POD Network members must login to access conference member rates.

Scroll down for more details.

Pittsburgh Conference

November 16–19, Pittsburgh
David L. Lawrence Convention Center
#POD23 In-Person Conference Registration
#POD23 Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Expectations

So what should you expect at the Pittsburgh venue? There will be a lot of people and a lot to do! We are expecting more than 800 attendees. You will have many sessions to choose from, so use the program on Guidebook to find out more about each session and manage your time.

To keep you fueled for the day, we will have a steady flow of coffee and snacks, and a few meals as well (Thursday & Friday dinner; Friday, Saturday, and Sunday breakfast). All other meals will be on your own. Please see our Health Precautions Policy below.

The Keynote session is scheduled for Friday afternoon, and Sunday’s one session is the Anchor Session presented by fellow POD member(s) selected by the Conference Team.

Location

David L Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh, PA
1000 Ft. Duquesne Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

The Design and Discipline of Sustainability
Located in Downtown Pittsburgh, the LEED® GOLD Certified David L. Lawrence Convention Center effectively blends unparalleled space, functionality, and flexibility to offer an extraordinary event experience.

Convention Center Accessibility Features

Parking: A 700-car parking garage with a 7′ 8″ clearance is available. The entrance is located on 10th Street. For more information, please visit: Alco Parking Corporation. You may also visit ParkPGH.org for real time parking availability in the downtown area.

Hotel Information

The Westin Pittsburgh (the host hotel) is now full. There are additional rooms at The Courtyard and the Omni — both within walking distance of the convention center.

Courtyard Marriott Pittsburgh Downtown
$179 per night

  • Located within a short walk of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center
  • Limited rooms are available at this location
  • Valet Parking is available for $38/day

Omni Hotel
$189 per night

  • Located within 10-minute walking distance of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center
  • Self-parking is available for $20/day
  • Valet Parking is also available $45/day

 

Transportation to the hotels from the PIT airport 

Phone Number: +1 412-472-3525
Distance: 17.9 Miles
Visit Website

By Rideshare:

Transportation Network companies ZTrip, Uber and Lyft are authorized to pick up and drop off passengers at Pittsburgh International Airport and can be accessed through smartphone or tablet apps. Pick up is at the designated area outside of Door #4 on the commercial curb.

By Taxi:

Upon arrival at the airport, proceed to the landside terminal, lower level, exit through the “commercial” doors and head toward the taxi stand area on the curb where cabs are waiting.

Checker Cab:  (412) 664-5600
People’s Cab:  (412) 441-3200
zTrip:  (412) 777-7777

By Bus:

Pittsburgh Regional Transit 28X Airport Flyer
The fare between the airport and Downtown is $2.75 each way. (Note: Exact change is required.) Passengers are responsible for handling their bags when getting on and off the vehicle. Tipping the bus driver is not permitted.

Alternate Airport Transportation: Super Shuttle

Westin Pittsburgh Parking: Hotel self-parking is $8 per hour and $28 per day. Valet parking is $41 per day. Overnight parking is available at $14/day in a public parking lot behind the Westin.

Electric Car Charging Station

Registration Fees

Please know that while we increased registration fees and membership fees this fiscal year, we did so only after careful reflection and financial planning involving the Core Committee (Board of Directors), the Executive Committee, and the Finance Committee. We made this decision in light of our commitment to being affordable for our members and to build more robust infrastructure (for example, by hiring more staff) which we hope will increase the POD Network’s capacity to serve all members.

Registration fees below include two dinners (Thursday and Friday evening), coffee breaks throughout the conference, and three breakfasts: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Early-bird rates (register by 11:59 PM Pacific Time, October 15)
MEMBER Type Rate 1-day 2-day
Member Individual $715 $300 $600
Member Student $465 $195 $390
Member Retiree $465 $195 $390
Non-Member Individual $880 $370 $740
Non-Member Student $580 $245 $490
Non-Member Retiree $580 $245 $490
Regular rates - (register between October 16–11:59 PM PT and November 13)
MEMBER Type Rate 1-day 2-day
Member Individual $780 $325 $650
Member Student $505 $210 $420
Member Retiree $505 $210 $420
Non-Member Individual $945 $400 $800
Non-Member Student $625 $260 $520
Non-Member Retiree $625 $260 $520
On-Site Rates - November 16–November 18
MEMBER Type Rate 1-day 2-day
Member Individual $845 $355 $710
Member Student $545 $230 $460
Member Retiree $545 $230 $460
Non-Member Individual $1,010 $425 $850
Non-Member Student $675 $285 $570
Non-Member Retiree $675 $285 $570

