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Fall 2016 Conference Breakout Session Presenter Proposal Form

Innovative educators are invited to submit a proposal to present a breakout session at the 4th Annual Active Learning Leaders Teaching Conference on October 29, 2016, in San Marcos, CA. Be part of the excitement of this professional development festival for learner-centered educators! Breakout sessions are either 60 or 90 minutes in length and breakout session presenters are expected to NEVER read papers or present an entire lecture; rather, the breakout sessions are intended to facilitate an active learning strategy used in class by engaging the participants as if they were students.

Breakout sessions presenters will be awarded complimentary registration to the conference as a thank-you for presenting!

Submit your breakout session proposal directly from this Webpage. Simply fill in the form below and click the “Submit” button. Note that audio/visual needs and a previous submitted example of a well-designed active learning breakout session are shown below the form.

Questions? Please e-mail Al Trujillo atrujillo@palomar.edu or Kelly Falcone kfalcone@palomar.edu

Important dates:

  • September 16, 2016: Final day for submitting Breakout Session Proposals
  • September 23, 2016: Notification of Proposal acceptance/non-acceptance (NOTE: Presenters are given complimentary registration to the conference)
  • September 30, 2016: Last date for early registration for the conference
  • October 29, 2016: Date of the conference

Here is the direct link to the Breakout Session Proposal Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ApniMBdQZE_-G6CMf1D8db9EGXS83Nzapbv_RI2Mp0Y/viewform

Audio/Visual Needs:

NOTE: All breakout session rooms will have movable student desks, an instructor podium, an instructor computer with Internet access and audio, a data projector and screen, a whiteboard with markers, a flip chart & markers, and wireless Internet. PowerPoint presentations will require the presenter to bring their presentation either on a USB thumb drive or a laptop computer with all connecting cables. If you need specialized audio, you must bring your own audio device to your breakout session.

Here is an example of a well-designed active learning breakout session (used with permission by Al Trujillo from his “Introduction to On Course” breakout session):

Breakout Session Design: Introduction: What activity or activities will you use to engage your attendees when they enter your breakout session?

I plan to do an opening activity where the participants come up with a quick list of the qualities/characteristics of successful students. Then they do hand-up, stand-up activity to share their ideas. Then we do a shout-out and I put several of the qualities on the board. As we watch Skip Downing discuss the 8 qualities of successful students, I circle the qualities/characteristics from the group that match Skip’s 8 qualities of successful students.

Breakout Session Design: Active Learning Segment:  What active learning strategy or strategies will you employ in your breakout session? This should be the majority of the breakout session where your attendees are actively participating. Note that this cannot be a lecture; rather, treat your attendees as your students in an active learning classroom.

The entire session involves a variety of active learning techniques (60-minute session):

  • Introduction (5 minutes)
  • Quicklist of qualities/characteristics of successful students (2 minutes)
  • Hand-up, Stand-up activity (5 minutes)
  • Shout-out activity (3 minutes)
  • Skip’s video/8 qualities of successful students (10 minutes)
  • How On Course is different (5 minutes)
  • On Course success and retention data (5 minutes)
  •  On Course Web resources (10 minutes)
  • Wrap-up, applications of using the techniques shown here in other disciplines, and evaluation (10 minutes)

Breakout Session Design: Conclusion (Application): How will you conclude your breakout session to focus on helping your attendees apply this technique in their own classrooms?

As a wrap-up and debrief session, I plan to do a group discussion about how the participants can use, modify, and/or adapt the techniques demonstrated in the session in other disciplines. I also plan to share some ideas about how I’ve used these techniques in my own classes.