Submssion Requirements
Quick Links:
Your Commitment to Speak
Target Audience
Tracks and Topics
Learning Approach
Session Format
Session Development
Session Description
Application-Focused Learning Objectives
PDF: Application-Focused Objectives
Delivery Methods
Additional Resource
PDF: How to Submit a Winning ASTD Conference Session Proposal
Your Commitment to Speak
It is an honor and a privilege to be asked to speak at an ASTD conference. By sharing your expertise, you make a valuable contribution to the profession’s field of knowledge and to the individual learning of our participants.
If you are selected, please view this opportunity as a commitment like any other and ensure that you are able to deliver the session by securing the support of your organization and managing your workload and clients to keep this time open. We understand that things do happen and appreciate your advance notice in the event of extreme circumstances that prevent your attendance.
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Target Audience
A majority of the conference participants are full-time training and performance practitioners, training directors, organizational development staff, government trainers, consultants, performance consultants, learning technologists, HRD managers, chief learning officers, and professors from around the world. The conference audience ranges from novice part-time practitioners to highly experienced full-time professionals. The expected attendance for the 2009 International Conference is more than 9000 participants from 70 countries. Please ensure that your content is suitable for a diverse audience and include examples and research from beyond the United States.
For your proposal, please specify a target audience from the list of options which have been tied to the Areas of Expertise in the ASTD Competency Model. Please see the Model for more information:
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Areas of Expertise
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Target Audience Roles |
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Designing Learning |
- Instructional Designer
- Designer
- E-Learning Developer
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Improving Human Performance |
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Delivering Training |
- Trainer/Learning Facilitator
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Measuring and Evaluating |
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Facilitating Organizational Change |
- Organizational Change Manager/Facilitator
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Managing the Learning Function |
- Learning Executive
- Director/Manager
- Project Manager
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Coaching |
- Executive/Business/Life Coach
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Managing Organizational Knowledge |
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Career Planning and Talent Management |
- Career Planner
- HR Manager/Specialist
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Additional Roles/Focus Areas
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- Business Analyst
- External Consultant
- Internal Consultant
- Novice Practitioner (under 2 yrs)
- Senior Practitioner (10+ yrs/non-manager)
- University instructor/professor
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If absolutely none of the above fits use:
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Tracks
In order to create a well-rounded conference program and respond to feedback from attendees, ASTD has done a significant amount of pre-planning for the 2009 conference education program. The topics listed within the tracks are a result of this planning and cover three main areas: Core Topics, Current/Hot Topics, and Trends/Future Outlook.
ASTD is seeking proposals to cover most of these topics. Proposals for topics outside this programmatic framework will only be considered if the content substantially supports the overall program.
International submitters: Please ensure that your presentation of the topic includes the perspective of your own country/region.
There are nine tracks which are matched to the Areas of Expertise per the ASTD Competency Model. Click here for a PDF of track descriptions.
For PDFs of specific topics requested for the 2009 conference click on the track name below.
Please note that to print any of the following PDFs, you will need legal sized paper.
Career Planning & Talent Management
Designing and Delivering LearningE-Learning
Facilitating Organizational Change
Leadership and Management Development
Learning as a Business Strategy
Measurement, Evaluation, ROI
Performance Improvement
Personal & Professional Development
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Learning Approach
You will be asked to select a Learning Approach which most closely defines your session proposal. This layer is designed to focus the program at a greater depth within each track. ASTD will select proposals to ensure that all Learning Approaches are covered by the offered sessions. If your proposal fits into more than one Learning Approach, please select the one that is most relevant. See below for detailed descriptions of each.
Best Practice/Award Winner
Case Study
Competency Model Content
Core Topic
Experiential/Interactive Learning
Future Outlook/Trend
Global Perspective/International Focus
Hot Topic
Innovation
Best Practice/Award Winner
ASTD would like to showcase those programs which have been recognized in some way by outside body which has deemed the program a Best Practice; such as a nomination for or receipt of an award. Please give evidence of the recognition in your proposal description. ASTD will also reserve some space for ASTD Award winners selected after the proposal process.
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Case Study
A Case Study is a first-person account of a project, initiative, or program from it’s inception to the end result. Your proposal should detail the process, including the ups and downs and lessons learned, and show how the content can be applied to the session participant’s workplace. For increased credibility, suppliers/vendors, should partner with a client representative to deliver the session.
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Competency Model Content
ASTD is requesting sessions showing how organizations are applying the ASTD Competency model in part or in its entirety. Please follow the Case Study model previously described.
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Core Topic
Core Topics are those that are the nuts and bolts of the Workplace Learning and Performance field. These are the topics that make up the backbone of the field and speak to the new as well as the seasoned practitioner who wants a refresher or has changed roles. About one third of the conference audience is new to the conference each year.
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Experiential/Interactive Learning
These are sessions which substantially depart from the lecture/presentation model and use creative ways to incorporate hands-on learning both as a topic and by modeling the concept being presented in the session.
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Future Outlook/Trends
These sessions exemplify the most advanced thinking about the Workplace Learning and Performance field and discuss trends in an applied way—that is, showing how these trends and outlooks will likely have an effect on those who work in the field.
