Call for Proposals

The Faculty of Education, University of Victoria is excited to host the 2009 annual conference of WestCAST, the Western Canadian Association for Student Teaching. WestCAST 2009 will be held at the University of Victoria in Victoria, BC from February 18 to 21, 2009.

To submit your proposal go to the Education
Open Conference Systems located at: http://www.educ.uvic.ca/ocs/index.php/westcast2009/

Types of Sessions:

Teacher candidates, education faculty members, collaborating teachers or other community based educators, community members, including those from cultural communities and elders are all invited to submit papers based on the following five different types of sessions:

1. Single and/or multiple paper presentations. Either an individual or group of presenters will speak on a topic for up to 40 minutes, with time for questions, discussion and answers to follow. Multiple paper sessions could have as many as three papers/presenters.
2. Panel presentation. Up to four presenters will provide multiple perspectives on an issue, allowing at least 15 minutes for follow up discussion and questions. Please ensure that all panelists are secured as well as a Chairperson to open the session, introduce the speakers and monitor questions/discussion.
3. Workshops and/or symposium: An individual or group of presenters will present on a topic of their choice, structuring the session in a hands-on, engaged participant format. This could take the form of exploring an instructional strategy or approach to teaching, or could involve participation in a cultural activity, aesthetic production, or community based practice. Please indicate if one hour or 1.5 hours is more suited to the nature of your presentation.
4. Poster presentation: An individual or group of presenters can prepare a poster that represents an investigation, question, or findings from action research or inquiry, or in some other way visually represents an exploration of an issue related to the conference theme. Posters will be set up in a common area and no formal presentation is required, however a time slot will be set aside so that presenters can be asked informally about their work.
   

Proposal Guidelines:

Proposals for papers, panels and seminars/workshops should use the following format:

• Title of Proposal
• Theme: one phrase that captures the theme/topic of presentation
• Name of Presenters (and recommended chairs, if applicable)
• Name and contact information for primary author/presenter
• Are students or community members included as active presenters or collaborators? If so, please indicate which categories.
  
  
• Type of Proposal (please check):

  □ single or multi-paper session

  □ poster

  □ seminar/workshop

  □ panel presentation

  □ visual exhibit and/or performance
  (indicate space required)

• A/V needs (please note there may be limits on availability).
• Proposal Description: No more than 500 words including references. Please make sure to state how your proposal addresses the conference themes.

We reserve the right to make modifications as needed to ensure the inclusion of as many presenters as is reasonable and possible. For example, requests for a single paper presentation may be included in a multi-paper session.

Concurrent session lengths will likely be either one hour or 1.5 hours in length to provide sufficient time for active engagement and discussion among session attendees.

Proposal Criteria:

To what extent does the proposal address conference themes?

How clearly does the proposal set out its purposes and advance a clear presentation of ideas? Does it make connections to professional literature?

Are the implications for teachers, administrators, community agencies/governments, teacher educators and/or students well defined or apparent?

Are students or community members (or their perspectives) included as active presenters or collaborators?

Does the proposal offer a provocative, compelling or innovative look at educational themes or concepts?

Proposal Submission:

The deadline to receive proposals is midnight (Pacific time) on NOVEMBER 15, 2008. Please do not inquire about the status of your proposal before that time. All submissions will be acknowledged upon receipt.

To submit your proposal go to the Education
Open Conference Systems located at: http://www.educ.uvic.ca/ocs/index.php/westcast2009/

Acceptance of Proposals:

Primary/first authors/presenters will be notified of their acceptance by December 4, 2008.

Registration for Conference:

All presenters are expected to register for the conference and to pay their registration fee by January 9th, 2009 in order to be included in the program.

Published Proceedings:

There will be an opportunity for presenters to upload their proposals onto the website so that we can create an electronic web based conference proceeding which will be accessible for downloading. More details on how to do this will be sent out to accepted presenters in December, 2008.