Teaching and Learning Conference 2021

Transitioning to COVID-normal: Developing a new ecosystem for learning

What will teaching and learning look like once the majority of the population has been vaccinated and when most staff and students, including international students, are able to return to campus, albeit with significant modifications in place? This conference brings together academic and professional staff involved in teaching, learning and assessment from across the University to share scholarly and evidence-based approaches that could contribute to developing a new, unique Melbourne experience. It will also be an opportunity to draw on the experiences and successes of the Flexible Academic Programming initiative at its mid-point and recent, successful projects funded by Learning and Teaching Initiative (LTI) grants.

The 2021 Teaching and Learning Conference will focus on evidence-based approaches for enhancing and optimising student learning. We will consider the shift in the balance of blended teaching, learning and assessment towards online and to different forms of in-person education, reflecting the greater confidence and competence of teachers (and students) with digital methods. We will also take account of the development of University policy on teaching, learning and assessment during the first half of 2021, including plans for Semester 2, 2021 and beyond.

The themes of the Teaching and Learning Conference 2021 are:

• Assessment and feedback
• Dual delivery and what next?
• Engaging students
• Innovation in online teaching and learning

The Conference will be wholly online, via Zoom Meeting, and will be of interest to all University of Melbourne academic and professional staff involved in undergraduate or postgraduate teaching, learning and assessment. This includes, but is not restricted to University teachers, curriculum designers and developers, educational technologists, librarians, student administrators and support staff. There will be plenary sessions for all participants in the form of keynotes, panel discussions, etc., and shorter parallel sessions where staff highlight effective practices.

Day 1: Tuesday 1 June

Program TBC

Day 2: Wednesday 2 June

Program TBC

Registration will open in April. Please note registration is open only to University of Melbourne staff.

Abstracts addressing the conference themes are invited from academic and professional staff of The University of Melbourne. Proposed sessions can be in any format, including live papers and presentations, pre-recorded videos, simulations, etc., or a mix of these. The sessions will be programmed in three parallel streams.

Proposers are encouraged to be creative in their mode of presentation so as to enhance their impact and stimulate discussion. Whatever the format, the proposed session should be no longer than 15 minutes and include an interactive element. They could report on empirical studies, practitioner-focused examples of best practice, or techniques and technologies for enhancing learning and the student experience, for example.

Abstracts will be reviewed by the 2021 Conference Committee against the following criteria:

• Contribution to scholarship and/or practice
• Relevance to the University beyond own context
• Alignment with the Conference themes.

Please click the button below to submit an abstract (max. 300 words).

The deadline for abstract submissions has been extended to 5pm Wednesday 21 April.

Submit your abstract