Conference Program

What will the AFC Include?

Keynote & Plenary Speakers

Keynote Session: Dr. Stephen Brookfield

Putting Equity Into Practice In Your Classroom
Thursday, January 6

Day one will feature keynote speaker, Dr. Stephen Brookfield, a part-time Antioch University Distinguished Scholar, Adjunct Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University (New York) and Emeritus Professor at the University of St. Thomas (Minneapolis-St. Paul).

In common with wider demographic shifts in the USA, higher education classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse. First generation college students constitute a major part of our intake, and a wide diversity of racial, ethnic and cultural identities are evident across the disciplines. How do these changes affect how we teach and how we help students to connect our curricula to their very diverse experiences and backgrounds? In this keynote Stephen Brookfield will explore a range of practical steps we can take, and exercises we can use, to understand and respond to these differences in ways that are broadly equitable. He will demonstrate some easy-to-use social media tools that help us connect content to identity, how to vary teaching modalities to connect to cultural preferences, the use of racial affinity groups, the benefits of team teaching, and other strategies. Throughout he will draw on his own experience as a White male working with diverse colleagues and students.

In addition to the keynote address, the day featured a poster session with submissions from faculty around the region and interactive breakout sessions. Topics included engaging students, deepening learning, harnessing emotion in the classroom, teaching with technology, and maximizing the benefits of different modalities of teaching in higher education.

Plenary Session: Dr. Courtney Plotts

Online Culture and Diversity: Connecting Through Culture and Cultural Responsiveness in Online Spaces
Friday, January 7

Day two of the conference will feature plenary speaker Dr. Courtney Plotts, a licensed and certified psychologist who writes and speaks about culturally responsive teaching and community building. She has written two books on Latino/a and Black culture and online spaces. She is currently the National Chair of the Council for at Risk Student Education and Professional Standards. She has been recognized by the California State Legislature for A Bold Commitment to Change and Education in 2017. She also provides four professional developments on a national level for CASEPS. She offers workshops on topics related to building a community and culture in online spaces, effective culturally responsive teaching, and best practices. She was also highlighted in Flower Darby’s book: Small Teaching Online for her work with LGBTQA+ students and online spaces.

What happens when cultural responsiveness is ignored? What happens when cultural responsiveness and online teaching practices join forces? During this interactive keynote, faculty and staff will explore the cultural presence models, foundations and useful examples of cultural responsiveness. Examples of best practices will also be presented. Faculty members will have the ability to explore and learn about new evidence-based applications of creating cultural presence in online spaces that motivates and engages online learners.

In addition to the plenary address, the second day of the conference will feature workshops facilitated by Temple University’s Provost’s Teaching Academy faculty and lightning talks led by faculty from Temple as well as other institutions around the region.

Workshops

Distinguished faculty across Temple who have completed our Provost’s Teaching Academy will be facilitating 75-minute, interactive workshops on day 2 of the conference. The workshop topics will build on the theme of the conference and on the topics presented by our keynote and plenary speakers. In the workshops, you will have the chance to take a deeper dive into select topics and apply what you have learned to your own courses.

Lightning Talks

Lightning Talks are 15-minute peer-reviewed mini-sessions to learn about creative teaching ideas that colleagues have implemented. The talks are designed to provide brief introductions and explanations of the idea followed by a question and answer period. Talks are presented multiple times, providing participants the opportunity to hear multiple presentations. Lightning Talks will take place on day 2 of the conference.

Poster Presentations

This year, the poster session will be held in an on-demand, asynchronous environment. As usual, these peer-reviewed posters will highlight creative and effective teaching and learning practices and projects. Participants will have access to audio/video recorded presentations created by the submitting scholars who will describe their innovative work as if at an in-person conference as well as a dedicated time for discussions with scholars about their work. In addition, the posters will be available as a resource after the conference.

Networking

Although virtual, this year’s Annual Faculty Conference remains a fully interactive event with opportunities to network, catch up with colleagues, and find space to discuss exciting topics.

Connect with others Through Gather

As a way to help attendees connect, the conference features Gather, a proximity video chat that allows users to navigate a virtual space with others and join in on conversations large or small. Attendees can chat, share resources, play games, and utilize a white board. Check out the demo on Gather’s webpage and consider joining! Gather will be open from 12:00 – 1:00 on Thursday, January 6th and from 12:15 – 1:15 on Friday, January 7th. We will share a link to our virtual space soon.

Social Media

You can also connect with others through social media. Use and look for our hashtag #catfc22 on Instagram and Twitter. We’d love to see your post, so make sure you tag us (@TempleUCAT) on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, too. We encourage attendees to share their thoughts, find new ideas, and connect with others!

Schedule

Thursday, January 6

All Day	Asynchronous Posters on Demand
8:45am-9:00am	Arrival and Greeting
9:00am-9:15am	General Session: Welcome
9:15am-10:45am	General Session, Keynote Speaker: Stephen Brookfield TITLE
10:45am-11:15am	Break
11:15am-12:00pm	Morning Breakout Sessions
12:00pm-1:00pm	Lunch Break Networking on Gather
1:00pm-2:00pm	Poster Q&A Session (Synchronous)
2:00pm-2:15pm	Break
2:15pm-3:00pm	Afternoon Breakout Sessions
3:00pm-3:15pm	Break
3:15pm-3:45pm	Wrap Up with Stephen Brookfield
3:45pm-4:00pm	Announcement of Twitter Winners

Friday, January 7

All Day	Asynchronous Posters on Demand
8:45am-9:00am	Arrival and Greeting
9:00am- 9:15am	General Session: Welcome
9:15am-10:45am	General Session, Plenary Speaker: Courtney Plotts, Online Culture and Diversity: Connecting Through Culture and Cultural Responsiveness in Online Spaces
10:45am-11:00am	Break
11:00am-12:15pm	Morning Workshops
12:15pm-1:15pm	Lunch Break Networking on Gather Voting Closes for Posters
1:15pm-2:30pm	Afternoon Workshops
2:30pm-2:45pm	Break
2:45pm-4:00pm	Lightning Talks
4:00pm-4:15pm	Closing Remarks and Announcement of Poster and Twitter Winners