Day 1: Friday, 28 August, 2026
Theme: Sowing Seeds, Building Confidence, and Beginning the Journey
Day 1 is designed as a supportive and developmental space where participants can explore what the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning means in their own contexts, while building confidence in sharing their work. The emphasis is on nurturing early ideas, strengthening identity as SoTL scholars, and preparing participants to present. This is also where the conceptual groundwork is laid — distinguishing SoTL as pedagogy from SoTL as a research genre — and where two sessions on doing and sustaining SoTL institutionally now sit, since both are “how to” questions.
| Time | Activity | Engagement | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00 AM | Getting to Ashesi | Bus Departure from Christ The King Church | Christ The King |
| 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Getting Settled | Registration, Africa Market, & African Art Exhibit | In front of Eatery 5 |
| 8:00 – 8:30 AM | Breakfast / Snacks | Cocktail stands at Eatery 3 | |
| 8:30 – 8:35 AM | Ashesi University Welcome | Dr. Patrick Awuah, Founder & President, Ashesi University. | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 8:35 – 8:50 AM | SoTL Africa Remarks | Prof. Angela Owusu-Ansah, Provost & Professor, Ashesi University; Vice President – Africa, ISSOTL. | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 8:50 – 9:00 AM | Traditional Dance | Noyam Dance Institute | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 9:00 – 9:15 AM | Opening Plenary Speaker | Prof. El Hadji Yaya Koné, Associate Professor, Online Learning and Higher Education, University of Ottawa. | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 9:15 AM – 11:15 AM (2 hrs) Concurrent sessions | Workshop I-A: Introductory | Foundational session for deep exploration of SoTL. ● Understanding what SoTL is and can be in the African context ● Exploring how ideas are formed, nurtured, and grounded in practice ● Developing confidence in presenting scholarly work ● Recognising individual and collective experience as legitimate SoTL contributions Facilitator: Prof. Earle Abrahamson | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| Workshop I-B: Emerging | Emerging SoTLers: ● Participants bring work in progress, and with the help of Advanced participants, they are guided through ideating, refining, and preparing for presentation or publication. ● With an emphasis on encouragement, inclusivity, and growth, participants who are primed to articulate their own work by the end of the session are selected and announced to the group, and asked to prepare to present in the afternoon. Facilitators: Dr. Rebecca Awuah, Prof. Angela Owusu-Ansah (Coffee / Cocoa served during both workshops) | Apt Hall 217 | |
| 11:15 – 11:25 AM | Transition Buffer | ||
| 11:25 – 11:35 AM | Speed-Networking Warm-Up | Inner & Outer Circle Prompt: “One teaching question you’re sitting with”. Share to get feedback. This gives attendees, especially first-timers, a running start on building a network, sharpening their proposed question, and preparing for SoTL writing for the year. Facilitators: William Ohene Annoh, Rosemary Osei | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 11:35 – 12:40 PM | Plenary Workshop II: Advanced | Advanced SoTL All participants (Introductory, Emerging, and Advanced), engage together with SoTL in its Advanced forms past, present, and future. Facilitators: Prof. Kelly Schrum, Prof. Earle Abrahamson | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 12:45 – 1:45 PM | Lunch | A chance to connect informally, reflect on learning, and build relationships across institutions and regions. | Norton Motulsky |
| 1:45 – 1:55 PM | ISSOTL Welcome | Prof. Diana Botnaru Health Sciences & Kinesiology Georgia Southern, USA; President ISSOTL (2027-2028). | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 1:55 – 3:25 PM | Panel Discussion | What SoTL Is and What SoTL Is Not Panel: Prof. Peter Felten, Prof. Earle Abrahamson, Prof. Angela Owusu-Ansah, Prof. Jessie Moore, Dr. Heather Beem Moderator: Dr. Hassan Wahab, Associate Professor, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences. | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 3:25 – 4:25 PM | Panel Discussion: | Community of Practice – Building & Sustaining SoTL at Ashesi Ashesi faculty who have been driving SoTL share how they built buy-in, instilled a SoTL culture, and are sustaining it over time. Panel: Dr. Rebecca Awuah, Miriam Abade-Abugre, Dr. Anthony Spio, Prof. Keren Arthur. Moderator: William Annoh | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 4:25 – 5:00 PM | Emerging SoTLers Presentations | Making The SoTL Process Visible 2 Participants present their emerging or developed SoTL work in a safe, developmental environment – sharing ideas, receiving constructive feedback, and learning from one another. Facilitators: Dr. Rebecca Awuah, Prof. Earle Abrahamson | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 5:00 – 5:15 PM | Reflections | Bringing It All Together Facilitators: Prof. Earle Abrahamson, Prof. Angela Owusu-Ansah. | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 5:15 – 6:45 PM | Pre-Dinner Entertainment | Kwan Pa | Hive Amphitheatre |
| 6:45 PM | Dinner | The day concludes with a shared dinner celebrating SoTL as a community, scholarship, and African. | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 7:30 PM | Close | The Hive Banquet Hall | |
| 7:45 PM | Bus Departure to Accra Mall & Christ The King |
Day 1: Saturday 29 August, 2026
Theme: Exemplary SoTL Research, Deepening Understanding, and Growing Towards Publication
Day 2 shifts focus from doing SoTL to seeing it done well: exposure to exemplary SoTL research, critical engagement with what counts as evidence in the field, and future pathways toward publication and impact. The day opens with a short framing session that marks this shift explicitly, then moves into the paper sessions, case spotlight, and closing panel.
