Are you considering submitting a proposal for the 2016 NCTE Annual Convention? You should!
We’ve been getting some questions about the process and we thought it would be a good idea to address the most frequently asked ones below.
Check out this video in which Jason Griffith, one of our proposal coaches, shares his insights. You can also read his 6 tips for crafting a proposal here.
Is the proposal system live?
Yes! The proposal system went live on December 18 and can be accessed here. Full details on the word counts and fields you will have to fill in can be found here.
What if my session idea doesn’t have anything to do with advocacy?
First of all, all session proposal ideas are welcome for consideration and we are confident your proposal does involve advocacy of some sort.
A central argument of the 2016 convention theme, Faces of Advocacy, is that the very act of being a teacher is an act of advocacy. The work we do every day in making the best choices for our students and our profession involves advocating for what we know is right.
So if you have a session on a great new strategy for doing close reading, or apps that help teach about argumentation, you’re advocating for an approach. And if you have a session on infusing social justice themes into teacher preparation programs, that’s advocacy, too.
Think about the theme of the Convention less as a defined set of activities and more as a lens through which to view the important power and potential of our profession.
Still worried your session might not fit?
Consider this broad range of topics of emphasis the selection committee is looking for:
- Advocacy
- Argumentation
- Assessment
- Community/Public Literacy Efforts
- Composition/Writing
- Content Area Literacies/Writing across the Curriculum
- Digital and Media Literacies
- Early Literacies
- Equity and Social Justice
- Informational Text
- Literature
- Multilingualism
- Narrative
- Oral Language
- Reading
- Rhetoric
- Teacher Education and Professional Development
What’s the criteria for selecting sessions?
You can read all about the criteria here. But here are some guiding ideas to help you:
- Be clear and thoughtful. The more specific you are, the easier it will be for reviewers to imagine what this session might be like.
- Think engagement. Susan Houser, NCTE president-elect and conference chair for 2016, has been clear from the start that she wants more sessions that are active and engaging and fewer that are driven by information delivery alone. How might you foster conversation and interactive learning as part of your session?
- Make it relevant. There is so much going on in education right now that it’s likely any of your ideas will fit in, but bear in mind that attendees come from all over the country, from classrooms of every shape and size. Think about how what you’re thinking and doing in your local context could resonate with folks from lots of different contexts.
The NCTE offices will be closed December 24-January 1. We’ll make sure to answer any additional questions as soon as we get back.