Page 1: Read Me First!
The AMS Fall 2010 Conference will provide three inspired days of professional development, hands-on activities, networking, and enjoyment for teachers of all level students; teacher educators; adult learners; parents; administrators; researchers; public policy enthusiasts; and other friends of Montessori. Attendees will:
- Engage with colleagues from around the world or across the street
- Explore exciting workshops offering material, ideas, and strategies that can be put to immediate use in the classroom and home; an inspiring keynote presentation, collaborative networking sessions, and an expansive Exhibit Hall
- Discover new possibilities, confirmation of best practices, and the extensive benefits AMS has to offer
- Grow personally, professionally, and as part of the worldwide Montessori community
This is your conference; it is your well-considered, original, enticing, and perhaps even provocative ideas that will make it happen. We look forward to reading your proposals!
The proposal has at minimum 3 pages. (The number of pages depends on the number of presenters.) Each page, including this one, has required fields that you must complete in order for your submission to be successful.
The pages are:
Page 1: Read Me First! (current page)
Page 2: Presentation Information
Page 3: Main Presenter
Pages 4, 5, etc: Presenter(s) in addition to Main Presenter
Submission Site Open: Thursday, November 5, 2009
Submission Deadline: Wednesday, January 6. 2010 (5 PM Pacific Time)
E-Mail Notification of Acceptance: By Wednesday, February 10, 2010
We invite presentation proposals on the following topics:
- Curriculum (Overview of Montessori curriculum areas; new ideas for Montessori curriculum lesson plans/materials; practical ideas and strategies for the Montessori class or home; "make-and-take" ideas; evolution of Montessori in the 21st century.)
- Philosophy (Theoretical underpinnings of Montessori education; Montessori planes of development; comparisons of Montessori with other educational theories and pedagogies.)
- Socio-Emotional Development (Peace education; conflict resolution; bullying; diversity; moral development; spiritual development; responding to children who have experienced violence and grief; gender identify; creativity and play.)
- Supplemental Curriculum (Foreign language, including ESL; technology; environmental education; environmental sustainability.)
- Leadership (Leadership skills for educators, teacher educators, and administrators; board cultivation and relations; human resources considerations; emergency preparedness; health and safety; marketing and admissions; adding program levels; starting new schools; strategic planning; development and fundraising.)
- Community & Public Policy (Family involvement in education; community organizations as partners in education; advocacy issues; action opportunities; Montessori curriculum and state standards.)
- Research (Research related to Montessori education; assessment; Montessori outcomes)
- Other Considerations (Learning differences; topics specific to public and charter Montessori schools, e.g., aligning state standards with Montessori curriculum; alternative applications of the Montessori Method, e.g., with Alzheimer’s patients.)
Rules of Participation
The box following each item is a required field. For your submission to be successful, you must put a check in each box.
- A maximum of two proposals may be submitted by a presenter, either as a presenter or co-presenter of a session.
- Presenters must be available to present on any day during conference, and at any time, as determined by the Program Committee. Individual schedules cannot be accommodated.
- Presenters who receive an acceptance e-mail from AMS must respond by the date specified, or their opportunity to present will be forfeited.
- Up to two presenters per workshop will receive complimentary conference registration. If there is only one presenter, only one complimentary registration will be given. If someone is presenting more than one workshop, s/he will receive one complimentary registration only.
- Only presenters listed with the presentation proposal will be accepted for presentation.
- Each workshop room will be equipped with a wired microphone, LCD projector, and screen if requested by presenter. Laptops, power cords, and adaptors (for Apple computers) must be provided by the presenter. Additional equipment may be supplied upon request, subject to approval by AMS, availability, and response from the presenter by a specified date. Presenters will be responsible for any fees incurred by the additional equipment. Requests received after the date specified by AMS, including changes or requests made on-site, will incur rental and handling fees. Internet access in the workshop rooms will be provided at the presenter’s expense, subject to availability.
- Presentation proposals for strictly commercial purposes will not be accepted. If a presenter has a commercial product(s), service, or publication to promote, this may be done by purchasing space in the Exhibit Hall.
Suggestions for Successful Submissions:
- Have complete biographical information for all presenters on-hand before you begin: names, contact information (including e-mail addresses), education degrees and fields, Montessori credentials (levels, awarding agencies), position titles and descriptions, prior conference experience, awards, board and other volunteer experience, and other relevant background information.
- First write (and save) the required descriptions of your presentation in a Word document. Then copy and paste it into the proposal.
- Allow time for successful submission. To avoid problems caused by unexpected events (malfunctioning computers, family emergencies, etc.), do not wait until the final deadline date to submit. Also note that due to site overload, submission difficulties on the last day may be encountered. Late entries will not be accepted.
- If your proposal bounces back when you try to submit it, find the field(s) highlighted in red. Complete them. (Make sure you check for red on every page. To navigate to the different pages, click on the tabs at the top.) After you complete the fields highlighted in red on every page, try submitting again.
Review Process
Proposals are reviewed by a committee of teachers with Montessori credentials at all levels from various geographic regions, as well as heads of Montessori schools and AMS senior staff. The reviewers' comments are shared with the senior directors who analyze the evaluation data and make final selections.
Selection Criteria
There are far more proposals submitted than the conference program can accommodate. The Program Committee must often reject proposals, some of excellent quality. The number of proposals accepted is determined by the size of the conference program, which is limited by available meeting space. The following are some of the criteria the readers of presentation proposals consider when evaluating presentation proposals:
- Relevance to Montessori education
- Clarity, originality, organization, and presentation of proposal
- Appropriateness for a major conference and interest to conference attendees
- Timeliness of topic
- Measurable goals/outcomes
- Skills, knowledge, tools, and/or practical applications that attendees may gain
- Qualifications of presenter, including experience with adult learners, and previous presentations
- Book, product, or service associated with the presentation (presentations for commercial purposes only will not be accepted)
- Extent to which presentation contributes to appropriate distribution of age levels and topics at the conference
Before you go to page 2 …
Did you complete the required fields on this page? (See "Rules of Participation", above.)
If "yes", proceed to Page 2 ("Presentation Information").