National Council for the Social Studies
100th Annual Conference
December 4–6, 2020
Washington, DC
Deadline: February 10, 2020
NCSS invites you to submit a proposal to present at our 100th Annual Conference! We also invite you to submit a proposal for the co-located National Law-Related Education Conference (sponsored by the American Bar Association) and the National Council for Geographic Education.
Selecting Your Session Type
Choose the format that fits your presentation style!
- Presentation (60-minutes)
This is a traditional session. - Panel (60 minutes)
This is a session with a moderator and at least two panelists. - Power Session (30 minutes)
This session is a short presentation on a topic, resource or tool. - Poster Session: (60 minutes)
Presenters put together a poster display and communicate their objectives. This session is 60 minutes long and typically involves 1:1 interactivity as attendees walk by each poster. - Workshop (2 hours on Sunday, December 6)
Workshops take place on the Sunday morning of the conference and are two hours in length. Workshops should include in-depth learning and exploration. - Clinics (Half day or full day on Thursday, December 3)
Clinics can take place on Thursday before the conference begins. Clinics can be half day or full day, but should include in-depth learning and exploration. - Off-Site Clinic
These clinics should take place at a local site but can be a half day or full day. There should be a significant rationale for holding the clinic off-site and each clinic should include in-depth learning and exploration.Think interactive! Proposals that include interactive sessions inviting participant dialogue, modeling strategies, examining topics relevant to conference themes, encouraging critical inquiry, demonstrating informed action, and emphasizing interdisciplinary integration are encouraged.
Understanding the Proposal and Review Process
To download a copy of the Call for Proposals Submission Guide, click here.
The current acceptance rate for sessions and power sessions is approximately 40-60 percent. For workshops, the rate has been lower, and for poster presentations higher.
Please keep in mind that presentation slots are limited. For this reason, presenters may not appear on the program in more than two presentations.
All proposals will be reviewed blind (with no names attached) and scored by multiple reviewers. The Program Planning Committee will make its selection from the top-ranked proposals. We encourage you to volunteer to be a proposal reviewer. There is no better way to hone one’s submission skills than serving as a reviewer. Reviewers also receive a discount off the full-conference NCSS member registration rate for the conference!
We hope you enjoy the conference submission process. If you have additional questions and answers not found in the Call for Proposals Submission Guide, please email your questions to conference@ncss.org.
Presenter Registration
If you are selected as a presenter, you will be required to register for the conference by the advance registration deadline of November 27, 2020. While we wish would could help defray the costs of presenters, NCSS does not reimburse conference presenters for travel or hotel expenses.
Creating Presentation Materials and Choosing Audio-Visual Equipment
Presentation materials are welcome! As a selected presenter, you will be responsible for providing any materials for use or distribution in your presentation and the costs of any A/V equipment needed. You will find A/V costs listed on the proposal form during the live submittal process. If your proposal is accepted, NCSS will confirm your audiovisual needs submitted in the proposal form and you will be billed for the options you choose. Please plan to include the costs when planning and submitting your proposal.
Commercial Solicitation
Commercial solicitation is prohibited at all presentations. If you are representing a commercial interest, your presentation must be educational in nature. If the essential purpose of a proposal is to promote books, materials, or services for sale, it will not be accepted. It will be considered as an informational session. Proposals of a sales nature can be submitted as an exhibitor session.
Receiving Notification You Have Been Selected to Present
Acceptance/rejection notification will be sent via email to the primary presenters in the late spring. It is the primary presenter's responsibility to relay that information to all co-presenters. If you do not receive notice by the end of May, please contact conference@ncss.org.
Scheduling information will be sent to all participants during the summer.
Proposal Reviewers
Regardless of whether you submit a proposal, we encourage all interested educators to consider becoming a proposal reviewer! As a reviewer, you will read and rate 12-15 proposals over a period of 2-3 weeks. The work is done entirely online, and you will help shape the NCSS 100th Annual Conference to reflect the needs of educators like yourself.
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