2023 Call for Proposals

Please Note: The deadline for submitting a proposal for the 2023 NCTE Annual Convention
was 9 am ET, Wednesday, January 18.
The form is now closed. Questions? Please contact the NCTE Events Team.

A Few Important Notes about Preparing Your NCTE Annual Convention Proposal

• Each NCTE Annual Convention proposal must include teacher voices (at least one teacher from any level must be a presenter, including college faculty, preservice teachers, teacher educators, teacher librarians, literacy coaches, and retired teachers). Please provide the teacher name(s) within the proposal form.
• This proposal form will look a bit different from last year, as it is a new platform for us. If you have any questions as you are developing your proposal, please let us know (NCTEevents@ncte.org).
• Please note that when you submit a proposal draft, a confirmation email will be sent to the 1st person listed on the proposal submission. Please make sure you, the submitter, is listed first so you receive the email as it will include information on re-entering the proposal system so you can edit the proposal, if needed.
• If you have started a proposal draft, be sure to follow the instructions in the email reply you received to complete and submit the proposal (the status of “pending” means you finished and submitted your proposal; “work-in-progress” means you’ve started the proposal and will come back to it to finish and submit it).
• All submitters will be notified of their session status in Spring 2023.
• If selected to present, we will ask you to accept or decline your invitation by Friday, September 1, 2023.
• Please note that all presenters are required to register for the Convention.
• The proposal deadline was 9:00 a.m. ET, Wednesday, January 18, 2023.

What You Will Need to Add to the Proposal Form

• Title
• Annotation (400-character limit)
• Audience Level
• Session Type
• Presenter Roles
• Description (4,000-character limit)
• Reviewer Level
• Topic of Emphasis
• Strand
• Confirmation that at least one teacher is presenting in the session and name of teachers (see 1st bullet at the top of this page)
• # of presenters
• tradebook author participation

Explanation of Session Types

• Committee Meeting: for business meetings of NCTE committees, assemblies, caucuses, conferences, or associations
• Half-Day Workshop: longer session devoted to a topic; registration fee will be charged
• Individual Proposal: with 1-2 presenters; will be combined with 2-3 other proposals to create a panel under a new session title and description
• Panel Presentation: with 3 or more panelists
• Poster Sessions: physical poster presented at a poster board
• Roundtable Session: multiple presenters present on topics; attendees usually listen to 2-3 talks during the session
• Special Interest Group: for NCTE assemblies, caucuses, or conferences

Explanation of Strands
Convention sessions with a special focus or in special sequences fall into session strands. Attend multiple sessions within a single strand for an in-depth learning experience with any of these important themes.

• • Early Childhood Education Strand sessions focus on issues pertaining to the education of children from birth to age eight, their families, and their teachers. Early literacy is a key concept in these sessions that also address diversities in early childhood and highlight practices and processes that are situated in social, historical, and cultural contexts.

• • ELATE (English Language Arts Teacher Educators) Strand sessions focus on issues, research, and practices pertaining to teacher development, professional development, and teacher education programs, including preservice and induction programs. These sessions highlight the practice of those who prepare literacy educators or support their continued development through courses, workshops, and inquiry.

• • LGBTQIA+ Strand sessions focus on issues pertaining to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual, and plus students, their families, and their teachers. These sessions address representations of sexual and affectional difference, and they offer a broad understanding of diversity, free inquiry and expression, critical pedagogy, and democratic teaching practices. The sessions encourage the creation of safer, more inclusive schools.

• • LLA (Literacies and Languages for All) Strand sessions focus on whole language theory and practice and are reviewed by LLA leaders. These sessions push understandings of critical literacy, inquiry, and collaborative learning, and integrate literacy with other sign systems and knowledge systems situated in social, historical, political, and cultural contexts.

• • National Writing Project Strand (NWP) Strand sessions focus on research, practice, and innovation at Writing Project sites, including promising designs for professional learning and leadership programs; youth, community, and civic engagement projects; and fresh looks at curriculum and pedagogy in the teaching of writing. These sessions highlight the potential of teacher-leaders, and educators more broadly, to work collectively to improve the teaching of writing for all learners.

• • Rainbow Strand sessions focus on issues and strategies related to teaching and affirming culturally and linguistically diverse students, especially African Americans, Latinxs, American Indians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders.

• • Research Strand sessions have been chosen through a refereed selection process sponsored by the NCTE Standing Committee on Research (SCR). Although reports and discussions of research are distributed throughout the Convention Program, sessions labeled “Research Strand” are those that report on rigorous and original research studies as refereed by the SCR.