Call for Proposals

Call for proposals opens: February 12, 2026
Call for proposals closes: March 30, 2026
Notification of decisions: May 4, 2026
Participation confirmation for inclusion in the program: July 6, 2026
Preconference workshops: October 28, 2026
Conference sessions: October 29-31, 2026

Building Bridges: Strengthening Relationships and Networks in SoTL

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is inherently relational. It is grounded in inquiry, collaboration, and the shared pursuit of deeper understanding about how students learn and how educators teach. The theme for ISSOTL26, Building Bridges: Strengthening Relationships and Networks in SoTL, invites scholars to explore the connections, partnerships, and networks that sustain and advance SoTL across contexts, cultures, roles, and communities.

We welcome proposals that address one or more of the following conference subthemes.

Conference Subthemes

1. Building Relationships with Students

Relational and inclusive pedagogies, student perspectives, student–faculty partnerships, belonging, peer learning, and supportive learning communities.

2. Collaborating with Academic Supports

Partnerships with librarians, instructional designers, advisors, technologists, and student support professionals.

3. Engaging with Faculty

Faculty communities of practice, mentoring, collaborative curriculum development, and shared pedagogical inquiry.

4. Advancing SoTL Research

Completed or ongoing studies, methodological innovations, theoretical frameworks, collaborative research initiatives, and knowledge mobilization.

5. Leading SoTL in Academia

Leadership practices that promote and sustain SoTL, including institutional strategies and capacity building.

Presenting at ISSOTL26

Reflecting the diversity of our work and our scholarly strengths, we encourage contributions from individuals at all stages of their careers, including emerging scholars and students. We also welcome a range of scholarship including empirical studies, philosophical reflections, historical analysis, critical reviews alongside narratives of journeys toward improvements and navigation of disruptions while engaging in SoTL. Presentations are based on abstract submissions and do not require formal papers to be submitted. For all presentation types, presenters are expected to integrate ISSOTL’s conference pedagogy including active engagement of participants and inclusive and accessible approaches.

To promote broad participation in the conference and streamline the organization of the conference program, we ask that individuals limit themselves to no more than two primary presenter roles. Primary presenters are individuals with a speaking role listed for a paper presentation, roundtable, workshop, and/or pre-conference workshop. This limit of primary presenters does not apply to poster presentations and keynote addresses. While individuals may appear on more than two proposals, only primary presenters will be accommodated during the scheduling of sessions to avoid clashes.

We invite presentations in the following formats:

Submitters will be asked to select one presentation format and one conference subtheme.

1. Posters (60 minute sessions)

Poster sessions provide an interactive forum for sharing completed SoTL studies, works in progress, emerging ideas, or innovative teaching and learning practices. Posters are designed to foster informal dialogue, connection, and feedback through one-on-one and small-group conversations. This format is well-suited for scholars seeking to share ideas visually, engage in discussion, and build new scholarly connections.

2. Pre-Conference Workshops (3 hours)

Pre-conference workshops are immersive, extended sessions that offer participants in-depth engagement with SoTL methods, pedagogical practices, leadership approaches, or research design. These workshops prioritize hands-on learning, sustained interaction, and practical takeaways. Facilitators should design sessions that actively involve participants through discussion, application, and collaborative work.

Presenters are encouraged to: 1) work with a team of presenters if possible; 2) identify specific audiences for the workshop; 3) identify the desired outcomes for the workshop session; and 4) explicitly describe the interactional approach that will be used.

3. 90-Minute Workshops

Ninety-minute workshops are highly interactive sessions focused on skill development, collaborative inquiry, or applied SoTL practice. These sessions emphasize participant engagement over formal presentation and may include guided activities, small-group work, demonstrations, or facilitated discussion. Workshops are ideal for exploring tools, methods, or practices that participants can adapt to their own contexts.

4. Oral / Paper Sessions

Oral or paper sessions feature concise presentations of completed SoTL studies, theoretical contributions, or methodological innovations. Each presentation is followed by time for questions and discussion, allowing presenters and audiences to engage around findings, implications, and future directions. These sessions are well-suited to sharing rigorous scholarly work in a focused format.

Format: 15-minute presentation followed by 5 minutes for discussion.

5. Crackerbarrel Roundtables (60 minutes)

Crackerbarrel Roundtables are fast-paced, highly interactive sessions designed for early-stage ideas, teaching puzzles, or emerging innovations in SoTL. Participants rotate between tables approximately every 10–12 minutes, engaging in focused discussion with presenters. The emphasis is on dialogue, exchange, and exploration rather than formal presentation. Presenters will offer their session three times over the 60 minutes.

Presenters are encouraged to include a description of their engagement strategy for this session.