Conference Registration Fee Refund Policy

Our conference refund policy aligns with our twin commitments to provide flexibility to participants and to protect the financial security of the POD Network. Please submit all cancellation/transfer requests to [email protected]. Refunds may take 4-6 weeks to process. 

All transfers or cancellations or changes in venue will be assessed a $30 processing fee.

On or Before 11:59 pm PST, October 15, 2023

Cancellations:

Pittsburgh, online, or dual venues: refund of the registration fee minus $30 processing fee

Additional note regarding dual registration: cancellation of either venue will result in the loss of any savings incurred by registering for both; that is, the full registration fee for the venue you choose will be assessed, and a $30 processing fee will be retained. 

Transfers:

From Pittsburgh to online: refund of the difference between the two registration fees minus a $30 processing fee

From online to Pittsburgh: registrant will be assessed the difference in the two registration fees plus a $30 processing fee

October 16 to November 13, 2023

Refunds for cancellation or transfer requests for the Pittsburgh, online, and the dual venues will only be processed in case of a personal emergency, minus the $30 processing fee.

Notice to Presenters: If you are scheduled to facilitate a session in Pittsburgh, you will not be able to change your presentation to an online session if you cancel your Pittsburgh registration or transfer your registration to the online conference.

Note that travel expenses cannot be refunded by POD. Please consider the option of purchasing flight/travel insurance.

Financial Assistance

Committee/SIG Grants

As in the past, this year the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, the Adjunct/Part-time Faculty SIG, and the Graduate Student, Professional Student, & Postdoctoral Scholar Development (GPPD) SIG are offering grants to attend either conference venue. Each grant will provide funding for the conference registration fee and one year of POD membership. Travel grants of $1,800 may be provided for the Pittsburgh conference grant awardees. Click on the links below to access details and the application.

The Donald H. Wulff Diversity Fellowship Applications closed.

Graduate Student, Professional Student, and Postdoctoral Scholar Development (GPPD) Career Development Grant Applications closed.

Adjunct Faculty SIG Travel Grant  Applications closed.

Needs-based Financial Assistance – APPLICATIONS CLOSED

As part of our efforts to lower barriers to participation in the 2023 POD Conference, the POD Network is piloting a needs-based financial assitance program to support attendance at either the online or Pittsburgh venue. POD’s Core Committee has approved $25,000 to fund conference registration and membership fees, as well as travel and lodging costs for the Pittsburgh venue. Approximately 40% of awards will be given to individuals choosing to attend the online venue and 60% will be given to those choosing to attend the Pittsburgh venue.

The application process was open from September 8 to October 4; seventy-two applications were received. Due to the limited funding available, a random number generator will be used to identify those who will receive funding. A summary report will be generated and provided at a later date.

Inclusivity and Accessibility

The Conference Team is striving to make the conference events and materials accessible in all venues. Live captioning will be provided for the keynote speaker (Friday afternoon). Please indicate if you have a need for an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter via your conference registration. Childcare is also available upon request. Gender neutral restrooms will be available near our meeting rooms.We will have microphones in every room, and we strongly encourage presenters and participants to use them.

Several mobility rental options are available upon request, with daily rates ranging from $15 to $35. Options include: 3- or 4- wheel mobility scooter, portable power wheelchair, manual and transport wheelchair, and rollator/walker. Indicate your need when you register for the conference and the POD Office will reach out to you with details.

Please refer to the following guidelines as you are preparing your presentation for the conference: 2023 POD Conference Presenter Guidelines

If you have specific needs or concerns, we are happy to address them. Please provide them on your registration form (or email the Conference Committee at [email protected]) by October 15 to allow time for us to make suitable arrangements. We will take late requests but may not have sufficient time to accommodate your needs.

