ASTE 2027 CALL FOR PROPOSALS
2027 ASTE Annual Conference
January 6-9, 2027, Providence, Rhode Island
The ASTE Annual Meeting takes place in January of each year and provides an opportunity for our membership to engage with current research, policy, and practice and to promote improvements in science teacher education.
We are excited to announce the Call for Proposals for the 2027 ASTE Annual Conference: Asset-Based and Community-Driven Science Teacher Education
This year, we invite science teacher educators, researchers, and K-12 teacher leaders to submit proposals to be identified as Feature Projects. We are seeking work that moves away from "deficit" models—which focus on what students lack—and instead centers Asset-Based Orientations. We want to highlight projects that recognize the cultural, linguistic, and experiential resources of communities as the primary drivers of scientific inquiry and leadership. If your project aligns with this year’s conference theme and you would like to have it considered for a Feature Project, you will indicate so at proposal submission.
Conference Theme
This year’s theme is Asset-Based and Community-Driven Science Teacher Education
This conference centers asset orientations—approaches that recognize the cultural, linguistic, experiential, and intellectual resources that learners and communities already possess—as essential to transforming science teacher education. We seek to engage the ASTE community to build science teacher education that is grounded in the strengths of students, educators, and community members—and sustained by a shared belief in what is possible when we teach, learn, and lead with hope.
ASTE Conference Planning Committee
- Conference Planning Committee Chair, Colby Tofel-Grehl
- Local Conference Chairs: Dominick Fantacone, Jessica Riccio
- Program Coordinator, Kelly Feille
- Members: Kimberly Lott, Melissa Demetrikopoulos, Teresa Leavens, Liz McMillan
- Graduate Student Member, Meg Gilliam Turner
- Ex Officio Members:
- ASTE President, Amanda Townley
- Director of Electronic Services,
- Equity Committee Representative, Olayinka Mohorn-Mintah
- Executive Director, Ron Hermann
- Past ASTE President: John Pecore
- Future Conference Chair, Stephen Burgin
Conference Threads
The ASTE conference is organized by “threads” that bring together sessions and topics related to a variety of member interests. Our current conference threads and thread coordinators are listed below.
- College & University Science Education: Proposals for this thread will address issues such as conceptual change, content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, etc. that are pertinent to higher education science faculty who work with science teachers or science teacher educators, community, and after-school programs.
- Thread Coordinators: Kristen Brown & Meenakshi Sharma
- Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Assessment: Proposals for this thread will be in the form of practice or research pieces that inform science teacher educators about curriculum, pedagogy and assessment for current and future science teachers as used by science teacher educators and in science departments.
- Thread Coordinators: Aaron Sickel & Robbie Higdon
- Educational Technology: Proposals for this thread will be in the form of practice or research pieces that inform science teacher educators about technology use and training for present and future science teachers as used by science teacher educators.
- Thread Coordinators: Danielle Malone & Helen Meyer
- Equity & Diversity: Proposals for this thread will foreground and critically examine issues of equity, inclusion, and diversity that are central to science teacher education, science education, and science.
- Thread Coordinators: Julie Brown & Vicente Handa
- Ethnoscience and Environmental Education: Proposals for this thread will be in the form of practice or research pieces that inform science teacher educators about culture, diversity and environmental education for current and future teachers.
- Thread Coordinators: Mutiara Syifa & Holly Plank
- History, Philosophy, and Nature of Science: Proposals for this thread will be in the form of practice, theory or research pieces that inform science teacher educators about history, philosophy and the nature of science (not limited to science practices) for current and future science teachers.
- Thread Coordinators: Brendan Callahan & Selina Bartels
- Informal/Out-of-School Science Education: Proposals for this thread will be in the form of practice or research pieces that inform science teacher educators about informal science education for current and future science teachers.
- Thread Coordinators: Demetrice Smith-Mutegi & Cynthia Lackey
- Policy, Advocacy and Reform: Proposals for this thread will be in the form of practice, white papers, position statements or research pieces that inform science teacher educators about policy and reform and how each impacts science teacher educators and education.
- Thread Coordinators: Emily Lehnardt & Meredith Schwendemann
- Preservice Science Teacher Preparation-ELEMENTARY: Proposals for this thread will be in the form of practice or research pieces that inform science teacher educators about elementary science teacher preparation programs.
- Thread Coordinators: Jeffrey Radloff & Sarah Carrier
- Preservice Science Teacher Preparation-MIDDLE/SECONDARY: Proposals for this thread will be in the form of practice or research pieces that inform science teacher educators about middle and secondary science teacher preparation programs.
- Thread Coordinators: Emelia Pelliccio & Stephanie Phillip
- Science Teacher Professional Development-ELEMENTARY: Proposals for this thread will be in the form of practice or research pieces that inform science teacher educators about elementary science teacher professional development.
