UNDER THE OAKS
Elon hosts international conference on teaching and learning
A proud history of giving: The power of community Throughout Elon’s 125-year history, support from private donors has sustained the institution during difficult times. On Jan. 18, 1923, a fire ravaged Elon’s Main Building and destroyed all student and alumni records, the president’s safe and nearly all the library books. The disaster could have easily closed the young college for good. Yet within a week, Elon College trustees and Alamance County residents banded together and launched an emergency campaign to raise funds for rebuilding the campus. Along with the college trustees and Elon’s faculty and staff, the residents of Alamance County helped bring Elon back to life. At Elon’s 1923 Commencement, the cornerstone for Alamance Building was laid in front of a large crowd. The building opened that fall and was named in honor of the generous donations by local residents.
More than 600 scholars, college administrators and students from around the world gathered in Raleigh, N.C., in October for a major conference hosted by Elon University’s Center for Engaged Learning. The annual meeting of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) featured prominent experts on best practices in higher education. Plenary speaker Lee Shulman, president emeritus of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, discussed trends in the ways faculty approach more specific research topics. He also pointed out the dramatic ways technology has changed the way students and educators access information. “What does it mean to teach inquiry skills to students who can call up Wikipedia in 10 seconds? What’s the most important thing to teach them?” Shulman asked. He said today’s students must learn “how to dig their way out of a flood of information and make some sense out of it.” The ISSOTL conference, held at the Raleigh Convention Center, was organized by Peter Felten, executive director of the Center for Engaged Learning, and Jessie Moore, the center’s interim associate director. The Center for Engaged Learning
was created as part of the Elon Commitment strategic plan to advance the university as a leader in the international conversation about high-impact educational practices. The center brings
together international leaders in higher education to develop and to synthesize rigorous research on teaching and learning. It fosters investigations of research questions related to learning; hosts multi-institutional research and practice-based initiatives, conferences, and seminars; and shares related resources for faculty and faculty developers who are working to integrate engaged learning practices in their work with students.
“When something matters to you—and it’s not just getting a grade, it’s not just getting a salary, it’s not getting a stock option or an award or a title in a company—those are the things that push you the hardest and have the most meaning in your life.” Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak, during Elon University’s Fall Convocation on Oct. 3. To watch excerpts from his speech, go to elon.edu/magazine.
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