Call for Proposals- Breakout Session

Please note: The Call for Proposals deadline is Friday, May 16, 2008.

Breakout Sessions
Recommended Strands for Breakout Session Proposals
Review Criteria for Proposal Abstracts and Rationale
Session Title, Description, and Target Stakeholders
Rationale
Proposal Abstract
Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities
Program Participation Guidelines
Submission Deadline for Proposals
Audiovisual Equipment Needs
Registration for Presenters
Handouts
Presentations for Post-Conference Webpage
Submit a Proposal for a Breakout Session

The conference program will include several formats including Plenary Sessions, Large Group Panel Presentations, Interactive Workshops, Breakout Sessions, and the Poster Session. This year’s conference agenda will include a combination of invited and proposed/accepted presenters for the Breakout Sessions.

Breakout Sessions (1 hour)

Breakout sessions are opportunities for participants to share and discuss ideas, issues, and effective practices for unifying preparation, research, practice, and policy for improving results for children with disabilities. Breakout sessions should be focused around a topic of interest that is stimulating and addresses multiple perspectives.  All sessions will include discussion questions that are specifically designed to challenge current thinking and provoke thoughtful discussion. Breakout sessions will be scheduled for 1 hour.  At least 30 minutes of this time should be focused on discussion. These sessions will occur at various times throughout the conference. Presenters can expect an audience of 35-50 persons. In preparing sessions, leaders should limit the number of presenters to allow sufficient time for audience participation and discussion. One person must be identified as the lead presenter for communications with the American Institutes for Research (AIR).

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Recommended Strands for Breakout Session Proposals

The Project Directors’ Conference includes the broad array of OSEP grantees and breakout session proposals should attempt to address the interests of these audience members. Your proposal submission may address a content strand below. Alternately, you may select another topic of interest that is consistent with your work as an OSEP grantee.

• Accountability – Topics in this strand would include outcome assessments, teacher impact data, evaluations of teacher work, formative and summative evaluation practices, and child outcome data.
• Assessment – Topics in this strand would include formative and summative assessment, progress monitoring and curriculum-based measurement, alternate assessments, professional development in assessment, and assessment for response to intervention (RTI).
• Behavior – Topics in this strand would include positive behavioral intervention and supports (PBIS), school-wide behavior, behavior modification, teacher preparation related to behavioral issues, and RTI as it relates to behavior.
• Disproportionality – Topics in this strand would include the disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic minorities in special education, teacher preparation and professional development, cultural sensitivity, and pre-referral intervention.
• Inclusive Practices – Topics in this strand would include RTI, professional development related to inclusive practices, inclusion in secondary settings, preschool inclusion, secondary education transitions, and system improvement.
• Instructional Strategies – Topics in this strand would include research-based strategies that improve outcomes for students with disabilities. These may also include professional development, differentiated instruction, and assistive technology.
• Literacy – Topics in this strand would include professional development and teacher education, early and adolescent literacy, RTI, comprehension and phonemic awareness, research-based strategies to improve word-attack, comprehension, and writing.

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Review Criteria for Proposal and Rationale

The selection of the 2008 presentations will be based on the recommended topic strands above. All proposals will be reviewed and ranked by a review committee.

In the selection process, preference will be given to proposals that

• address multiple aspects of the research-to-practice continuum, such as research, training, professional development, and technical assistance;
• include an evaluation that focuses on the impact of the proposed practice or strategy;
• are research-based or use evidence-based content and/or pedagogy;
• represent collaboration among multiple stakeholders;
• offer an innovative approach to addressing a critical issue; and
• include practitioners as members of the presentation team.

You will be contacted by email if your proposal is accepted, and you may be asked to make some revisions to your proposal.

Session Title, Description, Discussion Questions, and Target Stakeholders

Proposals must also include a session title and a session description, which will be included in the conference program. The session title should be no longer than 150 characters, including spaces. Session descriptions should briefly describe the proposed session and should not exceed 50 words; descriptions that exceed the 50 word limit will be pared down to fit the allowed space in the conference program. In addition to the 50 word description, all proposals must include 2-3 relevant questions that will be posed to the group and that will serve as the basis for interactive discussion. Also, you will be asked to select from a list of potential stakeholders that will be identified as your target audience.

Rationale

The proposal must include a brief (up to 100 words) rationale about why the proposed session is compelling and of interest to the conference audience.

Proposal Abstract

The proposal must include an abstract that is 300-500 words in length. Each proposal submitted must provide sufficient information for the reviewers to acquire a fundamental understanding of the topic that will be presented.

Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities

If you are selected to present, you will receive further guidance on how to accommodate your presentation for persons with disabilities, which must be incorporated into your session format.

Program Participation Guidelines

To allow ample opportunities for participation from varied presenters, you are limited to one breakout session as the lead presenter and one additional breakout session as a second party presenter. The lead presenter for each presentation must be a grant project director or co-project director or a CSPD coordinator.

Submission Deadline for Proposals

The submission deadline is Friday, May 16, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. Proposals will only be accepted from conference attendees.

Audiovisual Equipment Needs

We will provide an overhead projector and screen (or a flipchart with markers) in each room, based on the presenter’s request. Presenters are responsible for costs incurred for any additional equipment. If your proposal is accepted, we will provide you with information about how to acquire additional audiovisual equipment. You are welcome to bring your own laptop and LCD projector.

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Registration for Presenters

All presenters must be registered as conference attendees. All presenters are expected to cover their own expenses. Lead presenters must be current OSEP grantees or CSPD coordinators. Secondary presenters who are not grantees must obtain the grant number from the lead presenter in order to register for the conference at the OSEP grantee rate. Registration fees are provided on the Registration page.

Handouts

Presenters are strongly encouraged to provide copies of their presentations at the conference. AIR will not make copies of the presentations for distribution.

Presentations for Post-Conference Webpage

All presentations will be shared on the conference website with participants after the conference has closed. We encourage you to send us your presentations in advance of the conference, or you may bring copies of your presentation electronically via an external drive (such as a USB or mass storage device) or on CD to the conference registration desk. Alternately, presentations may be emailed to osep-meeting@air.org after the conference. All of the presentations will be included on a post-conference webpage as a resource to participants and others.  

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