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Global Perspective/International Focus
ASTD has a widely-based international membership and audience as well as many attendees who work in multinational organizations. ASTD seeks sessions which will speak to the issues these participants find relevant. The session content should cite a broad range of examples from countries and regions around the world.
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Hot Topics
Hot Topics are the things that everyone is talking about now in the Workplace Learning and Performance field. These are the topics that everyone wants to discuss, learn about, and figure out ways to apply the information in their own workplace or to get ahead of the learning curve.
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Innovation
ASTD seeks topics which highlight an innovation and show how it can be used by participants in their own workplace. It may be a new application or new spin on a familiar subject; or a core topic with a fresh treatment or totally new ideas which are gaining ground in the field.
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Session Format
The Call for Presentations focuses on two primary areas: Pre-conference Workshops which precede the start of the conference and the Concurrent Sessions which feature a range of subjects grouped by track. Concurrent sessions include 75 and 90 minute sessions, panels, and Innogizers. Additional special programs are developed outside the proposal process and include Legends and View from the CLO presentations which are developed by invitation and/or with sub-committees.
When you enter your proposal you will be asked to select a Format from a list of choices which will include:
One-Day Pre-Conference Workshop
75 and 90 minute Concurrent Sessions
Innogizer
Panel
Senior Practitioner
One-Day Pre-Conference Workshop
These one-day workshops are designed to offer an in-depth treatment of a topic to a smaller audience. They should be highly interactive and capture the best techniques, information, and topic application.
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75-and 90-minute Concurrent Sessions
This is the standard session length. Please plan a session with good coverage of fewer topics rather than limited coverage of many topics. There will be approximately 15-18 sessions in each time period. On Monday-Wednesday, the last time period is 90-minutes long.
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Innogizer (75- and 90- Concurrent Sessions)
These innovative sessions are designed to energize the participant at the end of a long conference day. The content and delivery should be innovative, energetic, experiential, and get people moving, active, and learning. To be an Innogizer session, the content must be innovative and revitalize the participants’ ability to engage and learn, even after a long day.
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Panel
Panels are moderated sessions of no more than four panelists plus the moderator. The moderator should have a pre-defined set of questions based in an overall program design for the panel discussion and incorporate audience questions and feedback into the discussion. In your proposal, please include your overall focus and list of questions. As with other sessions, please show how the content will be immediately applicable to the participant’s job.
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Senior Practitioner (10+ years in field)
These sessions should provide content which challenges the participants and has a strategic focus. You should use interactive and innovative delivery methods with little or no reliance on PowerPoint and lecture. You should provide depth of coverage rather than trying to cover too much in one session. Some of these sessions may be scheduled as two-part sessions in back-to-back time periods.
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Session Development
The first rule for an ASTD conference session is that it is a learning experience.
This means:
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Content that is informative and relevant, with clear and immediate application to the learner’s work
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Minimal use of PowerPoint slides
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Includes interactive and/or hands-on methods to support the learning
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Corresponds to the required Application-Focused Learning Objectives
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Handouts which reflect the content and are a resource for later use
Your primary goal should be the learning of the participant rather than a showcase for your ideas, products, and services. You will gain exposure for those things by doing a good session with something tangible for the participants to take away. The more you can put yourself in their place in developing your session, the better your chances will be of being selected and of receiving good evaluations from participants who attend your session
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Session Description
Please write your description clearly and concisely making sure to include all necessary information. The focus of the description should be on the content that will be delivered, not an editorial on the topic or an advertisement for the speaker or topic. Please write in the second person (you) and avoid references to the speaker and his/her published work by title. Good content with clear, application-focused objectives will “sell” the session, not a sales pitch. Please support your statements with appropriate citations of published works or studies.
Commercial presentations for products or services may be delivered as Expo Demo and Lab sessions. For information on exhibiting and these session opportunities contact the ASTD Sales representative for your region using this link:
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Application-Focused Learning Objectives
The reason ASTD puts so much emphasis on how you write your learning objectives is to strongly encourage you to think deeply about the session you are proposing. We want these sessions to be top-of-the-line in terms of content, delivery, and applicability for the learner. Session participants evaluate sessions positively or negatively according to how much they can use the information back on the job. If you follow the tips below for writing your learning objectives and develop your session accordingly, you will have a premier offering! Your learning objectives will be a key factor in evaluating your proposal.
Make sure that you can deliver on the objectives you choose! We are expecting you to deliver a deeper level of knowledge/skill to ASTD learners.
Click here for a PDF of Sample Objectives
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Delivery Methods
How you plan to deliver your session is as important as the content. ASTD is the leader in workplace learning and performance and we want the conference education program to reflect that leadership. Therefore, all speakers are being asked to partner with us to raise the bar on the quality of both content and delivery of sessions. Remember that this is a learning experience. Even if you aren’t a seasoned trainer or facilitator, you can still meet this requirement by researching and practicing some of the key strategies for facilitating learning. ASTD offers many publications such as Training for Dummies which can assist you.
This means:
- Limit your use of PowerPoint as a delivery mechanism.
- Instead, design interactive means to engage with the participants and have them engage with each other.
- Make sure that your content supports the Application-Focused Learning Objectives
- Model as many of the concepts you are delivering in the session as possible and practical.
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