy ideas. We’re talking about all things teaching and learning and the fraught spaces in between. It all begins with a starter/facilitator who sets up a topic in 2-5 minutes. The starter will then share a prompt with everyone at their table. Table attendees will have a minute or more to provide rapid feedback. At the end of the 18 minutes, all (except the starter/facilitator) then move to the next table to tackle the next juicy topic! The starter/facilitator will repeat their session 2 more times.
Deep Dive Discussions (50 min): New this year. The facilitator(s) outline a key issue/topic or practice in SoTL and engage attendees in deep discussion, debate, and free-flowing dialogue. Unlike the oral presentations, these sessions are not necessarily about original research but encourage facilitated scholarly discussions on important topics. The session should evoke a highly dynamic conversation with attendees. The facilitator(s) decide on the structure of the session and could include elements such as active listening, contemplation, and conversation.
Posters and Pinot or Punch: The poster session is a long-standing and popular tradition of the Banff Symposium. Presenters are invited to go public with their ideas during an evening event with refreshments and hors d'oeuvres. What do you want to share? And how do you wish to engage with attendees at the event? Interactive and creative posters are encouraged but not required (think stickies, QR codes, opening flaps). Most important is that you have ideas to share and you want direct feedback from colleagues willing to share. Note: please include on your poster a prompt for feedback.
We invite proposals that match one of the Conference tracks (see below) from individuals or teams of scholars.
Scholarship must be at the center of all successful proposals. Proposals that focus on course or program design or ‘how-to’ strategies must describe how they will advance SoTL knowledge and/or practice, and refer to current literature. The following is required for all submission formats:
In addition to the above, all session formats require a session description for review. All session descriptions will be double-blind reviewed by at least two experienced SoTL practitioners for relevance, fit to conference track, quality, and (when appropriate) audience engagement. While they are reviewing the session description, they will be considering the following questions and criteria:
In addition to the above, include the following for specific session formats:
| Additional criteria | |
|---|---|
| Oral Presentations | Oral presentation descriptions are a maximum of 350-word. The research question(s) and methodology are explicitly outlined. |
| SoTL Quick Hits | SoTL Quick Hits descriptions are a maximum of 150-word. As these sessions may be about ideas, the description should focus on the purpose of the session and why someone would be interested in attending. Indicate the prompts to elicit feedback from attendees. |
| Deep Dive Discussions | Deep Dive Discussion descriptions are a maximum of 450-word. As these sessions are not necessarily about original research but still follow a scholarly approach, the description should outline a key issue or practice in SoTL and how attendees will be engaged in deep discussion, debate, and/or free-flowing dialogue. Overview the structure of the session and planned strategies/elements to engage attendees (e.g., active listening, contemplation). |
| Posters and Pinot or Punch | Poster session descriptions are a maximum of 350-word. |
Include a bibliography of literature supporting the work (up to 4 references).
As the session descriptions are sent out for blind review, ensure that the proposal is appropriately de-identified.
All presenters must register for the Symposium and are responsible for their own registration fees.