Call for Breakout Session Proposals

2015 PA STEM Vision Conference: Innovative Ways to Educate

Hershey, Pennsylvania

Deadline: January 31, 2015

ASSET STEM Education is pleased to announce the 2015 PA STEM Vision Conference: Innovative Ways to Educate, which will be held at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, PA on March 6, 2015.

This year’s conference theme, "Innovative Ways to Educate," is intended to provide the Pennsylvania community with an opportunity to collaborate, reflect and share best practices for the future of STEM education and college and career-readiness in Pennsylvania.

With this goal in mind, ASSET and its conference partners seek breakout session proposals for the 2015 PA STEM Vision Conference. The Committee aims to offer a program that will be of significant value to education, business and policy-making constituents and contributes to the advancement of STEM education across Pennsylvania. 

We want conference participants to:

Know – what challenges does STEM education face in Pennsylvania, what resources are available;

Feel – challenged, inspired, engaged, connected, informed;

Do – learn how best to use resources in the development of practice, policy, and partnerships

We promote a holistic approach to STEM where learners:

• make connections between content and skills across a variety of disciplines
• engage in relevant and meaningful experiences that connect to real world skills and careers
• move from learning to understanding
• appreciate life-long learning
• analyze and address challenges
• connect relevant content to solve problems
• understand processes and systems
• participate in environments extending beyond the classroom

Please keep this approach in mind when submitting proposals.

Session Format

Proposals are sought for the following strands:

• Advocacy and Policy – policy and other changes occurring in Pennsylvania that have the potential to impact STEM education.
• Tools and Promising Practices – STEM education tools and promising practices that have the potential to transform education, expand the number of high quality STEM teachers, increase student achievement, engagement, and interest and grow tomorrow’s innovators, problem solvers and critical thinkers.
• Student-Centered – bring your students to present – let’s hear from them about what they want and need in STEM education.
• Partnership with Community/Business - dialogue across education, workforce development, higher education, industry and communities to establish a shared vision for STEM education and growth in Pennsylvania.

Each breakout session will be 1.5 hours and should be in one of the formats described below:

1. Tasting Flight – quick snapshots that showcase four examples of approaches to a common problem or opportunity
2. Roundtable – Conversation with two different organizations exploring a common problem or opportunity
3. Case Study – "Deep dive" into a specific program which includes a Q &A session

Selection Criteria

The goal of the Committee is to develop a balanced and comprehensive program that provides participants with the opportunity to share best practices and innovative techniques to improve STEM education across the full spectrum
pre-K to career. Proposals for sessions that promote commercial endeavors (such as the sale of services or products) will not be considered.

The session selection criteria include the following:

• The presenter is skilled and knowledgeable about the session topic and prepared to deliver the session.
• The session topic is important and addresses relevant critical needs for STEM education in Pennsylvania.
• The learning objectives are clearly stated.
• The planned activities support achievement of the learning objectives.
• The learning activities can be reasonably accomplished within the proposed time frame.
• The planned activities are appropriate for the intended participants.
• There is appropriate time allocated for both presentation of information and active participant involvement.

General Information

All proposals must be submitted to i3program@assetinc.org. Questions may be directed to Jessica Meyers at 412-481-7320 x289. The deadline for submitting proposals for the 2015 PA STEM Vision Conference is January 31, 2015. The Committee will select proposals and notify prospective presenters by February 15, 2015.

Media Release

Video and photographs will be taken throughout the day. If you are not willing to be photographed or videotaped, please indicate as such on your proposal form.

Contact information for Lead Presenter:

Please attach your breakout session proposal below, which should be 500-750 words in length and include the following information:

• Application-Focused Learning Outcomes: Provide three learning outcomes that describe how participants can use the content from your session, or what they will be able to know or do as a result of attending your session.
• Relevance to conference theme, Innovative Ways to Educate.
• Session Organization and Content: Clearly identify the topic, presenter and timeframe for each segment. IMPORTANT: include the times you have set aside for active learning and engagement.