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TEACHx sparks innovation in teaching and learning by showcasing experiments and celebrating successes in a community-oriented environment. This annual event brings instructors, students, learning designers, and technology specialists together to make connections, begin collaborations, and learn from their peers.

The 2024 conference will take place on the Evanston campus of Northwestern and span two days, with a half-day of workshops on May 15 followed by a full day of interactive presentations, panels, and digital posters, as well as the keynote presentation and the Canvas Hall of Fame ceremony on May 16, 2024.

Theme

This year’s event will explore a wide range of topics relevant to teaching and learning.

While we will consider proposals addressing any relevant topic, we are most interested in proposals that address one or more of the following topic areas:   

  • AI use cases and impacts: How are you exploring and navigating generative AI's impact on teaching and learning?  
  • Grading and assessment strategies for today’s students: What works in your class(es) to meaningfully evaluate student learning and progress?    
  • Innovation through technology: What new tools, apps, equipment, or other technology have you effectively applied to teaching and learning?  
  • Accessibility, inclusive teaching, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL): How have you updated your course materials, Canvas sites, or course policies to make your course more accessible or inclusive to students? How have you worked to implement UDL principles in your course(s)?  
  • Instructor and student burnout and self-care: With increasing attention paid to the mental health of students and instructors in higher education, what practices have you adopted in your teaching to take care of yourself and others?       
  • Active learning: What active learning techniques are you exploring in your classes? 
  • Engaging in civil discourse: What practices support students and instructors in civil discourse in the contemporary classroom? 

You can start a proposal, save it as a draft, and come back to complete it at any time on or before the deadline date.

Presentation Types

Note: we may consider your proposal for another format. We will contact you if we feel your session is better suited for another session type.

  • Lightning Talk: These fast-paced presentations offer the opportunity to share ideas in a quick, clear manner. Presenters will be assigned to a session slot with several other presenters and given 5-7 minutes to share their question, experiment, or idea. A short discussion time will follow. Propose a lightning talk idea to make connections and get conversations going.
  • Interactive PresentationThese 45-minute sessions should involve a combination of presentation and audience/participant engagement. Interactive presentations are opportunities to present in detail on a project while enabling audience participation.
  • Panel DiscussionThese 45-minute facilitated conversations among panelists and the audience should focus on an issue, challenge, or idea pertinent to teaching and learning. Moderators should present a few key points to lead the discussion on this topic. The proposal should include the topic and engaging questions for discussion. List your panel moderator as the primary presenter.
  • Workshop: These 90-minute sessions allow you to spend more time with your participants, allowing you to dig deeper into a topic or tool. Workshops should be highly interactive and engage participants through structured activities. 
  • Digital Poster: These sessions offer the opportunity to share experiences through informal, brief interactions that expand upon digital poster displays focused on effective practices, research findings, educational technology solutions, or works in progress. Poster presenters may bring flyers or other physical materials to distribute to attendees. Poster presenters will be expected to be available to engage with attendees during the one-hour breakfast time slot on May 16.

Engagement Strategies*

A successful TEACHx presentation includes specific and creative approaches to engage participants through active learning strategies. We encourage innovative and participatory session design, the creative use of technology, and active engagement by all participants. Review some active learning approaches that you can use to design a more engaging session. These won’t work for all sessions but feel free to use these ideas as inspiration.

*An engagement strategy is not required for lightning talks. A group discussion will close each group of lightning talks.