Healthcare Precautions Policy

The POD Network is committed to creating inclusive and accessible events. To this end, the Core Committee (Board of Directors) has approved a healthcare precautions policy that strives to  keep attendees healthy and safe, including our most vulnerable colleagues. It also provides a procedure to follow if an attendee tests positive before or during the conference. Please share any concerns, suggestions, or comments with [email protected].

Pittsburgh At-A-Glance Schedule
Wed Nov 15 Thu Nov 16 Fri Nov 17 Sat Nov 18 Sun Nov 19
Early Morning
(Before 9:00 AM)
Birds of a Feather and Breakfast Affinity Groups and Breakfast Breakfast
Morning
(9:00–Noon)
Pre-Conference Workshops Concurrent Sessions and hybrid POD Talks; Excursion 2 Heinz History Center Concurrent Sessions and Career Fair; Excursion 4 Nationality Rooms Anchor Session
Lunch
(Noon–2:00 PM)
Lunch on your own Lunch on your own; GPPD luncheon (by reservation only) Lunch on your own
Afternoon
(2:00–5:00 PM)
Pre-Conference Workshops Concurrent Sessions; Excursion 1  Open Labs Keynote Speaker address; Excursion 3 August Wilson Concurrent Sessions
Late Afternoon
(5:00–6:00 PM)
Concurrent Sessions Concurrent Sessions and hybrid POD Talks Poster Session and Resource Fair and Reception
Evening
(6:00–9:00 PM)
Welcome Dinner & President’s Address Awards Banquet Dinner on your own;  Excursion 5 Houdini
Night
(9:00 PM–Midnight)
PowerPoint Karaoke/ Karaoke Dance Party

Career Fair

The Career Fair will be held on Saturday, November 18 from 11:00am – 12:15pm. This is an informal opportunity to look for a position and also to advertise a position for your center or institution. The conference team will be announcing a call for participation in an upcoming newsletter.

GPPD Networking Lunch

On Friday, November 17, 12:15-1:30 PM,, the Graduate Student, Professional Student and Postdoctoral Scholar Special Interest Group (GPPD SIG) is offering a networking lunch for graduate students and postdocs. The goals of the lunch are to connect graduate students and postdocs interested in teaching; to create opportunities for professional networking between future faculty developers and current faculty developers; and to create connections across institutional contexts. More details will be sent to all registrants in October.

Please note that space is limited. If you are a graduate student, postdoc, or professional student, please confirm your interest in attending (and dietary restrictions) when you register for the conference. Current faculty developers will have an opportunity to sign-up for lunch through the GPPD listserv within the next month.

Resource Fair and Reception

The Resource Fair will be held on Saturday, November 18, from 5:00-6:00pm and seeks to provide a venue for participants to share or freely exchange information and resources relevant to our work as educational and organizational developers. This is an opportunity to socialize while acquiring new information or by sharing activities, resources, and services that benefit the POD Network community. The Resource Fair features tables from college- and university- affiliated programs, centers, and POD Network committees and SIGs. Please reserve your table when registering for the conference.

Materials and services may not be offered for sale or promoted for sale during the Resource Fair.

Reception will feature a cash bar.

Vendor Exhibit

The Vendor and Sponsor Exhibit features booths from commercial enterprises, publishers, and consultants. The Exhibit will be open all day on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday excluding times designated for the plenary session.

Vendor sessions (designated as such in the program) are intended to reflect the engaged and research-based approach of the POD Network while showcasing services or products.

The three-day Vendor Exhibit and individual Vendor Sessions are the only times at the conference when items or services may be promoted or offered for sale.

For information about sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, click here.

Information for Presenters

Audio/Visual Equipment

Projectors will be supplied for all Pre-Conference Workshops, Interactive Sessions, and Research Sessions (Roundtable Sessions will not have projectors). HDMI cables will be with each projector; presenters are responsible for providing a laptop, as well as any adapter needed to connect to the HDMI cable. The laptop audio system can be connected to the sound system in each room; a standard audio cable will be provided.

Wi-Fi will be available in each room, but since the network will be used by all conference participants, presenters are encouraged to download presentation materials—especially videos—in advance, rather than trying to access them online during the session.

Presenters are encouraged to set up rooms as soon as possible after the previous session to allow time to receive on-site AV support if something doesn’t work.

