#IBILTA2023
Meet The Conference Team
Conference Chairs
Associate Professor Loretta Konjarski
Loretta is the Head of Curriculum in the First Year College (FYC) and the Head of Community Engagement at Victoria University (VU), and a member of the College Senior Leadership Group.
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Loretta provides leadership in the development of all teaching and learning programs within the FYC. She leads an evidence-based approach to improving curriculum, pedagogy and assessment with the goal of enhancing student learning and experience. Loretta works across the FYC to ensure that established and new teaching and learning activity align with College and University intention.
Loretta loves working in higher education. Her commitment to excellence in education and curriculum is long and deeply held from her career beginnings as a Physical Education educator.
Loretta is an expert and thought leader in curriculum and block teaching in higher education. She believes that block teaching is an innovative and a compelling path forward to supply the best of educational opportunities, learning relationships and experiences to students.
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Loretta is a skilled collaborator. Building excellent relationships with colleagues and stakeholders is her priority and she is known for her capability to lead and work within and across teams and disciplines in large organisations. Loretta is an empathetic leader and coach who brings out the best in individuals and teams.
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Loretta is an accomplished speaker, writer, presenter, trainer and teacher. She works with both the big picture and intricate details in mind. Loretta is highly regarded because of the respect and commitment she affords the priorities and concerns of stakeholders and communities in the higher education sector.
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Dr Bert Oraison
Bert is a senior lecturer with the First Year College. Coordinating the First Year, Bert had an active role in developing and transforming materials for the Block Model.
As an Academic Teaching Researcher in the First Year College, Bert is involved in teaching all psychology units, as well as engaging in several research projects.
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Conference Committee Members
Dr Traci Freeman
Traci Freeman is the Dean of the Endicott Center for Teaching & Learning and an Associate Professor of English. At Endicott, Dr. Freeman oversees services in support of teaching excellence and student access, persistence, and success. Prior to coming to Endicott, Dr. Freeman was the Executive Director of the Colket Center for Academic Excellence at Colorado College, where she became interested in block and intensive teaching and learning.
Dr. Freeman is currently the Vice President of the International Block and Intensive Learning & Teaching Association and has served on the Board of the National Resources Center for the First Year Experience and Students in Transition. She has published chapters in a number of edited collections and in the National Teaching & Learning Forum.
She has forthcoming articles in the Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice and the Writing Center Journal. She received her B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania and her M.A. and PhD. in Women, Gender, and Literature from The University of Texas at Austin.
Professor Christian Gilde
Dr. Christian Gilde is a Professor of Business at the University of Montana Western. Dr. Gilde received his Ph.D. from the University of Bath and his M.A. from Boston College. He conducts research in the areas of marketing and education. His research translated (and translates) into numerous journal articles and books on business and higher education. His teaching interests include management, marketing, and leadership.
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Associate Professor Puspha Sinnayah
Associate Professor Puspha Sinnayah is a teaching and research focussed academic and Head of Teaching Quality with the First Year College and research fellow with the Institute for Health and Sport (IHES) at Victoria University (VU). She has extensive experience in curriculum design and innovation in blended and active learning strategies in physiology teaching.
Dr Puspha Sinnayah received the Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT) citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning in 2018 for 'active learning strategies that improve student engagement in first year bioscience’ and received a team AAUT award in 2020 for Programs that Enhance Learning - Innovation in Curriculum Design and Pedagogy Practice For VU’s Block Model. She has a track record in neuroscience of appetite research and is highly cited in this field. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9811-7236
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Dr Erin Lotz
Erin Lotz serves as the Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Prescott College. For its 55-year history, Prescott college has used immersive and intensive course designs, including blocks, to deliver its experiential curriculum.
Erin enjoyed decades of teaching as faculty in Adventure Education in non-traditional environments exploring wild places with students and designing challenging and provocative learning experiences.
As Dean, with a bird's eye view of all Prescott's undergraduate degrees, Erin's position allows her to coordinate and evolve the college's curricular offerings. When not at the College, Erin loves hiking, backcountry trips with family and friends, and figuring out how to be a mom of two active teenagers.
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