1. Renee L. Feather & Jena Mathews CoTESOL: 38 th Annual Convention and Exhibition November 14-15, 2014

2.  Considering Advantages of Presenting at Professional Conferences  Dealing with Lack of Confidence  Examining Proposal Writing as a Genre  Considering Proposal Criteria  Generating Ideas for Proposals  Outlining the Proposal Process  Understanding Proposal Dos and Don’ts  Summary  Questions and Answers

3.  Presenter -grow professionally -build your CV -increase your network -encourage self-confidence  TESOL Field -add knowledge to the field -encourage dialog among professionals

4.  Underestimating your ideas  Thinking you lack experience and/or expertise  Fearing judgment of peers  Overcoming public speaking anxiety  Thinking it is “too late” to learn the process or master the necessary technology

5.  What do you notice about the style and format of these 2 proposals?  What differences do you notice between the two proposals (regional vs. national conference proposal)?

6.  Purpose  Prescribed format  Formal style  Explicitly states goals and content  Voice  Word limits  Different rules based on conference  Use of citations

7. Evaluation Criteria Poor (1 point) Fair (2 points) Good (3 points) Very Good (4 points) Excellent (5 points) Currency, importance, and appropriateness of topic to field Purpose, participant outcomes, and session type Theory, practice, and/or research basis Support for practices, conclusions, and/or recommendations Clarity of proposal as indicator of presentation quality Source: www.cotesol.org

8.  Task: Generate ideas for a CoTESOL or TESOL proposal 1. 2. 3.

9.  Look at everyday teaching activities  Examine ideas that interest us; share your expertise  Reflect on action research in the classroom  Solve a classroom problem

10.  Provide presenter contact information  Decide on the topic  Select the type of presentation: paper, workshop, demonstration, panel, discussion, poster  Consider conference theme  Generate a title (word limit)

11.  Determine special interest group for adjudication  Choose intended audience for program book  Prepare the summary (word limit)  Write the abstract (word limit)

12.  Paper (45 min.) - Describes work, practice or theory, with a PowerPoint Presentation  Demonstration (45 min.) - Shows a teaching technique  Workshop (105/45 min.) - Emphasizes participant involvement (activities carefully structured)  Panel/Symposium (105/45 min.) - Debates or discusses an issue; dialog emphasized  Discussion (45 min.) - Prepares a short introduction on a topic and leads colleagues in a discussion of that topic  Poster (45 min.) - Illustrates a classroom activity or pedagogical technique Source: www.cotesol.org

13. Adult Education Teacher Education /Action Research Intensive English Programs Secondary Education Elementary Educations Content Area Education Source: www.cotesol.org

14.  Conceptualize ideas  Narrow the focus  Include background, as necessary  Draft summary and abstracts  Revise/edit  Submit by the deadline

15. DO  Check on conference timing and funding with employers  Allow sufficient time to prepare  Prepare and present with another person/divide responsibilities  Have a colleague review your proposal/get feedback  Update your CV as soon as possible DON’T  Ask for extension on deadline  Force fit topic  Exceed word limit  Deviate from genre  Submit nearly identical proposals  Ignore SIG relevance

16.  Considering Advantages of Presenting at Professional Conferences  Dealing with Lack of Confidence  Examining Proposal Writing as a Genre  Considering Proposal Criteria  Generating Ideas for Proposals  Outlining the Proposal Process  Understanding Proposal Dos and Don’ts  Summary  Questions and Answers

18. Contact Information  Renee L. Feather Educational Consulting Services, LLC reneelongofeather@gmail.com  Jena Mathews BridgeEnglish jena.r.mathews@gmail.com