2026 Festival of
Teaching + Learning
Envision. Celebrate. Connect.
April 28 - 30, 2026
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April 28/29: Lister Conference Centre, U of A North Campus
11613 87 Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2H6 -
April 30: Online, via Zoom
REGISTRATION HAS NOW CLOSED
About
The 2026 Festival of Teaching and Learning brings the teaching and learning community together in a spirit of reflection, curiosity, and connection. It remains a space for shared learning and meaningful conversation across its seven enduring festival threads, creating room for broad and timely dialogue about teaching and learning at the University of Alberta and beyond.
Artificial intelligence will be a prominent focus for the 2026 Festival of Teaching and Learning, inviting conversation about how it is reshaping teaching and learning and prompting reflection on the opportunities, challenges, and responsibilities it brings for instructors, students, staff, and educational leaders.
The 2026 festival continues conversations already happening across the university about AI in teaching and learning, while creating space for collective reflection and dialogue. This focus will be reflected across sessions, discussions, and other opportunities for exchange throughout the festival.
What to expect
FoTL 2026 will feature a dynamic three-day structure, combining in-person and online opportunities for learning, discussion, and multimodal engagement. This approach fosters meaningful connections and collaboration across diverse platforms.
In-person
Begin the 2026 Festival of Teaching and Learning by celebrating excellence in teaching as we announce this year’s university teaching award winners.
Then, stay for a special in-person program dedicated to the opportunities and challenges of Generative AI in teaching and learning. Explore real classroom examples, tools, and critical conversations about ethics, assessment, and academic integrity in an AI-rich environment.
In-person
Spend a full day immersed in interactive sessions that highlight the breadth of teaching and learning. From course and curriculum design to assessment, equity, inclusion, experiential learning, and educational technologies, you’ll have opportunities to learn with colleagues, share your own practices, and build connections across disciplines.
Online
Join us online for a full day of flexible virtual programming that you can access from wherever you are. Through live sessions, you’ll explore diverse topics in teaching and learning while connecting with colleagues in chat and discussion spaces. Drop in for a single session or curate your own day-long online festival experience.
Join the Conversation
The Festival of Teaching and Learning welcomes all members of the teaching and learning community, including instructors, students, staff, and educational leaders from across the University of Alberta.
For the first time, the 2026 festival also welcomes participants from other post-secondary institutions. We look forward to strengthening connections across the broader teaching and learning community, including with colleagues from neighbouring institutions. Participants will share ideas, learn together in community, and contribute to thoughtful conversations about teaching and learning.
The centre’s role in the festival
CTL hosts the Festival of Teaching and Learning as an expansive and inclusive space for academic practitioners to explore, share, and reimagine teaching. In keeping with the principles of academic freedom, the festival creates the conditions for open and generative dialogue, without directing or limiting the perspectives shared.
Read the statement on freedom of expression at the University of Alberta »
Festival threads
Rooted in the U of A Framework for Effective Teaching, our festival threads offer a robust foundation for enhancing teaching quality. Each of the five domains in the framework encourages reflection, evaluation, and the continuous improvement of teaching practices to elevate student outcomes and foster inclusive, engaging learning environments grounded within the U of A context and institutional priorities.
These threads remain consistent year over year by addressing enduring issues and opportunities in postsecondary education while providing a stable framework for meaningful dialogue and collaboration.
At the heart of innovation lies visionary thinking. How do your forward-looking ideas reimagine teaching and learning by addressing emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities to shape the future of education?
Integrating Indigenous knowledge and practices into education is central to Truth and Reconciliation and the commitments made by post-secondary institutions. How do you enact actionable strategies for embedding Indigenous perspectives, decolonizing educational practices, and sustaining meaningful dialogue and relations to further our efforts toward reconciliation in our institutions?
See the University of Alberta’s Indigenous Strategic Plan Braiding Past, Present and Future.
Inclusive spaces elevate learning for all. Participants will explore strategies to improve equity and accessibility, build interconnected communities, and promote a strong sense of belonging in educational environments. How do you create spaces where everyone feels valued, barriers to success are removed, and thriving connections are nurtured?
See the University of Alberta community’s commitment to Access, Community, and Belonging.
Transformative learning begins with strategic design. How do you implement practical strategies for creating innovative, research-driven curricula that engage students, ensure accessibility, and adapt to evolving educational landscapes?
Collaboration drives transformation. How do you harness the power of partnerships among educators, students, and communities to enrich learning experiences and improve teaching practices, fostering meaningful collaboration for change?
Innovation thrives at the intersection of theory and practice. How do you connect pedagogical theories with real-world applications, emphasizing evidence-based, inclusive, and impactful approaches to enhance teaching and learning?
Leadership is the catalyst for transformative change in education and to commitments in post-secondary strategic planning. How do educational leaders engage with strategies that empower educators as change agents, inspire innovative teaching practices, and drive meaningful, student-centred transformation within their institutions?
See the University of Alberta strategic plans Shape and Education with Purpose, Braiding Past, Present and Future, Changing the Story, and Student Experience Action Plan.
Commitment to access and accessibility
The Centre for Teaching and Learning is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive environment for all participants. We recognize that accessibility is essential to every individual’s full participation and success, and we strive to remove barriers to engaging fully and meaningfully. We are dedicated to providing accommodations, resources, and support that address the diverse needs of our attendees, speakers, and presenters.
Live Zoom captioning will be offered in all sessions.
OUR SPONSORS
We would like to acknowledge both Instructure, the creators of Canvas, and Feedback Fruits for their generous support of the 2026 Festival of Teaching and Learning!
The success of our academic community is built upon a foundation of innovation and collaboration. We recognize Instructure for their role in powering Canvas, the University of Alberta’s official Learning Management System. As a cornerstone of our digital campus, Canvas supports our institution’s commitment to providing a world-class, modern learning environment for students and instructors alike.
We are grateful for their sponsorship and their continued partnership in driving the digital transformation of our academic community.
We are pleased to acknowledge FeedbackFruits as a festival sponsor and a key partner in our pedagogical toolkit. Their tools are a key integration within our Canvas ecosystem, fostering the culture of feedback and peer-to-peer learning that we celebrate at the Festival of Teaching + Learning. We thank them for their support and their dedication to enhancing the student experience through evidence-based technology.