- Thread Coordinators: Heather Shaffery & Anna Arias
- Science Teacher Professional Development-MIDDLE/SECONDARY: Proposals for this thread will be in the form of practice or research pieces that inform science teacher educators about middle and secondary science teacher professional development.
- Thread Coordinators: Jennifer Bateman & Jarod Kawasaki
- STEM Education: Proposals for this thread will be in the form of practice or research pieces that inform science teacher educators about STEM education, our understanding of what STEM means and the National Standards for STEM for future and current science teachers.
- Thread Coordinators: Drew Gossen & Jacob Pleasants
- Student Learning P-12: Proposals for this thread will be in the form of practice or research pieces that inform science teacher educators about the relationship between student learning and current and future science teachers.
- Thread Coordinators: Melissa Mendenhall & Allison Warren
Concurrent Session Formats
There are several different session formats featured at our annual conference on a regular basis. Proposals should indicate the relevant format for the proposed session.
- Individual Paper Presentation: Each one-hour session consists of three individual papers related to the same thread as determined by the conference chairs. Each presenter will discuss a research study, philosophical viewpoint, position, or innovation in science teacher education. The session presider will manage the time and facilitate the transition from one presenter to the next. (3 papers in each 60 minute session)
- Themed Paper Set: Each one-hour session consists of a group of presentations related to a common theme as determined by the authors. The proposals must be submitted as a group to be considered as a single themed session. Each presenter will discuss research, a philosophical viewpoint, position, or innovation in science teacher education. A discussant may be chosen by the group submitting the themed paper set but will not be provided by ASTE. Authors will need to determine how to use the allotted time. (60 minute session)
- Themed Poster Set: Each one-hour session consists of a group of presentations related to a common theme as determined by the authors. The proposals must be submitted as a group to be considered as a single themed session.[GU2] Each individual poster will share research, philosophical viewpoint, position, or innovation in science teacher education. A discussant may be chosen by the group submitting the themed paper set but will not be provided by ASTE. Authors will need to determine how to use the allotted time. (60 minute session)
- Individual Poster Presentation: Each presenter will prepare and display a visual representation of research, issue, or innovation in science teacher education. Appropriate displays include posters or other creative formats to be displayed on a poster board during the Poster Session(s). Presenters will participate in one-on-one conversations about their displays during the formal poster session. (60 minute session)
- Small Group Roundtables: Each (one-hour) session offers the opportunity for participants to share and discuss creative pedagogy, issues and trends, culture, history, and research in an intimate and informal manner. Presenters will be paired with two to five presenters with papers on a similar topic. A presider will allow each presenter to provide a brief synopsis (5-7 minutes) and then allow time for table group discussion to share perspectives on the issues presented. Audience members may circulate among tables throughout the session. (60 minute session)
- Exploratory Session: This session type is intended to elicit the creativity of our membership to share innovative ideas in innovative ways. Do you envision something relevant to the ASTE membership that doesn’t quite fit a workshop or other format above? Propose this type of format to engage members in a 1-hour session on a topic of your choice. Exploratory sessions should be a format that is clearly distinct from those described above. *Keep in mind that this is an “alternative” session type. Attendees will be coming to your session expecting a different experience in some noticeable way. Don’t approach the planning the same way you would any other format, and make sure they leave feeling like it was correctly labeled as an exploratory session. (60 minute session)
- Professional Development Workshops: Professional Development Workshops are 1-hour active learning sessions during the annual conference with the purpose of supporting the professional development and ongoing learning of ASTE members. (60 minute session)
- The ASTE Professional Development Committee reviews all PD Workshop Proposals and is open to a broad array of professional development activities that support the ongoing learning of the ASTE membership both in the United States and globally. Possible topics of professional development workshops include but are not limited to:
- Strategies and materials for teaching preservice and in-service science teachers
- Support for publishing scholarly work
- Gaining tenure and promotion
- Developing lines of inquiry
Proposal and Submission Guidelines
Submission Process and Deadline
To receive full consideration, proposals must have been submitted and any edits must be completed by midnight, Pacific Daylight Time, the night of July 10, 2025. Any proposal submitted after that date will only be considered if space and time permit.
Please Note: The person submitting the proposal/the user logged in when the proposal is submitted will have the ability to edit the proposal prior to the start of reviews and will be the one who can see acceptance/rejection information. The first author will only have these capabilities if they are also the one who submitted the proposal.
Proposal Requirements & Author Limitations
Proposals submitted for presentations at the ASTE Annual Conference MUST be original work that has not been / will not be presented at any other conference (e.g., AERA, ASERA, NARST, EASE, ESERA). In addition, authors are limited to being:
- 1. First author on only one stand-alone paper or a paper within a related paper set.
- 2. First author on only one interactive poster paper.
