Oakland University and the University of Windsor will hold the second annual Conference on Teaching and Learning on May 12 and 13 at Oakland University. The conference is geared toward faculty and staff members from the two institutions.
The theme of this year’s conference will continue to address effective teaching and learning from last year’s conference and expand the exploration to include the creative aspects of the teaching and learning process. The conference will include interactive workshops, presentations by a featured speaker, keynote addresses, concurrent sessions, poster presentations and opportunities to network.
One of the 2008 featured speakers is Ellen Weber. After years of teaching secondary school and higher education, Weber began a quest to renew learning and teaching approaches. She earned a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction as she researched ways to apply new developments in human intelligences to many disciplines. Weber developed practical reform programs that bring multiple intelligences theory, constructivism, inquiry-based learning, problem-based learning and brain science insights into the classroom. In this, Weber expects students to meet and exceed standardized test requirements.
Another featured speaker is Jane Piirto, Trustee’s Professor at Ashland University in Ohio, director of talent development education, who teaches in the departments of curriculum and instruction and in educational leadership. She has published “Talented Children and Adults,” “Understanding Those Who Create,” “Understanding Creativity,” “Luovuus,” and “My Teeming Brain: Understanding Creative Writers.” She’s also written literary books, including “The Three-Week Trance Diet,” “A Location in the Upper Peninsula,” and several poetry and creative nonfiction chapbooks. As an award-winning artist, Piirto is listed as a poet and a writer in the “Discovery of American Poets and Writers.” She was named an “Ohio Magazine,” educator of distinction, and has an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Northern Michigan University. In 2007, Piirto was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mensa Education and Research Foundation. She regularly speaks and consults throughout the country and the world.
Terry Doyle, professor of reading and learning disabilities at Ferris State University, will also participate as a feature speaker. Doyle is Chief Instructor for Faculty Development and Coordinator of the New to Ferris Faculty Transition Program. He has presented more than 50 workshops on teaching at learning at national conferences and has worked with faculty at 30 colleges and universities across the countries. Doyle is the co-author of the book “New Faculty Transition-An Ideal Program,” and has a book titled ”Helping Students Learn in a Learner-Centered Environment: A Guide to Teaching in Higher Education,” due out in May. Doyle also helped develop a comprehensive Web site on teaching and learning which contains information on dozens of different topics related to teaching and learning in higher education.
Registration for the 2008 International Teaching and Learning Conference is free to OU and UW faculty and graduate students. Participants must register by May 1. When registered, indicate what day you will be attending. For information on accommodations, visit the conference accommodations Web page.
The joint conference is part of a collaboration between Oakland University and the University of Windsor. The universities have been working on collaborative efforts since fall 2006.
For details on the 2008 conference, visit the conference Web site.