Scholarly Teaching Conferences
VITAL supports Villanova faculty in delivering presentations or actively participating in conferences on teaching and learning.
Temple University's Annual Faculty Conference on Teaching Excellence
This regional conference on issues pertaining to learning-centered teaching in higher education provides a great forum to enrich your teaching practices and exchange ideas with colleagues.
Opportunity: VITAL is pleased to sponsor up to eight faculty colleagues across disciplines to attend the conference. The conference, January 6-7, will center the theme of nurturing our students' and our own sense of curiosity and love of learning guided by the expertise of Dr. Isis Artze-Vega, author of the Norton Guide on Equity-Minded Teaching (2023).
Application: Submit the interest form by Tue., December 1 at the latest.
Caveat: Sponsored faculty members are asked to (1) join a virtual post-conference discussion; and (2) share with Villanova teaching community a conference take-away, i.e., a teaching practice that supports student learning. This sharing may occur as part of a VITAL and/or department program during spring 2027.
Please note. Sponsorship applies to both days. Faculty who were sponsored in the past two years are not eligible to apply.
Faculty Conference on Teaching Excellence, Temple University, January 6-7, 2027
This regional conference on issues pertaining to learning-centered teaching in higher education provides a great forum to enrich your teaching practices and exchange ideas with colleagues; the event has been well-received by Villanova faculty who have attended in the past. The sessions are practice-based, research-supported and applied in nature.
The conference theme Joyful Practice: Nurturing Curiosity and Connection in Teaching features Dr. Isis Artze-Vega, author of the Norton Guide to Equity-Minded Teaching (2023). She will discuss research-based approaches to building trust and belonging in the classroom while attending to our own wellbeing as educators.
Opportunity: VITAL will sponsor up to eight faculty colleagues across disciplines to attend the conference. Sponsored faculty are asked to (1) join a VITAL virtual post-conference discussion and (2) share with the Villanova teaching community a conference takeaway, i.e., a teaching practice that supports student learning; this may occur as part of a VITAL and/or department program during spring 2027.
Please note. Sponsorship applies to both days. Faculty who were sponsored in the past two years are not eligible to apply.
Grading Conference: Alternative Grading
VITAL is pleased to sponsor a team of 15 faculty members across disciplines to attend the Grading Conference, held virtually June 16-18, 2026, organized by the Center for Grading Reform. The mission of the Grading Conference is to promote the use of grading practices that are focused on equity and authentic learning. The conference brings together postsecondary educators to share innovations and research related to grading in higher education and to facilitate exchange of grading practices. The conference highlights alternative grading approaches and their impact on student learning and motivation.
Sponsored faculty are asked (1) to join a virtual post-conference discussion; (2) consider how they might enrich and/or modify their grading practices in one of their fall courses, and (3) join a collegial discussion in the fall to share and reflect on their grading practices. Please note. Sponsorship applies to all three days.
Problem-based Learning (PBL) Workshop at University of Delaware
The program explores how to integrate PBL into your classroom by working with expert practitioners across disciplines. Specifically, the facilitators will walk you through the steps to develop engaging problems for your discipline. You will experience various kinds of approaches to PBL and learn how to set up your classes to successfully integrate this type of experiential, collaborative learning. The program is designed primarily for new and current practitioners of PBL, focused on university-level education, in all disciplines.