CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

The 2027 Theme: Multi-disciplinary Teaching Collaboration

The ITAA Teaching Innovation and Resources Committee invites submissions for the 2027 Nancy Rutherford Teaching Innovation Award. This award encourages the development and dissemination of innovative teaching strategies that address emerging issues in the apparel and textile fields. Applicants are invited to submit a paper that meets the following criteria: 

 

Applicants are invited to submit a paper that meets the following criteria:

• Fit with the 2027 theme
• Appropriate for delivery in undergraduate curricula.
• Reporting of learning outcomes. Collection of student data must have been approved by the home institution’s review board for human subjects.
• Teaching strategy was delivered within the last year and a half (Fall 2025-Spring 2027)
• Submissions will be accepted from instructors working independently as well as from faculty members who have worked collaboratively to develop the teaching strategy. This award is also open to graduate students. All collaborators on the teaching strategy must be ITAA members.
• Winners must agree to present their paper at the 2027 ITAA conference and to submit materials to the online ITAA Teaching Collection. 

 

Theme

As the landscape of higher education continues to expand and diversify, the ability to work across disciplinary boundaries has become essential for preparing students to thrive in complex, interconnected professional environments. Multi-disciplinary teaching collaboration allows faculty to merge distinct bodies of knowledge, pedagogical approaches, and problem-solving methods to create learning experiences that mirror the realities of today’s workplaces. Such collaborative teaching fosters students’ capacity for integrative thinking, strengthens creativity, and enhances their ability to approach challenges from multiple perspectives (Weinberg, 2004). Through these cross-disciplinary partnerships, students not only deepen content knowledge but also develop transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, and critical inquiry — competencies increasingly valued by employers across fields (Corbacho et al., 2021). Examples of these collaborations may include co-taught modules, project-based learning involving multiple disciplines, shared course experiences, or team-designed instructional materials.

The theme of the 2027 Teaching Innovation Award is Multi-disciplinary Teaching Collaboration. We welcome submissions that highlight innovative teaching strategies emerging from cross-disciplinary partnerships, including but not limited to co-developed curricula, integrative course activities, collaborative assignments, and teaching practices that meaningfully blend perspectives from two or more academic disciplines.

 

References:

Weinberg, A. (2004). Interdisciplinary Teaching and Collaboration in Higher Education: A Concept Whose Time Has Come.

Corbacho, Á. M. et al. (2021). Interdisciplinary Higher Education with a Focus on Academic and Vocational Skills Development. Higher Education journal.

 

Evaluation Criteria: 

• Thematic Fit: Appropriateness of the materials to the theme. 
• Audience: Appropriateness of teaching materials to the audience. 
• Innovativeness: Originality of the materials and approach. 
• Effectiveness: Learning objectives are clearly articulated and results are measured and reported. 
• Presentation Quality: Clarity, detail, and completeness of teaching materials and activities. 

Submission:

Submissions are due by April 1, 2027. Submit your proposals using Oxford Abstracts unique link.

Submissions will be double-blind reviewed by the Teaching Innovations and Resources Committee. In addition to the international recognition, stipends will be awarded as follows: $500 for first place; $300 for second place; and $200 for third place. 

Follow-Up:

Authors will be notified electronically of the outcome of the review at the email address of the corresponding author. Only the corresponding author will receive the acceptance notification emails; it is the responsibility of the corresponding author to notify other authors. If the paper is accepted, authors will be notified of (1) the information on the presentation type and (2) the instruction on preparing the proceedings paper and uploading it to the ISU Digital Repository after the conference ends.

 

All oral, poster or pecha kucha presentations at the annual conference must be presented by one of the original authors. Accepted papers cannot have changes in title and authors from what is listed in the printed conference program when they are presented at the conference. The proceedings file that will be uploaded to the ISU Digital Repository by the corresponding author should essentially be the same as the abstract that was submitted by April 1. Only minor editorial changes are allowed.

 

Submission Eligibility

Only ITAA members are qualified to submit papers to the Nancy Rutherford Teaching Innovation Award Competition. Instructional materials for the teaching strategy must have been developed for, and delivered in, textile and apparel or related undergraduate courses at a post-secondary institution. Submissions may not have been previously published elsewhere. Author(s) must be the original developer(s) of the submitted teaching strategy.

 

Submissions will be accepted from instructors working independently as well as from faculty members who have worked collaboratively to develop the teaching strategy. This award is also open to graduate students. All collaborators must be ITAA members. Submissions will be double-blind reviewed under the supervision of the Chair of the Teaching Innovation and Resources Committee. All submitted papers with assessment data must have proof of approval by a university’s institutional review board for human subjects.

 

Submission Guidelines

All submissions must be in PDF format. Prepare three files, as follows:

 

File 1 - Title page with submission title, author name(s), institutional affiliation, program, keywords and contact information. Name this file following this format: Author Last Name_RuthTchAward_File1.

 

Follow this format for the title page:

 

This Is the Title of the Submission 

 

 Author Name(s), Some University, USA 

 

Author Program Name 

 

Keywords: list three keywords 

 

Lead author email address 

 

File 2 – One file in pdf format that includes all information as outlined below with NO identifiable author information to ensure blind review. Name this file following this format: Author Last Name_RuthTchAward_File2. Due to space limitations on the ITAA website, this file may NOT exceed 10MG. If applicable, authors are encouraged to include links to external web sites where large files such as student assignment examples can be found. 

 

Submission of papers (File 2) for review should include the following: 

·    Title page which includes title of the submission and keywords ONLY. 

·    Abstract (maximum 150 words) 

·    Project description, including: 

• An introduction explaining: 
• course(s) for which this activity is appropriate and where course(s) fits in the curriculum. 
• instructor and students’ knowledge/skills required to complete activity. 
• recommended format (in-class or homework activity, individual or group-based, online activity, etc.) 
• Detailed description of the activity including: 
• clear explanation of integration of how the theme is integrated into the activity 
• learning objectives, direct and indirect assessment tools 
• directions and resources needed to complete the activity 
• evaluation process 
• Conclusion explaining: 
• number of times the activity has been delivered the course 
• changes that have been made to the activity (if any) and rationale 
• assessment of learning outcome(s) results (students’ quotes or reflections about the activity are recommended) 
• recommendations/advantages/disadvantages of using this activity 

 

Note: File 2 materials must not contain any information that identifies the author(s). 

 

File 3 – Documentation of human subjects approval.

 

Name the file folder as follows: Author Last Name_RuthTchAward_Submission-Title/Manuscript/IRB approval. Upload via the Oxford Abstract Portal for the Nancy Rutherford Award. Winners will be announced by May 15, 2027.