The College of Education
11th Annual ABC Conference
October 17, 2015
Invitation to Speak
New teachers are in the early stages of learning their craft and have the opportunity to begin their careers using the best
of what we know about effective teaching from research and practice. UTEP’s College of Education is soliciting
proposals for the 11th Annual A Better Beginning Conference (ABC) and concurrent sessions. Proposals should address
the conference theme: The Heart and Mind of 21st Century Learners. The audience will consist of novice and
experienced teachers and UTEP pre-service teachers. The workshops should be interactive and model best practices.
Deadline: Proposal must be received by September 20, 2015.
Eligible Presenters: Proposals may be submitted by faculty and graduate students of the University of Texas at El Paso,
other universities and colleges, and El Paso Community College, PK-12 in-service teachers, and curriculum
specialists/staff developers.
Proposal Guidelines:
Essentials for Proposals:
 Presentations should indicate times available
 Team/Group/Panel/Poster Session proposals are encouraged
 Potential presenters may submit one to two proposals for consideration
Format Criteria for Presentations: Workshop, Panel, Seminar, Paper, Poster
Overall Proposal Criteria:
 Relevant topic to teaching in PK-12 environment in the 21st Century.
 Well-defined topic addressing the conference theme: “The Heart and Mind of 21st Century Learners”
 Presentation Time: 45 minutes (Including Q & A), with the exception of Poster.
Paper Presentation Criteria:
Papers present reports of significant work, work in-progress or integrative reviews in pedagogy, research, development,
applications, and cultural and social justice issues related to all aspects of the conference theme: “The Heart and Mind of
21st Century Learners”.
If the presentation includes classroom experiences, be sure to include an application section describing how the lessons
learned can be transferred into another learning context for other teachers; consider the implications for other teachers.
Poster/Idea Exchange Criteria:
1. Poster/Idea Exchange will provide participants with an overview of relevant topics and artifacts in an open Q&A
environment. Presenters will stand with their posters to answer questions and discuss their topic/findings for an
hour and half time period.
2. The recommended maximum size for posters is 36” x 48”, with landscape orientation.
3. A poster is a visual tool. It should be informative and easy to read.
4. Keep your poster simple and brief. Think of a poster as a series of highly efficient, organized “panels” (a
storyboard) upon which appear synopses of the relevant information – just enough to get the point across.
5. Use large fonts. For headings, use at least a 48-point font. For text, use nothing less than 18-point.
6. Make the poster appealing. Incorporate color. Use photographs, graphs, charts, maps, and the like. Simplify charts
and figures to include only information that can be grasped at a glance. Be attentive to the layout and placement
of materials, and maintain high content to background contrast.
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Program Proposal Contact Information
Primary Contact Person: ______________________________________________________________
All correspondence will be sent to the primary speaker listed in this section. It will be the responsibility of this person to
contact additional speakers, if necessary
Work Title/ Dept.____________________________________________________________________
Work Address____________________________City____________________________State____________Zip_______
Phone_____________________ FAX_______________________ Email_________________________
Please list any additional speakers and their respective titles below:
Speaker________________________________________Title/Dept.____________________________
Speaker________________________________________Title/Dept.____________________________
I. Title of Session: ____________________________________________________________________
II. Description of Session: Please provide a brief description (up to 50 words) of the presentation proposal. What do you
expect the participants will be able to do or know at the end of the session? Consider adding a line near the end of the
description that reads something like this: “At the end of the presentation, participants will be able to . . . .” If the
proposal is accepted, the primary contact person will be notified and the description will be included in the conference
program. All presenters will be notified by October 2, 2015 of their acceptance into the conference program.
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II. Presentation Format
_____ “Make & Take” session
______ Socratic Seminar (question and answer)
_____ Interactive Session
______ Panel Session
Other _____________________
_____ Poster/Idea Exchange Session
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III. Time
______ 9:30-10:15
_____10:30-11:15
______ 9:30 – 11:15 Poster Sessions
IV. Strands addressed in Presentation. Check one in each column.
STRAND
CONTENT/FOCUS
GRADE LEVEL
_____ Curriculum Design & Alignment
______ Math
____ EC-6
_____ Pedagogical Strategies
______ English/Language Arts/Reading
____ 4-8
______ Bilingual/Dual Language
______ Science
____ 8 12
______ Diverse Needs of Learners/Universal Design
______ Social Studies
____ all levels
______ Instructional Technology/Media Literacy
______ Fine Arts
______ Ethics of Caring and Safety in Education
______ Physical Education, Dance, Health
______ Cross-Curricular Design & Alignment
______ Electives
______ Student Evaluation/Assessment
______ Data Mining in Educational Planning
______ Complexity of Education
______ Other
V. Audio/Visual: (All rooms are equipped with laptop, LC projector and screen)
If you have additional needs, please contact 747-5572.
Please return this form by September 20, 2015
ATTN: Noni Silva
500 W. University Avenue, Education 414
El Paso, TX 79968
[email protected]
747-5783/ fax 747-5755
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