Conference speakers
Across three days of in-person sessions and presentations, invited speakers will bring diverse remarks related to the conference theme to complement panels, workshops and research talks.
Day One | April 28
Cate Denial, PhD
A Pedagogy of Kindness
What does it look like if we center compassion in our teaching, including in the way we think about and talk about assessment? How is it distinct from merely "being nice?" Cate Denial will share the three principles of a pedagogy of kindness — attention to justice, believing students, and believing in students — and together we're explore what these concepts mean for the assignments we create, the way we grade, and the kind of feedback we offer.
Biography
Catherine (Cate) Denial, Ph.D. is the Bright Distinguished Professor of American History and Director of the Bright Institute at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. A winner of the American Historical Association’s Eugene Asher Distinguished Teaching Award, Cate has served as a member of the Educational Advisory Committee of the Digital Library of America, as a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians, and as a Learned Scholar for the National Historic Landmarks division of the National Park Service. Cate currently sits on the board of Commonplace: A Journal of Early American Life. She has held an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation fellowship from the American Philosophical Society, and she is an elected member of the American Antiquarian Society.
From 2001 to 2011 Cate served as the Lead Historian for Bringing History Home, a professional development program for K-12 educators funded by $3m from the U.S. Department of Education. Cate’s new book, A Pedagogy of Kindness argues that higher education needs to get aggressively and determinedly kind. A Pedagogy of Kindness is about attending to justice, believing people, and believing in people. It’s a transformational discipline.
As creator and director of the Bright Institute at Knox College, Cate oversees a program which supports 13 faculty from liberal arts schools across the United States in their teaching and research for three years, while providing them with $10,500 in research funds and convening an annual summer seminar. From 2022 to 2023, she was PI on a $150,000 grant awarded to Knox College by the Mellon Foundation, bringing together thirty-six participants from across higher education in the United States to explore “Pedagogies, Communities, and Practices of Care in the Academy After COVID-19.”Cate is also a pedagogical consultant who works with individuals, departments, and institutions in the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, Canada, and Australia.
Day Two | April 29
Adil Arshad, PhD(c), Barbara Brown, PhD and Natasha Kenny, PhD
Balancing Process and Product: Reimagining Assessment of Student Learning at UCalgary
An Assessment Principles Group (APG) has been created at UCalgary, connecting teaching and learning leaders, academic staff, support staff, and students across disciplines to draft a set of institutional principles to guide the assessment of student learning. Principles for the assessment of student learning will provide a framework and foundation to help guide assessment practices, policies, guidelines, procedures, discussions, and decision-making across multiple organization levels (e.g., for individual educators, academic and non-academic units, and the institution). The APG is committed to a community-driven process to ensure robust consultation, input, and enable meaningful conversations about student learning, teaching, and assessment. In this panel, we will share an overview of our processes and learnings from the development of assessment principles at UCalgary, including our community conversations, environmental scan, literature review, and a draft set of principles. Throughout the panel, we will open dialogue with participants to draw upon their wisdom of experience and explore how these processes and approaches may connect to institutional contexts.
Adil Arshad is an Educational Development Consultant at the Taylor Institute at the University of Calgary, and is completing his PhD in Educational Research at the Werklund School of Education. He serves as a member of the Assessment Principles Group. Adil’s research focuses on narratives and experiences of international teaching assistants, students as partners, and authentic assessments.
Dr. Barbara Brown is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning at the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary. She is serving as co-chair of the Assessment Principles Group. Her program of research is focused on innovation in teaching, learning, and instructional leadership through research-practice partnerships and design-based professional learning models in education contexts.
Dr. Natasha Kenny is Senior Director of the University of Calgary’s Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning (TI). She serves as co-chair of the Assessment Principles Group. Her research interests relate to educational leadership, well-being in higher education, the scholarship and practice of educational development, and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL).
Day Three | April 30
Eliana El Khoury, PhD
Removing Barriers: Achieving Equity Through Alternative Assessments
Traditional assessment methods often favour a single type of knowledge, a specific way of demonstrating that knowledge, and a standard form of language. They are also constrained by time and location. However, students are diverse, and sometimes all that’s needed is an alternative assessment to allow them to fully demonstrate their learning. This approach, known as equity in assessment, involves designing evaluations that provide every student with an equal opportunity to succeed.
This talk will explain the concept of alternative assessments, their importance, and how they differ from traditional evaluation methods. I will present practical examples of how alternative assessments can dismantle barriers, create more inclusive opportunities, and empower students to showcase their learning in ways that reflect their unique strengths, experiences, and needs.
By adopting alternative assessments, we can foster equitable learning environments where all students are given a fair chance to succeed.
Biography
Dr. Eliana El Khoury is a recognized leader in the field of alternative assessment, holding a PhD from the University of Calgary. She serves as an assistant professor at Athabasca University, where she works closely with experts across different disciplines to improve how students are evaluated. Her primary focus is on ensuring quality and fairness in educational assessments, and she actively incorporates new ideas and technologies to achieve this goal.
Dr. El Khoury is the founder and chair of the Symposium on Alternative Assessment, a key event that brings together specialists to discuss and develop more effective assessment methods. Her efforts in the symposium and beyond aim to make assessment tools that better reflect student learning and support educational success. Dr. El Khoury's work is dedicated to enhancing educational practices through more thoughtful and supportive assessment strategies.