Welcome to the 2024 Teaching and Learning Symposium (TLS)!
We have an exciting two days planned and are pleased to share the final program with you.
With each Teaching and Learning Symposium, we always try to tackle a theme that affects our community now and that has implications for our path forward as educators. Facing big topics and figuring out how to approach or unpack them is common in our work in teaching and learning in higher education. And the Symposium has long been a space where we can have these conversations. This year, we decided to consider the classroom from new angles. We wanted to consider possibilities rather than limitations, so we invited proposals that commented on the who, what, when, where, and how of the classroom to acknowledge the many elements and variables and the ever-changing environment in which we teach and learn. It has always been important to ask the big questions and have these conversations; and to open up discussions and share both our experiences and successful strategies and also our challenges and concerns. As we wonder about the effects of generative artificial intelligence, and as global classrooms and community learning take on larger roles, we invite you to consider what and who make up a classroom, and where, when, and how we learn.
One of the changes we made to the TLS program this year was to rename Lightning Talk to Spark an Idea. These short talks provide space to share strategies and assignments that have made a difference in classes and that can be easily adapted to other courses and disciplines. In changing the name, we wanted to encourage the notion that these talks are a springboard for more discussion and new ideas. The Teaching and Learning Symposium happens once a year but the work, the conversations, the collaborations happen continuously. We like to think that the TLS isn’t so much an event as the jumping off point for something new.
We look forward to spending time with everyone on May 22nd and 23rd!
About the Teaching & Learning Symposium
The annual Teaching & Learning Symposium is the premier teaching showcase for the University of Toronto. It is also a signature event for the Offices of the President and Vice-President & Provost, and by extension, CTSI. Participating in the Symposium is an excellent way to learn more about the concerns and interests of U of T faculty and is a key window into innovative teaching practices and teaching inquiry across all three campuses. Hosting a concurrent session is a great professional development opportunity and allows you to connect with members of our community in a deeper way.