Our conference has now concluded and materials have been removed. If you would like to access the materials, or have any questions, please contact the CAT at cat@temple.edu.

Thank you to all those who joined us!

The Annual Faculty Conference is hosted by the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and co-sponsored by Temple Libraries, Information Technology Services and the General Education Program.

Our theme this year is Teaching for Equity: Making Meaningful Commitments for a More Just Future.

As faculty, we can be agents for positive change by supporting students to grow intellectually, professionally, and emotionally, mentoring them towards achieving their dreams and goals, and inspiring students to think broadly and deeply about issues of concern to themselves, their communities, and the world. But in order to create these transformative educational experiences, we must also think about whether the educational structures and habits inherited from our predecessors serve the diverse students in front of us today. Even as we see glimmers of a more normalized teaching situation, we should consider the barriers to learning and success that were highlighted during the pandemic, and determine ways to lower those barriers in order to elevate student learning and success. We can ask ourselves in what ways we can democratize education and practice cultural responsiveness to provide more equitable learning opportunities for students. And then we must make a commitment to doing just that. 

By examining the educational opportunities we create, the relationships we develop with students, and the content we teach, we can realize more equitable teaching and learning experiences that serve all of our students, and lead to a more just future. To begin, we may want to reflect on some important questions. How can we more fully engage all students in the promise of learning? Are we connecting students in meaningful ways to the value and relevance of what we teach? How can we create learning environments that are culturally responsive so that students know they belong? How can we use technology to improve access to learning and engage students actively in learning activities? Have we considered how to balance student voices, assets, and contributions in order to provide more equitable student interactions and collaborations? Can we support students to be self-regulated and powerful learners in control of their own learning path.