Session Proposal  |  Academic Proposal  |  Student Proposal/Poster Sessions  |  Retreive Proposal

Information and Policies for Submitting Presentation Proposals

The WCSS and IEC invite presentation proposals for conference sessions and workshops. Presentation proposals should be related to the social studies, international and global education, and to the conference theme: "Global Challenges and Changes." Presentation proposals about foreign languages, sciences, arts, and humanities that are linked to social studies and international and global education are encouraged. The WCSS and IEC seek quality conference sessions and workshops that
(a) actively engage elementary, middle, secondary, post-secondary teachers and instructional leaders,
(b) result in curriculum and instructional improvement, and are linked to standards.

Submission of Presentation Proposals. Please submit all presentation proposals ONLINE. If for some reason you cannot submit the presentation proposal online, you may submit a presentation proposal form by downloading the "WORD format," completing the required information, and forwarding the completed form by mail or e-mail attachment to the program chairs.

Deadline. The deadline for presentation proposals is Wednesday, December 17, 2008. Notification will be late January or early February.

Registration for the Conference. It is expected that all presenters register for the Conference, and it is the responsibility of the Primary Presenter/Organizer to have all presenters registered. Note: Exhibitors do not pay a registration fee. Registration is online or by mail using a Word or PDF form is on the Conference Website.

Conference Sessions. Conference sessions are either 60-minutes or 120-minutes.

• 60-Minute Sessions. A 60-minute session has an expectation that at least 10-15 minutes is devoted to Q&A, discussion and interaction among the speaker(s) and among participants.
• 120-minute Sessions. A limited number of 120-minute sessions will be offered and are designed to cover a topic in greater depth and include hands-on activities, instructional materials, lesson plans, or teaching strategies and techniques leading to instructional improvement. During a 120-minute session at least 30-40 minutes, needs to be allotted to Q&A, discussion, and interaction among the speaker(s) and participants.

Session Proposals. Section Proposal This is the standard proposal form, used for the vast majority of sessions at the conference. In general, if you are an educator and you wish to propose a session for the conference, the Section Proposal is the type of proposal you should use. The other types of proposals-Academic Papers and Student Proposals/Poster Sessions--are for special audiences. Generally, Academic Paper proposals are for academics or for those wishing to present a scholarly paper, and Student Proposals/Poster Sessions are for teacher education students who wish to present a poster. Please read the descriptors provided below for these special types of proposals.

Academic Papers. The presentation of academic papers is new at the 2009 Conference. Academic papers are expected to be read at the Conference whether they have been published or not. The academic paper session should allow time for Q&A/discussion. All academic papers are invited to be submitted for publication in the peer-reviewed WCSS Journal. The deadline for submission of academic paper proposals is December 17, 2008; however, the actual academic paper need only be prepared by the time of the Conference, March 16-17, 2009. Contact Kelly Collum (colldk@gmail.com) for paper submissions or if you have questions.

Student Proposals/Poster Sessions. Undergraduates in teacher preparation programs are encouraged to participate in the Conference by submitting a proposal for a poster session.

Handouts. Presenters are encouraged to bring about 25 copies of materials that include (a) an abstract of the presentation, (b) summary of key ideas, (c) Internet and bibliographical resources, (d) copies of the PowerPoint slides, and (e) professional contacts. Any leftover copies can be left on the Conference table in the Exhibit area.

Hotel Copying. The Conference does not have copying capability and will not reimburse for hotel copying. Copying done by the hotel is expensive and cannot be charged to the Conference.

Days and Times. All sessions will be scheduled for Monday, March 16th and Tuesday, March 17.

Audio-Visual. Please carefully read these policies on A/V equipment.

• Personal or School AV Equipment. Personal or school A/V equipment may be brought into the Madison Marriott Hotel and used in the conference rooms. Moreover, WCSS and IEC encourage you to bring your personal or school AV equipment not only to reduce cost for the Conference but also to assure your familiarity with its setup, operation, and trouble-shooting. Note: There are NO blackboards, writing boards/markers, or capacity to tack or pin things to the wall at the Madison West Marriott.
• AV Equipment in Rooms (THIS IS IMPORTANT). Each breakout room will have chairs or narrow tables & chairs for participants and an 8-foot table for the presenter. There will be no other AV equipment in the room unless it is requested - and for some AV equipment both requested and approved. The AV equipment request is part of the submitting the presentation proposal. There are two categories of AV equipment, as follows:
  1. The following AV equipment will be provided only if is REQUESTED: screens, projection carts (including extension cords), and high speed wireless Internet connection (There will be absolutely NO hard-wired Internet connections.).
  2. The following AV equipment will be NOT be provided unless REQUESTED AND APPROVED by a Program Chair: Overhead Projector, VCR/DVD & Monitor, PC (No "Mac"”) Computer with 2003 PowerPoint Software, LCD Projector, Writing Board w/Markers, Podiums, Microphones, Flip Charts w/Markers, or Easels.
• Technical Assistance. The Conference does NOT provide assistance for any AV equipment including setups, operation, or trouble-shooting whether the AV equipment is supplied by the hotel, Conference, or presenters. Consequently, presenters need to know how to setup, operate, and trouble-shoot all the AV equipment used for their presentation and may wish to have a contingency plan in the event of an AV failure.
• Cost. Note that all AV equipment rented from the Marriott Hotel is very expensive (e.g. A PowerPoint computer and projector setup is about $300.) so please choose carefully the AV equipment that you absolutely need and cannot bring to the Conference.
• Requesting and Ordering AV Equipment. A/V equipment can only be special-ordered by one of the program chairs: Melissa Collum/WCSS (wcss2009@gmail.com) or Dean Bowles/IEC (bdbowles@wisc.edu). Conference presenters will be financially responsible for any A/V equipment not ordered by one of the Conference chairs.

Please request only the A/V equipment that you absolutely need and will use, and WCSS and IEC thanks you for helping keep costs down while still having a great conference and sessions.

Responsibility for Primary Presenter/Organizer. All communication from the Conference will be with the Primary Presenter/Organizer. The primary presenter/organizer has the responsibility to communicate with the other presenters about the proposal, acceptance, day and time of presentation, A/V policies and needs, and assuring that all presenters are registered for the Conference.

Questions. Questions about social studies presentation proposals may be addressed to Melissa Collum (wcss2009@gmail.com), 920/495-3314 or questions about international/global proposals may be addressed to Dean Bowles (bdbowles@wisc.edu), 608/239-1799 or go to the website:
http://www.education.wisc.edu/elpa/conferences/iec/

Thanks for your interest in the 2009 WCSS and IEC Conference