Celebration of Great Teaching Retreat

The Celebration of Great Teaching is returning to Austin Community College (ACC) in spring 2026.

This retreat is a faculty favorite and gives participants valuable teaching resources in a resort-like environment. You’ll leave with great takeaways to apply to your teaching and a connection to other faculty colleagues. Get excited for this special opportunity for faculty!

Celebration of Great Teaching Retreat

Where: Flying L Ranch Resort, 675 Flying L Dr, Bandera, TX 78003

When: April 24-26 (Friday evening-Sunday afternoon)

• • Check in: Friday, April 24, 3-3:30 p.m.
  • Check out: Sunday, April 26, 2 p.m.

What: An opportunity for 12 hours of professional development credit. Costs are covered by ACC except for transportation, excursions, or personal incidentals.

Application Deadline: Monday, March 2, at 11:59 p.m.

Information Session for Accepted Applicants: Friday, April 10, 1:30-2:30 p.m., Hyflex

Apply Here

Watch Video

Testimonials from Participants

“There were countless benefits of attending the retreat. One of the biggest advantages was the opportunity to meet and network with faculty from other disciplines whom I would not have had the chance to meet otherwise.”

“The exchange of ideas on effective communication and teaching was unmatched. Besides the professional development trainings, the days were filled with fun activities such as horseback riding, volleyball, and hayrides.”
– Dr. Tulashi Dahal, Adjunct Associate Professor

 

 

“The teaching strategies and ideas that really stood out for me were the ones that focused on group work. Allowing your students to work in groups more in the classroom helps them gain a better understanding of the content—not just through their own eyes but through the experiences of their classmates.”
– Ray Sandoval, Student Development Faculty Member

 

Retreat Info

The Celebration of Great Teaching Philosophy

ACC’s Celebration of Great Teaching is based on the National Great Teaching Seminar, a movement begun in 1969. The time we spend together is like no other professional development you will encounter. Many have said it is the best professional development of their career.

The Celebration is based on the premise that teachers learn teaching best from other teachers and that creativity is enhanced by mixing teachers of diverse teaching fields, experience levels, and interests. The emphasis is on the universals of teaching and on the special nature of those who are and aspire to be great teachers. If properly tapped, the collective wisdom of practicing educators surpasses that of any expert.

History of the Celebration of Great Teaching

The Celebration of Great Teaching Retreat is based on the Great Teachers Seminars format, begun in 1969 by David Gotshall and Roger Garrison. Hundreds of seminars exist around the country, from institutional to state to regional versions, varying from two-day retreats like ours (the most common length) to one week. This movement is all about empowering faculty and giving them the chance to learn from each other.

David Lydic and Sandra Gaskin began the ACC retreat in 1996 while David served as Coordinator in the Office of Faculty Development. Although the retreat was fully funded, it was suspended from 2003 to 2006 due to budget concerns and was reinstated in 2007 at the request of the Full-Time Faculty Senate. Since that time, David Lydic continued to serve as Lead Facilitator and partnered with Dr. Missi Patterson and the Office of Faculty Development to operate the retreat until his retirement in 2023. Since 2024, Dr. Missi Patterson has served as Lead Facilitator and is supported by the Office of Faculty Development.

The Celebration of Great Teaching Retreat is sponsored by ACC and coordinated by the Office of Faculty Development (1996–2002; 2007-current). The event invites full-time and adjunct faculty in any discipline (including librarians and counselors) to participate. It takes place off-campus and runs Friday through Sunday. There is no cost to the participants other than transportation.

The retreat is always held off-site, as one of the tenets of the Great Teachers Movement is that faculty need time away from their campuses to focus on improving teaching. For the past several years, the retreat has been held at the Flying L Ranch Resort in Bandera, TX. In 2025, the retreat was hosted at Mo-Ranch in Hunt, TX and will be back at Flying L in Bandera in 2026. Faculty spend quality time together, sharing teaching successes and challenges. Facilitators listen carefully to small group discussions and then help the participants develop their own agenda for the remainder of the weekend. Deep connections are formed between faculty colleagues. The learning is rich, unique, and highly transformative.

The Celebration of Great Teaching Retreat is a very special kind of faculty development. Participation in such a teaching retreat may affect a teacher more permanently, more deeply than any workshop, speaker, seminar, or class. Often cited as one of the best professional development experiences in their teaching careers, many participants go on to refer colleagues to apply. The special quality of the retreat and its reputation as a special time for faculty renewal and learning is what prompted the Full-Time Faculty Senate to ask for its reinstatement, and we’ve proudly supported their wishes by offering this unique program at ACC.