Call for 2019 ASTE Professional Development Workshop Proposals

ASTE PD Committee

The purpose of the Professional Development Committee is to organize and coordinate professional development opportunities for ASTE, in order to assist members and other science teacher educators in the pursuit of lifelong learning related to science teacher education.

We invite ASTE members who are interested in presenting a professional development workshop at the 2019 ASTE Conference in Savannah, GA, to submit proposals. The submission system will be available April 1-May 31 through the ASTE website ( All proposals must be processed through the online system and proposals not received before midnight (Hawaii-Aleutian timezone) on May 31 will not be considered.

Workshops may be proposed for either 1 or 2 hours in length. All workshops will be embedded in the daily schedule, and open to all conference attendees (limited by room size/first-come, first-served). Facilitators should plan for up to 30 participants.

Reviews of workshop proposals will center on clarity of focus and learning objectives; appropriateness of content and workshop activities; facilitator plans for supporting participants post workshop; and interest/relevance to the ASTE membership. Acceptance of proposals will be based on proposal quality and our desire to create a balanced program of PD offerings to the ASTE membership. In particular, ASTE member feedback indicates there is interest in workshops related to:

Policy and advocacy for science teacher educators

Technology in teacher education

Grant writing - Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced levels

Course design/ methods for methods

Diversity and equity (gender equity, inclusive education, culturally responsive pedagogy)

STEM/Integrated science

Informal science education

Career development (job hunt, promotion & tenure, etc.)

On behalf of the entire Professional Development Committee, thank you in advance for submitting your proposal. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Deborah Hanuscin, Chair

Professional Development Committee

Instructions for proposals (characterlimit 12,000):

  1. State the focus of the workshop and its relevance to the science teacher education.
  2. Explain who within the ASTE membership would be most interested in your presentation (e.g., methods instructors, educational researchers, curriculum developers, etc.) and why.
  3. Describe the expertise/experience of the workshop presenters to present in the topic area.
  4. List the learning objectives of the workshop and how you will assess whether participants met those objectives.
  5. Provide a description of the workshop activities/ instructional strategies you will be using to meet the objectives.
  6. Describe how you will make yourself available/offer support to the participants for continuing their learning and collaboration after they return to their home institutions.
  7. If appropriate, provide a pertinent reference list. (Reference list does not count as part of the proposal word limit.)

ASTE 2019 Workshop Proposal Rubric

Please rate the proposal using the following criteria: (1=poor, 3=good, 5=excellent)
Criterion / 1 / 3 / 5 / Score
Clarity of focus/relevance to science teacher education / Purpose of the workshop unclear and/or not relevant to science teacher education. / Purpose of the workshop lacks clarity and/or is of limited relevance to science teacher education. / Purpose of the workshop is clear and relevant to science teacher education.
Relevance to ASTE membership / Workshop is likely to be of interest to few ASTE members. / Workshop is likely to be of interest to a moderate number of ASTE members. / Workshop is likely to be of interest to a large portion of the ASTE members (broad appeal).
Expertise of Presenters / Presenters lack the necessary experience or expertise to achieve the workshop goals. / Presenters have relevant experience or expertise related to the goals of the workshop. / Presenters have the necessary experience and expertise to achieve the goals of the workshop.
Learning Objectives / Objectives are inappropriate and/or unlikely to be met in the workshop format/time allotted. / Objectives are appropriate but may be difficult to achieve in the workshop format/time allotted. / Objectives are appropriate and achievable for the workshop format/time allotted.
Content of the proposed workshop / Workshop activities are not appropriate to the topic and/or do not reflect best practices. / Workshop activities are somewhat appropriate to the topic and reflective of best practices. / Workshop activities are appropriate to the topic and instructional strategies reflect best practices.
Availability post workshop / Availability to participants after the workshop is not fully described or perfunctory (e.g., provide email to participants to contact presenters). / Presenters have a plan to provide support for participants in applying what they learned in the workshop. / Presenters offer a clear plan for continued support and availability to participants post workshop that will foster ongoing learning and collaboration.
TOTAL SCORE =