EARLI 2015

 

Conference formats

Conference formats

The range of conference formats is designed to create a diverse and lively academic atmosphere and to allow for different preferences in style of presentation. Each of the formats outlined below are equally valuable, but serve different purposes.

 

Keynote presentations are invited lectures given by the most renowned and experienced professors from the field of learning and instruction. The keynote speakers provide deep insights into a certain field of educational research, summarize their own contributions to their field of expertise and highlight open research questions that need to be addressed in the future.   
Timing: Keynote presentations last 90 minutes. The keynote speaker is briefly introduced by a chairperson. After the keynote presentation is given, the floor is open for the audience to ask questions.

Room set-up: Large lecture theatre with computer and data projector.
 

Symposia provide an opportunity to present research on one topic, often from multiple perspectives, providing a coherent set of papers for discussion. Symposia sessions involve a chair person and include four presenters and one discussant, from at least three different countries. We recommend that symposia conveners set an early deadline for possible contributors to submit to them and that each individual submission is checked for its own quality and its relevance and coherence to the topic of the symposium prior to formal submission to EARLI 2015. Please note that all active participants in a symposium need to have a valid EARLI ID before the symposium is submitted!
Session Duration: A symposium is scheduled for 90 minutes, comprising of 15 minutes presentation per speaker, 10 minutes for the discussant, and 20 minutes for open discussion.
 

Paper sessions are oral presentations of four papers, followed by a discussion with the audience.  It is important that empirical papers have data and results, or they will not be accepted.  Research that is at an earlier stage is very suitable for Round Table or Poster sessions.  Theoretical papers, of course, are welcome.
Session Duration: Paper sessions are scheduled for one and a half hours, normally with four presenters, who should plan for a 15 minute presentation.

Flipped presentations sessions on research frontiers (by invitation only) is a new format of a session, introduced to increase the interactivity level at the conference. In this type of session, a short video (preferably) or narrated slides (max. 5 minutes) are prepared beforehand and published on the conference website for delegates to view before and during the conference. During the face-to-face discussions, the presenter is given 30 minutes to discuss his/her research. As delegates have seen the video or slides beforehand, we expect that this format will allow for informed and in-depth scientific discussions.
Session Duration: Flipped sessions are scheduled for 90 minutes.  Submissions will go through the regular peer review process as “papers”. Delegates will be able to indicate if they are interested to present using this format; however, the final list of papers in each flipped session will be decided by the conference International Planning Committee.

Interactive poster sessions involve five or six posters, visually presenting research studies.  A short oral presentation of about 5 minutes for each poster is given to an audience gathered as a group. After the authors’ brief presentation, an in-depth discussion between them and the audience follows. The poster sessions offer researchers the chance to present their work in a visual format and offer more opportunities for interaction and discussion.
Session Duration: Poster sessions are scheduled for one and a half hours, following the format above. Materials for fixing posters on the walls will be provided. Guidelines for the size of the posters will be provided at a later time.

Poster Guidelines can be found here

Round table sessions offer opportunities for a more discursive exploration of research issues.  This may well involve discussion of work in progress. The presenters explain their research and research issue, and invite the participants to help to discuss emerging data or to solve a research issue or problem. Round table sessions will take place in seminar rooms with a board-room style table. Three presenters will explain and discuss their research one after another.
Session Duration: Round table sessions are scheduled for 90 minutes.

ICT Demonstrations allow presenters to display, explain and familiarise users with a potentially useful teaching or research tool or method.  The presentation may include references to completed research, but the point of the session is to demonstrate the tool, not present the research for criticism. The audience may offer their viewpoints and share their experiences with similar tools or different tools for the same purpose.
Session Duration: ICT demonstrations are scheduled for 90 minutes.

Workshops provide an opportunity to familiarise participants with some aspect of research or teaching practice, so that questioning and discussion are suitably informed.  Learning-by-doing occupies most of the session, and any presentations are brief. Providing adequate time for reflective discussion is important. 
Session Duration: Workshops are scheduled for 90 minutes.