conferences for higher education professionals

conferences for higher education professionals

Exploring Best Practices and Innovations in Higher Education Professional Conferences

1. Introduction to Higher Education Professional Conferences

In some higher education meetings, student poster sessions and abstracts for research in higher education, including JChemEd papers incorporating components of pedagogical research and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), have been presented. Paper, workshops, and telescope presenters will be asked to produce and share additional materials such as participatory guides, PowerPoint slides, or lesson plan guides so that others can further their work with those materials. The question of enhancing and improving professional conferencing is a current topic, and the “Meta-organizers” of a 2015 Thinking Ritual came up with a short document entitled “Next Practices in Higher Education Chemistry,” sharing activities they had experienced at the conference that they found most beneficial. These environments for professional exchanges can help to grow lines of interest and develop inspiration from colleagues that can advance the thinking that evolves curriculum and course development in higher education.

Higher education professional conferences are important opportunities for professional development, learning and teaching, knowledge creation, networking and peership, communication and outreach, and career advancement. Attendees of these conferences may be advisors, administrators, deans, or senior leaders in disciplines surrounding higher education such as university agencies or centers for teaching and learning. Themed presentations, discussions, workshops, and posters often focus on improving best practices or innovations in pedagogy; supporting student learning, engagement, and well-being; addressing issues of inclusion, diversity, and equity; the use of technology in teaching and learning; the impacts of economics and policy on teaching and learning in higher education; the changing paradigms of higher education, teachers, and learners; the role of innovation and digital chemistry textbooks; and much more. Several lightning-talk and 30-minute concurrent telescope sessions have been devoted to discussion of best practices in presentation. This year, the call solicited papers and pole stars centered on “Innovative Delivery to Non-Majors.”

2. Key Themes and Trends in Higher Education Conferences

What are emerging themes (i.e., occurring for the first time in a subset of years) at ACPA and NASPA annual (national) conferences? What are the sizes of special themes? Are there emerging special themes? Examples include topics like ‘technology,’ ‘collegiate athletics,’ ‘student affairs crisis response,’ ‘military veterans,’ ‘student-centered learning,’ ‘cultural competencies,’ ‘career services,’ ‘engaging support networks,’ and ‘research/use of data at/in student affairs. What types of sessions are proposed and then offered? In addition, what other special events are being held at these conferences? Lastly, what other best practices can be offered for these professional associations for the annual conferences, such as the following: for the Call for Programs (approval); job placement; receptions; employ diversity and inclusion principles; and other topics to be discussed later in this paper.

In the nearly half century of the existence of the journal Innovative Higher Education, higher education professional conferences have been associated with a myriad of topics for discussion, and they have also become the substantive focus of numerous articles in the pages of IHE. From the mid-1980s to the present, IHE has published an incredibly large number of manuscripts focusing on higher education professional conferences and their value. The themes and topics of these conferences have varied greatly each year over the decades, and this varied set of topics meld into and facilitate the missions and purposes of our individual and collective work. This paper explores the content and topics associated with these conferences as featured in the pages of IHE; hopefully, further research after this paper can utilize different sets of articles for this analysis.

Themes and Trends in the Conferences

3. Innovative Approaches to Conference Design and Delivery

The use of multi-day, online meetings is environment-friendly, reduces the carbon footprint of traditional conferences, and makes limited-time availability of our busy professionals less of an obstacle. In contrast, a module may be a one- to two-week conference, set aside to work on a specific aspect of a major professional challenge for our constituents, and to create, evaluate and deliver a ‘product’ from the module. If the module is focused on a challenge faced across several regions or other IAC conferences, the module itself may become not just a module, but mini-conferences, attracting teams from institutions across the globe. This extends the range of the conferences further, enhancing the brand, and impacting the members in an international and pan-professional manner.

In order to create a comprehensive and inclusive professional development experience for all, whether at national and international conferences or through other capacity-building activities, the design and delivery of these interactions are critical. Employing innovative new methods, information, and platforms is a proven method for ensuring that a professional conference achieves its goals. It is beneficial to be aware of the new technologies and formats made available to conference delivery through advances in capacity and interest of many educators and practitioners working in higher education. This part of the report is intended to showcase, and partly to describe, such innovations.

4. Maximizing Impact and Networking Opportunities at Conferences

By contrast, working as the lead assessment faculty member at the University of Wyoming, I present brief “data comments and trends for shared consideration”. Some folks will like what they see, are glad they are not them, and walk away. For some, it is a chance to chat about looking at measurements, the work of the task force, and the potential of “finding an administrative sinecure under assessment oversight.” With them, I usually buy contact info, forward publications, and commonly develop phone and email connections. Both points of networking are useful and add value. Identifying the behavior you want driving folks to your presentation is important. For opportunities (consulting, incoming students, supervisory reports, future research), a) conduct brief and invited measurement and the development of quality on aggregate institutional outputs; b) develop brief scholarly papers; and c) enjoy writing and speaking. Decide if you are a passive or active translator and developer. While Lars worked with fellow Sherman Kent School U.S. Army War College alumni, as the CSR consultant on admissions strategy, he realized “I want to work with innovators and those doing work that supports student development”. For others, it is more about taking learning external and conducting “opinion survey measurement” of department perceptions regarding 9 disciplinary competencies expected to be possessed by graduating “chiefs (and SWAT officers, detectives, K-9 handlers, etc.)”. With them, I trade U of Wyoming contact info, possibly lunch, for usable ideas.

– Share with their peers: Conference data supports that the work of you, the presenter on the jumped-to concordance slide is a primary mover at academic gatherings. If enough people are interested in your trends and results from publications at the conference, they will approach you about “crashing” the post-baccalaureate/post-employment breakfast because they are interested in your brown bag on such and such. As an author, a good oral presentation and enthusiastic and knowledgeable delivery, as well as enthusiasm are vital to do quality networking. Otherwise, you are the empowered expert who no one ends up knowing. Maybe that is your plan. As the primary mentor around qualitative, integrating presently, and integrating measurement, let me share this. Building robin refugee and social justice brownies common on the consumption of food with oats with studies from the GMAC GMAT ethnic subgroups, and similar such data are both my bread and butter books and articles in print and, so I currently “share” them anywhere.

– Share these tools: Both scholars and practitioners develop new tools (e.g., assessments, instruments, processes, flow, models, programs, staff evaluation processes, websites) that streamline the work and improve access to a truly outstanding level of service. The people who develop and disseminate spend lots of time measuring results. But without conference presentations, there is no ideal catalyst for the “doing” philosophy, synonymous in some organizations as “practical scholarship” or best practice. Conferences are a special venue where interested campus instruction and the factors and supports can share the results of their combined efforts and if others think it has value, bring the work back to share at the department, division, and campus level for adaptation by others seeking to change campus.

Maximizing Impact and Networking Opportunities at Conferences: Make an impact early and often. Conferences are a key mechanism for creating visibility for your research, practice, and ideas. Bestselling authors have been known to develop a “market” for a topic by using a combination of conferences and publications. While the methodologies of research and discovery differ in scope and focus between practice and traditional scholarship, both have similar presentation “flows”. Keep the below principles in mind as you create your presentation.