The IDI Past Highlights
UW-Green Bay's Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL), along with the Instructional Development Council and with the support of the Provost Office, has hosted a January faculty development conference for over a decade. This page includes theme, session, and keynote information from previous IDIs.
2026: Moving from Access to Connection
Access opens the door, but meaningful connections help students throughout their educational journey. When educators prioritize fostering authentic connections with and among students, it can lead to impactful and transformative learning experiences for all.
Keynote
Dr. Michelle Pacansky-Brock is a leader in humanized online teaching and educational development. Her work examines the intersection of relationships, technology, and learning, helping educators craft relationship-rich online experiences that support diverse student needs. She is an author, researcher, and award-winning teacher who leads professional development efforts in equitable, AI-informed teaching practices.
Session Information
This year's IDI conference hosted many higher education faculty and staff sharing about how they foster authentic connections and build meaningful learning experiences for students across all modalities.
2024: Thriving in Higher Education
Thriving in higher education requires a collective shift from a mindset of mere survival to one of shared purpose, resilience, and growth. While there are no simple solutions, educators can work together to set meaningful goals, support one another, and create environments where both instructors and students are empowered to succeed.
Keynote
Dr. Kevin Gannon, Director of the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence and Professor of History at Queens University of Charlotte. His recent work focuses on reimagining introductory and survey courses in higher education; he is the author of Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto and has been published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Vox, CNN, and The Washington Post.
Session Information
This year's IDI conference hosted many faculty and staff sharing about challenges and strategies related to thriving in higher, both for themselves and the students we support.
2023: Cultivating Student Success
Cultivating student success in higher education requires the interconnected efforts of an entire university working toward shared goals. Although there is no single answer as to how universities can ensure students are successful, there are a variety of consistent, small and transformative practices institutions of higher learning can employ to support students across their campuses.
Keynote
Dr. Stephen L. Chew and Dr. William Cerbin. Both Stephen and William are the authors of “The cognitive challenges of effective teaching”, published in The Journal of Economic Education, which explores a research-based framework of nine interacting cognitive challenges that teachers need to address to enhance student learning.
Session Information
This year's IDI conference hosted many higher education faculty and staff sharing about cognitive challenges in the classroom. Many sessions also focused on the challenges in education post COVID-19.
2022: Opening Up Higher Education
Much of the rhetoric around higher education during COVID has been around closing down activities and opportunities, yet, for many instructors, the experience has been one of opening up their classes to new ways of teaching, new populations of students and new expectations from administration. This year the IDI seeks to highlight the ways instructors have opened up their classes – and higher education by extension – in new ways. Open also relates to the use of Open Education Resources (OER), more open or inclusive classroom environments, streaming classes across locations, and our new identity as an open or “access” institution.
Keynote
Dr. Addy, Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning at Lafayette College. Her recent publications on the scholarship of teaching and learning have been around learner-centered practices and inclusive pedagogies; she recently co-authored a book, What Inclusive Instructors Do: Principles and Practices for Excellence in College Teaching
Session Information
This year's IDI conference hosted many higher education faculty and staff sharing openness and inclusivity both in the classroom and the university.
Connect WITH CATL
Let us know how CATL can help you! Schedule a consultation, reach us by phone or email, or drop by anytime our office is open.
Office Location: Cofrin Library 405
Open: M – F, 7:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Phone: (920) 465-2541
Email: catl@uwgb.edu
College Drop-in Hours: Schedule varies weekly