- 3. First author on only one roundtable.
- 4. Presenter in only one symposium.
- 5. Secondary author on any number of stand-alone, related paper set, and/or interactive poster papers.
- 6. Workshops are exempt from author limitations.
Guidelines for Preparing Your Proposal
Proposals should be single-spaced with 1” (2.54cm) margins on US Letter size (8.5” by 11”) and use fonts no smaller than 12pt. Proposals for all session types, except themed paper/poster sets, should be no more than 5 pages in length. Themed paper/poster sets should be submitted as a single proposal of no more than 10 pages. References, tables, and figures do NOT count toward your page limit and should adhere to APA format. All proposals should be blinded for review, utilizing pseudonyms for names of authors and other identifying information (location, name of program, etc.) and submitted as a PDF file.
Abstract – Please provide an abstract (250 words max) that will be included in the conference program.
Proposal Body – Your session proposal should address the following:
- Identify the challenge or issue within science teacher education that your presentation addresses.
- Describe your theoretical or conceptual framework and describe the work you have been doing to address the challenge or issue you have indicated. If this is a research study, then supply some findings.
- Explain your findings and/or the information you will present to those in attendance.
- Justify your presentation’s contribution to the knowledge base for science teacher education.
- Identify who within the ASTE membership would be most interested in your presentation (e.g., methods instructors, educational researchers, curriculum developers, etc.) and what you expect for them to learn from this presentation.
- Provide a comprehensive reference list.
Professional Development Workshop Proposal Format and Content:
Proposals should be single-spaced with 1” (2.54cm) margins on US Letter size (8.5” by 11”) and use fonts no smaller than 12pt. Proposals must be no more than 5 pages in length. References, tables, and figures do NOT count toward your page limit and should adhere to APA format. All proposals should be blinded for review, utilizing pseudonyms for names of authors and other identifying information (location, name of program, etc.) and submitted as a PDF file.
- Abstract – Please provide an abstract (250 word max[GU4] ) that will be included in the conference program.
- Proposal Body – Your workshop proposal should address the following:
- Purpose and Learning Objectives: Describe the purpose of your workshop and how it relates to the professional development of ASTE members regarding science teacher education. What are your learning objectives for participants? Who in the ASTE membership will your workshop be of interest to?
- Workshop Activities: Describe the activities that participants will be actively engaged in during your workshop. Activities should be highly interactive for participants. As much as possible, please try to give reviewers a clear picture of what will happen during your workshop.
- Post-Workshop Follow-up: What availability/ resources will you provide for participants post-workshop? What plan do you have for continued support and availability to participants post-workshop that will foster ongoing learning and collaboration?
- Expertise of Presenters: Please describe how presenter(s) have the relevant and necessary experience and expertise to achieve the goals of the workshop.
- Diversity and Equity Focus: Please describe how workshop activities are appropriate to diversity and equity topics, high quality, and/or reflect best practices.
- References: (If Applicable) Provide a comprehensive reference list.
Proposal Rubrics
Paper Presentations, Poster Presentations, Round Tables, and Exploratory Sessions
All proposals for the annual meeting are reviewed by at least two proposal reviewers, using the rubric criteria below. The criteria are designed to address diverse submission types (e.g., research studies as well as position papers or descriptions of innovative programs or practices).
REVIEW CRITERIA (1=inadequate to 5=superior)
1. Clear focus/problem:
- The proposal has a clear focus and/or addresses a problem that is timely and significant to science teacher education.
2. Theoretical or conceptual framing:
- The research study or philosophical viewpoint described in the proposal is grounded in a conceptual or theoretical framework and in the research base for science teacher education.
- The position or innovation described in the proposal is grounded in a conceptual or theoretical framework and in the research base for science teacher education.
3. Mode of Inquiry:
- For research studies, the work is based on sound methodology and research practices.
- For philosophical viewpoints, it is clear how the logic and coherence of arguments is tied to the theoretical or conceptual framework
- For position papers, the position is well-grounded in the existing literature and considers multiple perspectives and arguments.
- For innovations, there is a clear connection to the theoretical or conceptual framework and pedagogical perspective of the authors.
4. Findings/Conclusions (if research study), Contributions (for philosophical viewpoints, position paper, or innovations):
- The work contributes to the knowledge base in science teacher education either through synthesizing the existing literature and the implications for practice, and/or by providing evidence of the effectiveness of an innovation.
5. Relevance to science teacher education:
- The proposal is relevant to the mission of ASTE to advance policy and/or practice through scholarship, collaboration, and innovation in science teacher education.
6. Interest to the ASTE membership:
- The proposal session has implications for the work and interests of the ASTE membership– including science teacher educators in a variety of roles, and contexts (e.g., preservice/ inservice or formal/ informal).
Professional Development Workshop Rubric