| Time | Activity | Engagement | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00 AM | Getting to Ashesi | Bus Departure from Christ The King Church | Christ The King |
| 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Getting Settled | Registration, Africa Market, & African Art Exhibit | In front of eatery 5 |
| 8:00 – 8:30 AM | Breakfast / Snacks | Eatery 3 | |
| 8:30 – 8:45 AM | Plenary Framing | From Doing SoTL to Publishing SoTL A short framing talk recapping Day 1’s practice focus and previewing Day 2’s shift to exemplary, publishable SoTL research Facilitators: Prof. Angela Owusu-Ansah, Rosemary Osei | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 8:45 – 11:25 AM | Concurrent Paper Sessions I | ● 8:45 – 9:15: Paper 1: “Responding To Learning Barriers in Engineering Mechanics Through Reflective Teaching Practice” by Miriam Abade-Abugre – (25 min incl. Q&A) ● 9:20 – 9:45: Paper 2: “Sankofa: A Decolonial Framework for Art Education and Curatorial Practice” by Ebenezer Kow Abraham – (25 min incl. Q&A) ● 9:50 – 10:15: Paper 3: “Pedagogical Disclosure: Does Explicitly Disclosing a Teaching Philosophy Change How Students Learn? Evidence From Design Thinking and Entrepreneurship Education in Ghana” by Eugene Eluerkeh – (25 min incl. Q&A) ● 10:15 – 10:30: Break: Coffee / Cocoa provided. ● 10:30 – 10:55: Paper 4: “Strengthening Pre-Service Teacher Education in Nigeria: An Evaluation of The 4-In-1 Pedagogical Model” by Sunday Eke Nto – (25 min incl. Q&A) ● 11:00 – 11:25: Paper 5: “Roots of Practice: Cultivating A Sustainable SoTL Culture in Africa” by Earle Abrahamson (25 min incl. Q&A) Moderator Chairs: Prof. Earle Abrahamson, Prof. El Hadji Yaya Koné | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 8:45 – 11:25 AM | Concurrent Paper Sessions II | ● 8:45 – 9:15: Paper 6: “Evidence From An Instructional Skills Workshop On Learner-Centred Practice In African Higher Education” by Linus Mwinkaar – (25 min incl. Q&A) ● 9:20 – 9:45: Paper 7: “ Structured Reflection As A Pedagogical Tool For Entrepreneurial Identity And Agency Development”by Keren Naa Abeka Arthur – (25 min incl. Q&A) ● 9:50 – 10:15: Paper 8: “The Effects Of A Professional Programme In Pedagogy On Learners In Higher Education”by Dr. Paul Kwadwo Addo – (25 min incl. Q&A) ● 10:15 – 10:30: Break: Coffee / Cocoa provided. ● 10:30 – 10:55: Paper 9: “ Student-Led Peer Facilitation As Design Thinking Pedagogy In Large African University Classes”by Esther Attiogbe & Mercy Desouza – (25 min incl. Q&A) ● 11:00 – 11:25: Paper 10: “ African Genius Voices And Student Transformation Through Culturally Restorative Pedagogy”by Brioné Lathrop – (25 min incl. Q&A) Moderator Chairs: Prof. Rebecca Awuah, Prof. Angela Owusu-Ansah | Apt Hall 217 |
| 11:30 – 11:55 | Mentor Pairing | Introductory participants pair with Advanced participants for one follow-up conversation after the conference; contacts exchanged so collaboration outlives the two days. Inter- and intra-university writing groups are created. Each person’s budding question from Day 1 is submitted as a potential starting point for conducting SoTL research during the year and writing a SoTL paper. Facilitators: Prof. Jessie Moore, Cynthia Anaba, and Roselyn | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 12:00 PM – 12:15 PM | A Conversation | SoTL Publications with Prof. Hassan Wahab | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 12:15 – 12:35 PM | Open Plenary | Making a Public Impact with SoTL e.g., Publishing SoTL Research Facilitators: Prof. Earle Abrahamson, Prof. Jessie Moore | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 12:45 PM – 1:45 PM | Lunch | (Participants continue research conversations) | Norton Motulsky |
| 1:45 – 2:45 PM | Presentations | Modelling Exemplary SoTL Research A spotlight of 4 African-led SoTL studies presented as the day’s intellectual centerpiece, with facilitated reflection on what makes them exemplary. Since every participant works in the African context, these examples are maximally transferable. Facilitators: Selasi Nukpe Dr. Millicent Awuku, Dr. Gideon Hosu-Porbley, Dr. Theodora Aryee, Eugene Eluerkeh | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 2:45 – 3:30 PM | Panel Discussion | Future SoTL in Africa Based on our understanding of SoTL and our context as Africans: what aspects of African culture can be used to enhance the understanding and adoption of SoTL, complementing rather than diluting its fidelity? For example: oral tradition and storytelling in teaching, African philosophical thought, or how indigenous and oral forms of knowledge-sharing can count as legitimate evidence in SoTL scholarship. Moderator: Jewel Thompson Panel members: Dr. Ebo Adjepon-Yamoah, Prof. Joseph Adjei, Dr. Gideon Hosu-Porbley, Eugene Eluerkeh, Dr. Mensimah Kwaffo, Dr. Paul Addo | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 3:30 – 3:45 PM | Closing Plenary | Rooted in Practice, Growing in Confidence, Flourishing in Community Prof. Bryan Dewsbury | The Hive Banquet Hall |
| 3:45 – 3:50 PM | Vote of Thanks | Prof. Angela Owusu-Ansah | |
| 4:00 PM | Bus Departure |