ICON Day 2026 will spotlight practical ways to spark participation and deepen learning. Sessions will showcase technology tools, in ICON and beyond, that make active learning easier to design and run. Leave with templates, demos, and ideas you can apply in your next class.

Our 2026 keynote speaker will be Claire Howell Major, PhD, a professor of Higher Education at The University of Alabama. Her talk, Choosing Active Learning Strategies to Support Deeper Student Thinking, will highlight how active learning is an instructional approach proven to support student engagement and learning outcomes across disciplines. Participants will examine what active learning is, why it works, and some of the challenges that can limit its effectiveness. Drawing on research about learning and cognitive load, participants will consider practical, adaptable techniques that promote deeper student thinking across a variety of instructional contexts.

Howell Major teaches courses on college teaching, technology in higher education, learning online in higher education, and assessment in higher education and student affairs. Her research interests include faculty work, pedagogical approaches, technology for teaching, and online learning.

Please register by Monday, Nov. 2, if you would like to attend ICON Day 2026.

The Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology provides expertise, tools, and services to optimize teaching and learning through learning sciences research, ICON, teaching and learning data, and advanced classroom and instructional technology. To learn more about the services we offer, please visit our website at teach.its.uiowa.edu.