2024 Conference Keynote Speakers

Mel Young is an Educational Developer at Cambrian College’s Teaching and Learning Innovation Hub

Mel Young is an Educational Developer at Cambrian College’s Teaching and Learning Innovation Hub, where she leverages her expertise in curriculum and faculty development to enhance teaching practices and learning experiences. Over the past ten years, Mel has innovated educational practices, notably through her contributions to the course development process and the establishment of the Teaching Excellence Program. She co-authored a chapter on the integration of Open Educational Resources and Information Literacy, underscoring her commitment to developing accessible and engaging educational environments. Recently, Mel has been exploring the integration of artificial intelligence in her role, aiming to leverage AI to refine and advance educational development practices.

Navigating New Waters: AI as a Compass in Curriculum Innovation

Ahoy! Set sail into the dynamic seas of AI in curriculum development! This keynote presentation provides insights on how artificial intelligence is charting new courses for curriculum development – we’re navigating it all! We’ll also dive into the deep waters of integrating AI in your curriculum role. Concerned about privacy, equity, or ethical considerations? Bring your navigational charts—your questions and ideas as we explore practical, innovative strategies together. This presentation promises to be not only a treasure trove of information but also a thrilling adventure. Expect to leave with tools and inspiration to harness AI in ways that truly transform what you do. Don’t miss out—let’s set course for innovation and inspiration together!

All hands on deck for our keynote, “Navigating New Waters: AI as a Compass in Curriculum Innovation”! on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 at 9:45 am with Mel Young.

Internationally Sought-After Author & Speaker on Equity-Minded Teaching Online & In Person

Speaking Topics: Equity-Minded and Small Teaching with AI Inclusive and Equity-Focused Online Teaching to Promote Student Engagement and Learning Applying Emotion Science / Emotional Presence in In-Person and Online Classes to Foster Student Motivation, Engagement, and Learning

Travels from: Columbia, MO

Flower Darby celebrates and promotes effective teaching in all modalities to advance equitable learning outcomes for all students. She’s an Associate Director of the Teaching for Learning Center at the University of Missouri. Prior to that, she held roles such as Assistant Dean of Online and Innovative Pedagogies and Director of Teaching for Student Success. These roles have allowed her to build on her experience teaching in person and online for over 28 years in a range of subjects including English, technology, education, leadership, dance, and Pilates. In her current work and publications, Darby empowers faculty to teach inclusive and equity-focused classes in all modalities. She is the lead author (with James M. Lang) of Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes and a co-author of The Norton Guide to Equity-Minded Teaching. An internationally sought-after keynote speaker, Darby has spoken at universities, colleges, and education conferences across the U.S. and internationally.

Darby presents on a wide range of timely and relevant topics related to evidence-based best practices to promote equitable and inclusive student learning and success in in-person classes, online classes, and everything in between. She can create a flipped experience for participants or otherwise tailor her presentations and workshops to best meet and event sponsor’s needs and help achieve the goals for the event. Committed to making her time with attendees as meaningful as possible, Darby welcomes prior discussion of ideas, specific topics and/or formats.

About Flower Darby’s Books:

The concept of small teaching is simple: small and strategic changes have enormous power to improve student learning. Instructors face unique and specific challenges when teaching an online course. Small Teaching Online offers small teaching strategies that will positively impact the online classroom. It outlines practical and feasible applications of theoretical principles to help online students learn and includes current best practices around educational technologies, strategies to build community and collaboration, and minor changes that can be made in online teaching practice, small but impactful adjustments that result in significant learning gains.

The Norton Guide to Equity-Minded Teaching offers concrete steps to help any instructor striving to ensure that all students—and, in particular, historically underserved students—have an equal chance for success. The book is packed with actionable tips, grounded in research, for teaching classes online, in person, and everywhere in between.

Praise for Flower Darby’s Presentations:

“Flower’s presentation on empowering students by teaching with AI was highly accessible, energetic, provocative and useful. Some faculty attendees shared that they now felt more encouraged to “go try GenAI out for themselves” rather than being intimidated or overwhelmed.”

—E. Shelley Reid, Ph.D., Executive Director of Engaged Teaching Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning, George Mason University

“Flower Darby’s workshop helped UTC faculty develop a framework for getting their heads around this new technology and begin thinking about how to create AI-informed assignments for the upcoming semester. The feedback we received from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, and many stated that they felt more equipped to approach the classroom this semester in the midst of what is proving to be a major paradigm shift for higher education. We’re grateful for Flower’s expertise, and we were quick to book her follow-up workshop!”

—Victoria M. Bryan, PhD, Director of the Walker Center for Teaching and Learning University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

“Flower Darby provided an excellent closing plenary at the Universities of Wisconsin OPID Spring Conference on Teaching & Learning. Her presentation set a positive and joyful tone to our annual systemwide conference, sending educators home with many ideas to consider.”

—Fay Yokomizo Akindes, Ph.D., Director, Systemwide Professional & Instructional Development (OPID) Universities of Wisconsin

Equity-Minded Curriculum Development

In our work as curriculum developers, we have an important part to play in advancing equity and inclusion in the programs and courses we support. We can be most effective in this work when we intentionally cultivate rapport and trust with our faculty colleagues. We’ll explore the neuroscience undergirding the importance of connections for effective collaboration and, based on what we know about how people think, learn, and work, identify ways to establish and sustain productive working relationships. We’ll also examine how these approaches build community among instructors and students and can therefore be woven into the curricula we design to foster equitable learning for our students. Expect to leave with practical strategies that you can apply next week or next term.

Join us for this exciting keynote, “Equity-Minded Curriculum Development”! on Friday, November 15, 2024 at 11:20 am with Flower Darby, Educator, Author, Speaker.