Microphones

Microphones will be available in each room and should be used by presenters and participants.

Details about enhancing accessibility will be shared with session facilitators.

Pittsburgh Full-Day Pre-Conference Workshops (W1–W4)

Wednesday afternoon, November 15, 1:00–4:30 pm EST (part one)
Thursday morning, November 16, 8:30 am–12:00 pm EST (part two)

You must register for the conference before adding workshops and excursions to your cart. If you have already registered and would like to add a workshop or excursion to your registration, please do so below.

W1: Getting Started: Workshop for New Educational Developers
A POD NETWORK PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSION

Kristi Verbeke, Shaun Longstreet, Carolyn Ives, Paul Martin

This interactive workshop orients new educational developers to the field. Participants will consider educational development research, foundational frameworks, and will identify priorities for their contexts. Participants will build core skills with an equity and inclusive lens: consulting with individuals and groups; developing or re-imagining effective programming; and assessing work at the individual and program/center level. Participants will leave the session with a big-picture view of educational development, enhanced skills, resources, and a support network to help them achieve their goals. NOTE: This session is not tailored for experienced developers nor those seeking strategies to found a center.

Includes Thursday morning breakfast and a published book

W2: The Learning Process: Foundational Understanding for Faculty and Student Success

Michele DiPietro, Marie Norman, Marsha Lovett, Michael Bridges

One of the most important contributions educational developers can offer instructors is to help them understand how learning works. After all, learning is the litmus test of any pedagogy. This interactive workshop synthesizes 60+ years of research on learning from the cognitive, motivational, developmental, and DEI perspectives into eight integrated principles. It is based on the second edition of the presenters’ book, with a deeper focus on diversity, inclusion and equity. Emphasis will be placed on experiencing and unpacking activities that illuminate each principle. Participants will leave with a toolbox of activities they can reuse in their own work.

W3: Teaching Effectiveness Frameworks: Supporting Formative Development and Equitable Assessment

Barbara Bird, Beate Brunow, Shawn Simonson, Eric Kyle

Teaching effectiveness frameworks, which an increasing number of institutions are adopting, are grounded in evidence-based teaching practices and design principles. These frameworks can serve as means to deepen teaching excellence with the support of teaching centers and to establish equitable criteria for the assessment of teaching for tenure and promotion. In this workshop, participants will:

  1. Review 5–10 teaching effectiveness frameworks;
  2. Consider which aspects might be most relevant for their own institutional context, drafting the framework categories best for their institution; and
  3. Identify strategies for next steps for implementing their own institutional framework.

Pittsburgh Half Day Pre-Conference Workshops (W4-W16)

Thursday morning, November 16, 9:00 am–12:00 pm
W4: Put Your Own Mask on First: Human-Centered Educational Development

Bryan Dewsbury, Mays Imad, Stephanie Foote, Joshua Caulkins, Brad Wuetherick

In this session, we will invite participants to engage in envisioning models that center humanity in our educational development curriculum, facilitate faculty in developing their own models of thriving, and cultivate personal mechanisms for self thriving necessary for effective educational development. Our goal is to move from the existing reactive stances toward a more human-centered, sustainable, and inclusive approach to educational development. Participants will leave the session with concrete ideas for transforming their educational development practice, along with guidelines for how ideas discussed might be adaptable for their own institutional contexts.

W5: Reimagine New Faculty Orientation with The University Game

Mark Pleiss, Nick Proctor

Tired of the same new faculty orientation ice breakers and panels? Learn The University Game! The University Game is part of Reacting to the Past, an active learning pedagogy of role-playing games in which players are assigned character roles and must communicate, collaborate, and compete to win. In this workshop, you will play the game, learn how to run it at your campus, and demonstrate how will introduce your new faculty to important campus personnel, teach them basic procedures of faculty governance, and show them how to see the university from a perspective outside their own.

