This engaging teaching conference has a well-established history and a strong reputation in our area. The conference pulls in faculty members, staff, and graduate students from our region including Texas Tech, Midland College, South Plains College, Wayland Baptist University, Lubbock Christian University, West Texas A&M, and others. Past speakers include Sandra McGuire, Josh Eyler, Kevin Gannon, Mays Imad, Ginger Clark, Emily Miller, James Lang, Laura Dumin, and others.

The 22nd Annual Advancing Teaching and Learning Conference at Texas Tech University will be held virtually on Friday, February 20, 2026. We are excited to feature Dr. Cate Denial, author of A Pedagogy of Kindness.

Read more about Cate Denial

Morning Keynote

10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Zoom

What does it mean to practice a Pedagogy of Kindness? This presentation will explore three tenets of compassionate teaching: justice, believing students, and believing in students. We'll reflect together on what kindness (and its lack) has meant to us within academia, and how we can - piece by piece - assemble a kind approach to pedagogy that meets the needs of our students and ourselves in a time of great change. The session will end with thinking about kindness toward the self and include a period of free-writing for participants

Afternoon Workshop

1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. | Zoom

This is a reflective workshop that will build on the morning keynote. Participants will discuss real examples in small groups and have the opportunity to refine language in their syllabus and on an assignment. The focus will be on communicating welcome and belonging to students, and participants should walk away with concrete examples of how to move forward in kindness. Please bring a syllabus and an assigment from one of your courses and be prepared to work on them as part of the session!

 

Registration will open soon!

Check out Cate Denial's book,
A Pedagogy of Kindness.