Science Education at the Crossroads 2019
Montgomery, AL
November 6-9, 2019
Key dates:
- Proposal deadline: May 18, 2019
- Acceptance Decisions: June 22, 2019
- Final Revisions for Proceedings due: September 7, 2019
Submit papers to: sciedxroads@gmail.com
The Call for Proposals
Overview
Science Education at the Crossroads is an interactive working conference designed for educational professionals to exchange challenges and solutions. Rather than presenting completed work, Crossroads participants describe vexing challenges they are facing and solutions that might resolve those issues. Sessions at the Crossroads Conference occur as Incubators derived from the Critical Friends Group protocol.
Your proposal should equate to a two-page spread with the first half devoted to your Vexation and the second half to your venture. The piece must attend to this year’s theme of Equity in STEM Education Leadership. Proposals should be submitted as an MS Word attachment to an email posted to sciedxroads@gmail.com by Saturday, May 18, 2019. We ask that you use this template to expedite transfer of proposals into the conference Proceedings.
Elaborations
Although past Crossroads conferences have had an open theme, the 2019 iteration emphasizes Equity in STEM Education Leadership. Every contribution is situated at the intersection of these three areas:
Equity – For our purposes, equity describes the strategic and deliberate efforts to erode barriers and ease access to education opportunities for groups who have been traditionally blocked and discouraged. Assembling in Montgomery signals a contemporary contribution to the Civil Rights Movement.
STEM – Broadly speaking, this conference is open to all efforts centered on science, technology, engineering OR mathematics. We welcome consideration from any of these subject areas without expecting the strict integration of all four.
Leadership – Reaching beyond administration, leadership is viewed as any concerted effort to affect change among adults directly involved with STEM education programs. This encompasses research/practice partnerships, in-service workshops, and ongoing collaboration relationship targeting school and district improvements. Leadership signals educational work guided by systems level viewpoints.
In addition to these focal points, Crossroads gatherings use Incubator sessions that are driven by your paper’s Vexation and Venture format:
Vexation: At the intersections of Equity, STEM Education, and Leadership, what are specific challenges that are vexing you? Beyond venting frustrations, plainly explain the source of your frustration, reasons the issue is troublesome, and implications should this vexation remain unresolved. An effective Vexation personalizes a particular struggle so others can understand and engage.
Venture: The Venture describes a course of action you are contemplating to address the Vexation. You could offer information about initial efforts you’ve made. Or you could articulate a suite of strategies you are considering. The goal is to elicit conceptual, material, and emotional resources that you can then use to inform your next steps. The more specific your Venture, the greater chances you’ll receive useful advice.
Proposal Submission
Your proposal should approach 1500 words in length and fit into this Word template in order to help us with editing and formating. Any citations will be collected into the Proceeding’s appendix, so only the inline citations are included in the word count. The two headings for your proposal are “Vexation” and “Venture” all contained within the single document. Again, we ask/implore/beg that you use the Crossroads Template to streamline communication and production. (Let us know if you run into any issues with this.)
Submission Feedback
Your Vexation and Venture will receive substantive feedback from the conference organizers. That feedback suggests how to clarify your meanings and improve the chances your V&V will stir productive conversations among Crossroads attendees. Your revised paper will appear in the printed Proceedings and posted to the conference website. The Crossroads Montgomery deadline for final revisions is September 7, 2019.
Proceedings
All accepted Vexations and Ventures will be collected and bound into the Proceedings. We will mail hard copies to you in advance so you can preview the scope of presenters who will be attending. This Proceedings will also communicate logistics associated with Crossroads. During the actual conference, we anticipate that you will rely on the printed Proceedings rather than a digital version. This is intentional because it allows presenters’ concerns, quite literally, to be on the table for your consideration. There are no slideshows or projectors used during the Incubator sessions. The Proceedings is a reference document to support the presenters with engaging in face-to-face conversation with others. Screens only distract from direct exchanges.
Questions & Clarifications?
Feel free to contact the conference organizers.