Teaching and Learning Summit

BGSU’s annual Teaching & Learning Summit is an opportunity for the BGSU teaching community to spend the day celebrating achievements, reflecting on the past year, sharing best practices for teaching and learning, and fostering future collaborations for both inside and outside of the classroom. Participants can expect an engaging keynote presentation, interactive workshop sessions, networking opportunities, inspiring discussions, and collaborative learning.  

2025 Teaching & Learning Summit

How can we foster a campus culture that supports the success and well-being of ourselves, our students, and our colleagues? This question will be at the heart of this year's Teaching and Learning Summit, "Thriving Together: Redefining Success and Well-Being."

Join the BGSU teaching community on Tuesday, May 13, in Olscamp Hall, for a day of interactive sessions focused on practical strategies for creating a supportive teaching, learning, and working environment that values authenticity. Inspired by Dr. Liz Norell’s keynote address, “Authenticity and Presence as Wellbeing Practices,” we'll explore innovative teaching techniques, share resources for promoting well-being, and work together to redefine success in a way that honors our authentic selves and strengthens our relationships with other members of the BGSU community. Be a part of the conversation and help us build a stronger, more supportive academic community that is actively working towards the public good.

Call for Proposals for Interactive Sessions

The Center for Faculty Excellence is now accepting proposals for interactive sessions! The deadline for proposals is March 21, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. Click on the link below for more information and to submit a proposal.

Teaching & Learning Summit Call for Proposals

Teaching & Learning Keynote Speaker

The Center for Faculty Excellence is excited to announce that the keynote speaker for this year’s Teaching & Learning Summit is Dr. Liz Norell, Associate Director of Instructional Support in the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at the University of Mississippi and author of The Present Professor: Authenticity and Transformational Teaching

Dr. Norell will present the keynote speech, "Authenticity and Presence as Wellbeing Practices." We often hear about “student-centered teaching,” which can sometimes make instructors feel like their job is to become invisible. In truth, though, students rightfully depend on us to remain present to the people and the learning in our campus spaces. During this keynote, you’ll dig into some of the research that touches on presence, learning, and relationship-rich education. The focus will be on how to be more authentically ourselves in our work—and why doing so matters. You will have the opportunity to engage in one or more exercises from Liz’s book, The Present Professor: Authenticity and Transformational Teaching, with time for reflection and Q&A.

liz-norell-headshot

Dr. Liz Norell serves as Associate Director of Instructional Support in the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at the University of Mississippi. She has spent more than 20 years teaching in higher education, including stints in composition, journalism, new media, and political science. She completed a PhD in political science at the University of Texas Dallas, along with master’s degrees in journalism from the University of Arkansas and library science from Texas Woman’s University. Liz’s first book, The Present Professor: Authenticity and Transformational Teaching, is published in the University of Oklahoma Press’s brand-new series, Teaching, Engaging, and Thriving in Higher Ed, co-edited by James Lang and Michelle Miller. The book is aimed at educators who know they want to create meaningful relationships with students but aren’t quite sure how to do that in authentic ways. Liz is passionate about equitable, inclusive teaching, constructive conversations across differences, and fostering meaningful learning. She is also passionate about boosting awareness of disability in higher education. You can find Liz on social media (@liznorell) and at her web site, liznorell.com.

Teaching & Learning Summit Schedule

Below is the preliminary schedule of the 2025 Teaching & Learning Summit. The schedule is subject to change.

  • 8:30 AM: Check-in begins 
  • 9:00-9:30 AM: Welcome, Awards Ceremony & Intention-Setting
  • 9:45-10:30 AM: Panel Discussion
  • 10:45-11:30 AM: Concurrent Sessions
  • 11:45 AM-12:30 PM: Campus Partner Networking Session
  • 12:45-2:30 PM: Keynote Luncheon: "Authenticity and Presence as Wellbeing Practices"
  • 2:45-3:30 PM: Keynote Workshop & Concurrent Sessions
  • 3:45-4:30 PM: Concurrent Sessions

Teaching & Learning Summit Pillars

The following five pillars guide the session planning and theme of the Summit.

Equity & Access embodies practices that support a diverse, inclusive community of learners and educators. Possible session topics include inclusive course design and pedagogy, accessibility, and supporting students and colleagues with diverse needs.

Outcomes & Assessment encompasses articulating clear and challenging learning outcomes and evaluating teaching and learning. Possible session topics include designing equitable assessments, demonstrations of formative assessment practices, and reflective teaching practices.

Pedagogical innovation encompasses transformative practices and innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the classroom and beyond. Possible session topics include the use of AI for teaching and learning, demonstrations of educational technology tools, and simulations of active learning activities.

Scholarship includes activities related to planning, exploring, and engaging in scholarly and creative activities related to teaching, learning, and/or disciplinary areas. Possible session topics include using AI to enhance research productivity, interdisciplinary research and scholarship practices, and practical strategies for supporting scholarly or creative productivity. 

Success & Belonging promotes the success and belonging of students, faculty, and all members of the BGSU teaching community. Possible session topics include providing student support, promoting faculty, instructor and staff well-being, and community building.

Teaching & Learning Summit Learning Outcomes

By participating in this event, you will be able to:

  • Recognize transformative practices and new approaches to teaching and learning in the classroom and beyond.
  • Implement strategies to promote success and belonging for students, faculty, and all members of the BGSU community.
  • Discover practices that suport a diverse, inclusive community of learners and educators.
  • Discuss the successful implementation of curriculum design, instructional strategies, and assessment practices that support student and instructor success.
  • Connect with BGSU colleagues from across campus.
  • Identify campus partners and resources that can contribute to your own professional and personal development and support student success and engagement.

To make the most of this event, we ask participants to bring a cell phone, laptop or device to access digital materials and resources.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! All BGSU faculty, instructors, graduate students, and staff are welcomed and encouraged to submit a proposal to facilitate an interactive session at the Summit. Information on submitting a proposal is available on the Teaching & Learning Summit Call for Proposals page. 

Registration for the Teaching & Learning Summit will open after the deadline for the Call for Proposals on March 28, 2025.

All members of the BGSU community, including full-time faculty, adjunct/part-time faculty, staff (classified and administrative), graduate students, and undergraduate students are welcome and encouraged to attend the Teaching & Learning Summit. 

The Summit is designed as an in-person event. The morning panel discussion and keynote luncheon speech will be live-streamed via Zoom to allow access to members of the BGSU community who need to attend virtually. If attending these sessions virtually, please indicate this on the registration form (when available). The video recordings of these sessions will also be made available to view asynchronously after the event.

Due to limited CFE staffing and the abundance of sessions being offered throughout the day, the CFE is unable to support the live-streaming of concurrent sessions.

Updated: 02/13/2025 02:54PM