W6: Leading for CTL Success: Enhancing Human Resources Leadership

Carolyn Hoessler, Donna Ellis, Bob Bayles

For leaders seeking to enhance your Center for Teaching and Learning’s (CTL’s) resilience and agility, this half-day workshop empowers you with theory-based strategies to advance priorities, support staff’s wellbeing, and prepare for further higher education changes. Together we will dive into four practical aspects of enhanced human resources (HR) leadership that affect CTLs: organizational structure, direction-setting, capacity-building, and accountability. This session will engage leaders with informed strategies, individualized reflection, gap identification, and discussions to assist you in making HR-related plans for a challenging yet critically important part of your role that is rarely addressed at educational development conferences.

W7: Navigating Early Career Landscapes for Educational Developers: Opportunities and Challenges
A POD NETWORK PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSION

Taimi Olsen, Tazin Daniels, Larry Hurtubise, Ferlin McGaskey, JuliA Metzker, Matthew Trevett-Smith

Are you looking for advice from a cohort of like-minded professionals? This session offers colleagues in their early years as educational developers with time and space for consultation, reflection, and relationship-building. Using a pre-survey, participants will be placed into groups by their selected interest in areas of job functions, professional development, career advancement, and networking, with particular attention to issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and wellbeing. Experienced educational developers and peers will unpack identified topics and co-facilitate discussion. After this dialogue and near-peer mentoring, participants leave with an action plan and opportunities to reconnect with their group in the future.

W8: Racial Equity Advocates: Working Toward Justice in Higher Education

Timothy Berry, Beth Beschorner, Brooke Burk

Institutions of Higher Educations can advance racial equity and social justice. Yet, providing relevant professional development for faculty and staff at these institutions is necessary. This session highlights one such program, Racial Equity Advocates, that provides support for faculty to actively interrupt inequities using the Courageous Conversations about Race Protocol (Singleton, 2021), role play, and mindful inquiry to address a problem of practice within their own context. The session will explain the program, provide opportunities for practice with the approaches used, and ask participants to consider what would be necessary to enact a similar program on their campuses.

W9: Designing and Implementing Scalable, Campus-wide Anti-Racist and Inclusive Teaching Programming

Rachel Yoho, E. Shelley Reid

How can faculty developers successfully integrate our work with current institutional systems to create sustainable, relevant, scalable programming around anti-racist and inclusive teaching? Beyond relying on “open call” workshops that reach a few enthusiasts or resorting to top-down “diversity education” requirements, there are several feasible pathways toward expanded engagement, but they all depend on planning and alignment. Participants will be guided to use this time individually and in community to explore strategies for defining faculty learning outcomes and matched assessments, aligning faculty learning with institutional initiatives and structures, and adapting programming to local environments.

#POD23 W10: All Aboard: A Solutions Clinic for Educational Developers
$100
W10: All Aboard: A Solutions Clinic for Educational Developers

Gypsy Denzine, Rebecca Campbell

In this pre-conference workshop we will actively engage participants in a “Solutions Clinic” so educational developers can experience a useful model for problem-solving. A Solutions Clinic can also be a useful team process for brainstorming new ideas and strategic planning. Participants will identify an actual problem they are facing, followed by a team approach to creatively suggesting multiple strategies for addressing the problem. Participants will experience how a Solutions Clinic brings equity to the diverse voices in the room. A Solutions Clinic is a useful approach for educational developers to have in their facilitation toolkit.

#POD23 W11: Leading with Equity: Authentically Engaging Faculty in Change Initiatives
$100
W11: Leading with Equity: Authentically Engaging Faculty in Change Initiatives

Marina Smitherman, Denise Domizi, Rod McRae

In this workshop, we explore a powerful model (Symposium) for engaging all stakeholders in campus initiatives and supporting them in taking a more active role during times of change. We have successfully used symposia to broaden faculty participation in change initiatives, connecting this work to what matters most for faculty, and providing avenues for more inclusive collaboration across disciplines and divisions. Much of the workshop will be devoted to helping participants:

  1. identify areas where they can lead change on their campuses and
  2. develop a draft plan for using symposia to increase engagement in these efforts.
W12: Faculty Development Meets Gen Z: Strategies to Address New Needs

Danielle Lusk

This interactive pre-conference workshop will discuss the root causes of the instructional challenges faced by Generation Z learners as well as provide a space for generating solutions. Together, we will discuss what evidence-based strategies align with these challenges as well as potential solutions that we have not considered. This workshop will include evidence from various disciplines, synthesizing it into themes. Shared strategies will be pulled from the fields of learning science, generational research, and mental health. This synthesis is intended to show the value of collaboratively approaching educational challenges to best help our learners grow and develop.

