Registration Open: Teaching and Learning Innovations Conference

Please join us for the 37th Teaching and Learning Innovations Conference on May 21 and 22, 2026.

Registration is now OPEN for the 2026 Teaching and Learning Innovations (TLI) Conference at the University of Guelph.

This year’s theme, Conditions for Learning, invites us to reflect on the environments, relationships, structures, and supports that enable learners and educators to thrive. Across presentations, workshops and conversations, participants will explore issues related to belonging, empowerment, safety, foundational needs, and growth within the post-secondary context.

We are delighted to welcome Dr. Robert Fleisig, Professor at McMaster University, as our opening keynote speaker. Dr. Fleisig is an educational leader and teaching and learning scholar whose work integrates disciplinary expertise with human-centred and relational approaches to learning, including sustained engagement with students as partners. His keynote will offer timely insights into how the conditions we create across higher education shape meaningful learning experiences.

Registration closes Friday, May 8, 2026.

TLI Conference Registration

Teaching and Learning Innovations Pre-Conference

The Pre‑Conference Showcase Day on Wednesday, May 20th brings together two opportunities to explore teaching, learning, and educational technology at the University of Guelph.

The morning features the EdTech Showcase, offering presentations and discussions focused on centrally supported educational technologies and their pedagogical applications.

In the afternoon, the University Teaching Leadership Fellows Showcase highlights the work and insights of Fellows who have been advancing innovative and effective teaching and learning practices, pedagogical inquiry, and evidence‑informed approaches that contribute to student learning and success across the institution.

Learn More About the TLI Pre-Conference Events

Call for Applications: Course Design Institute

We're excited to share that applications are now open for the 2026 Course Design Institute (CDI)! The CDI is a transformative program designed to support instructors with designing or redesigning a course in a supportive, engaging, and collaborative environment.

The Course Design Institute will be held in-person on June 1, 2, 3 and 4, 2026 from 9:30 AM – 3:00 PM.

All University of Guelph, University of Guelph-Humber, and Ridgetown instructors seeking to design a new course or revise an existing course are eligible. Up to 4 graduate students may be accepted into the program, contingent upon space availability. At this time, the CDI focuses on in-person, blended, hybrid, and hyflex courses.

For details and to apply, please visit our Course Design Institute webpage. Space is limited to approximately 25 participants.

Applications Due: Friday, April 24, 2026 by the end of the day, 5:00 pm.

Apply for the Course Design Institute

Call for Applications: Program (Re)Design Institute

The Offices of Graduate and Post-Doctoral Studies, Quality Assurance, and Teaching and Learning are co-hosting the Program (Re)Design Institute (PRDI). The PRDI will be held in-person on the Guelph campus June 24 and 25, 2026, from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM.

The PRDI is an intensive two-day program to support faculty and staff in designing new, or modifying existing, undergraduate or graduate degree or diploma programs. Through a series of interactive sessions, consultations with campus experts, and structured writing blocks, participants will work through their new program proposal or major modification process in a supportive and collegial environment.

All University of Guelph, University of Guelph-Humber, and Ridgetown instructors seeking to design a new program or revise an existing program are eligible. Space is limited.

Expressions of Interest are due May 22, 2026.

Apply for the Program (Re)Design Institute

Registration Open: June Instructional Skills Workshop

The Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) is an internationally recognized certificate program for instructor development. Our next ISW is taking place on June 22, 23, and 24, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM each day.

The ISW is offered within a small group setting (four to six participants per small group) and is designed to enhance the teaching effectiveness of both new and experienced educators. The ISW encourages reflection and examination of your teaching practices with feedback focused on the learning process rather than on the specific content of the lesson.

The ISW is free to members of the University of Guelph, University of Guelph-Humber, and Ridgetown Campus communities.

Registration closes on May 22. Four spaces are available.

Learn more and register for the ISW

Spotlight on SoTL: Recent Publications from our U of G Community

We are proud to highlight two recent contributions to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning from University of Guelph faculty, staff, and students! If you have published or presented recently in SoTL or disciplinary-based educational research and would like us to spotlight your work in a future newsletter, please reach out to us at otl@uoguelph.ca.

Developing Transferable Skills: Does Disciplinary Topic Matter? International Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 14, No. 6 (2025), www.sciedu.ca/journal/index.php/ijhe/article/view/28935

Simone Boivin (CBS), Daniel Gillis (CCMPS), Soha Eid Moussa (COE), Steve Mattucci (COE), Sara Fulmer (OTL), and Shoshanah Jacobs (CBS) examined how a 50-minute workshop on scientific inquiry as a transferable skill yielded different results for first-year students depending on whether it used biology-specific or general, everyday examples. Students in the general-context workshop showed stronger conceptual understanding, while those in the discipline-specific context were more likely to see the skill's relevance beyond the classroom. The research offers practical guidance for embedding and sequencing transferable skills intentionally into undergraduate curricula, and reinforces the value of explicit, early instruction in skills that students will carry throughout their careers and lives.

How College Students Use ChatGPT. Pedagogical Research, Vol. 10, No. 4 (2025), www.pedagogicalresearch.com/article/how-college-students-use-chatgpt-17428

CCMPS faculty and students, Nagham Mohammad, Matthew Demers, Erin McCubbin, Jackson Mitchell, and Sara Fulmer (OTL) surveyed over 1,200 UofG students to understand how our own student community is engaging with generative AI. Most students reported using AI tools at least occasionally, primarily for academic support tasks like explaining concepts, brainstorming, and editing. Academic integrity concerns were the leading reason students avoided AI, and student perceptions of its impact on learning were evenly split between positive and negative. For educators navigating AI policy and course design right now, this paper offers an invaluable local evidence base to inform those decisions.

For more teaching resources or to chat with us,
visit our website at https://otl.uoguelph.ca/ or contact us at otl@uoguelph.ca.

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