Assessment, Teaching and Learning (ATL) Conference

Day 1: Wednesday, April 29

1:00-4:00 p.m. Preconference Deeper Dive Sessions

Day 2: Thursday, April 30 

9:30 – 9:40 a.m. Welcome & Opening Remarks

9:40 – 10:30 a.m. Keynote #1 - Dr. Sarah Rose Cavanagh

10:30 – 10:45 a.m. Break

10:45 – 11:30 a.m. Concurrent Sessions

11:30 a.m.  - 12:30 p.m. Lunch Break

12:30 – 1:15 p.m. Student Panel on AI

1:15 - 1:30 p.m. Break

1:30 -  2:30 p.m. Ask, Learn, Connect session

Day 3: Friday, May 1 

9:30-10:00 a.m. Coffee and Reflections

10:00 –10:10 a.m. Welcome Back and Opening Remarks

10:10 – 11:00 a.m. Keynote #2 - Dianna Ma

11:00 – 11:15 a.m. Break

11:15 a.m. – 12:30 a.m. Concurrent Session Block

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch Break

1:30 – 2:20 p.m. Keynote #3 - Flower Darby

2:20 - 2:30 p.m. Closing Remarks

Sara Rose Cavanagh

Biography

Sarah Rose Cavanagh is the Senior Associate Director for Teaching and Learning in the Center for Faculty Excellence at Simmons University, where she also teaches in the Psychology Department as an Associate Professor of Practice. Before joining Simmons, she was a tenured Associate Professor of psychology and neuroscience at Assumption University, where she also served in the D'Amour Center for Teaching Excellence as Associate Director for Grants and Research. Sarah's research considers the interplay of emotions, motivation, learning, and quality of life. Her most recent research project, funded by the National Science Foundation, convenes a network of scholars to develop teaching practices aimed at greater effectiveness and equity in undergraduate biology education. She is author of four books, including The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion (2016) and Mind Over Monsters: Supporting Youth Mental Health with Compassionate Challenge (2023). She gives keynote addresses and workshops at a variety of colleges and regional conferences, blogs for Psychology Today, and writes essays for venues like Literary Hub and The Chronicle of Higher Education. She’s also on BlueSky too much, at @SaRoseCav.

Session: Nurturing Academic Well-Being In a Liminal time

Higher education has entered a state of liminality — an uncertain and ambiguous transition time when it is clear more changes are afoot but the path before us has yet to become clear. In this state of ongoing uncertainty and constant change, how can we nourish ourselves and stay well? How can we lead? In this interactive session, psychologist and educational developer Sarah Rose Cavanagh will guide us through exercises designed to identify courses of action to support student, faculty, and staff well-being in an uncertain time. She will share data from psychology, neuroscience, and pedagogy to support her proposed actions, and highlight insights from a new book project on the science of well-being. Attendees will have the opportunity for both reflection and discussion and leave with an action plan for the summer and fall.

Diana Ma

Biography

Diana Ma is a Chinese American anti-oppressive educator and author. Her book Anti-Oppressive Universal Design for Teachers: Building Equitable Classrooms was published by Routledge’s Equity and Social Justice in Education series in July 2025. Diana is also a Young Adult and Middle Grade author. Diana teaches at North Seattle College and believes it’s important for all kids to recognize themselves as the heroes of the books they read. Her belief that diverse books help us create a better world is what drives her writing and teaching. More information can be found about Diana on her website: Dianamaauthor.com

Session: How Anti-Oppressive UD Creates Educational Equity and Sustainable Teaching

This presentation will provide an Anti-Oppressive Universal Design framework for building student-centered, socially just, intersectional, and sustainable classroom curriculum and practices. Diana Ma, author of Anti-Oppressive Universal Design for Teachers: Building Equitable Classrooms in Routledge’s Equity and Social Justice in Education series, will discuss using equitable and flexible design to counter deficit-models and forced conformity to oppressive systems—so students and teachers are free to be their authentic selves.

Flower Darby

Biography

Flower Darby celebrates and promotes effective teaching in all modalities to advance learning outcomes for all students. She’s an Associate Director of the Teaching for Learning Center at the University of Missouri. Prior to that, she held roles such as Assistant Dean of Online and Innovative Pedagogies and Director of Teaching for Student Success. These roles have allowed her to build on her experience teaching in person and online for 30 years in a range of subjects including Psychology, English, technology, education, leadership, dance, and Pilates. In her current work and publications, Darby empowers faculty to teach engaging classes in all modalities so that all students can learn. She is the lead author (with James M. Lang) of Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes. Her new book, The Joyful Online Teacher: Finding Our Fizz in Asynchronous Online Classes, comes out Spring 2026.

Session: Teaching for Authentic Student Learning in an AI Age

Like it or not, AI is here to stay, and students are using it. But they’re not all using it to outsource their learning. Students know when they need to gain specific knowledge to achieve their goals and they’re willing to resist the AI temptation in those moments. We’ll explore practical strategies to help students develop critical AI literacy and ethical approaches to working and learning with AI. Plus, you’ll leave this session with concrete tips to update your assignments, tests, and projects for an AI age. Come and learn how to help ourselves, and our students, work and learn with and without AI in productive, meaningful ways.

You’ll hear about topics such as:

• How today’s students are using AI and when they’re choosing not to use it.
• How we can help them choose not to use AI when we know that’s best for their learning.
• How to help students develop essential understanding about AI’s risks and benefits  for today’s society and workplace.
• How to update your assignments, tests, and projects to promote authentic learning in an AI age.

One low price, limited paperwork, and a simple online payment process make registering your entire campus easy.

Institutional Registration (WA CTCs): $199

• Unlimited seats for all WA SBCTC colleges
• Pay online through our convenient payment portal.

Individual Registration (Internal): $99

• Opens March 10, 2026.

External Colleges & Universities: $299 for 20 participants with CSV roster

• We welcome external partners—contact Alissa Sells for details.

In mid‑March, registered colleges will receive the Zoom Events access link to distribute so that individuals can sign up, view sessions as they are announced, and save personalized itineraries directly to their calendars.

All sessions include live captioning, and ASL interpretation is available.