W13: A Holistic Framework for Incorporating JEDI in Your CTL's Offerings

Caroline Boswell, Marie Brown

Do you need help thinking strategically about how justice, equity, diversity, and inclusivity (JEDI) can be woven into the fabric of your center’s offerings? In this interactive pre-conference workshop, the presenters—two white cisgender female educational developers—will share an emergent framework to help your center advance this work. You will engage in a set of structured activities to help you reflect upon one or more of your center’s existing offerings through a JEDI lens. By the end of the workshop, you will have ideas for actionable change and a plan for how to move forward.

W14: Engaging Difficult Dialogues in the Classroom: Envisioning an Equitable Future

Libby Roderick

Universities should support students to wrestle meaningfully with issues of power, privilege and identity; however, numerous faculty report a tendency to avoid critical, but controversial, topics because they lack the confidence and skills to ensure productive classroom discussions. In this interactive workshop, participants will

  1. learn and practice a number of effective dialogue strategies;
  2. briefly examine the rights/responsibilities of academic freedom;
  3. discuss how engaging difficult dialogues differs in an online context;
  4. consider how to apply strategies in their own learning environments;
  5. be introduced to a wide range of additional resources to continue the work.
W15: Practicing What We Preach: Aligning CTL Values, Goals, Process, & Assessment

Jackson Christopher Bartlett

Effective teaching centers look a lot like effective classrooms: They know what they believe and have strong values that drive the work. They have clear goals that are aligned with those values. And they are intentional not just about what they want to achieve, but how they go about achieving it. In other words, they have the what, the why, and the how down pat. In this workshop, participants will explore the values they bring to educational development work and practice strategies for aligning values and practices to achieve their goals in sustainable, people-centered ways.

W16: Avoiding Faculty Burnout: The Weekly Plan to Prioritize, Build and Maintain Momentum, and Experience True Work-Life Balance
A POD NETWORK GOLD SPONSOR SESSION (National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity Programs)

Dr. Erin Furtak, University of Colorado at Boulder

Teaching and service can take over faculty members’ lives, induce feelings of burnout, and leave little to no time for research and writing. In this workshop, we share how to help faculty develop strategies for prioritizing and building momentum for their research and writing on the day-to-day level while maintaining work-life balance along the way.

Online Pre-Conference Workshops Available

Pittsburgh attendees may also register for the online pre-conference workshops as an “add on”; that is without registering for the online or dual venues.

W17-18: Monday, November 13, 12:00–2:00 PM EST
W19: Monday, November 13, 2:00–5:00 PM EST
W17: Unsettling Colonial Legacies: Towards Decolonizing Curriculum and Pedagogy

Sancha Medwinter, Kirsten Helmer

In this interactive workshop, participants will engage in reflective exercises, group discussions, and tasks to understand and challenge persisting colonial power structures that manifest in higher education curricula and pedagogies. Participants will gain an understanding of coloniality, how it infiltrates our learned educational approaches, and how we can undo it in our teaching through reflective exercises, group discussions, and tasks. The goal is to provide a process model and guide participants in developing their own decolonial practice from their own positionality, area of expertise, and their own discovery/self-reflection of how coloniality infiltrates their content and teaching.

W18: Navigating Early Career Landscapes for Educational Developers: Opportunities and Challenges
A POD NETWORK PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSION

Taimi Olsen, Tazin Daniels, Larry Hurtubise, Ferlin McGaskey, JuliA Metzker, Matthew Trevett-Smith

Are you looking for advice from a cohort of like-minded professionals? This session offers colleagues in their early years as educational developers with time and space for consultation, reflection, and relationship-building. Using a pre-survey, participants will be placed into groups by their selected interest in areas of job functions, professional development, career advancement, and networking, with particular attention to issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and wellbeing. Experienced educational developers and peers will unpack identified topics and co-facilitate discussion. After this dialogue and near-peer mentoring, participants leave with an action plan and opportunities to reconnect with their group in the future.