6. Panel (60 minutes)

Panel discussions are well suited to topics that benefit from multiple perspectives, collective sense-making, and sustained dialogue. Panels bring together scholars and practitioners to explore shared questions, tensions, or emerging issues in SoTL through conversation rather than sequential presentations.

Proposers are encouraged to assemble panels that reflect diversity of experience and perspective, including variation across disciplines, institutional roles, national or regional contexts, career stages, or methodological approaches. Panels should include a minimum of three panelists and be intentionally designed to prioritize interaction among panelists and with the audience.

Presenters are encouraged to include a description of how perspectives are connected or complimentary and their approach to audience engagement.

7. SoTL Studio: A Collaborative Consultation Space (90 minutes)

The SoTL Studio is a collaborative, future-focused consultation space designed to support participants who are asking, “What next?” in their SoTL work. Rather than a presentation format, the Studio creates opportunities for shared thinking, reflection, and practical guidance around ongoing or emerging SoTL projects.

Participants attend the Studio seeking feedback, ideas, and direction. Those facilitating tables draw on their experience with SoTL research, innovative approaches, or promising lines of inquiry and engage in conversation rather than formal instruction. Facilitators are not expected to be experts in all areas; instead, they act as thoughtful colleagues supporting sense-making, exploration, and next steps.

Tables may focus on areas such as refining research questions, methodological choices, navigating ethics, making sense of data, writing and dissemination, or imagining new directions for SoTL inquiry. This format is distinct from roundtables in that facilitators do not present their own work; the emphasis is on listening, responding, and co-thinking.

Submission Components:

Title
Abstract – describing the kind of SoTL questions, innovations, or challenges the table will support
Detailed Abstract (Session Description)

Presenters are encouraged to describe: 1) Consultation area(s) of focus, 2) relevant experience they have with the perspective, and 3) Intended audience.

Capacity-Building Commitment

In the spirit of strengthening relationships and supporting capacity building within the ISSOTL community, all current ISSOTL members whose submissions meet the minimum criteria outlined in the proposal review rubric will be guaranteed acceptance of at least one poster presentation if their preferred presentation format cannot be accommodated due to program capacity.

Submissions that do not yet meet the minimum criteria for SoTL-focused work may be returned with constructive feedback and guidance to support further development. This approach reflects ISSOTL’s commitment to scholarly quality, mentorship, and the ongoing growth of the SoTL community.

Proposal Review Process and Criteria

The anonymous version of each proposal will be reviewed by 2 to 3 reviewers and the ISSOTL26 Program Subcommittee. Reviewers – like ISSOTL conference attendees – come from a range of disciplines, geographical and institutional contexts, and languages, so please be as clear as possible.

Proposals will be assessed on how well they meet the following criteria.

How well the content relates to important, relevant, and thought-provoking question(s) related to SoTL;
How well the proposal aligns with the conference theme and/or the conference strands;
How well the proposal demonstrates an understanding of SoTL as a field of study and/or existing scholarship in the field;
The potential for the proposal to advance SoTL through new or novel knowledge or practice, and/or extend and build upon current knowledge or practice;
The explanation of how presenter(s) will apply ISSOTL’s conference pedagogy.

High-quality submissions to ISSOTL conferences often outnumber what the venue and schedule can accommodate. To build a robust program and be as inclusive as possible, conference organizers may need to ask some proposed sessions to shift formats (e.g., shift from a paper format to a poster presentation).

Submitting Your Proposal

Watch our virtual session on developing an ISSOTL Proposal>>

Submissions will only be accepted through this link. All submissions must include:

Name and contact information of submitter and fellow presenters only (i.e., those who will attend ISSOTL26). ISSOTL needs to track the expected number of actual presenters. You can acknowledge collaborators who won’t be presenting with you at the conference in your abstract and/or in-session materials.
Your ISSOTL region (i.e., Africa, Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East, United States, or Another Location Not Listed). This information helps ISSOTL track participation.
Indicate if this is your first ISSOTL conference. This information will help the conference program committee understand the range of experience represented in the program.
Indication of the conference strand to which the proposal aligns.
The proposed presentation format for the proposal.
Your anonymized proposal for review, includes two parts:

Detailed Abstract (300 words) for the reviewers – an anonymized version of your abstract (no more than 300 words, excluding references), and
Conference Pedagogy (100 words) explanation – includes explanation of how the work will be presented based on the ISSOTL’s conference pedagogy,
Abstracts (150 words) for the program will only be used if the proposal is accepted.

Other Ways to Engage in ISSOTL26

We strongly encourage all members and conference participants to also engage in ISSOTL26 by being a proposal reviewer, being a Roundtable moderator, engaging in interest groups, and signing up to be a mentor for the buddy program.

Call for Proposals