TIG Sessions 2015

Call for Proposals

The STEM Education and Training TIG not only invites you to submit proposals for the conference program, but to get involved in several other special opportunities surrounding the conference, in particular a showcase of exemplary evaluations with submissions from each TIG.

Read through to learn more, or click on the links to the following sections, which contain information on how to get involved and how to:

  • Submit a proposal to the conference,
  • Submit an exemplar evaluation for recognition at the conference,
  • Volunteer as a proposal reviewer,
  • Generate ideas for TIG networking and social gatherings
  • Please also take a moment to acquaint yourself with the 2015 STEM TIG leadership team

2015 Conference Proposal Submission

The 2015 Annual AEA Conference will be in Chicago, November 9-14. We are looking forward to STEM evaluation specific proposals related to this year’s theme of: Exemplary Evaluations in A Multicultural World: Learning from Evaluation's Successes Across the Globe. We encourage TIG members to submit proposals by 11:59 pm ET, March 16th, 2015.

The number of submissions in part determines how much the STEM Education and Training TIG is represented at the conference. In 2014, we had 19 papers, 5 panels, 17 posters, 5 think-tanks, 4 roundtables, and one Ignite session in the official program. We would like to see that increase in 2015. Be sure to select the STEM Education and Training TIG for review of your proposal as part of the submission process.

We are particularly interested in submissions that interpret the conference theme in the context of STEM evaluation. Presentations that tie into this theme may be showcased through the presidential strand at the conference. Since the work of our TIG members overlaps with other important branches of evaluation we also have the opportunity of co-sponsoring presentations with other TIGs. While you are not limited to these topics, we particularly encourage you to submit proposals on the following themes:

  • Cultural and global competence in STEM evaluations
  • Diversity among participants, stakeholders, institutions, and paradigms of inquiry
  • Successful engagement of STEM professionals in programs and their evaluations, and/or examples of evaluation use within STEM organizations
  • Programs that promote public engagement and/or broader participation in STEM and the use of culturally responsive methods in STEM evaluation
  • Large scale state STEM initiatives or multi-site evaluation of science training initiatives
  • Sessions that bring together clients and their evaluators, for example discussion of a partnership between an evaluators and teachers or professors that resulted in improved science education and training.
  • Exemplars of successful STEM evaluations and evaluation relationships
  • Given the recent focus on STEM evaluation on balancing research and evaluation, fundamental questions and evaluation questions, what exemplars exist in our community for carrying out STEM evaluations going forward?

To submit or to get more information, please visit the conference website. Note: You will need a login account to enter a proposal. If you do not want to join AEA right now, you can very easily create a non-member account entering just your name and email address.

Call for Submission for the Evaluation Exemplars Project

In addition to submissions for sessions, the AEA is going to select several exemplary evaluations to highlight during this year’s conference. The foundation for the criteria will be based on the AEA mission, vision, and principles. Additionally, we will be looking for examples of evaluations that recognize and address the multicultural nature of today’s world, whether they are evaluations that take place at community, city, state, national, or international level. Our TIG is able to nominate one submission to represent excellence in evaluations related to STEM education and training. We are excited about this call for submission of evaluation exemplars and encourage you to submit an abstract of 500 words or less by 11:59 p.m. Friday March 20th, 2015; click here to access the submission site. This abstract is separate from the normal AEA call for proposals.

According to general criteria used in the AEA mission, vision, and principles we will value high quality, ethically defensible, culturally responsive evaluations. Below are the criteria we will use to pick an exemplary evaluation to nominate. We will assess submissions to determine if they led to effective and humane organizations and to the enhancement of the public good by:

  • Contributing to decision-making processes, program improvement, and/or policy formulation,
  • Informing a global and international evaluation community,
  • Developing evaluators from under-represented groups,
  • Featuring inclusiveness and diversity,
  • Welcoming varied thought and approaches, and
  • Exemplifying efficient, effective, responsive, transparent, and socially responsible practices.

Also we will be looking for evaluations in a multicultural world that:

  • Address cultural sensitivity issues, and
  • Build capacity or empower local communities or individuals.

Finally, to address what excellence means in STEM evaluations we will give extra weight to proposals that address:

  • Issues in equity and access to STEM-related resources, opportunities, and outcomes
  • Attention within the evaluation to STEM content and pedagogy; and
  • Attention to cultural and societal institutions that impact STEM-related experiences in families, homes, formal and informal education institutions.

Volunteer as a Proposal Reviewer

Please consider volunteering to serve as a peer-reviewer for our TIG. It is one of the possible ways to be involved with the TIG. Last year, each reviewer was assigned 4-5 abstracts (approximately 1 page each). Reviewing is easy. You read the abstract, then rate each one according to standardized criteria. To volunteer please either (1) contact Ayesha Tillman by Friday March 20th or (2) select our TIG as one for which you’d like to serve as a reviewer when you submit your own proposal through the AEA website.

Generate Ideas for TIG Networking and Social Gatherings

We are very interested in developing conference networking and social exchanges outside of the formal program, so we encourage you to communicate with us if you have ideas about events or gatherings outside the conference that would interest TIG members and bring them together.