Session Formats
Research Poster Fair (5 minute oral presentation and poster display at hour-long fair)
Presenters will assemble a visual display that conveys a message about research findings, methods, writing center practice, or materials of interest to our writing center community. The display should fit on a standard 6x3 table. The display might include a poster, laptop demonstration, handouts, or activities to engage conference participants as they circulate during the session and stop by individual tables. Past poster sessions have reported on survey findings, tutor training modules, and successful local writing center initiatives. Poster presenters will be stationed at their tables throughout the hour and should be prepared to give a 5-minute overview of their materials, both to those who stop by and to a panel of Writing Center evaluators. The evaluators will judge the presentations and award prizes for excellence at the Saturday lunch.
Writing Game (5 minute oral presentation and brief demonstration at hour-long Research Poster Fair)
Game presenters will assemble materials to demonstrate a successful game or activity used in a writing center setting. The materials should fit on a standard 6X3 table. The displays might provide an opportunity for conference participants to sample the game and to gather instructions or ideas for how they might replicate the game at their own institutions. Past game-like sessions have used creative writing exercises, communication games with legos, art projects, icebreakers, grammar board games, and other interactive approaches to convey information or provide experiential learning opportunities for writing center staffs. Game presenters will be stationed at their tables throughout the hour and should be prepared to give a 5-minute overview of their materials to those who stop by and to a panel of Writing Center evaluators. The evaluators will judge the presentations and award prizes for excellence at the Saturday lunch.
Interactive Workshop (75 minutes)
Presenters in an interactive workshop will design an experience for conference participants based on theory or practice employed in their centers. An interactive workshop offers participants a chance to learn through activities and discussion around a clear theme, idea, problem, or research.
Group Panel (75 Minutes: 60 minute presentations followed by 15 minute question/answer period)
Presenters in a group panel will have a pre-coordinated set of related papers or presentations that take no longer than 60 minutes to deliver. Multiple presenters address a single theme through multiple lenses or through several stages of a project or an idea. Group panels sometimes emerge from a single institution or are collaborative efforts from members of multiple institutions. Panelists may organize by giving separate, related papers or as a roundtable in which each panelist offers comments and then invites discussion from conference participants or a formal, pre-appointed responder. Presenters who know they want to present as a group should submit a single proposal, as a group, under this format.
Individual Paper Presentation (20 minutes: scheduled with two other 20 minute presentations, with additional 15 minute question and answer period)
Individual presenters will deliver a 20-minute paper or presentation on a single subject. Individual presentations will be gathered together by conference organizers into a loosely themed panel of 3 separate papers, with time for questions from conference participants in the final 15 minutes of the session. (When read aloud, a written 20-minute presentation is approximately 6-8 pages of double-spaced text. PowerPoint presentations or presentations with visual aids should be well-rehearsed to ensure they fall within the 20 minute allotment and don’t impinge on fellow presenters’ time.)