W19: Getting Started: Workshop for New Educational Developers

Kristi Verbeke, Shaun Longstreet

This interactive workshop orients new educational developers to the field. Participants will consider educational development research, foundational frameworks, and will identify priorities for their contexts. Participants will build core skills such as consulting with individuals and groups and developing or re-imagining effective programming, with an equity and inclusive lens. Participants will leave the session with a big-picture view of educational development, enhanced skills, resources, and a support network to help them achieve their goals.

NOTE: This session is not tailored for experienced developers nor those seeking strategies to found a center.

Pittsburgh Excursions

The times listed for each excursion indicate hotel departure and return times. If an excursion becomes full, we will updated this section and provide instructions to place  your name on a wait-list, if applicable.

University of Pittsburgh Open Lab
$25/person

Thursday November 16 | 12:30 pm–3:00 pm
824 Fifth Avenue

Open Lab at the University of Pittsburgh is an innovative makerspace for faculty, students, and staff. With technology and expertise in 3D scanning and printing, extended reality headsets, laser cutting and engraving, and other experiential learning tools, Open Lab helps to fuel teaching and learning at Pitt. Come take a 90-minute tour of the space and meet the team as you learn about the practical applications of a makerspace for enhancing pedagogy and about developing a makerspace on your campus.

Transportation is included for the approximate 25-minute trip each way.

Participation Max: 30

Heinz History Center
$20/person

Friday November 17 | 10:00 am–12:00 pm
1212 Smallman Street

The Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh’s “people museum,” has six floors of interactive displays that include well known antiques such as the Mister Rogers Neighborhood TV set and the oldest motor vehicle in the world, which tell the history of western Pennsylvania. The Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum is located on the second and third floors of the History Center.

The Heinz History Center is approximately a 6-minute walk from the Westin Hotel and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. We will assist with accessibility accommodations as requested on your registration form.

August Wilson: The Writer’s Landscape
Free

Donations to the Center encouraged and appreciated

Friday November 17 | 3:00 pm–5:00 pm
980 Liberty Avenue

Temporarily out of stock as of September 26, 2023. Send email to [email protected] be placed on a waiting list.

The Writer’s Landscape is the first-ever exhibition devoted to the life and works of Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright August Wilson. It is located at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, one of the biggest cultural institutions in the nation that focuses solely on the African American experience and the arts of the African diaspora.

There is no cost for this excursion. However, we encourage participants to consider making a personal donation to the Cultural Center.

The August Wilson African American Cultural Center is less than a 5-minute walk. We will assist with accessibility accommodations as requested on your registration form.

Participation Max: 25

University of Pittsburgh – Nationality Rooms
$35/person

Saturday November 18 | 9:45 am–12:15 pm
1209 Cathedral of Learning

Join your colleagues in a 60-90 minute tour of  the Nationality & Heritage Rooms at the University of Pittsburgh for a unique educational experience.  Nearly a century ago, the Nationality & Heritage Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Program created the rooms to celebrate and showcase the cultures of the many ethnic communities that immigrated to Allegheny County. On the first and third floors of the Cathedral of Learning, there are 31 Nationality Rooms where you can enjoy the rich heritage of the communities that inspired and supported their creation.

The Nationality Rooms are actual classrooms that offer students (and visitors) the opportunity to explore the historical diversity of the region as depicted via the gifts received from the ethnic groups of Pittsburgh. An added bonus for POD’s tour will be the enjoyment of end-of-year celebrations with traditional takes on well-known holidays.  

Transportation is included for the approximate 25-minute trip each way.

Participation Min: 10, Max: 30

Lee Terbosic in Life and Death of Harry Houdini
$45/person

Saturday November 18 | 7:30 pm–9:45 pm
Liberty Magic, 811 Liberty Ave.

In this special LIMITED ENGAGEMENT event, Lee Terbosic, an internationally touring magician, comedian, actor, daredevil and entertainer from Pittsburgh, PA, will lead audiences through an exploration of some of Houdini’s most magical moments. The 75-minute performance—part lecture, part Q&A, part demo, and all magic—will leave you wondering if there was something more sinister afoot when a 52-year-old Houdini died on that Halloween night in 1926.

Liberty Magic is about a 4-minute walk. We will assist with accessibility accommodations as requested on your registration form.